Butternut squash is a beautiful thing. The fact you can buy it already cut up in the produce section (or freezer) at your local grocer makes it even better. While it’s not hard to do it yourself, you may find yourself eating more of it when it’s so easy.
You can prepare one from scratch and freeze the leftovers for your next dish. Plus, like other veggies, it’s much cheaper to cut it up yourself. Cut the squash in half lengthwise, scrape out the seeds, and use a potato peeler to remove the skin. Once you have a flat side (from cutting it in half) it’s a breeze to peel.
This is a perfect soup for picky eaters. They can’t see the offending veggies and the flavors in the soup meld together so they can’t single a flavor out.
Slow Cooker Chickpea Butternut Squash Soup (gluten-Free )
Prep Time15 mins
Cook Time7 hrs
Total Time7 hrs 15 mins
Calories: 585kcal
Ingredients
- 2 cups butternut squash frozen, or raw (peeled and seeded of course)
- 1-14 oz can chickpeas rinsed
- 1-14 oz can organic crushed tomatoes diced or stewed works fine too
- 1 cup bell pepper strips fresh or frozen works fine
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 Tb Better than Bouillon chicken-less flavor - or omit and use broth instead of water
- 5 cups filtered water
- 1 Tb port wine
- 1/2 cup sautéed mushrooms
- 1 tsp. marjoram
- 1 Tb Italian seasoning blend
Instructions
- The night before:
- Peel, seed, and chop the butternut squash.
- Slice mushrooms, mince garlic and chop green peppers.
- In the morning:
- Throw everything into your slow cooker and cook for 6 - 8 hours on low.
- Taste and add more herbs or port wine.
- Puree with an immersion blender and serve.
Nutrition
Calories: 585kcal | Carbohydrates: 112g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 966mg | Fiber: 28g | Sugar: 32g
Debi says
January 26, 2010 at 8:21 pmThis sounds so yummy! I still have some Butternut squash growing in my backyard, so I’ll definitely have to try this!
Kathy Hester (geekypoet) says
January 28, 2010 at 6:10 pmAna,
You could cook it first. I just cooked a whole spaghetti squash in my slow cooker last night. I poked hole in it, added a few inches of water and cooker on low all day. (I’m going to post about it next week).
I have heard tale that you could poke holes and microwave it a few minutes to soften it before you cut it in half. Try googling that – I have not done it though!
The hardest part is cutting it in half. After that just use a vegetable peeler to get the skin off and it’s clear sailing from there.
Let me know what you try!
Ana says
January 28, 2010 at 6:03 pmI have a butternut squash that I want to use. It’s hard to cut up though! What about baking it in the oven for a while to soften it up before putting it in the crock pot? Any advice?
Anita says
February 15, 2010 at 2:37 pmI cook (soften) all my pumplins and squash in the microwave so as to make peeling easier! Depending on the consistency I need will determine how long I cook the pumpkin/squash. I.E. for soups I use a knife and stab the pumkin about 5 -7 times through out then mic for about 7-10 minutes on power level 70 or medium high. If I am making a curry and want a firmer consistency I lessen the time accordingly. This works great for eggplant too. It saves my hands and time when i comes to peeling these items.
Kathy Hester says
February 15, 2010 at 2:59 pmAnita,
That sounds like a great idea – thanks for sharing!
Kathy