Tryin’ to Squash A Cold! (Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup)
How does that old adage go? Feed a cold, starve a fever? The thought crossed my mind as I was miserably lying in bed, achy, congested, and generally feeling like crap. Thank goodness for laptops and search engines…I found a Scientific America article that addressed this very proverb and whaddya know, going all Mythbuster, Scientific America, not only debunked it, but concluded it really should be “Feed a cold, FEED a fever”. Yeah baby, I love science.
What is the perfect antidote when it is cold, when you are sick, when you crave comfort, but you are too tired to fuss? SOUP. Am I right? Yep, bowl therapy to the rescue. It didn’t take long to find a soup that fit the bill. From the blog Creative Bites, Pressure Cooker Creamy Butternut Squash Soup. Lucky for me I had bought a butternut squash at the market and had all of the ingredients handy. “Kold karma” pointed me to this quick (thanks to my Instant Pot) and easy, delicious soup.
Here’s the HARD part. The PREP. Yeah, no getting around peeling that butternut squash and dicing ALL THOSE vegetables. Well, I suppose you could buy pre-cut squash, diced onions and minced garlic, but that’s your call. It’s part of cooking therapy for me.
NOW, the EASY part. Prep was 90% of the game. You’re now sitting pretty on 3rd base ready to score, just a mere minutes from homebowl. Get it? I love the apples and red bell pepper, they add a nice sweetness. Saute the veggies in your Instant Pot. It’s important when you add the stock, really stir the bottom of pot to release all those bits of saute goodness. The pot is very sensitive to bits stuck on the bottom and will turn off as a safety precaution if the bottom isn’t clean. Add the stock, seal the pot, and then set the timer for 5 MINUTES. Yep, five minutes and quick release at the end. With the time it takes to come to pressure, you’re still only looking at 15 minutes of cooking time. Not bad.
I used an immersion blender in the pot to puree the soup. There are a lot of comments online about how it doesn’t work as well as a blender. BUTTERNUTS. Not creamy enough? Throw the immersion stick back in and blend some more. I’m willing to sacrifice a bit of creaminess (though I don’t think I am) to do this, as oppose to pouring HOT soup, in batches, into my blender. I’m saving my blender for smoothies and Margaritas.
Go ahead and play around with this soup recipe. It’s very forgiving. Got thyme? Substitute for sage. Got time? Skip the Instant Pot, roast the vegetables instead. See the prepped veggies above? Throw it all in a roasting pan, give it a good swig of olive oil, toss, salt and pepper and roast at 425 for about an hour). The vegetables caramelize in the oven and add a sweetness to the soup that’s “souper” yummy. Creative bites calls for goat cheese or cream cheese. I like cream cheese because it adds a whole lot of mouth feel and just a slight tanginess. You could probably use sour cream, creme fraiche or even just a touch of heavy whipping cream instead. This would lighten the soup but you might lose that creaminess.
FINISH WITH TOPPING MADNESS. Once your soup is done, garnish with ANYTHING your little heart desires. Toasted nuts or pepitas, bacon, sliced apples, or more BACON, croutons. Did I mention bacon? I was sent a mix of nuts as a soup topping by my Food52 Holiday Gift Swap buddy- it was perfect.
Creamy Butternut Squash Soup Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion diced
- 1 red bell pepper chopped
- 2 tsp. diced garlic
- 1 tsp. fresh ground ginger
- 2 lb. butternut squash peeled and cubed 1 medium squash
- 1 medium apple peeled cored and chopped
- 1 tsp. sage Substitute thyme or curry powder
- 1/8 tsp. chili powder
- 1/4 tsp. sea salt
- 3 c. chicken stock I used additional cup to thin down the soup a bit
- 3 oz. cream cheese Sub goat cheese
- 1/3 c. Parmesan cheese
- Salted Pepitas for garnish Or anything you like, like BACON BITS, spicy nuts, chives, sliced apple, sautéed wild mushrooms...
- 1 Tbsp Brown sugar, optional To add roasted squash’s sweetness
Instructions
- Turn on the Saute function on Instant Pot. Add the olive oil, onions and bell pepper. Saute on high for 4 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 1 minute. Add the cubed squash, apple, sage, chili powder, sea salt and chicken stock.
- Place the lid on your Instant Pot and move the knob to seal. Cook on high pressure for 5 minutes and do a quick release of the pressure.
- Using an immersion blender in the Instant Pot, puree the mixture. Add the cream cheese and Parmesan, stir to melt and continue to puree until very smooth.
- Garnish and serve.