This butternut squash and beet soup is a warm, comforting recipe – perfect for fall and winter. Pop the ingredients in the crockpot on a weekend afternoon, and by dinnertime you’ll have a delicious dish awaiting you. This is a great high-protein soup that’s packs in nutritious ingredients, ideal for those looking to fuel their fitness.
Note: This post was originally published in November 2015, and has been updated in May 2021.
Ingredients
This recipe uses minimal ingredients but packs in a lot of flavor. We’ve been stocked up on beets and squash from our CSA, so I started with those ingredients and figured out the rest of the recipe from there.
Here’s what you’ll need, along with some helpful notes about a few of the ingredients:
- Butternut squash – If you’ve never worked with fresh butternut squash before, don’t feel intimidated. Start by running the peeler over the outside of the squash – you’ll see how the texture changes after you peel off the harder outer layer. (The skin on squash is thick but a standard kitchen peeler works just fine.) Then cut the squash in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds from the wider part, then chop it up into pieces. You’ll use some in this recipe, and then you can save the extra squash to make this breakfast casserole or butternut squash brownies!
- Beets – Be careful when peeling and chopping these, as they can stain your clothes.
- Onion
- Garlic
- Chicken breast
- Chicken broth
- Seasonings: curry powder, coriander, salt, and pepper
- Coconut milk – You want the full-fat kind in the can, not the lower-fat refrigerated cartons.
Instructions
Slow cooker recipes are amazing because they make it so easy to create a no-fuss meal! That applies to this recipe too. You’ll find the full amounts and instructions in the recipe card below, but here are some helpful step-by-step tips and pictures.
You’ll start by tossing your squash, beets, onion, garlic, and chicken in the slow cooker. You’ll need to chop up your veggies, but you can leave the chicken breast as-is without cutting that up.
Go ahead and pour the broth in and add your spices.
Then turn that on and let it cook for about 3-4 hours. This is plenty of time for the chicken to cook through and the squash and beets to get tender.
Take the chicken breast out and set it aside for a sec. Go ahead and pour the coconut milk in and cover the crockpot while you shred the chicken. To do that, just use two forks – it should shred nice and easily, like this:
Set that aside for a minute while you turn the crockpot off. Take an immersion blender and puree most of your butternut squash and beet soup. There’s no hard and fast rule here as to how much. I like to puree it so that it’s mostly creamy but still has some occasional chunks of beets or squash.
Now add that shredded chicken back to the soup, and it’s ready to serve!
Recipe FAQ
Here are some common questions that may come up related to this recipe:
- Is this recipe dairy free? Gluten free? Yes, this recipe is both dairy free and gluten free.
- What should you serve with this soup? If you have a large serving of this, it can be a light meal on it’s own, though I personally prefer it along with a piece of sourdough bread or a dinner roll. If you have a smaller portion, I’d recommend serving it alongside both a salad and bread.
- How should you store this soup? Store leftovers in a food storage container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Nutrition benefits
From a nutrition standpoint, I think this soup is a clear winner.
First off, let’s talk about those beets. They contain naturally occurring dietary nitrates, which act as a vasodilator – in other words, opening up blood vessels and increasing blood and oxygen flow to the muscles. In fact, research on beetroot juice has shown improved performance in endurance athletes!
Now, beet juice is a more concentrated source of nitrates used strategically for workouts, but there’s definitely still health benefits to including beets in your daily diet.
In addition to those dietary nitrates, this soup is also a good source of iron, which helps transport oxygen in your blood stream (key for athletes). And it’s an excellent source of potassium, an electrolyte that we lose when we sweat.
Last but not least, you’re getting quite a bit of protein, thanks to the chicken breast. That makes this soup more satiating than many other squash soups, and that protein also helps with muscle repair and recovery after a tough workout.
(PS – While the sodium content is a bit high, that’s OK as long as the rest of your day is balanced. If you have a medical condition that requires you to limit sodium intake, use unsalted broth rather than regular broth.)
I know this isn’t the prettiest recipe, but I promise – it tastes great. Plus it’s an easy recipe to make with minimal ingredients. Break out your slow cooker, give it a try, and let me know how you like it!
Butternut Squash and Beet Soup with Chicken
Ingredients
- 3 cups peeled and chopped butternut squash (about half of a medium squash)
- 2 beets, peeled and chopped into ½-inch chunks
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 1 tsp coriander
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- 1 cup coconut milk
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients except the coconut milk in the crock pot. Cook on high for 3-4 hours.
- About 15 minutes before you’re ready to serve this, remove the chicken breast and set aside on a cutting board.
- Pour the coconut milk into the crockpot and cover the crockpot again. Meanwhile, use two forks to shred the chicken breast. Leave to the side for now.
- Turn the crockpot off and use an immersion blender to puree most of the soup, leaving some chunks of veggies (or pureeing completely if desired). Return the shredded chicken to the soup and give everything a good stir. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- This recipe yields 4 large servings or 6 smaller servings.
Nutrition
Share with me: What are your favorite ways to use butternut squash or beets? Do you love your slow cooker as much as I do? What’s your favorite recipe to make in it?
Feel free to pin this post to share with others! 🙂
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The only thing I love more than butternut squash in the fall is butternut squash soup!! I can’t wait to try this!! 🙂
Hope you like it Rachel! I thought this one was fun because it was a bit of a change from my traditional butternut squash soup.
I bought the ingredients to make this recipe this week, To save myself time and most importantly my flesh (I can be dangerous to myself with a knife) I bought the pre chopped and peeled butternut squash. I wasn’t sure how much I needed so I bought a few packages. Any idea about how much 1/2 medium-large butternut squash yields when diced? 2 cups? Also, I’ve never had beets except the pickled ones as a kiddo…eh. So this is going to be new for me as well. Thank you for your blog and FB group. It’s SO helpful!!
Hey there! I really should start listing ingredients in both whole and cup quantities for things like this 😉 I believe a 2 lb squash will yield around 4 cups of chopped squash, so half would be right around what you’re thinking – 2 cups. I think this recipe is pretty forgiving though quantity wise, so I wouldn’t fret if you use a little more or a little less. Also, after making this a bunch of times, I think the cooking time should be closer to 4 hours on high (rather than 4-6) just so the chicken doesn’t get dry (but if you use thighs, you could do it longer). I’m going to make that edit right now.
Definitely let me know if you like it or if there are any changes you’d make! 🙂
I recommend using the WP plugin for recipes. It will make it so your recipes can be printed easier. Google likes it too!
Hi Elizabeth – Thanks for the tip 🙂 I actually do use WP Recipe Maker; there are just a few old posts (including this one) that I haven’t updated yet!
This was SO good! I was really skeptical because these aren’t usually ingredients that I use, but I had both squash and beets on hand. A huge win! It’s a beautiful color and both of my kids ate it. Thank you!
The ratios of everything were excellent. I can’t eat garlic, so I left that out and it was still good without it.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Lauren! We definitely love this meal in the fall – easy and delish. 🙂
I don’t use red beets in recipes since I discovered golden beets…these taste milder and don’t stain everything…this soup was great…thanks for the recipes.
Glad you enjoyed it! Love your idea of using golden beets as an alternative. 🙂