Before going into the directions, I wanted to mention that there are numerous ways to make this soup. This is just my own preference, and other methods aren’t necessarily better or worse, just alternatives. I’ll go over some of them in the section below on alternatives for the soup.

Preheat your oven to 425°F/220°C.

Prepare the butternut squash by slicing off the top and a little of the bottom. Stand it up and cut straight down the middle, splitting the squash into 2 equal halves. In the wider section at the bottom, you’ll see a lot of seeds and fibers. Use a serving spoon, regular spoon, or even ice cream scoop to remove all of that. Set that aside if you wish to reserve the seeds as a topping, or toss.

Once the squash has been removed from the oven, heat a large, heavy bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium heat and add your oil. Once heated, add the diced onion, and cook until it starts to become translucent, about 4-5 minutes. While the onion is cooking, scoop the flesh out of the butternut squash and set aside. If the squash is still hot to the touch, use a paper towel to hold it while scooping. Add the squash, garlic, 2 teaspoons of maple syrup, and the reserved ground cinnamon and nutmeg to the pot and mix to combine. Cook another minute or two and then add 3 cups of vegetable broth and ½ cup of unsweetened coconut milk, stirring to combine. Bring everything to a boil, then lower temperature to a simmer and let it cook for 10-15 minutes.

After it has cooked in the pot, turn off the heat and allow it to cool about 5 minutes before transferring the mixture to a blender in batches. Be very careful when blending a hot soup and don’t fill the blender too much beyond halfway. Loosen or remove the plastic feeder cap from the lid and cover with a kitchen towel. Start slowly on a mix or chop setting, then increase to a puree, blending until the mixture looks like it has all been combined and is smooth, about 1-2 minutes. Alternatively, use an immersion blender and blend everything directly in the pot until smooth.

After the soup is fully blended, place back into the pot over low heat. Use a ladle or large spoon to check the consistency. If the soup is thicker than you like, add some more broth or water until it’s at your preferred consistency. The soup should be thick, but still pourable from a ladle or spoon without looking thin and watery. Now taste and adjust for salt and pepper and sweetness. Depending on the broth or stock that you use, you made need to add more salt or none at all. If you want a little more sweetness, add some honey or more maple syrup. If you like the cinnamon flavor to come through more, you can also add more cinnamon or even some pumpkin pie spice.

Serve in soup bowls and top with your choice of toppings or none.