It’s finally soup & sweater weather! I’m so excited that the weather has tipped for us! I hope it has for you all as well. There’s nothing like it, in my opinion – soup & sweater weather that is. For our first anagrual soup of the official Fall season I decided to make my faithful Butternut Squash Minestrone Soup. But this time…I changed it up just a little. I can’t wait to hear what y’all think about it.

This soup is part of the amazing Tastes of Seasons of Home Tour hosted by my friend Ella Claire and Co. The little something extra that I added to this Butternut Squash Minestrone Soup is ground Italian Sausage. You guys, I have 3 growing kids. My 13 year old is wearing a size 13 men’s shoe. My 11 year old is wearing an 11 mens’ shoe. I’m sure you get my point here. But I’ve got to fill them up! My family needs protein + bread. LOL And I’ve gotta say, adding the Italian Sausage to this recipe puts it over the top in amazing flavor.

I’ll let you in on a little secret…

I buy the butternut squash already chopped.

I mean, have you ever tried to chop butternut squash?

It’s dangerous! Y’all you can find this bag of fresh butternut squash at your local WalMart!

With the addition of protein + the veggies this becomes a very hearty Butternut Squash Minestrone Soup! It’s perfect for those evening meals when there’s school, after school sport practices + a ton of homework!

Butternut Squash Minestrone Soup

Ingredients

1 TABLESPOON EVOO
1 lb ground Italian Sausage
1 chopped yellow onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1 12 oz bag chopped butternut squash
handful of fresh//frozen spinach
1 TABLESPOON Italian Seasoning
a few basil leaves cut in thin garnishing
1 can diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon salt
dash pepper
32 oz chicken stock/broth
2 cups water
1 thinly sliced average zucchini
1-2 cups pasta (your choice)
1 can northern beans
1 can bacon and bean soup (Campbells)

Instructions

In a large stock pot, add your EVOO & brown your Italian Sausage.
Once fully cooked, remove from pot & set aside
In remaining oil left in the pan, sauté onion, celery and carrots together. After 5 minutes, add the butternut squash over medium heat and sauté with the lid on. Checking & stirring every few minutes.
Once butternut squash is slightly tender, add Italian seasonings, s & p, and cut basil.
Add can of tomatoes and fresh (or frozen) spinach
Add both cans of beans.
Add cooked Italian Sausage, broth & water.
Simmer on medium heat until a slow boil.
Reduce and simmer of medium to low heat for a couple of hours.
Before serving, add sliced zucchini & pasta. Give time to cook & for pasta to become tender.
Serve in large bowls with crunchy bread - DELISH!

Once you have all your veggies simmering & tender, it’s all a matter of adding (dumping) the other ingredients! It’s super easy & smells wonderful!

You’ll really be surprised by what the butternut squash does for this traditional recipe. It makes the soup becomes so hearty and full of Autumn flavors!

Be sure to check out all the amazing Autumn soup recipes below! There’s so many new & fresh ideas to jazz up your cooler weather evenings. Have fun, drooling over them.