Most recipes use apple for the preferred pairing with their Butternut Squash Soup.
BUT –
Round here we like to mix things up and give pears a chance in the spotlight.
Do you love pears? Bartlett, D’ Anjou or Red Anjou?
We love them around our house. When they are ripe, they are the epitome of sweet. Isn’t nature great?
And they always take a backseat to apples in the fall – but they are at their peak around the same time (at least in Michigan).
On our About Us page, I talk briefly about the time I canned fruit and salsa when my kids were small. Pears was one of those canned items!
Want to hear a fun story?
My Pear Picking Story
At our local CSA,Harvest of Joy, our CSA host lived next door to her parents who had a beautiful apple, pear and peach orchard. Cherries too! SO yummy.
They offered the CSA members the opportunity to come and pick fruit as it ripened.
One year, I got really ambitious! I was going to can pears.
I packed the kids in the car and hauled off to the orchard.
NOW I grew up in the city (Indianapolis). I had never picked pears – now before thinking ‘oh poor girl, never had fresh fruit’ – don’t think that My mom was a huge advocate of shopping local even before that was a thang and we had our favorite orchard, Adrian’s Orchard, nearby that we frequented in all seasons. I still swear that their Apple Cider is the best. Hands down.
So back to pears. I was shown where to go in the orchard and instructed that the ripe pears were at the top of the trees.
It was a hot August day. Must have been like 90 degrees.
I tied the bucket around my waist and climbed up the ladder to start retrieving me some pears! No luck. None at that tree.
So I moved the ladder. BUT – in my hurry, didn’t really position it correctly.
And climbed up again.
Well you can imagine what happens next. The ladder starts to wobble. And halfway up the ladder, I had to jump – yes jump – before everything came toppling down on me. And I landed in mushy pears, so not a graceful landing. More like a huge ‘ooompph’ and then a quick slide to my butt.
No one was around, so no pride was lost. BUT in retrospect, I really wish I had video of this!
To keep the story short, I did end of getting a bushel of pears (because after that I was bound and determined) and canning them went beautifully. And perhaps I loved those pears even more because I worked so hard to get them.
Back to the Butternut Pear Soup
So back to the soup. It’s perfect for fall. And so simple. And comforting for fall.
The sweet nutty taste of Butternut Squash pair perfectly with the sweet juicy pear.
Stir in lite coconut milk and it turns into a creamy (yet dairy free) delight.
And if you love soup, be sure to check out our vegan soup recipes!
If you make this, we would love to know! Tag @badtothebowl on social media!
Creamy Butternut Pear Soup
Butternut squash soup with sweet pear is perfect for an autumn night!
Ingredients
- 4 cups butternut squash, peeled and cubed
- 2 ribs celery, diced
- 1/4 cup sweet onion, diced
- 1 Tblsp olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 pear, peeled and sliced
- 3 cups vegetable broth
- 1 cup lite coconut milk*
- 1/4 tsp ginger
Instructions
- In large sauce pan, sauté celery, onion and garlic in olive oil for 3 minutes.
- Add squash, pear and vegetable broth.
- Bring to a boil and boil until squash is tender – about 20 – 30 minutes.
- In small batches, add mixture to blender and blend until smooth. (or use immersion blender in the pan)**
- Pour back into sauce pan and stir in lite coconut milk and ginger.
Notes
**if you using blender, remember small batches to purée it! Otherwise you will have hot soup all over your kitchen as hot liquid expands in the blender!
