Brown Butter Bourbon Butternut Squash Soup

I know what you might be thinking. Another butternut squash soup recipe? Aren’t there enough of those? 

Honestly, I was thinking the same then when I started making this. 

I love winter squash soup this time of year, but I’ll be the first to admit that I get bored of the flavor. I stepped it up by adding scotch bonnet pepper a long while back, but I wasn’t in the mood for that. I also didn’t want it to become sweet. Savory butternut squash soups are the best, in my opinion. 

I finally settled on brown butter. 

Brown butter is a miracle ingredient. It is incredibly easy to make and it instantly gives a rich, toasted, nutty flavor to anything it’s added to. 

That is the case with this soup. How have I not thought to add it before? It worked perfectly stirred in and as a garnish. 

After the addition of the butter, it was good. But it wasn’t great. It needed something else. 

Bourbon. 

Just one tablespoon stirred in and the flavors of the brown butter are even stronger and just a hint of sweet oaky notes come through. 

I debated on whether or not to add a garnish, but I really didn’t want anything to overpower that brown butter and bourbon! So I stuck with an additional drizzle of brown butter. 

This is not a case where you can have too much of a good thing. 

When it comes to the squash, you have a few different options. I usually roast the butternut squash whole. (I’ll have tips for this in my October Newsletter!) Then, I scoop and chop. 

You can chop the squash first, then roast until tender. Or roast pre-cut squash from the store. 

My point here is to use roasted squash. You can use raw chopped squash and simply boil it in the chicken stock until tender, but I find the soup is creamier and has a deeper flavor if it’s roasted first. Your choice. 

Either way, if you are in the mood for some of the best flavors of fall, this soup will not disappoint. 

What you’ll need:

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
4 cups of roasted, chopped butternut squash
3 cups chicken stock
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon Kentucky bourbon

How to make it:

Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes, until the onion begins to soften. Add the squash and pour in the stock. 

Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the salt and cinnamon. Turn off the heat.

Use an immersion blender to puree the soup until smooth. Alternatively, you can transfer the soup to a blender and puree in batches, then return it to the pot. 

Add the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter to a small saucepan. Warm over medium heat until the butter begins to simmer and bubble. Gently swirl it in the pan for 1 to 2 minutes, until it becomes golden and dark specs appear in the bottom of the pan. Remove from the heat. 

Return the soup to low heat. Stir the brown butter and reserve 1/3 of it for garnish. Add the remaining brown butter and the bourbon to the soup. Stir well. Add more salt to taste, if desired. 

Transfer the soup to serving bowls and drizzle each with some of the remaining brown butter before serving. 

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