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This Butternut Squash and Chicken Soup recipe is a delicious, creamy, dairy free, and healthy butternut squash soup recipe made with added chicken and bacon.
I’m super excited about this butternut squash soup with chicken. It is a warm and creamy soup with a rich roasted butternut squash flavor. It has extra protein thanks to the added grilled chicken. It also has an amazing savory taste from the bacon, chicken stock, sage and thyme.
It is perfect for a cold day. I also love my Paleo Chicken Soup and fresh mint tea on a cold day as well.
I partnered up with US Wellness Meats for this post and had the pleasure of testing out several of their grass-fed and all natural meat and poultry items.
Table of Contents
Why this recipe works
- This dairy-free butternut squash soup is a cozy protein packed meal with added chicken and bacon.
- It is versatile and can easily be adjusted to fit various diets.
- It is FULL of vitamins and minerals. Butternut squash is a wonderful source of Vitamins A and C.
- It is a gourmet soup that will be a crowd pleaser. Add these almond flour crackers to this soup for a nice treat!
Recipe ingredients:
- butternut squash– a medium sized fresh one is perfect here.
- shallots– you can also use regular onions, but shallots have a rich taste.
- garlic– fresh organic garlic.
- chicken breast– use a good quality chicken.
- dried thyme, rubbed sage, red pepper flakes, cumin, ground nutmeg– all of these herbs and spices give this soup it’s wonderful flavor.
- chicken stock or bone broth– either one works but bone broth has a lot more protein in it.
- coconut cream– a high quality coconut cream adds a creamy element to the soup.
- honey– boosts the flavor of the soup.
- bacon– a wonderful topping for the soup, but can be optional.
See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
The Smoked Uncured Bacon I received from US Wellness Meats is nitrate free, has no preservatives, and only 2 ingredients–pork and salt–as it should be! It works perfectly for a butternut squash soup with bacon!
Their Chicken Stock is naturally Paleo and their chicken breast is all natural with no hormones or antibiotics, and from free range chickens that have been fed a vegetarian diet.
Side note: I was offered products from US Wellness Meats, but they did not ask me to share my opinions on my blog. My opinions are 100% my own.
Easy ingredient swaps:
- Instead of the shallots: you can use regular onions or onion powder.
- Instead of coconut cream: you can use heavy cream, coconut milk or almond milk.
- Instead of honey: you can use maple syrup.
- Instead of chicken stock: you can use beef stock or vegetarian stock.
- Instead of fresh garlic: you can use garlic powder.
Step by step soup instructions:
Step 1: Roast the butternut squash.
Cut the butternut squash in half, slather it in some olive oil and sprinkle it with some thyme, rubbed sage, salt and pepper.
Then bake it face down.
Step 2: Cook the chicken.
Sautée the shallot and garlic in a large soup pot. Add the chicken, thyme, sage, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.
Once the chicken is cooked, set it aside but leave behind the onion and garlic in the pot.
Step 3: Make the butternut squash soup.
Cut the roasted butternut squash into cubes and remove the skin.
Add the butternut squash cubes to the soup pan, along with chicken stock, coconut cream, honey, sage, thyme, cumin, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Boil everything together.
Then use an immersion blender or regular blender to puree the soup.
Step 4: Prepare the bacon.
Microwave the bacon until the bacon is crispy.
Step 5: Put it all together.
- Add the cut chicken to the soup. You can either add it all to the whole soup or add it to each individual bowl.
- Top each bowl with crushed bacon and other toppings.
Best toppings for this chicken butternut squash soup:
Aside the crushed bacon and chicken from this recipe, there are many toppings you can add.
- a splash of coconut cream
- fresh herbs
- pumpkin seeds
- bread crumbs or croutons
- goat cheese crumbles
FAQs:
Yes! It is made with simple real food ingredients. Butternut squash is low in calories but full of vitamins and minerals. Its high in vitamin A, C and magnesium.
Garlic bread! Salad, roasted veggies, sandwiches.
To store: put soup into airtight containers in the fridge for up to 4-5 days. Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop.
To freeze: let the soup cool completely and then pour it to a freezer-safe container. Freeze for 2 months. To reheat, let the soup thaw in the refrigerator, then heat the soup in the microwave or on the stovetop.
Other healthy soup recipes you may enjoy:
Other butternut squash recipes:
High Protein Butternut Squash Soup
❤️ Check out a list of all of my soups and stews. ❤️
Did you try this recipe? Please leave me a ⭐ review below!
Butternut Squash and Chicken Soup
Ingredients
- 1 large butternut squash, ( about 3-3.5 lbs), cut in half and with the seeds removed
- ½ Tbs olive oil
- 1/2 cup diced shallots, (2 large shallots)
- 1.5 Tbs diced garlic, (4 cloves)
- 1 pound chicken breast
- 1 1/4 tsp salt, divided
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper, divided
- 3/4 tsp dried thyme, divided
- 3/4 tsp rubbed sage, divided
- a pinch of red pepper flakes
- 4 cups chicken stock, ( or bone broth)
- ½ cup coconut cream, (canned)
- 1/8 tsp cumin
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 Tbs honey
- 5 strips of bacon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Cover a cookie sheet in aluminum foil.
- Cover the cut sides of the butternut squash with 1/2 Tbs olive oil, a pinch of salt, a pinch of pepper, a pinch thyme, and a pinch sage. Place the squash face down (cut sides down) on the cookie sheet. Bake the squash in the oven for 40-45 minutes, until soft ( the time it takes to soften depends on how thick it is). Set aside to cool.
- Put ½ Tbs of olive oil into a large soup pot over medium heat. Cook the diced shallots and garlic, until fragrant, about 3-5 minutes. Add the chicken to the pot and cover it with 1/4 tsp salt, ¼ tsp ground black pepper, 1/4 tsp rubbed sage, 1/2 tsp thyme, and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Cook the chicken until cooked through (4-6 mins per side depending on how thick your chicken breast is). Remove the chicken from the pan, leaving the garlic and onions in the pan.
- Remove the butternut squash peel, and cut the butternut squash into cubes. Add the squash to the soup pan along with 4 cups of chicken stock, ½ cup coconut cream, 1/8 tsp cumin, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp ground pepper, 1/4 tsp dried thyme, ½ tsp rubbed sage and 1 Tbs honey. Bring the soup to a simmer and cook for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Puree the soup using an immersion blender or a blender. Taste and season with more salt and pepper or thyme and sage if you think the soup needs it.
- Put 5 strips of bacon on a plate lined with paper towels and cover the top of them with paper towels. Cook for 5 minuets in the microwave. Once the bacon has cooled, crumble it up.
- Cut the grilled chicken into bite sized pieces. Add the diced chicken to the soup or to each individual bowl of soup. Then sprinkle soup with crumbled up bacon.
Notes
- Instead of the shallots: you can use regular onions or onion powder.
- Instead of coconut cream: you can use heavy cream, coconut milk or almond milk.
- Instead of honey: you can use maple syrup.
- Instead of chicken stock: you can use beef stock or vegetarian stock.
- Instead of fresh garlic: you can use garlic powder.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Delicious, even thou I had to adjust it a wee bit due to not having some of the ingredients. Used white onion instead of Shallots. Didn’t have the bacon.. And I forgot to put the honey in. My husband who is a picky soup eater, even liked it. Thank you, I will certainly make it again.
Very happy to hear it!
Delicious although time consuming. One problem I had was keeping the garlic from overlooking-burning in the pan during the total length of time to cook the chicken.
It helps to mix it more often to avoid that issue. Another option is to cook the chicken with garlic powder instead.
I have made this recipe over the past couple of years and everyone I give it to…..loves it!
The only downside is I think there have been a few very small changes since last year that I liked…but all good.
Yes I did tweak it a bit! Here are the changes that I made:
The current recipe calls for 3/4 tsp ground black pepper ( my old recipe was 1/2 tsp black pepper)
The current recipe calls for 1 tsp dried thyme ( my old recipe was 1/2 tsp dried thyme)
The current recipe calls for 1 tsp rubbed sage (my old recipe was 3/4 tsp rubbed sage)
Hope this helps!!
This is so great! Didn’t add the honey and still delishous!
Happy to hear it! 🙂 🙂
What a great recipe! I was searching for a paleo soup to make for a soup/chili cook-off, and when I saw the butternut and bacon together, I thought I might have a winner. Great combination of comfort foods! I included one more thing to really tip the scale: one honeycrisp apple, diced and sauteed until soft, then added to the soup immediately before serving. I did not peel the apple, as I felt the red skin added visual appeal in the soup, and my family liked it that way in my pre-cookoff testing. The apple also gave enough sweetness that the soup did not need any honey. I made several other substitutions since I have to be careful about seasonings (autoimmune protocol) as well as onions/garlic (FODMAPs). So I omitted the shallots, garlic, black pepper, red pepper flakes, cumin, nutmeg, and honey. However, I added the green part of green onions (1/2 c, sliced and sauteed), doubled the thyme and sage, and added some ground oregano (1/2 tsp). Lastly, I’ve found that the soup is more flavorful when reheated the next day, after the seasonings have had a chance to really meld into the butternut. So I prepared and seasoned the soup and chicken the day before, refrigerated it overnight, and then simmered it in my crockpot for five hours prior to the cook-off, stirring in the crisp bacon and sauteed apple immediately before serving. Not only did my butternut apple chicken bacon soup win the cook-off, but I have a new favorite soup in our meal rotation this fall!
So, thank you! 🙂
That’s amazing!! I love all the tweaks that you made to the soup to keep it in line with your AIP and FODMAPs dietary needs. I’m also so glad the tweaks worked out! It sounds like you created a winning recipe 🙂 I love the sound of adding honeycrisp apple here…I need to try that next time! Thanks so much for sharing this with me! This is super helpful for other AIP readers. And now I’m going to make mine the day before too so that all the flavors really seep in together. NOM.
This was the 1 paleo dish I have tried and it is amazing, next time I will omit the bacon
I’m glad!! It’s one of my favorites 🙂
Can this be frozen?
Yes! You can freeze it. To freeze it, put the soup in an airtight container and place in the freezer for up to 3 months. To reheat, let the container thaw in the fridge overnight. Then, reheat on the stove over medium-low heat. Or microwave it.
This is AMAZING! Great to have a new take on squash soup to add to the mix.
Thank you! So glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
Just made this and the hubs loved it as much as I did! I put your website on my IG post. I’m sure my Instagram peeps will love it too!
I saw it on your IG, looks like you guys licked your bowls clean. 🙂 Thanks for sharing it!
I just made this soup and it is spectacular!! So delicious so smooth so tasty! Perfect for rainy fall days.
Thank you! It is perfect for rainy days 🙂