Acorn Squash Soup With Fried Sage

As summer comes to an end, and we turn our attention to comfort foods, this quick and easy acorn squash soup is one meal that should be high on your list for Fall 2020! Ready in 45 minutes using an Instant Pot, this soup is low-carb, vegan, gluten-free, paleo and loaded with nutrients, so you can feel good about serving it to your whole family!

Fried sage is added at the end to complement the sweetness of the squash and lend a comforting warmth to the dish that makes it perfect for those impending evenings of hibernation!

The Instant Pot is one of my favourite tools to use when preparing soups because it’s convenient, consistent and super quick. Gone are the days of needing to monitor a dish’s progress on the stove. With the Instant Pot, I simply add my ingredients, choose a setting, and walk away!

For this recipe, you’ll use the ‘Sauté’ and ‘Pressure Cook’ settings. I like to sauté the spices and garlic in some oil first to bring out their flavours. Once the spices are fragrant, you can add the diced acorn squash to the pot along with the broth and switch to pressure cooking. The Instant Pot will take a few minutes to reach full pressure, but once it does, this soup only needs 15 minutes to fully cook.

To blend the cooked ingredients, I recommend using the Cuisinart Smart Stick. An immersion blender is much safer to use with soups as compared to transferring hot liquids to a stand up blender and hoping the top doesn’t pop off under built-up pressure!

Using the Smart Stick, blend the squash and broth until totally smooth before adding the can of coconut milk. Once you’ve added the coconut milk, use a spoon or ladle to combine everything rather than the immersion blender. Blending the coconut milk can result in too frothy of a soup- think whipped cream. Which, while delicious, is not really the consistency you’re going for!

How do you cut acorn squash for soup?

Preparing an acorn squash for soup includes cutting, deseeding, peeling and dicing. Start by cutting off the two ends of the squash and discarding those pieces. Next, slice the squash in half and use a spoon to scoop out the seeds and fibrous strings.

If you want to save the seeds for roasting, rinse them with water, remove any strings, and set aside on a paper towel to dry. Follow this Roasted Winter Squash Seeds recipe for a delicious, low-carb snack!

Once you have deseeded the squash, slice each half lengthwise along every ridge of its skin. Using a peeler, carefully remove all of the skin from each slice. Finally, dice the squash into bite-sized pieces so they cook quickly and evenly in the Instant Pot.

Can you eat the skin of acorn squash?

You may be surprised to learn that you can in fact eat the skin of an acorn squash! You just need to make sure you roast it first so it becomes tender enough to digest.

If you’ve tried my Perfect Winter Salad, you know just how tasty roasted acorn squash- skins and all- can be! As an added bonus, consuming the skins has great health benefits too. The skins contain a healthy dose of insoluble fibre, which aids in weight management, helps move waste through the body, and balances blood sugar levels.

While it is quite healthy to consume the skins of an acorn squash, I remove them for this recipe to achieve the smoothest soup consistency once blended. The skins, even when cooked, do not blend well, which would leave this soup too chunky.

What can I add to squash for flavour?

The sweetness of acorn squash is best complemented by herbs and spices that have a warm flavour. Some of my favourite additions to squash recipes include:

• Rosemary
• Sage
• Oregano
• Thyme
• Cinnamon
• Nutmeg
• Turmeric
• Cayenne
• Ginger
• Cumin

For this acorn squash soup recipe, I opted for nutmeg, cinnamon, thyme and sage. If you have other favourites from the list above, feel free to get creative and add them in as well! I recommend starting with 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of each- a little bit goes a long way with these!

Looking for other low-carb Instant Pot soup options? Try my Creamy Keto Tomato Soup, Easy Clam Chowder (Low Carb), or Low-Carb Instant Pot Chili!

If you make this Acorn Squash Soup with Fried Sage, please rate it and add your comments below. And tag @thebespokebites in your photos and videos on Instagram and Facebook for a chance to be featured!

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