Panera Copycat Autumn Squash Soup
This is a dish for those of you who are making for multiple people. Two batches of this will serve anywhere from 8 - 12, and it travels easily! No matter if you make it fresh at game, or make it in advance and reheat it, it travels well, and tastes great! Here’s the stats!
Ease to Make: 5 of 5 This is a fantastic recipe to either make in advance, or make at game. Either way it’s super simple, and comes together really fast. It’s one pot cooking, there’s no chopping necessary. Just heat, and eat. The only thing to know is that you may need a stick blender, depending on the type of butternut squash you can get at the store! Ease to Transport: 5 of 5 It’s just soup! Soup is hella easy to transport in large tupperware, and with this recipe, you can even bring it in component parts and it travels just as well! More on that in the notes! Ease of Cleanup at Game: 4 of 5 You will want to at least rinse out anything you cook or reheat this dish with at game -- the soup will turn into a bit of Spackle if you let it dry. And this dish also requires that you bring a heat source with you -- though I’ve made it over a camp stove before, and it goes great. That said -- it is one pot cooking, so it’s not too labor intensive to clean up. (No knives, cutting boards, etc.) Taste: 5 of 5 It’s warm, sweet, flavorful, and soothing. It’s a great soup for dusty game sites or cold nights. The kind of soup you can curl up around and let it soothe your sore muscles and sore feet. Make enough for seconds! Some people will ask for more! Healthiness: 4 of 5 All in all, I think this recipe is pretty darn healthy. It doesn’t have too many calories in it, and the pumpkin and squash give you a lot of nutrients back. It’s a little low on protein, so to help with that (and to add some much needed extra calories) this dish does need some extras. My favorite is ham (I usually get the little ones you can buy in the cooler section near the eggs, they weigh in at a pound or two) and some sort of crusty bread or cornbread. Recipe adapted by me from a variety of sources. Copycat recipes are basically all over the internet. I looked up about a dozen before deciding on what I wanted to throw into my dish. I don’t like to advocate for recipes at game that have too many ingredients (my preferred range is somewhere in the 5 - 10 number, not including oil, salt, or pepper.) A lot of the recipes I found online had interesting inclusions, but I felt they were, ultimately, unnecessary. This recipe is tried and true for me, and is really, really easy to make. Ingredients (serves 4 - 6, calorie count below assumes 6): 20 oz (ish) frozen Butternut Squash (I usually end up with about 24 ounces, depending on what I can find in the package. This recipe isn’t hurt by being a little over or under on any given ingredient.) 1 tbsp olive oil 1 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 tsp pepper 15 oz canned pumpkin (1 small can, usually) 1 cup vegetable broth (or 1 tsp Better than Boullion + 1 cup water) 8-10 oz apple juice (1 single serve bottle, usually) 1 cup half and half 1 1/2 tbsp honey 1/4 - 1/2 tsp curry (I prefer hot curry, but that depends on you!) 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice 1/2 tsp onion powder Directions This is the easiest dish in the world. Put everything in a big pot, heat over medium high, cover when it starts simmering, and stir frequently. Simmer for at least ten minutes.
If you were able to get pureed butternut squash from the store, then you’re good to go at this point. Just heat and serve. If you had to get cubed or spiral cut butternut squash, you will want to hit this with a stick blender until it’s smooth before serving.
Notes: If you can get pureed butternut squash at the store in the frozen food aisle (sometimes just labeled pureed squash) then this is a great candidate for a dish to make from scratch at game. The frozen puree makes for great ice replacements, and if you make the dish Saturday night, they’ll have thawed a bit, and be that much easier to work with.
If you decide to cook directly at game, my recommendation is to get a small container with a screw cap (that fits tightly!) to put all your spices together before you go. Pre-measuring your spices, and just dumping them straight in the soup is a great time saver (and means you don’t have to clean or keep track of measuring spoons at game.)
If you have to get cubed or spiral cut butternut squash, then go ahead and make this one in advance, as you will need to blend the soup once it’s cooked. Then it’s just a matter of pouring into a pot at game and reheating.
For blending purposes, you can use a regular blender if you have one -- however, I prefer a stick blender -- it takes up less cabinet space, and is way easier to clean. If you don’t have one, or don’t know what it is, here’s the one I have: https://www.amazon.com/BELLA-14460-2-Speed-Immersion-Attachment/dp/B018ELIYA4/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?keywords=stick+blender&qid=1563897655&s=gateway&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEyRlhWNjVIV1RHOUVSJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMzIxNTg5OTRNRlBXSUpZR1BRJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTAwNjMxOTczWlMzWTA4VFlRNzEmd2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGYmYWN0aW9uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl
Just blend in bursts until the soup doesn’t have any chunks left, and you’re good to go! Do be careful when you’re blending hot soup not to splash yourself with it!
Panera serves this with pumpkin seeds, which I think is cute -- but ultimately, they don’t add anything flavor or texture wise to me. They’re just fun adornment to the dish. I tend to leave them out. Instead, I like to add sweet-savory sides. I love a good, chunky cornbread, or slices of a honey ham. Homemade honey butter for your bread would not go awry either!
Nutrition (per serving): Calories: 189 Fat: 7.6g Carbohydrates: 30.1g Protein: 4g
