We are at the tail end of the Winter Squash season but if you can find a butternut squash you need to make this soup. I was in Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods the other day and both still have butternut squash in stock. My daughter Katy made this recipe first and she said I needed to make it. She was right as it is filling and fabulous. I had to tweak it a little with the addition of about 4 cups of chopped kale to up the nutrition a tad and help us get in some of our daily greens. We just might be fighting over who gets that last bowl of deliciousness. The recipe called for kidney beans but we also used a can of black beans. Like most soups its even better the second day making it one of those perfect leftover meals. You all know how much I love leftovers – those easy heat and eat meals make me happy!
Butternut Squash and Bean Chili
- 1 large onion, cut into medium dice
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme leaves
- 1 can (14.5 ounces) petite-diced tomatoes
- 4 cups bite-size diced butternut squash
- 2 cans (15 to 16 ounces each) kidney beans, drained or black beans, pinto beans or a combination of you favorites
- 1 quart vegetable broth
- 1 can (13.5 ounces) light coconut milk
- 4 cups chopped organic kale
- 1/2 cup thinly sliced scallion, white and green part – optional
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro – optional
Spray a dutch oven with non stick spray and heat it over medium-high heat. Add onions and sauté until softened, about 4 minutes – add a little water if needed to keep them from sticking. Add garlic, chili powder, paprika, and thyme; sauté until fragrant, about a minute. Add tomatoes; stew to reduce slightly, a couple of minutes longer. Add squash, kidney beans, broth, kale and coconut milk; bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, partially covered, until squash are tender and flavors blend, about 30 minutes. Turn off heat and stir in scallions and cilantro if using; let stand to blend flavors, a few minutes longer. Serve, garnishing with extra scallions and cilantro if desired. Since I added kale we skipped the cilantro and green onions.
Yield: approximately 12 cups (I forgot to write it down but I think it was about 12 cups. You can always measure out how many cups you get or divide the finished soup into 6 bowls
Serves: 6
Serving Size: Approx 2 cups
Recipe adapted from Butternut Squash and Kidney Bean Chili from Three Many Cooks blog.
*Estimated Nutritional Information
Per Serving; Calories 242, Fat 5g, Cholesterol 0mg, Sodium 768.3mg, Potassium 282.4mg, Carbohydrates 40.6g, Fiber 9.8g, Protein 10g, WWPP 6
*The nutritional information and WW PP values posted on Nutmeg Notebook are my best estimates based on the brands of products I use and the software programs used to calculate them. If you rely heavily on the nutritional information and WWPP values I encourage you to double check the values given, using the brands of products you use. If you find big differences feel free to email me or leave me a comment letting me know.
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