Creamy, thick, and delicious, this butternut squash soup with bacon will satisfy even the pickiest of taste buds on a cold day!
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Carefully slice squash in half, lengthwise; scoop out the seeds. Put 4 squash halves cut side up, on a large cookie sheet (with edges). Put one slice of butter into each hole (where the seeds were). Season with salt and pepper. Roast butternut squash for 50-60 minutes at 400 degrees (or until tender). When tender, remove from oven. Let squash cool until it is cool enough to scoop all the squash out of the skins into a large bowl.
Cook bacon in a medium skillet until very crisp. Remove bacon from pan; drain off bacon grease with the exception of 2 Tablespoons (and any little brown bits remaining in the skillet), which you leave in the skillet. Crumble bacon pieces, and set aside for garnishing soup before serving.
Add chopped onion to bacon grease in skillet; cook until softened (about 5 minutes). Transfer onions and any remaining bacon grease from the skillet into a large, heavy stockpot. Stir in cooked squash, chicken stock (add 5 cups of chicken stock at first), 3 thyme sprigs (whole), and the bay leaf. Bring mixture to a boil over high heat; stir frequently. Once mixture comes to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
After 15 minutes, remove thyme sprigs and bay leaf. Discard. Using an immersion blender, blend soup until thick and creamy. If not using immersion blender, transfer soup in batches to a food processor or blender, and blend until smooth (about a minute per batch), then return soup to stockpot. If you want soup to be thinner, add an additional cup of chicken stock and stir to combine. Stir 1 Tablespoon whipping cream into soup; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Reheat soup, if necessary. Ladle soup into serving bowls. To serve, place some of the crumbled bacon onto the top middle of the soup. Drizzle a tiny bit of whipping cream onto top, then drizzle with a tiny bit of olive oil. Garnish with thyme leaves. Serve, and enjoy!
The prep time includes the time for roasting the squash. Cook the bacon, onions, etc. while squash is in oven to reduce overall time.
Butternut Squash Soup with Bacon https://www.thegratefulgirlcooks.com/butternut-squash-soup-bacon/