It’s now officially October and orange food month – yes, that means pumpkin – but I’m starting off the month with a different orange veg. The butternut squash … which has been blowing up in our garden for a couple months now, and I have been feeling the pressure to figure out what to do with them. I decided to soup them up, but not in the normal chunks way. Smash those chunks into a thick soup, add some lentils, minimal herbs, and seriously this was the easiest and most low-maintenance soup I have ever created, or made. And I love to create soups, because I am all about ease and freezing. Because me and my food ruts rock, so having stuff in the freezer that I had forgotten about and can grab helps to break up the monotony. I hope you grab some butternuts for this easy vegan and gluten-free Butternut Lentil Soup.

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Don’t you love when you are cooking and all your ingredients match? And really, that was why I chose to use the red lentils in this soup. Because it’s October and it’s technically “everything orange” month. And red lentils lose their color while cooking which makes them perfect for a butternut soup. And butternut loves to be mushy, right? I love roasting butternut squash with tons of different flavors, but they always turn out mushy. Not bad, but I want crisp out of the oven. But in this soup? This mega-grower is going to be the big, mushy star! … And by mega-grower, we have like 10 butternuts sitting on top of our back freezer ripening and waiting to be used, and many, many more in the garden needing to be picked. I love when I get to use free veggies!

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Super-duper easy soup right here! Just boil the two cubed butternuts with the 1(!) herb then mash away once they are totally soft. And take off the burner off when mashing! It likes to spit, believe me. I used a trusty potato masher for this, but if you have an immersion blender then you can use that – I don’t have one, and even when I did I could never get them to work for me and get everything creamy the way I like it. Once it’s all mashed up, pour in the rest of your ingredients and cook until lentils are tender, between 30-45 minutes. Then just portion out, let cool completely in your Tupperware containers, then place them in the freezer. Or put in the fridge for lunches for the week. I got 8 portions out of this mega-soup, so it’s freezer time, woohoo!

Butternut Lentil Soup, 8 portions

2 Butternut Squash, peeled and cubed
6 C Water
1 Tbsp Dried Rosemary, minced
1 1/2 C Red Lentils
1 Large Onion, shredded
2 Tbsp Minced Garlic
2 Tsp Black Pepper
1 Tsp Smoked Paprika
1 Bay Leaf
1 Cntr Imagine Foods Vegetarian No-Chicken Stock

1. Pour water into a large soup pot. Pour dried Rosemary onto a cutting board and cover with your hand as you gently mince it.
2. Pour Rosemary into the water.
3. Peel the butternut and scrape out the seeds. Chop squash into like-size pieces and dump gently into the pot.
4. Bring to a boil and let cook until all squash are just past fork tender.
5. Chop onion in half then take the outer skin off. Shred on a cheese grater and set aside.
6. Turn off heat and take the pot off the burner. Mash with a potato masher until smooth and creamy.
7. Place back on the burner and turn to low heat.
8. Add the rest of the ingredients and let cook until lentils are tender.
9. Portion out and enjoy!