Chipotle Butternut Squash Soup with Grilled Cheese Croutons

Chipotle Butternut Squash Soup is perfectly spicy, delightfully creamy, and fully satisfying. The grilled cheese croutons are a not totally necessary, but much welcomed garnish (hint: you should make them).  

'Tis the season for orange vegetables and I am going all in. Never mind that I'm currently in Virginia experiencing weather in the 80s (make it last forever, please), am still wearing flip-flops, and am still trying desperately to get a last-minute October tan. Maybe I secretly hope that eating a plethora of orange vegetables will help boost said tan. Or maybe I actually am ready for fall and all that it brings, aside from freezing cold weather. I guess I'll admit that... But I'm also planning to fully enjoy this summer weather until I get back to Boston next week.

I've always been one of those people who doesn't feel like soup can be a fully satisfying meal and I never find it appealing when I'm seriously hungry. But guys, I just changed my mind. This soup has changed my mind and potentially my life. I promise it has nothing to do with the fact that there are grilled cheese croutons involved. Nope, nothing at all. Seriously though, the croutons are the bonus on top of this soup, but not totally necessary for your full satisfaction and enjoyment. Chipotle Butternut Squash Soup is all you really need in life.

CHIPOTLE BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP RECIPE

I think the key to maximum enjoyment with this butternut squash soup is roasting the butternut squash and onions before turning them into soup. The other keys are the chipotle peppers and coconut milk. OK fine, and the grilled cheese croutons made with gruyere cheese. I'm calling those a key, too. But for as "fancy" as this soup may seem, it really does come together in no time at all!

I kept the consistency of the soup nice and thick. It was almost a little saucy, which was right up my alley and made the soup that much more satisfying. But if you prefer a thinner consistency, you can always add more broth. I also added plenty of chipotle peppers because I am a lover of all things spicy. I especially love the smoky heat of chipotles. I cut the heat a tiny bit with coconut milk and a little lime juice for a bit of a Thai twist.

The consistency and flavor of a soup is obviously step one and incredibly important. But step two, also important, is the toppings. You can literally add anything you want here, but I opted for diced avocado, parsley, and the grilled cheese croutons. Oh, and I added a little extra swirl of coconut milk, too.

Don't grilled cheese croutons sound so fancy? Well, they're actually just grilled cheese sandwiches cut into little squares. The secret is out! But grilled cheese is such perfection, why would you really want to mess with it? And this way you don't have to say you ate a soup and sandwich. Because, I mean, you really just ate soup with some croutons on top. Go you!

I had this Chipotle Butternut Squash Soup for dinner one night and then brought some to work for lunch the next day and legit gobbled it up within minutes. Who the heck knew I was a "soup for dinner AND the next day for lunch" kinda girl?? I hadn't had a clue.

But now, this is on my life to make again ASAP. And I'm also on a quest to find out what other soups could be potentially life changing for me. Could I do a full week of soup-only dinners? Nah, I don't think I could go that far... Unless maybe there were chipotle peppers in every kind I made.

What soups are totally satisfying to you?

If you're on the hunt for another vibrantly colored, healthy soup, check out my Broccoli Soup with Sauteed Mushrooms. It's deliciously creamy due to the addition of Greek yogurt!

Chipotle Butternut Squash Soup with Grilled Cheese Croutons

Fall's favorite soup is kicked up! This Chipotle Butternut Squash Soup has the perfect levels of sweetness and spice and is topped with gruyere grilled cheese croutons!

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Course: Entree

Cuisine: American, Eclectric

Keyword: Chipotle, Soup, Squash

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes

Makes: 4 servings

Author: Sues

Ingredients

• 5 cups diced butternut squash
• 1 medium onion, roughly chopped
• 3 cloves garlic
• Olive oil
• 2 ½ cups vegetable broth
• 2-3 whole chipotle peppers (depending on how hot you like it)
• ¼ tsp nutmeg
• ¾ cup coconut milk, plus more for garnish
• 2 Tbsp lime juice
• Avocado and basil or cilantro, for garnish
• Grilled Cheese Croutons, for garnish (see recipe below)

Grilled Cheese Croutons:

• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
• 4 slices scali bread (or bread of your choice)
• ¾ cup grated gruyere cheese

Instructions

• Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
• Line a baking sheet with foil and place diced butternut squash, chopped onions, and garlic in a single layer. Lightly drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss to combine.
• Bake for 25-30 minutes, until squash is tender.
• Put squash, onion, and garlic in a medium-sized pot or dutch oven over medium heat, along with vegetable broth, chipotle peppers, and nutmeg. Stir to combine and cook for about 2 minutes.
• Puree soup in pot with an immersion blender or pour into a blender to puree until completely smooth.
• Pour back into pot and bring to a boil before lowering heat to a simmer for about 5 minutes.
• Turn heat off and mix in coconut milk and lime juice.
• To serve, pour soup into bowls and swirl additional coconut milk on top. Top with diced avocado, chopped basil or cilantro, and grilled cheese croutons.

Grilled Cheese Croutons:

• Spread butter onto one side of all four slices of bread.
• Flip two slices over and divide cheese between them. Top each cheese-covered slice of bread with another slice of bread, butter-side up.
• Place two sandwiches on a skillet over medium heat.
• Gently press down with a spatula, cooking for about 3 minutes. Flip sandwich and cook for another 3 minutes.
• Remove sandwiches from skillet and use a serrated knife to cut sandwiches into small squares.

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