Slow Cooker Butternut Squash Soup

It's soup season and we love a good quick healthy, naturally GF and vegan soup! This one is creamy and feels decadent, comfortable, and hearty. You can make it your own by getting creative with alternative garnishes, extra spice, or make it a more substantial meal by adding some delicious crusty bread. You can't go wrong with this one, hand selected by our Director of all things Family, Zoe Cavinder.

Source: Gimme Some Oven blog

Ingredients:

• 2 cups vegetable stock
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 1 carrot, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 Granny Smith apple, cored and roughly chopped
• 1 medium (about 3–4 lbs) butternut squash, peeled, seeded and diced
• 1 white onion, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 sprig fresh sage
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne
• pinch of ground cinnamon and nutmeg
• 1/2 cup canned (unsweetened) coconut milk
• optional garnishes: Green onions, toasted pine nuts, extra coconut milk, smoked paprika, plain greek yogurt

Instructions:

• Add vegetable stock, garlic, carrot, apple, butternut squash, sage, onion, salt, pepper, cayenne, cinnamon and nutmeg to a small (4-quart) slow cooker or large (6-quart) slow cooker.  Toss to combine.
• Cook for 6-8 hours on low, or 3-4 hours on high, or until the squash is completely tender and mashes easily with a fork.  Remove and discard the sage.  Stir in the coconut milk.
• If using the stovetop, cook all the ingredients above until tender (20-30 minutes).
• Use an immersion blender to puree the soup until smooth.  (Or you can transfer the soup in two batches into a traditional blender and puree until smooth, being extremely careful not to fill the blender too full with a hot liquid.)  Taste, and season with additional salt, pepper and cayenne as needed.
• Serve warm, topped with your desired garnishes.