Black Bean Butternut Squash Soup

Black Bean Butternut Squash Soup – delicious, healthy, savory soup, perfect for those cold nights in the Fall and in the Winter. Makes a beautiful side dish for Thanksgiving or Christmas menu.

I didn’t want to make another sweet butternut squash soup, so I was in a search of a recipe where I could combine butternut squash with a second major ingredient that would neutralize the sweetness of butternut squash, without suppressing its flavor, something similar to what I did with carrot soup by adding lentils to it. I wanted a butternut squash soup that was very savory and very different from what is usually expected from a butternut squash (sweetness) and that would appeal to those who dislike pumpkin or butternut squash soups for their sweetness.  

I found a recipe on Epicurious for a black bean pumpkin soup that seemed to offer exactly what I was looking for. Because I wanted to use up butternut squash that I just roasted for a soup, I substituted pumpkin with butternut squash. I also significantly changed the proportions of black beans to butternut squash, because the comments on the recipe indicated that with the given amount of black beans, the soup becomes too much of a black bean soup, losing the butternut squash (pumpkin) flavor. The comments also talked that the soup was losing its pretty pumpkin color with so many black beans. That convinced me to reduce the amount of black beans, which resulted in one of the best butternut squash soups I ever head. The sweetness of butternut squash is beautifully compensated by the black beans, and the soup is neither overwhelmed by black beans nor dominated by sweet taste of squash.

I also did not think that adding 1/2 cup Sherry in the end impacted the flavor in any way, so I might omit it next time.

By the way, I love roasting butternut squash. I can literally do it for fun: it’s easy (put it in the oven, wait about an hour, cool, peel), and your house fills with warm smells so welcome during short winter days. I actually posted a very detailed tutorial on how to roast a butternut squash here. So many things you can do with roasted butternut squash.

How to make black bean butternut squash soup – step-by-step photos:

For complete recipe, scroll down.

1) In a large saucepan, melt butter. Add chopped onion, minced shallots, minced garlic cloves, 1 tablespoon cumin, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Saute on medium heat for about 5 minutes, until onions are translucent. Add chopped fresh tomatoes (or canned tomatoes), and continue cooking for 5 more minutes.

2) Add black beans, butternut squash and 1 cup chicken broth to food processor. Process until finely pureed.

Add onion mixture from the saucepan to the food processor and process everything (pureed beans and butternut squash plus onion mixture) together until smooth.

3) Place the pureed mixture back in the saucepan, add 1 cup chicken broth, 1/2 cup dry sherry, stir until well combined, and simmer, covered, on low heat for 20 minutes. Season with more salt and cumin if necessary.

4) To my taste I use 1 teaspoon salt total (but I notated 1/2 teaspoon because you might find 1 teaspoon too salty – judge for yourself). I also season with 1 tablespoon and 2 teaspoons cumin total – to your taste 1 tablespoon total from step 1 might be enough.

5) To serve, sprinkle with heavy cream swirls, salt and pepper on top.

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Black bean butternut squash soup

Prep Time

30 mins

Cook Time

30 mins

Total Time

1 hr

 

Black bean butternut squash soup - healthy, delicious recipe for those cold evenings in the Fall and in the Winter.  This savory soup is super comforting.  It is also a great side dish for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Servings: 6 people

Calories: 175 kcal

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 small onion chopped
• 8 shallots minced
• 4 garlic cloves minced
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper , fresh
• 1 cup tomatoes , fresh or drained from the can, chopped
• 1 cup black beans , drained, from the can
• 2 cups roasted butternut squash
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 cup dry Sherry
• more salt to taste
• 1/4 cup heavy cream

Instructions

1. In a large saucepan, melt butter. Add chopped onion, minced shallots, minced garlic cloves, 1 tablespoon cumin, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Saute on medium heat for about 5 minutes, until onions are translucent. Add chopped fresh tomatoes (or canned tomatoes), and continue cooking for 5 more minutes.

2. Add black beans, butternut squash and 1 cup chicken broth to food processor. Process until finely pureed. Add onion mixture from the saucepan to the food processor and process everything (pureed beans and butternut squash plus onion mixture) together until smooth.

3. Place the pureed mixture back in the saucepan, add 1 cup chicken broth, 1/2 cup dry sherry, stir until well combined, and simmer, covered, on low heat for 20 minutes. Season with more salt and cumin if necessary.

4. To my taste I use 1 teaspoon salt total (but I notated 1/2 teaspoon because you might find 1 teaspoon too salty – judge for yourself). I also season with 1 tablespoon and 2 teaspoons cumin total – to your taste 1 tablespoon total from step 1 might be enough.

5. To serve, sprinkle with heavy cream swirls, salt and pepper on top.

Recipe Notes

Adapted from Epicurious. 

Nutrition Facts

Black bean butternut squash soup

Amount Per Serving

Calories 175 Calories from Fat 54

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 6g 9%

Saturated Fat 3g 15%

Cholesterol 18mg 6%

Sodium 496mg 21%

Potassium 585mg 17%

Total Carbohydrates 23g 8%

Dietary Fiber 5g 20%

Sugars 5g

Protein 5g 10%

Vitamin A 107.9%

Vitamin C 28.3%

Calcium 8.1%

Iron 15.5%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.