Warming creamy butternut squash and sweet potato Golden Autumn Soup with notes of fragrant citrusy lemongrass, herby tarragon, spicy ginger and coconut milk, with Thai inspired flavours. A thick velvety texture packed with these two key nourishing autumnal root veggies.
What ingredients do I need to make this Golden Autumn Soup?
Butternut squash: with lots of fibre, antioxidants and vitamin A, this adds a wonderfully caramelised flavour to the soup.
Sweet potato: makes this soup filling but with a lower glycaemic root vegetable meaning they won’t spike your blood sugar as much as regular potatoes
Water, chicken or vegetable broth: you can use water if you don’t have any stocks that are allium, onion and garlic free. This is delicious with chicken style stock (you can get vegan, onion and garlic free ones from Massel). You can also make this with vegetable stock, again ensure it’s free from allium, onion and garlic – like Bay’s Kitchen. If you aren’t avoiding alliums, onion or garlic use any chicken or vegetable stock. Just remember to use the correct amount of stock cubes for 400ml water (the instructions on the pack should guide this). More information on suitable broths here.
Fresh ginger: this adds a gorgeous warming kick to the soup and compliments the roots deliciously. The skin should be peeled and then the insides sliced
Bay leaves: to add a little extra aroma. If using water you may want to add one more of these for flavour.
Dried lemongrass stick: this adds Thai inspired flavours and a beautifully citrussy undertone to the dish that’s emphasised when adding lemon and lime (or distilled vinegar if low histamine)
Dried tarragon: adds subtle herbaceous notes to the soup. If you don’t have this it’s still delicious without (I’ve done this a few times).
Salt: important for flavour – add this only later on if using stock
Lemon juice: I use freshly squeezed for optimum flavour. Taste the soup as you add. This adds a delicious citrusy flavour to bring out the lemongrass.
Lime juice: A slightly different citrus note to add more depth to the flavour.
Maple syrup: for a hint of sweetness and to bring out the flavours.
Coconut milk or plant based cream: coconut milk brings a wonderfully coconutty element to round off the soup that reminds me of a Thai dish with the fusion of lemongrass and ginger. But if you’re not a fan of coconut, I’ve made this with plant based cream and it’s equally delicious.
A complete list of ingredients, quantities and instructions are in the grey recipe card at the bottom of the page
Is this free from alliums, onion and garlic?
You can make this with water only to make it easily free from alliums, onion and garlic. If using a stock you must use one that’s free from this so ensure that either the chicken bone broth (if you’re not plant based), chicken style stock cubes or vegetable broth is free from all of this and is low FODMAP suitable too. I recommend Bay’s Kitchen (vegetable broth and chicken broth) and Massel Australia – their vegan chicken stock cubes and vegetable stock cubes. Just use enough stock cubes dissolved into 400ml water (the recommended water:stock ratio will be on the product packaging). If you’re not avoiding alliums, onion or garlic this can be a regular stock or cube with water. For more information on choosing a suitable stock or broth, head over to this blog post for more information and broth recipes.
Is this plant based or vegan?
If using chicken style vegan stock or vegetable stock (that are also onion and garlic free) then yes. If you’re not needing this to be vegan, then you can use Bay’s Kitchen low FODMAP chicken stock or regular chicken stock if it doesn’t need to be onion and garlic free.
Is this soup low histamine?
Squash, sweet potato and ginger are low histamine on the SIGHI list. Use water instead of chicken bone broth or vegetable broth. Omit lemon and lime and add a dash of distilled vinegar to taste just to add an appropriately tangy finish. Lemongrass and tarragon aren’t listed on the SIGHI list, so remember that every person has unique dietary triggers and that your reaction to lemongrass or tarragon may be different than someone else’s.
Is this golden autumn soup low FODMAP?
45g or ⅓ cup butternut squash is low FODMAP, whilst sweet potato is low FODMAP up to 75g or ½ cup per portion. It would need to be consumed in such small portions that it isn’t low FODMAP.
Is this gastroparesis friendly?
This very much depends on the phase of gastroparesis you’re at and what you tolerate personally, but pureed foods are often recommended and this is blended butternut squash and sweet potato with a few other gut friendly herbs/spices so it may be more suitable for you. You may like to water this down more to make it less strong. Remember that portion sizes will need to be much smaller in gastroparesis, so if looking to try this, try a few spoonfuls to check it’s tolerated – and always check with a dietitian.
How to make:
Peel, cube and dice the sweet potato and butternut squash. This can be strenuous so I always recommend purchasing this pre-diced and even frozen which is what I do.
Simmer the ingredients (apart from lemon, lime, maple syrup and coconut milk or cream) until they’re soft when pressed.
Stir through the lemon juice, lime juice, maple syrup and coconut milk or plant based cream to taste. Add the salt to taste (important to do it at this point as different stocks will alter the saltiness).
Remove the bay leaves, the lemongrass stick, and ginger. Set aside the ginger to add back in to taste.
Blend, taste and add ginger to taste depending on desired kick.
Serve hot with a swirl of plant based cream or coconut milk.
How to store:
Store in an airtight container for 3 days or freeze in an airtight container for up to a month. Serve hot when reheating.
Golden Autumn Soup
SEASON Winter, AutumnEquipment
Ingredients
- 4 cups butternut squash peeled and cubed
- 3 cups sweet potato peeled and cubed
- 400 ml water, chicken or vegetable broth use chicken-style vegan broth if plant based
- 15 grams fresh ginger
- 1 dried lemongrass stick
- 1/4 tsp dried tarragon
- 1 1/2 tsp fine salt more or less to taste
- 1 tbsp lemon juice or distilled vinegar for low histamine
- 1 1/2 tbsp maple syrup
- 200 ml coconut milk or plant based cream
Instructions
- Peel and slice the sweet potato and butternut squash, then cut into cubes. (Skip this step if you’ve purchased the vegetables pre-cubed - I recommend doing this!) In a large saucepan, add the water and salt (if using stock only add salt later) sweet potato, butternut squash, ginger, bay leaves, lemongrass and tarragon. Simmer over a medium heat for 15 minutes. When the sweet potato & butternut squash are soft when pressed, add the lemon, lime and maple syrup. If you haven’t added salt, add it to taste now.
- Remove from the heat and take out the bay leaves, lemongrass and ginger. *I recommend fully removing the ginger, blending and tasting, and if you can handle the kick then adding a quarter, half or the full amount to taste.
- Add 150ml coconut milk and blend until smooth in a heat safe blender, or using a stick immersion blender. Serve immediately and swirl the remaining 50ml coconut milk on top of each bowl.
Notes
Purchase the sweet potato and butternut squash pre-cubed fresh or frozen to save time and energy! I do this and always keep bags in the freezer ready to whip up this soup. Make this ahead of time, or in big batches, store in an airtight container in the fridge or freeze in an airtight container for up to a month - then reheat and serve.
Use plant based cream if you aren’t a fan of coconut flavours
Use chicken broth if you aren’t plant based
Use regular stock if you aren’t allium, onion and garlic free
