Slow Cooker Vegan Butternut Squash Soup
A bubbling pot of soup on a brisk autumn afternoon embodies the essence of a comforting meal. The experience is further enhanced by the simplicity of preparation and the delightful aroma that fills your home. This vegan butternut squash soup is designed for the slow cooker, allowing for a hands-off cooking process once the vegetables are chopped. A brief blending with an immersion blender at the end yields a silky, smooth soup that is pleasing to the palate.
Ingredients
- 1 13.5-oz. can of full-fat unsweetened coconut milk
- 4 cups low-sodium vegetable stock
- 1 2-lb. butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and roughly chopped
- 2 large carrots peeled and roughly chopped
- 2 shallots peeled and roughly chopped
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 1 2-inch piece of ginger, peeled, minced, or grated
- 1 tablespoon red curry paste
- Kosher salt to taste
- Zest and juice of 1 lime
- Chopped fresh cilantro for garnish
Instructions
- Begin by reserving 2 tablespoons of coconut milk for drizzling later; set this aside.
- In a slow cooker with a capacity of 4 to 6 quarts, combine the remaining coconut milk, vegetable stock, butternut squash, carrots, shallots, garlic, ginger, red curry paste, and 1 tablespoon of salt.
- Set the slow cooker to high and cook for 4 hours, or on low for 6 hours, until the vegetables are tender.
- Once the cooking time is complete, add the lime zest and juice. Utilize an immersion blender to purée the soup until it achieves a very smooth consistency. Alternatively, you may transfer the soup to a standard blender in batches, blending until smooth.
- Serve the soup in bowls, drizzling with the reserved coconut milk and garnishing with chopped cilantro.