Creamy Ginger, Bourbon Honeynut Squash Soup

The honeynut squash, a smaller, cuter, and sweeter sibling of the butternut squash is the star of this soup. It’s paired with ginger, bourbon, and coconut milk for a warm, cozy soup you’ll be eating all winter long.

What is a Honeynut Squash?

Once only found at local farmer’s markets, honeynut squash are now lining grocery store produce bins. It’s a winter squash that resembles the butternut squash, but is about half the size and tastes much sweeter.

Because the skin is so thin, you can eat it, once roasted. Personally, this is a game changer for me because I honestly dread peeling winter squash like butternut.

Is Honeynut Squash Good for You? (Honeynut Squash Nutrition)

Honeynut squash is packed with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. The nutrition is similar to that of butternut squash. It contains:

• Vitamin A (from beta-carotene)
• Vitamin C
• Potassium
• Calcium

It’s also a very good source of fiber with around 6-8grams per squash (depending on the size).

How to Cook Honeynut Squash

I highly recommend roasting the squash because it naturally caramelizes it, bringing out the sweet flavor, without any added sugar.

For this soup, I roast it with just a little olive oil and salt, but you can also drizzle it with a little honey or maple syrup, or add herbs like sage, rosemary, or thyme.

You can peel it before roasting, but you can also leave the skin on, and it’s totally edible! I recommend saving yourself the time and roasting it with the skin on.

How to Make Honeynut Squash Soup

This soup is uncomplicated, but does take a little bit of time. You can do step one (cooking the squash) ahead of time and then make the soup when you’re ready.

Cook the squash

First, you need to cook the squash. Again, I highly recommend roasting with the skin on to save your time. Then you’ll scoop out the flesh.

Sautee the aromatics

While the squash roasts, chop the other ingredients and then begin to cook the aromatics including the onion, garlic, and ginger.

Add the squash, broth, bourbon

Once you add the squash, broth, and bourbon, you’ll heat and then blend with an immersion blender. Alternatively you use a regular blender or food processor, but you’ll need to do this in batches. Then you’ll cover and bring to a boil.

Finish with coconut milk

Once the soup has simmered for a bit and the flavors come together, you’ll stir in the coconut milk to finish.

What I Love About This Soup

Beyond the incredible flavor and nutrition in this soup, there are a few things I love:

• It couldn’t be easier to make, especially because you don’t actually have to peel the squash!
• This soup has so much flavor but only requires 10 ingredients (including olive oil, salt, and pepper!).
• It makes great leftovers and freezes well.
• It’s vegan and gluten-free, so it suits a lot of dietary needs and is great for crowds.

More Cozy Winter Recipes

Immune Boosting Carrot Ginger Soup

Fall Herb Roasted Delacata Squash

Instant Pot Miso Ginger Udon Soup

Yield: 6 servings

Ginger, Bourbon Honey Nut Squash Soup (Vegan, Gluten-Free)

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The honey nut squash, a sweeter and much cuter sibling to butternut squash, is the star of this soup. Paired with ginger and a splash of bourbon, it warm, cozy, and a perfectly comforting soup for fall or winter.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 4 honeynut squash*
• 2 tbsp olive oil, divided
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1-inch knob of ginger, finely diced
• 4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
• 1/4 cup bourbon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 14-ounce can coconut milk
• freshly ground pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Cut off stems of squash and slice in half. Remove seeds (you can save for roasting if you’d like). Brush squash with olive oil (you’ll use about 2 tsp of the oil for this). Place on baking sheet flesh side down and roast in oven for 25-30 minutes, until very soft. Remove from oven to let cool.
2. Meanwhile, heat remaining olive oil in large soup pot or dutch oven. Saute onion over medium heat until soft and translucent, about 5-7 minutes. Turn down heat to low, add garlic and ginger and sautee until fragrant, 1-2 minutes.
3. Scoop out the flesh from the squash (it should easily come away from the skin with a spoon) and add to pan. If squash is still too hot to handle, turn heat off and wait until you can add it. When you’ve added the squash, turn heat back to medium and mix it with the onion, stirring around for about a minute.
4. Add broth amnd bourbon and stir until mixed. Using an immersion blender, blend soup until squash and onion are well blended with the broth and you have a smooth soup. If you don’t have an immersion blender, transfer to a stand blender in batches and blend until smooth then return to pot. Once blended, cover soup, bring to a boil and then turn down heat and let simmer for 10-15 minutes to let flavors meld. Stir in coconut milk and let simmer for another 2-3 minutes.
5. Serve with warm crusty bread and a salad.

Notes

You can sub butternut squash if you don't have honey nut

You really don’t need fancy bourbon, so don’t bother with the really good stuff here (I used Kirkland brand from Costco) — save the good stuff for cocktails. If you don’t have bourbon on hand, you can leave it out, but it’s probably worth getting a small bottle because you’re going to want to make this soup all winter long.

Makes: 4-6 servings as entree, 6-8 as appetizer

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 244Total Fat: 19gSaturated Fat: 13gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 309mgCarbohydrates: 21gFiber: 5gSugar: 4gProtein: 3g