Roasted Butternut Squash and Red Pepper Soup (13g protein)
My go to soup when I want a nutritional powerhouse comfort food at its finest. This beauty is light, creamy and perfect for cozy days. It’s a silky blend of roasted squash and red bell peppers, warmed with spices and thickened up with creamy cottage cheese for richness and protein. With roughly three times the amount of protein as your typical butternut squash soup, this is a perfect one if you’re looking for ways to add a little more protein to your diet.
This is one of my favorite soups because it not only tastes amazing but it takes minimal work. The roasting takes about 45 minutes, so give yourself some time, but the actual cooking is nice and light, just the way we like it! It reheats great too so it’s a perfect one to warm up with a grilled cheese throughout the week after the kids practice.
If you love soup, you’ll love these other high-protein soups like Creamy Chicken Enchilada Soup and Turkey Lasagna Soup.
Why you’ll love this recipe
- 13 grams of protein per serving.
- Made with simple ingredients.
- Gluten-free.
Ingredients and Substitutions:
These are the main ingredients and substitutions for this butternut squash red pepper soup recipe. See the recipe card below for the full ingredient list and instructions.
- Red Bell Peppers: roasting red peppers makes them soft enough to blend and makes a nice velvety soup. I never peel the red peppers when making this soup. I love the slightly charred taste with the sweetness of the peppers. Feel free to peel the peppers prior to roasting, if preferred.
- Butternut Squash: I used frozen cubes to make this recipe super easy to make. If you prefer fresh butternut squash, peel and chop it into cubes, prior to roasting.
- Garlic
- Olive Oil
- Chicken Bone Broth: this adds a ton of protein to our soup. You can use beef bone broth or chicken stock, vegetable stock or any broth.
- Low Fat Cottage Cheese: You can use full fat cottage cheese or even heavy cream for a more creamy texture. Heavy cream will significantly alter your fat and calorie content.
- Coconut Aminos: counteracts the sweetness of the red bell pepper and adds a ton of depth to the soup. You can use soy sauce.
Variations
- Up the spice level by adding red pepper flakes.
- Sauté garlic cloves with different vegetables like kale or spinach and add them to your soup.
- Add a sprinkle of pumpkin seeds and smoked paprika prior to serving.
Dietary Modifications
- This recipe is gluten-free, as is.
- For dairy-free, substitute the cottage cheese for creamy canned coconut milk
How to make this roasted red pepper butternut soup (a step-by-step visual guide):
Step 1: make roasted red peppers and squash
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Add the bell peppers, butternut squash and garlic to a baking tray or roasting pan. Drizzle the olive oil, salt and pepper over the top and mix to combine and coat (image 1). Roast in the oven for 40-45 minutes or until the bell peppers are charred and soft and the squash is fork tender (image 2).
Step 2: blend roasted veggies with cottage cheese and broth
Remove the peppers and squash from the oven and scoop into a large high powered blender. Add 1 cup bone broth and the cottage cheese (image 3) and blend for approximately 5 minutes or until everything is smooth and the cottage cheese is well blended.
Over medium heat, add the blended peppers and squash to a large dutch oven or large saucepan (image 4). Pour 2 cups of the broth into the blender and swish around, this is how you’ll get all the blended mixture out, and pour into the dutch oven.
Add the remaining broth, salt, onion powder, garlic powder, ginger, coconut aminos and lots of fresh cracked pepper to the soup (image 5). Bring to a simmer and simmer until it’s warmed through while whisking to ensure the mixture incorporates into the broth (image 6).
Step 3: serve with desired toppings
Serve topped with blended cottage cheese for extra creaminess, or cream, croutons, fresh basil or chopped green onions with a side of crusty bread for dipping.
Expert Tip!
Use an immersion blender for a chunkier soup. It will still be a smooth and creamy soup but will have more texture.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, you wild soul. Be sure to remove the skin and chop into bite-size pieces to ensure it roasts at the same rate as the red bell peppers.
You bet. Use 1 cup in the blender and adjust the spices, as needed. The more cottage cheese you add the more spices you’ll need to mask the added cottage cheese.
The classic protein addition? Meat! Add cooked ground chicken, turkey or beef. You can also top with crumbled cooked turkey, pork bacon or cooked chicken breast or steak. Basically, any cooked meat can be tossed right in.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
I never do. I love the slightly charred taste in the soup because it adds a depth of flavor and balances out the sweet. If you prefer to peel them, peel them after roasting and before adding to the blender.
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Butternut Squash and Red Pepper Soup
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Ingredients
- 2 red bell peppers chopped, 2' pieces
- 20 oz. frozen cubed butternut squash or fresh
- 6-8 cloves garlic peeled
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 tsp. salt
- fresh cracked black pepper
- 4 cups chicken bone broth 32 oz
- 1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese 110g
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. onion powder
- 1-2 tsp. garlic powder *see notes
- 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
- 2 Tbsp. coconut aminos
- fresh cracked pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit. Add the bell peppers, butternut squash and garlic to a large sheet pan. Drizzle the olive oil, salt and pepper over the top and mix to combine and coat. Roast in the oven for 40-45 minutes or until the bell peppers are nice and chared and soft.
- Remove the peppers and squash from the oven and scoop into a large high speed blender. Add 1 cup bone broth and the cottage cheese and blend for approximately 5 minutes or until everything is smooth and well blended.
- Over medium heat, add the blended peppers and squash to a large dutch oven or soup pot. Pour 2 cups of the broth into the blender and swish around, this is how you’ll get all the blended mixture out, and pour into the dutch oven.
- Add the remaining broth, salt, onion powder, garlic powder, ginger, coconut aminos and lots of fresh cracked pepper. Bring to a simmer and simmer until it’s warmed through while whisking to ensure the mixture incorporates into the broth.
- Serve topped with blended cottage cheese for extra creaminess, or cream, croutons, fresh basil or chopped green onions and a dash of red pepper flakes for some heat is desired.
Notes
- * You can start with 1 tsp. of garlic powder and add on to your taste preference if you’re not a huge fan of garlic but I like using 2 tsp in ours!
- You can also use fresh butternut squash. Be sure to peel and chop the squash into large chunks before roasting.
- Nutritional information is an estimate and will vary with substitutions.
I have been waiting for this one and I was so excited to try! This one will be a repeat in my household for meal prep! Welcome back soup season!!!