Full of fall flavors, this vibrant roasted acorn squash soup with sage and sour cream studded with pomegranate will certainly liven up any dinner table.
Two of my kids believe that every day is a good soup day no matter what the temperature is outside. I made them a pot of my chicken noodle soup with lemon EVERY SINGLE WEEK for these two to take a thermos of soup for lunch with them.
Today’s soup is something more festive for this time of year: roasted acorn squash soup. You typically see butternut squash soup recipes, but I am quite smitten with acorn squash.
Both acorn and butternut squash have buttery textures and taste silky sweet when roasted. Instead of sautéing the squash, I roasted it to deepen the flavors. Roasted squash is perfection and its sweetness is really enhanced when roasted.
This is such a simple soup to make, but the flavor has such a great WOW factor! Its vibrant color really personifies fall and makes a terrific soup to enjoy for lunch or during the holiday meal.
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Ingredients you need
- Acorn squash: This is the star of the show! Be sure to pick a squash that is not bruised. You could also use butternut squash or even pumpkin.
- Carrots: I also add roasted carrots for additional flavor into this soup. You can leave it out, if you want.
- Onion: Regular yellow or white onions can be used in this recipe.
- Olive Oil: You can use olive oil or any other vegetable oil to sauté onions.
- Fresh Sage: You can use dried sage in the soup if you do not have fresh. But for the garnish, oooh, fresh sage is divine!
- Kitchen Staples: Vegetable Stock, garlic, salt and pepper.
- Garnish: sour cream, fresh sage, pomegranate arils
Recipe step-by-step directions
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- Roast vegetables. Cut squash in half and discard seeds. Cut into wedges, brush with olive oil. Add carrots, season with salt and pepper and roast until browned.
- Sauté onions. Heat a moil in a pot and sauté onions until softened. Stir in garlic and chopped sage.
- Add squash. Scoop out roasted squash and add it to the onions. Stir in vegetable stock.
- Purée. Using an immersion blender, purée soup until smooth and creamy. Cook until soup is hot and bubbly.
Expert tips and recipe FAQS
This soup is creamy and delicious on its own. But I added some more flavors by adding garlic and fresh sage to my roasted acorn squash soup. And to garnish this soup? Here are some of my favorite ideas:
- To make a swirl of sour cream in your soup, whip it up in a small bowl thinning it with water to give it a consistency to heavy cream. Then spoon it in a swirl pattern over the soup.
- Add a spoonful of pomegranate arils.
- Sprinkle some chopped fresh sage or sauté a whole sage leaf in olive oil to crisp it up.
- Top with some toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds).
- Toast some chunks of seasoned croutons and add that over your soup.
- Garnish with some chopped walnuts or pecans.
- For a bit of heat, sprinkle some red pepper flakes or some hot sauce.
Storing/Freezing Instructions
TO STORE: Store any leftover soup in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
TO FREEZE: Although this soup does contain some cream, it is a small amount and I don’t think it will split when frozen. Transfer to a resealable bag or freezer safe container and freeze for up to 3 months.
Acorn and butternut squashes are both very popular to use in soups. You can also use pumpkin to make soup. You want to choose a squash with deep color and tremendous flavor.
If you roast the squash first, you can keep the skin on your squash. Once cool enough to touch, scoop out the flesh and add it to the pot and continue to make your soup.
Roasted Acorn Squash Soup with Sage, Pomegranate and Sour Cream
Ingredients
- 1 acorn squash
- 4 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- 7 oz carrots
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ cup chopped onions
- 1 garlic clove chopped
- 3 teaspoon chopped fresh sage
- 4 cup vegetable stock
- ¼ cup sour cream optional
- 1 tablespoon water
- ¼ cup pomegranate arils
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 385ºF.
- Cut acorn squash in half and scoop out seeds. Cut into wedges and brush flesh with 2 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil. Place squash in one layer onto a baking sheet.
- Cut carrots into 2-inch pieces, brush with 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil and place on baking sheet with squash.
- Season with ½ teaspoon kosher salt and ⅛ teaspoon black pepper. Roast vegetables until cooked through, approximately 45-60 minutes.
- Allow vegetables to rest until cool enough to handle, about 15-20 minutes.
- Heat a medium-sized pot over high heat and add 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil.
- When oil is hot, sauté onions. When onions start to soften, reduce heat to medium and continue cooking for another 10 minutes.
- Stir in garlic and 2 teaspoon chopped sage.
- Using a spoon, scoop out flesh from acorn squash and add it and the carrots to the pot. Pour vegetable stock into the pot.
- Using an immersion blender, purée the soup until smooth and creamy. Continue cooking until soup is hot and bubbly.
- In a small bowl, whisk sour cream with 1 tablespoon water until smooth.
- Ladle soup into bowls and drizzle with sour cream. Garnish with additional fresh sage and pomegranate arils.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.
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Written by Laura Bashar
Hi, I’m Laura, a certified professional cook and cookbook author living in San Diego. I have been sharing my family’s favorite recipes inspired from all over the world since 2008. Let’s cook up something fun!
Amazing recipes. Amazing photography. Amazing motivation to try the new! I lived in Iran for 2 years learning to love the culture , people and. Food! It was a wonderful experience for a 23 year old. I chose to have our baby at Teheran Hospital for Women. My daughter is a fantastic cook loving to cook , introducing. her family to the foods of the world. Please advise me on how to buy your Persian Cookbook as a present at Christmas. As a Nurse Coach, I share healthy recipes with lots of vegetables , spices and herbs. Please send me… Read more »
Thank you, Annette! Persian food is so delicious and can easily be made healthy. Although I do not have a Persian cookbook out (I am working on one), I have many Persian recipes here on my blog. Just click the recipes tab at the top to see all of my recipes. I do have a cookbook all about cooking with olive oil, and it is filled with healthy and delicious recipes. You can order it here: http://familyspice.com/product/cooking-techniques-recipes-olive-oil/
Laura
Now those are super soup-kids!
This recipe sounds great — and, as always, looks so beautiful!
AND, that blender looks amazingly handy, making me think that I ought to upgrade my old immersion blender to one that has a light. I always like the handling of OXO products.
Thanks!
Love the look of the soup with the pomegranate seeds and am certain it tastes just lovely also: but across the Pond and down the road it could only be called pumpkin soup 😀 !! Squash to us is a summer vegetable about the size off a biggish mushroom, bright yellow and like a flattened meatball . . .