Freezer Friendly Curried Butternut Squash Soup

When it comes to delicious winter meals, you won’t find a better option than soup. And what better way to enjoy a hot bowl of soup than using a recipe with one of the best winter squashes mixed in? This easy recipe for curried butternut squash soup combines spicy curry paste with creamy sweet potatoes to create a hearty dinner recipe perfect for a cold winter evening.This soup is so creamy that it’s hard to believe that it doesn’t have cream or butter mixed into it. But indeed, this soup is dairy free. 

I’m partial to this recipe because it’s my all-time favourite soup. Some of the other make ahead soups that I enjoy:

• Lasagna Soup
• Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
• Sausage and Zucchini Soup
• Hearty Hamburger Soup
• Enchilada Soup

Curried Butternut Squash Soup Recipe

Ingredients:

• sweet potato, cubed in 1 inch chunks
• butternut squash, cubed in 1 inch chunks
• 2 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 onion, minced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons ginger, minced
• 3 teaspoons curry paste, mild or spicy
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• dash pepper
• dash salt
• 946 mL chicken broth or vegetable broth 

For day of cooking:

• 2 cups water

Freezing instructions:

1. Add all the ingredients to a large freezer bag.
2. Remove excess air from the bag and seal it. Freeze the soup flat until you’re ready to heat it.

Serving instructions:

1. Thaw the soup ingredients overnight in the refrigerator.
2. Pour the contents of the bag into a large pot and add two cups of water.
3. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally, then turn the heat down to low.
4. Simmer the soup ingredients until the sweet potato and squash are soft.
5. Remove the pot from the heat and allow the soup to cool slightly, then blend the ingredients with an immersion blender until smooth.

What is the Best Way to Freeze Soup?

When it comes to freezing soup, there are two basic methods:

• Freezing the ingredients to cook later. This option is great for quick work on meal prep day, but requires a little more effort on the day you plan to cook the soup.
• Freezing the soup after it’s been prepared. This option is perfect for quicker prep work on your cooking day, making it great for busy weeknights.

No matter which method you use for freezing your soup, the steps for prepping and freezing it are basically the same:

1. Prepare the ingredients/soup. Follow the recipe instructions for preparing your ingredients for cooking or for making the soup recipe. After the ingredients are prepared, make sure everything is cooled completely. Do not attempt to put hot soup or soup ingredients directly in the freezer.
2. Transfer everything to a freezer bag or container. Freezer bags are great option for soups because they allow you to lay the soup flat in the freezer for easier storage. You can also use airtight freezer containers for storing your soup ingredients.
3. Label the container. Write down the name of the recipe, the date it was frozen, the cooking instructions, and the expiration date on the front of the bag. As a general rule, soup is typically good for up to three months in the freezer.
4. Thaw in the refrigerator. The safest way to thaw your soup for cooking is to transfer it to the refrigerator the day before you plan to cook it. That will give the soup plenty of time to defrost safely.

Can I Add Curry to Butternut Squash Soup?

Thanks to its mild flavour, butternut squash is a great soup ingredient. That’s because you can combine it with a variety of different flavour profiles to create several unique recipes. When you mix some curry paste into your butternut squash soup, you instantly bring the flavour up a notch thanks to the delicious combination of Indian spices. And since you can choose hot or mild curry paste, you can adjust the heat of your soup to suit your family’s tastes.

Butternut Squash Curry Soup Tips & Tricks

This freezer-friendly soup recipe couldn’t be simpler to make. When you use these easy tips and tricks, you can whip up this simple dinner recipe with just a few minutes of prep work.

• Brown your butternut squash. If you have a few minutes to spare, try browning your squash cubes in butter before adding them to the freezer bag. This simple trick will help bring out the squash flavour in the finished soup. Simply heat a tablespoon of butter in a skillet over medium heat and add the squash pieces. Sauté the pieces in the butter, turning them every few seconds until they’re just slightly browned but not cooked through. After that, remove the squash from the pan and allow it to cool, then place the pieces in the bag with the rest of the soup ingredients.
• Sauté the onion and garlic. After you finish browning your butternut squash, keep the pan hot and add your onion and garlic. Cook until the onion is translucent, then allow the ingredients to cool to room temperature. You can add the onion and garlic pieces to the bag with the rest of the soup ingredients after they’re cool.
• Try different winter squash. Butternut squash is a great option for this soup because of its mild flavour. But that doesn’t mean you can’t experiment with other winter squash options. You could try mixing in acorn squash, sugar pumpkin, or delicata squash in place of butternut squash.

How Do You Store Leftover Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato Soup?

Since the ingredients in this soup were previously frozen, I wouldn’t suggest refreezing the soup after it’s been cooked. But you can store leftovers in the refrigerator. Simply transfer the soup to an airtight container and keep it sealed in the fridge for up to four days.

You can reheat your leftover soup in the microwave or on the stovetop over medium heat.

Print

Curried Butternut Squash Soup

Prep Time

20 mins

Cook Time

45 mins

 

Course: Soup

Keyword: vegetarian

Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 1 sweet potato cubed in 1 inch chunks
• 1 butternut squash cubed in 1 inch chunks
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 onion minced
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 2 tsp ginger minced
• 3 tsp curry paste mild or spicy
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• dash pepper
• dash salt
• 946 mL chicken broth or vegetable broth

For day of serving:

• 2 cups water

Instructions

Assembly instructions:

1. Add all the ingredients to a large freezer bag.

2. Remove excess air from the bag and seal it. Freeze.

Cooking instructions:

1. Thaw.
2. Pour the contents of the bag into a large pot and add two cups of water.
3. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally, then turn the heat down to low.
4. Simmer the soup ingredients until the sweet potato and squash are soft.
5. Remove the pot from the heat and allow the soup to cool slightly, then blend the ingredients with an immersion blender until smooth.