Kabocha Squash Soup | 3 Ways

Kabocha Squash Soup

Kabocha Squash! You really do not want to miss this one. What a wonderful way to pack your dinner time full of vitamins and flavor at the same time!  You can even roast the Kabocha the night before, place it in zip-top baggies and prepare the next day!  A super simple soup that is sure to be a winner!

This little unforgotten jewel of the squash family has quickly become my favorite over the years.  Dubbed the Japanese Pumpkin, this sweet and versatile squash is a must-have for fall and winter.

I first encountered this beauty known as Kabocha at my local farmer’s market.  In fact, I ended up talking to the proprietor for over an hour just about this particular squash! Easy to grow to boot! If you have the land, once you clean them out, take the scraps; seeds, and all, and throw them in the dirt! Love, water, and whisper to them.  You will have an abundant supply of these beauties weighing anywhere from 3 to 8 pounds!

It’s cold for where I am at the moment and that means soup! Soup is one of the easiest and most fascinating dishes to make.  Layering flavors and building the depth to the base is one thing that I absolutely love doing. A lot like butternut squash, Kabocha is a great natural thickener for stews as well as soups!  Bye-bye cornstarch and flour! We don’t need you in this dish! Guess what?  That means this is gluten-free as well! Woo hoo! Score one more for the Kabocha Squash!

Today I will present you not one, not two, but three different ways to make this soup with the simple base being the first one. The possibilities with this recipe are only limited by your imagination!

Stay tuned, you won’t be disappointed.

First and foremost, if you have never seen a whole Kabocha squash, let me show you a quick photo.

They are a beautiful deep green with white or lighter green speckles running through them.  Just like with any squash or melon, the heavier they are the more “meat” you will find inside.

Now, let us get these babies cleaned up and ready to roast!

Start by cutting them in half

With a spoon, run around the edge in-between the inner white and seeds and the “meat” of the orange/yellow squash.

Once all halves are cleaned, place them on an un-greased baking sheet.  If you have some that want to roll around a bit, prop them up with scrunched-up tin foil.

Line them up on your baking sheet and get ready to roast!

Drizzle olive oil over all four halves of Kabocha squash. Dice the onion and divide evenly into all four vessels.  Add 1 teaspoon of minced garlic to each half.  Add fresh ground pepper and kosher salt as desired.

Roast in the oven at 400 degrees for 45 minutes to one hour. You will know they are ready when you can easily poke them with a sharp knife.

Once the squash is roasted, remove it from the oven and let rest until cool to the touch.

Using your spoon again, remove the roasted onion and garlic and place them into a large stockpot.  Run your spoon in-between the green skin and orange flesh and remove the “meat”.  Do not worry too much about the skin, it is edible.  It may slightly change the taste if you get too much of it in your soup so for this application try to remove as much of it as possible.  Once the flesh is removed place that into the stockpot as well.

Add in two cans of 14.5 oz. chicken stock, 1 jalapeno, and 2 Serrano peppers along with two bay leaves.  Allow to come to a rolling boil and set the timer for 30 minutes. We are developing a deeper flavor into the soup at this point.

Once the soup has boiled for 30 minutes, reduce heat to a simmer.  Remove the bay leaves and discard.  Remove the jalapeno and Serrano peppers.  Squeeze a small amount of the juices out and into the pot being careful not to get any seeds. Stir to combine. This is where you can adjust the heat.  I used approximately 1 tablespoon of pepper juice back into the soup and it was not spicy at all.  Discard the remaining peppers or reserve them for another recipe!

Let the soup simmer for 30 minutes with the added pepper juice. After 30 minutes remove from heat.

With an immersion blender, blend the soup to a smooth consistency.  If you do not have an immersion blender, that is okay!  Let the soup cool and in small batches place them in your blender.  Return the blended soup to the stockpot as you work.

If you are in the market for an immersion blender, I love mine! You can find the one I use here.

Once everything is blended return to low heat and add in 16 oz of beef stock.  Stir to combine and let simmer for another 30 minutes.

At this stage, you can serve and enjoy!  Also, you can add anything you’d like to this base soup.  I opted to add in hot Italian sausage and kale and it was a hit! The whole family ate it and I had nothing left for lunch the next day!

Top with Sour cream or tomato as pictured below and you will crown Kabocha Squash your new winter favorites!

Kabocha Squash Soup with Sour Cream

Kabocha Squash Soup with tomato and Sriracha

Kabocha Squash Soup with sour cream, Sriracha, and hot Italian sausage.

So, what are we waiting for?

Live, Love, Eat!

xoxo

Print Recipe

Kabocha Squash Soup | 3 Ways

Prep Time1 hour hr

Cook Time1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Total Time2 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Servings: 10

Author: Oven Struck

Ingredients

• 2 3 lb Whole Kabocha Squash
• 2 14.5 oz containers chicken stock
• 1 16 oz. container beef stock
• 4 tsp. minced garlic - divided - approx. 4 large cloves
• 1 medium onion - divided
• 1 jalapeno pepper
• 2 Serrano peppers
• 2 Bay leaves
• 1 lb. hot Italian sausage optional
• Sour Cream optional
• Sriracha optional
• Parsley to garnish

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees
• Slice squash in half and remove inner white and seeds.
• Place squash on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper.
• Dice onion and divide evenly into all four halves.
• Mince garlic and add 1 teaspoon to each half of squash.
• Place baking sheet into oven and roast 45 min. to an hour. Squash is done when you can easily insert a knife into the skin.
• Remove squash from oven and allow to cool to the touch.

Tip! If preparing the night before. place cooled squash into zip top bags and in the refrigerator. Follow the same steps the next day!

• With a spoon, scoop out the onion and garlic and place in large stock pot. Remove the flesh or "meat" from each half. Run your spoon between the skin and the flesh and place into the pot. Discard or compost the flesh.
• Over medium high heat add the chicken stock, bay leaves, jalapeno and Serrano peppers to the pot. Bring to a boil. Once boiling let cook for 30 minutes.
• At 30 minutes, turn heat down and remove bay leaves and peppers. Squeeze approximately 1 tablespoon of juice from the peppers and return to the pot. (you may add as much juice as you like, this will control the overall heat of the dish). Stir to combine the pepper juice and let simmer for an additional 30 minutes.
• At 30 minutes, remove from heat. With an immersion blender, blend ingredients until smooth. If you do not have an immersion blender, work in small batches once the soup has cooled in a regular blender.
• Add in the beef stock, stir to combine and let simmer over medium heat for another 30 minutes.
• Serve with sour cream, Sriracha, parsley or tomato.

ALTERNATE!

• If serving with sausage, brown 1 lb. of hot Italian sausage in a separate pan. Add to the soup along with 2 cups of Kale. Let simmer for 10 minutes, top and serve!