Butternut Apple Slow Cooker Soup

On the mornings when a knife and a cutting board are the entire ask, this is the recipe that meets you there. Everything goes into the slow cooker raw, and by evening the work is behind you. The protocol runs long, and it survives on the days you had nothing to give it.

Hold the coconut milk until the end. 8 hours of heat can split it, and stirring the cup in after the squash has gone soft is what keeps the finished soup silky rather than grainy. The apples are the sweetener and the acid at once, which is why there is no sugar on the ingredient list. Taste it before you salt it.

There is a nutritional reason for the cream beyond texture. Beta-carotene is what makes the squash orange, it is the raw material your body makes vitamin A from, and vitamin A is involved in holding the gut's mucosal lining together. Beta-carotene is fat-soluble, so unlike vitamin C it comes through 8 hours of heat intact, and it absorbs better in the presence of fat. Slow, long and finished with cream is close to the best case for getting it out of 2 pounds of squash.

Ingredients

• 1 medium yellow onion, cut into 2-inch pieces
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
• 2 pounds butternut squash, cubed
• 1/2 pound sweet potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 2-inch pieces
• 1 pound apples, cored and cut into 2-inch pieces
• 1 celery stalk, cut into 1 to 1.5 inch pieces
• 2 to 3 teaspoons sea salt (to taste)
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 32 oz chicken broth (or vegetable broth for a plant-forward version)
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup coconut milk, from a can

Method

Add the onion, garlic, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, apples, and celery to the slow cooker. Sprinkle with salt and turmeric. Pour in the chicken broth and apple cider vinegar and stir briefly to distribute the spice.

Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours, or on high for 3 to 4 hours, until the squash and sweet potato are completely soft.

Add the coconut milk. Using an immersion blender, blend directly in the slow cooker until completely smooth. Alternatively, transfer the soup carefully in batches to a blender, blend until smooth, then return to the pot.

Taste and adjust salt. Serve hot.

Instant Pot variation

Add all ingredients except the coconut milk to the Instant Pot insert. Lock the lid, set the valve to sealing, and pressure cook on high for 15 minutes. Allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes, then carefully release any remaining pressure manually. Add the coconut milk and blend smooth with an immersion blender or in batches in a blender. Taste and adjust salt before serving.

*Adapted from Autoimmune Wellness*