This Butternut Squash and Red Lentil Soup with Turmeric is the perfect healthy recipe you need in these last few weeks of cold weather. It’s packed with vitamins, fiber, protein, and immune-boosting properties. It’s delicious- slightly sweet from the squash, with a warm, peppery taste from the turmeric. And it’s so easy to make!
At the risk of jinxing myself, my family and I have managed to avoid getting sick this winter. I’ve been a tightly wound ball of paranoia regarding the flu. With a 14-month-old daughter, and me being almost 8 months pregnant… ugh, I don’t even want to think about it!
We’ve come this far into the flu season, and I’ll be damned if we go down without a fight. Which is why I created this soup. It has a big dose of orange vegetables (high in vitamin C), as well as turmeric (which has many immune-boosting qualities), and it’s hearty enough for a whole meal with the added protein from the red lentils.
This recipe could not be easier to throw together. I garnished the soup with some pine nuts for added texture, as well as a drizzle of plain yogurt and garnish of fresh cilantro for a tangy, bright added flavor. My daughter gobbled it right up!
I pureed the soup with an immersion blender for a velvety smooth texture, but you can use a standing blender if you don’t have one, or even a potato masher if you want more texture. I used homemade chicken stock, as I always have some on hand in my freezer, but you can use vegetable stock for a vegan/vegetarian version.
This recipe is already super inexpensive to make, but for an even more budget-friendly recipe, use water- just add a bit more of the seasoning to make a richer taste.
If you like this recipe, you’ll love this Ginger Turmeric Butternut Squash Soup and this Greek Lentil Soup.
Here’s the printable recipe for Butternut Squash and Red Lentil Soup with Turmeric!
Butternut Squash and Red Lentil Soup with Turmeric
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter divided (or olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- kosher salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 6 cups chicken stock/broth vegetable broth, or water (or a mixture of these)
- 1 medium butternut squash peeled, seeded, and cubed (about 5 cups)
- 1 cup red lentils
- yogurt, chopped fresh cilantro, and/or toasted pine nuts for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- In a large pot, sauté the onion in 1 tablespoon of the butter over medium high heat until softened and starting to brown (about 3 minutes).
- Add the cumin (1 teaspoon), turmeric (1 teaspoon), and salt and pepper to taste. Stir, coating the onions in the spice mixture, until it becomes fragrant (about 1 minute). This will help the spices toast and become more flavorful.
- Add the broth and/or water (6 cups), cubed butternut squash (about 5 cups), and dry red lentils (1 cup). Stir, bring to a boil, cover, and simmer until squash is tender and lentils are fully cooked (15-20 minutes).
- Use an immersion blender to puree the soup directly in the pot until very smooth. Alternatively, you can use use a standing blender in batches to do this (or for a more rustic, textured soup, a potato masher will do just fine).
- Stir remaining 1 tablespoon butter into soup until melted. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
- Serve garnished with plain yogurt, chopped fresh cilantro, and/or toasted pine nuts, if desired.
Notes
- Make it vegan: be sure to use vegetable stock and/or water, as well as olive oil instead of butter.
- Storing leftovers: This soup reheats and freezes well- make ahead of time and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or the freezer for up to 6 months.
- The provided nutrition information does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. Feel free to calculate it yourself using this calculator or by adding the recipe to Yummly.
Nutrition
Nutrition Information Disclaimer
The provided nutrition information is my best estimate and does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. I use an automatic API to calculate this information. Feel free to calculate it yourself using one of these tools:
Mary
Thank you Elizabeth, for your suggestions. I do have some left over and will try adding more salt to it! I’m sure it’s a good recipe if you have good ingredients, and I think that was my problem to start.
Mary
This was really bad, really tasteless. And that’s after I roasted my squash (roasting usually gives the squash a sweeter, more caramelized flavor). The soup was lacking flavor, and definitely needed the yogurt addition to give it some taste! Maybe it was my squash? There’s a lot of butternut squash soup recipes out there, unfortunately, I will not be including this one in my dinner repertoire.
Elizabeth Lindemann
It’s so frustrating to have a recipe not come out the way you expect! My suspicion here is that it was lacking in salt. 9 times out of 10, when someone says something is tasteless, it just needs more salt to bring out all those other flavors. Now, the amount of salt you add to a soup will vary depending on what kind of broth/stock you use. I find I barely need to add any salt if I’m using a regular sodium pre-made broth or a better than bouillon or similar substitute. But if I use a low sodium or homemade chicken or vegetable broth, I often need to add more. If you still have some soup leftover, I would try adding some salt to it and seeing what happens!
One more thing – you could be right about your butternut squash being not great. I’ve had really bad, tasteless butternut squashes before, especially off-season. It’s usually lacking in sweetness, so your instinct of roasting it was great to bring out those natural sugars. A sprinkle of sugar or brown sugar or maple syrup or something with roasting could help in the future!
Finally, citrus will sometimes have a similar effect to adding salt, in that it can enhance the other flavors in it. I have another red lentil soup where lemon juice is added at the end (here it is: https://www.bowlofdelicious.com/red-lentil-soup/ ) – a squeeze of lemon or lime juice at the end (off heat) of cooking this may help boost the flavor a bit as well.
Hope that helps – don’t be afraid of that salt!
Ruth
I have just made this soup and I loved it. I roasted the butternut squash first to make it a bit easier as I have arthritis so chopping hurts. We had it unblended and it was superb, thanks so much xxx
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it! Great idea to roast the butternut squash first – so much easier to handle (and tastier, too!).
Tracy
Delicious and super easy to make with just a few ingredients.
Elizabeth Lindemann
Glad you liked it!
Heather
How much in volume is in a serving?
Looks delish!
Elizabeth Lindemann
I can’t give you an exact answer here, but I’d estimate that the entire pot makes about 10 cups of soup, which would be 2.5 cups per serving at 4 servings per batch! Hope that helps :-)
Laura
Butternut squash ripening in the garden! Delighted to find this recipe. Love red lentils and turmeric. A pot of your marinara is cooking right now, however, tweaked a bit, as needed. Enjoying the rest of your blog as it cooks.
Elizabeth
Wish I had butternut squash in my garden! I tried two years in a row but squash vine borers always get them. Hope you liked the marinara!
CakePants
This looks fantastic! Sometimes I find that I’m still a little hungry after having butternut squash soup, so I love that you added lentils for extra protein/staying power. Best wishes for a healthy rest of your pregnancy!
Elizabeth
Thanks!! That’s exactly why I added them- I didn’t want to still be hungry (although at this point in pregnancy that’s nigh impossible lol).