I think we can all agree fall is the best. The crisp air moves in, we start to see our breath in the early morning as we leave the house for work, and it feels like the world has a golden glow. My favorite part about fall is that it’s SOUP WEATHER! Soup makes my life so much easier because I can make a giant pot of it and eat it for lunch the rest of the week.

Today I’m sharing my butternut squash recipe with you guys. Have you ever tried bacon with butternut squash? It rocks my world and I’m so psyched to share this combo with you all.  I make this recipe on the stove but you could easily throw it all in a crock pot so you can get on with your life while it’s cooking. If you go that route, you can throw the garlic and onion in raw or take some extra time to caramelize and roast. It’s totally up to you!

I’ll be honest with you guys, until I made this recipe I was super opposed to using fresh butternut squash. Not because I didn’t like it, but because I was intimidated by peeling and cutting the thing. I was under the impression you were supposed to use a standard veggie peeler and I knew there was no way mine would work on such a thick skin. I used to buy it in bags at Whole Foods to avoid doing this, but we’re making a conscious effort to minimize waste and I couldn’t bring myself to buy it this time around. I opted for fresh and I felt a little embarrassed by how easy it was to peel it with a knife. Why the heck was I avoiding this delicious, fresh squash for so long? Please forgive me, world.

Okay, so, this is one of my most involved recipes to date. Again, if you’re the kind of set it and forget it cook, just drop everything in the crock pot and you’ll still have a delicious end result. Let me know if you try it out!

Butternut Squash Soup Ingredients:

1 Medium Butternut Squash, Peeled and Cubed

1 Large Sweet Potato, Peeled and Cubed

2 Large Carrots, Peeled and Sliced

3 stocks of celery, diced

5 large Cloves of Garlic

1 Large onion, diced

6 Cups of Veggie Bone Broth

4 Slices of AIP Compliant Bacon

1 TBSP Olive Oil

1 Cup Coconut Milk

Salt to taste  

Butternut Squash Soup Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Place bacon in a large dutch oven and turn to medium heat
• Cook Bacon until it’s crisp on both sides (about five minutes)
• Remove from pan and use a paper towel or clean cloth to absorb excess grease, chop, and set aside
• Turn heat to low and place onions in the bottom of the dutch oven, toss in bacon grease
• Place lid on dutch oven and let sit for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally
• Add two tablespoons of bone broth to onions, stir, and let sit for another 10 minutes, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan when you come back to stir
• When the oven is preheated, place garlic (skins on)  in an oven safe dish, sprinkle with olive oil, cover with tinfoil and bake for 15-20 minutes or until soft.
• Once onions are slightly caramelized, add celery and sauté 1-2 minutes
• Add butternut squash, sweet potato, carrot, and (peeled) roasted garlic to dutch oven
• Cover with bone broth and bring to a boil
• Reduce to a simmer and let cook for 1-2 hours or until all veggies can be easily pierced with a fork
• Once all ingredients are tender, use your immersion blender and blend baby, blend.
• Add coconut milk and stir to incorporate
• Salt to taste
• Serve in bowls with bacon bits to garnish and enjoy!