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Butternut Squash Soup with Bacon

This month I am sharing a recipe that my good friend Jen made for me recently. It is very easy to make and is the ultimate comfort food as it has BACON in it! The recipe is from the Pioneer Woman, and as usual I made some modifications which I note in parenthesis below. This is my new favorite butternut soup.

Ingredients

8 oz. thick cut bacon (I used Wright brand from Big Y)

vegetable oil as needed

1 sweet onion, diced

2 medium butternut squash peeled, seeded and cut into large cubes (I used two packages of pre-cut squash)

1 ½ teaspoon kosher salt, coarse

4 cups low sodium chicken broth

1 cup water

½ cup heavy cream (I used half & half and it was still very creamy)

¼ cup maple syrup

Directions

Cut bacon into 1-inch pieces, place in a large pot over medium-high heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned and crispy. Remove from pot with a slotted spoon and set aside, leaving the drippings in the pot. If you have less than ¼ cup of drippings, add a little vegetable oil to the pan.

Reduce heat to medium. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and lightly caramelized, about 7-8 minutes. Add the squash and 1 teaspoon salt and toss to coat well in the onion mixture. Add the chicken broth and water and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to medium, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the squash is very tender, about 20 minutes.

If you have an immersion blender, place in the pot and blend until smooth. Or transfer to a regular blender in batches—don’t do all at once or overload as it is very hot. Put mixture back in pot once blended smooth. Add the cream, maple syrup and a pinch of salt if desired. Stir and let simmer for about 5-7 minutes on medium heat. Serve with the crispy bacon pieces on top.

Buon Appetito!