My healthy Roasted Winter Vegetable Soup is the most gorgeous shade of crimson you’ve ever seen! This comforting vegetable soup is full of vitamins and antioxidants to get you through the winter in tip top shape.
I’m not sure what I love more about this Roasted Winter Vegetable Soup, the astonishing color, or the flavor, which is kind of like butternut squash soup on steroids. Fennel and ginger come to the fore, but it’s got a lot more than that going on, with the smokey caramelized sweetness of roasted beets, leek, shallot and winter squash in the background. My daughter came up with the recipe and when she described the color, I knew I had to try it. It’s perfect for a chilly night, and made to be eaten with a big (buttered) hunk of rustic bread, something like dark rye or pumpernickel would be perfect. It’s a really nice change if you’re wedded to regular winter squash soups, and I think it would get raves at Thanksgiving.
You can play around a bit with the particular winter vegetables you use, and in what proportions… but definitely don’t lose the fennel, the beet, and the butternut squash. This blend has a more defined, less cloying flavor than squash or beet soup alone, but beware of using too many veggies, which can end up giving you a hodge-podge blandness.
The vivid color is a result of the combo of orange squash and beet, and it’s worth the price of admission.
Here’s how it goes: the veggies get roasted until they are soft, then simmered in broth with some extra flavor boosts. The brilliant crimson blooms as the immersion blender does its job — every soup will be a little different depending on the proportions of ingredients used.
Reader Rave ~
“This was amazing! Added zest and juice of 1 orange, and a dollop of creme fraiche when serving…..yum!!!.” ~ Tina
Roasted Winter Vegetable Soup
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small butternut squash, cut in half lengthwise, seeds removed.
- 1 large or a few small beets, halved lengthwise
- 1 large leek, trimmed and halved lengthwise
- 1 bulb fennel, leafy top trimmed and halved lengthwise
- 2 large shallots, peeled
- 32 oz chicken stock, substitute vegetable stock
- 1 large clove garlic, peeled and smashed
- 1 thumb sized piece of fresh ginger, minced
- 2 small white potatoes, peeled and chopped
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
garnish
- dill or fennel fronds
- shredded Gruyere cheese, leave out for paleo/gluten free
- homemade croutons, leave out for paleo/gluten free
Instructions
- Set oven to 375F
- Coat the surface of a baking sheet with olive oil. Arrange the squash, beet, leek, fennel and shallots on the sheet and roast for about 40 minutes until the squash can be pierced easily with the tip of a sharp knife.
- Remove the soft veggies from the pan and continue roasting anything that is not soft for another 20 minutes, or until softened.
- Scoop the flesh from the squash and add to a heavy bottomed soup pot. Peel the skin from the beet, remove any tough outer leaves from the leek, and remove the core from the fennel. Give everything, including the shallots, a rough chop and add them to the pot.
- Pour 3 cups of the stock into the pot, along with the garlic, ginger, potatoes, fennel seeds, salt and pepper. Bring everything up to a boil. then lower the heat and simmer, partially covered, for about 20-30 minutes.
- Use an immersion blender to blend the contents of the pot smooth. Add the rest of the stock to thin the soup and bring back to a simmer. Taste and adjust the seasonings, and then serve hot, topped with croutons, grated Gruyere cheese, and a sprig of fennel or dill.
Notes
Nutrition
This was amazing! Added zest and juice of 1 orange, and a dollop of creme fraiche when serving…..yum!!! Thank you!
Oh thanks Tina, I was obsessed with this soup, I need to make it again, love your creme fraiche idea!
I came across this recipe while standing in Aldi’s near Marbella, googling hearty vegetable soup and it immediately caught my eye. I’m making it as I write: the veggies are roasting and the potatoes are peeled!
Couple of observations: despite having the recipe RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME I forgot to pick up a leek.
Aldi didn’t have fresh beetroot, so I’ve got a pack of pre-cooked instead (luckily without the horrible vinegar the pre-cooked stuff you often get in the U.K.)
No fennel seeds were to be found.
The butternut squashes were so enormous, I went weak at the knees and instead opted for several packs of peeled pumpkin chunks. I know it’s not the same and it’ll probably throw the whole flavour out, but my basket was already full and I have to carry my groceries up 4 flights of stairs…
I had half a head of broccoli leftover from yesterday, so that’s joined the gang.
I love ginger so I might double up!
We have no croutons (my husband dislikes them – don’t ask…), ditto gruyere. I may grate some cheddar over mine, but I think I’ll add a dollop of creme fraiche…
Finally, would it be wrong to add a jar of cooked white beans? I’m thinking of bulking it out a bit.
Will let you know how it turns out!
I’ll anxiously await your report, Lisa! I think the pumpkin would actually be good, I might try it that way next time 🙂 And I don’t think you can go wrong by adding a can of beans…
So good! I topped it with a dollop of plain nonfat Greek yogurt mixed with lemon and had it with a Gruyere grilled cheese sandwich. It was amazing!!
I’m so glad you liked it, this recipe has been shared with a lot of my friends and family and they all love it too!
Beautiful Blog, thanks!
Hi, I made this recipe the other week, though, as I have a hard time following recipes, I made some changes–forgot the leek and used thyme rather than ginger and also forgot to add the fennel seed, much to my regret–and think it was delicious! Melted Gruyere really was the perfect topping. I tried one or two other cheeses and neither was as good. Mine came out very thick, and the last day I used it as a pasta sauce, adding olive oil and parmesan, and I thought it was quite tasty. Thanks for this recipe!
Thanks for taking the time to let me know, and that pasta sauce idea has possibilities!
Sue! I just came across this recipe to use in my Healthy Soup Round-up (thanks for adding!) and I just had to comment on how gorgeous this looks! I wish I had a bowl of this in front of me right now. Thanks for sharing!!! -Davida
Thanks Davida!
This looks so comforting and warm! Can’t wait to try this soup soon 🙂
GORGEOUS!
That really is a wonderful colour, isn’t it? I’ve fairly recently discovered fennel and love it, so I know why you’re saying not to leave it out of this soup. Love soups like this – you feel like you’re getting a whole week’s worth of goodness all in one bowl!
this soup looks amazing! I love all the veggies and that they aren’t your typical ones you find in soup!