This sweet and savory soup has undertones of ginger and coconut that create a symphony on your taste buds. It’s the perfect way to warm up on a cool fall evening or rainy day.
Filled with nutrient-rich veggies including carrots and butternut squash, this is actually the only way my daughter will eat carrots at the present time! This family-friendly soup is fun to top with nuts, seeds, yogurt or sour cream- create a fun toppings bar for each person to customize their bowl. Since it is made in the slow cooker and has a short ingredient list, this soup can’t get much easier.
Butternut squash has a natural sweetness (like carrots), with taste and texture being a cross between a sweet potato and pumpkin. During the fall and winter, when flu season is in its prime, 1 serving of butternut squash provides about 50% of your daily needs for vitamin C. It also boasts an impressive dose of potassium, excellent for blood pressure and muscle function, and contains almost 300% of your recommended needs for vitamin A!
Of course, carrots give a power punch of beta-carotene (vitamin A) as well! These sweet and spicy Carrot Cake Snack Balls is another recipe that highlights good-for-you carrots and is a winner with everyone in my house!
Not only do these veggies have some impressive health benefits but the ginger does too! Of course, it adds some “zing” to the soup but research is showing that it may aid in the following conditions:
- Improving nausea- during pregnancy, after surgery, and during chemotherapy
- Upset stomach
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Osteoarthritis- some research suggests that ginger extract may reduce associated pain and inflammation
- Heart disease- may lower cholesterol and prevent blood from clotting (act as an anticoagulant)
While most of the ginger research is on supplements and exacts, the use of ginger root in the kitchen could very well benefit to your health.
Creamy soups often have a reputation of being “high fat” and “unhealthy.” Sadly, labels just contribute to a diet mentality, emphasizing “good” foods and demonizing “bad” ones. While it is true that a creamy soup often has a higher fat content, it doesn’t make it unhealthy or “off limits.” But, making these recipes at home allows you to control the quality of the ingredients and what is and isn’t included.
This healthy Creamy Butternut Carrot and Ginger Soup uses a handful of real ingredients, veggies, spices, and fat. The coconut milk adds richness along with a slight sweet-nutty flavor and the bit of maple syrup (which could be left out altogether) enhances the sweetness of the squash. Interestingly, the Panera Vegetarian Autumn Squash Soup, a creamy butternut squash and pumpkin soup, contains over 30 grams of sugar!!! That is the equivalent of almost 8 teaspoons of table sugar!
Every time you decide to cook at home and make simple and delicious food for you and your family, you are doing yourself a favor. Enjoy!
Creamy Butternut Carrot Ginger Soup
Ingredients
- 1 lb carrots peeled and chopped
- 2 lbs butternut squash seeds removed
- 1 small onion finely diced
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- ¾ tsp kosher salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp fresh grated ginger
- 2 ½ cups low-sodium chicken OR vegetable broth
- 15 oz can reduced-fat coconut milk
- 2 tsp pure maple syrup*
Instructions
- In large non-stick pan, saute onion in coconut oil over medium heat until translucent and slightly caramelized. To slow cooker, add carrots, butternut squash, cooked onions, salt, pepper, ginger, and broth. Cook on low for 8 hours or until carrots and squash are fork tender.
- Puree cooked carrots and squash with the broth in a food processor (this may take 2 or 3 batches). Return the soup to the slow cooker or a pot on the stovetop and add the maple syrup and coconut milk stirring until fully combined. Adjust seasoning and serve! Makes ~8 cups of soup.*Maple syrup enhances the sweetness of the squash and carrots but it can be left out completely. Taste the soup before adding this ingredient as these vegetables can be very sweet, especially during peak season.
Notes
- Slivered or sliced toasted almonds
- Roasted pumpkin seeds
- Flaked coconut
- Dollop of yogurt or sour cream
