When fall is in the air, all I want to eat is soup. I get cold so easily, so nothing warms the belly (or the soul) more than homemade soup – especially when it’s a warm, hearty puree.

This is one of my favorite (and new!) fall recipes now that I live in Northern California, so from my kitchen to yours, I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 – 1  1/2 cup vegetable stock if vegan (or chicken stock OR organic chicken bone broth if not)
• 1 stick-pack of Vital Protein’s Organic, Free Range, Chicken Bone Broth Collagen (leave OUT if vegan)
• 1 pound organic cubed butternut squash (I buy mine pre-cubed, because #momlife and no time to prep a whole squash). Can also use pumpkin, or a combo of both
• 1 can of organic pumpkin puree
• 1 organic Granny Smith apple cored, and cubed
• 1 medium organic onion, sliced
• 1 tablespoon avocado oil (I like Chosen Foods)
• 1-2 clove(s) of organic garlic, minced
• Pink Himalayan salt + ground black pepper to taste
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne powder (or more depending on your spice-level) to taste
• freshly ground black pepper to taste
• Optional: unsweetened coconut, cashew, or almond milk as a thinning agent
• Optional: garlic + onion powder to taste
• Optional: Pinch of dried sage, thyme, or oregano
• Want to garnish your soup? Try topping with pumpkin seeds, fresh chives, fresh parsley, pomegranate, or baked apples
• 

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F
2. Grab a large baking sheet and line with parchment paper (make sure to check what the max heat tolerance is)
3. In a large mixing bowl, add your cubed butternut squash + sliced onion
4. Add avocado oil to bowl and top with salt and pepper

1. Bake for about 20 minutes
2. Remove baking sheet from over and add the garlic and apple to the pan with the squash + onion
3. Bake for another 30 minutes or so, or until apples + squash are tender and soft, being careful to not let garlic burn
4. Remove baking pan and set aside to cool
5. Optional: warm broth in a stove-top pan and add Vital Protein’s Bone Broth or Collagen
6. Now, you can chose to use either a hand-immersion blender or a high-speed blender
7. Transfer your baked goodies to large pot (if using hand-immersion blender) or to your high-speed blender
8. Add cayenne + veggie/chicken stock/broth + bone broth collagen + any other spices you wish
9. BE SURE TO LET ALL CONTENTS COOL OR BE VERYYYYY CAREFUL ADDING HOT INGREDIENTS TO A BLENDER.
10. Blend on high for 2-3 minutes, or until soup is silky smooth
11. If consistency is too thick, add more of vegetable stock and/or dairy-free milk (I typically add another cup of veggie stock/broth!)
12. Taste and add more seasoning if necessary
13. If you want to serve immediately, if soup cooled down to much, heat in a large pan on the stove
14. When ready to serve, ladle soup into bowls and serve
15. For leftovers: refrigerate up to 3 days or freeze up to one month in an air-tight container