I love soup. It’s warming, it’s comforting, and because it’s liquid, I fool myself into thinking that it’s not quite the same as eating real food – it totally doesn’t count as a meal so you can eat it as much as you want! The best think about soup though, might be the fact that it’s so much easier than you think to make it at home.
When I was going to college, I went through a major soup phase. I feel like I ate it for breakfast, lunch and dinner, no joke. The store near home sold these 1 quart deli containers of pre-made soup and I spent entirely too much of my paycheck buying soup every day. I wasn’t cooking much those days and it felt nice to stand at the stove and stir soup while I was reheating it. It felt like I was cooking even though all I was doing was spending money at a rapid rate.
Anyway, soup is integral to life! I don’t buy it much anymore, but whenever I want to feel warm and cozy I make soup. On the stove, in the oven, and of course, using the Instant Pot. I whipped up this smooth and creamy butternut squash soup as part of our Instant Pot Thanksgiving Series. What’s that, you ask!? Well, Mike and I were chatting, as we do, and I was going on and on about how much I love using the Instant Pot to pressure cook. Somehow we got to talking about Thanksgiving and all of a sudden I was challenged to make an entire turkey dinner with sides, only in the Instant Pot.
Of course I rose to the challenge. This isn’t sponsored by the way – I just thought it would be hilarious to see if it could be done. Spoiler: it can! I went with soup for the first course because I love soup as a starter to sit down meals purely because it’s make ahead. Anything that can be made ahead before a big dinner is a bonus for me. Soups reheat wonderfully and if you have a bunch of add ins to sprinkle on, everyone can customize and make it their own.
I went super simple with a ginger coconut butternut squash soup made creamy using coconut milk. Basically, you take all of your ingredients, pop them into the pot, pressure cook, then blend. The soup is thinned out and made creamy with the coconut milk and the fresh ginger adds just the right amount of warmth. Super cozy and super quick.
Hope you guys are staying warm and safe, maybe with a bowl of soup?
inside out grilled cheese and butternut squash soup,
xoxo steph
Instant Pot Ginger Coconut Butternut Squash Soup Recipe
serves 2-4
- 1 small butternut (2 lbs), peeled and cubed
- 1.5 cups vegetable stock or water
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1-2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
- 5.5 ounce can unsweetened coconut milk, a little over 1/2 cup
- salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Place the butternut squash cubes along with the water, garlic and ginger in the Instant Pot insert. Cook on high pressure for 8 minutes then do a quick release.
Use a stick blender to blend until smooth or carefully transfer everything to a blender and blend until smooth. Stir in the coconut milk and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Soup will keep in the fridge for 1 week. Be sure to stir it while reheating.
I really enjoy making homemade soup – but I don’t do it nearly enough!!
Rebecca | http://www.peppermintdolly.com