Panera Autumn Squash Soup (Copycat)
A few years ago, Roger and I tried a bowl of Panera’s butternut squash soup and fell in love with their velvety bowl of deliciousness. I don’t know why it took me so long to try a copycat recipe for it, but better late than never.
To be honest, it had been so long since I last had a bowl of the Panera soup I couldn’t tell just how close to it this copycat recipe is. But you know what? It doesn’t matter because this soup is so good that I don’t care!
The soup truly is the taste of autumn in a bowl with the roasted squash, pumpkin, and apple juice as ingredients and the addition of fall spices. When you put a spoonful in your mouth, the word “luscious” immediately comes to mind. Whatever you do, do not skip the pepitas as garnish—it adds such a delightful crunch.
Hubby and I thought the soup was even better the second day as the flavors melded in the best possible way. We split a grilled cheese sandwich along with our soup and saved a trip to Panera, not to mention a fair amount of money since we got eight lunch bowls of soup out of the batch. That’s four delicious lunches for the two of us, and we were both sorry when the batch of soup was gone.
I’ve put butternut squash on my shopping list because I want to make another batch of this soup very soon. It’s frantastic!
Panera Autumn Squash Soup (Copycat)
Ingredients for the Roasted Butternut Squash
- 1 large butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into cubes (about 6 cups squash or 2 lbs.)
- 2 tbl. honey
- 2 tbl. unsalted butter, melted
- Pinch of salt and cinnamon
Ingredients for the Soup
- 1 tbl. olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion, coarsely chopped
- 2 large carrots, chopped into thin rounds or finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 to 3 tsp. fresh ginger, chopped (I used 1 tsp.)
- 4 cups chicken (or vegetable) broth
- 2 cups apple juice or apple cider
- 2 tbl. lemon juice
- 2 to 3 tbl. honey (start out with 2 tbl. and taste test)
- 1 tsp. kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp. curry powder
- 1/2 tsp. ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp. fresh ground nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp. turmeric
- One 15 oz. can pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)
- 4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
- 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- Garnish: pepitas, olive oil or cream, paprika
Directions
Preheat the oven to 425o F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper for easy cleanup, if desired.
Place the butternut squash cubes on the baking sheet. Add the honey, butter, salt and cinnamon on top and toss until coated and arrange them in a single, even layer. Roast the butternut squash until they’re caramelized and tender, approximately 25 minutes.
When the butternut squash is almost done, heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large soup pot or Dutch oven. Add the onions and sauté for 5 minutes or until onions are soft, being sure to stir occasionally.
Add the carrots, garlic, and ginger and stir to combine. Cook for another 1 to 2 minutes, until fragrant.
Add the roasted butternut squash, followed by the broth, apple juice, lemon juice, honey, and all the seasonings. Bring the soup to a boil, then down to medium-low and simmer until carrots are tender, approximately 10 minutes.
Once the carrots are done, add in the pumpkin, cream cheese and brown sugar. The cream cheese will be a little clumpy but it’s OK.
Remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes before transferring to a blender. Purée the soup, working in batches, until the soup is smooth. Make sure you vent the top of the blender!
Stir in the heavy cream. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve with pepitas, a drizzle of olive oil or cream and paprika.
Fran’s Notes
The soup will thicken up in the fridge. Just add a little water to get it back to the consistency you like.
Source: A recipe from Krolls Korner