Slow Cooker Butternut Squash Soup

The weather is finally cooling down in LA (meaning it's under 70 degrees) and I'm excited to start making all of my favorite fall recipes.  Along with curries, soups are one of my favorite ways to warm up during the cold season.  This butternut squash soup has been a staple the past few years in my fall/winter diet because it's so easy to make & bursting with flavors.  You know I'm all about setting up the slow cooker in the morning and having a delicious meal ready at the end of the work day, so this recipe was a must.  The original recipe for this soup came from IFoodReal (here), but I made some tweaks to the recipe that I'll share with you below.

Why do I love this soup so much?  Well first, creamy butternut squash soup is amazing on its own.  This soup also has some other great bold flavors like curry and arugula that pack a punch of flavor.  Topped with sweet and crunchy red bell peppers and pepitas, this soup brings together a multitude of textures and flavors that are pretty spectacular.  Oh, and again, it's SO easy to make which is 100% necessary these days.  I'm trying hard to find a balance between working 9-10 hours/day, working out, eating good food & posting recipes and I'll tell you, it's not easy.  And that's why it took me about a week to finally post the pictures and recipes for this soup, but it's definitely worth the wait!  Check out the recipe for this easy & delicious soup below.

Total Time: 8 hours
Servings: 5

Ingredients:

1 large butternut squash, peeled & cubed

1, 14 oz can coconut milk

1 1/2 lbs chicken

2 large red bell peppers

4 cups arugula, chopped

1 cup water

3 tbs red curry paste

2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

Salt to taste

Optional: 2 cups cooked quinoa or rice, 1/3 cup peanuts or pumpkin seeds, 1/4 cup cilantro, and hot sauce

Instructions:

1. Add chicken, squash, coconut milk, water, curry paste, garlic and salt to a slow cooker and set to low for 8 hours.
2. At 8 hours, remove the chicken from the slow cooker and shred.  With the chicken removed from the slow cooker, use an immersion blender to blend the squash and coconut milk mixture.  Add the chicken back to the slow cooker and stir to combine. 
3. Top the soup with bell peppers, arugula and other optional toppings.