Butternut Squash Chicken Soup with Egg Noodles is a wonderful autumn-winter soup that will brighten your whole day. It has an intense beautiful orange color, a sweetish taste, and is full of vitamins and nutritional values. Chicken breasts are a great source of protein. Butternut squash has a well-balanced flavor, apples add extra sweetness to the soup, and the rest of the ingredients perfectly complement the taste of the soup.
Butternut Squash Chicken Soup is a wholesome meal and you don’t need to eat anything else for dinner 🙂 I think the whole family will like it, even the children. My family loved this soup, significantly since I added chicken breast to it. My mom who loves most cozy soups asked for the recipe. She said she would write it down in her special notebook where she collects her favorite recipes.
At the bottom of the post there is a video with my recipe, as well as a step-by-step description of how to make this butternut squash soup. At the very end you will find a print-ready recipe!
Why make this butternut squash chicken soup?
The recipe is really simple and everyone should be able to handle it. The hardest part is peeling the butternut squash. Vegetables need to be cut, fried in a pan, and thrown into the boiling broth. Then you have to blend everything. Remember! You must have a blender in the kitchen.
Butternut squash soup with chicken breast is full of nutrients, especially protein. One bowl of soup is a really complete meal. Butternut squash is an easily digestible and low-calorie vegetable (fruit).
What is Butternut Squash and can you replace it with pumpkin?
Butternut Squash is a type of winter squash and a vine-ripened fruit. So technically is a fruit 😉 However, thanks to its wide use, also in savory dishes, it is considered a vegetable by most people.
It has bright skin with orange flesh. Its shape resembles a wine bottle. The top of butternut squash is narrower than its bottom. It has a firm, moist texture and a nutty buttery flavor.
Butternut squash is a treasury of many vitamins and minerals that are essential for our body.
Butternut squash skin is soft enough to peel with a good, sharp vegetable peeler. It is more manageable and easier to peel than regular pumpkin, which has tough skin. So use a good quality, sharp vegetable peeler to peel all of the skin off of the butternut squash. Of course, butternut squash is not as easy to peel as apples or cucumbers, but you’ll be fine 😉
You can also make peeling easier. Prick the butternut squash with the fork, then heat it in the microwave for 2 minutes. The skin will soften a little.
Want to know more about butternut squash and how to cut it? Check out this article:
How To Cut Butternut Squash | Gimme Some Oven
Butternut squash and pumpkin are interchangeable in many recipes. This recipe for this cozy chicken breast soup is not an exception.
If you have pumpkin at home or you just have your favorite type of pumpkin, you can easily use it to prepare this soup.
Ingredients You Need To Prepare Butternut Squash Chicken Egg Noodles Soup
Butternut Squash – The most important ingredient in the soup, which gives it a delicious taste and color. Choose butternut squash with a nice dark beige color, without any bruises or too deep cuts. If there are any green spots and lines, it’s not ready to cook – it was probably picked too early.
Chicken Breasts – You need boneless skinless chicken breasts. Thanks to the addition of chicken breasts, the soup is filling.
Apples – choose sweet apples, because their job is to add sweetness to the soup.
Yellow Pepper – Yellow pepper is quite similar to red but less sweet and bitter.
Lemon – a little lemon juice will add acidity to the soup and highlight other flavors.
Carrot – The carrots add extra sweetness and color to the soup.
Egg Noodles – Egg Noodles are great for all kinds of soups. However, if you prefer traditional pasta, you can use it. Italian tortellini will also be great here.
Sweet Ground Paprika – You can replace it with smoked paprika or hot paprika powder. Gochugaru, Korean chili powder or chili flakes will also be great here.
Check out this amazing recipe for Sticky Honey Gochugaru Chicken Breast:
https://www.pastamamacooks.com/2022/11/27/sticky-honey-gochugaru-chicken-recipe-video/
Fresh Parsley: It is worth adding a little fresh parsley. For herbal taste, smell, and color.
Broth or stock – preferably reduced salt. You can use chicken or vegetable broth/stock. Although chicken broth will be a little bit better in this recipe.
Salt and pepper – Salt and pepper enhance and add flavor. They are essential in the kitchen 🙂
How To Make Butternut Squash Chicken Breast Soup with Egg Noodles
Step 1
Peel and dice the butternut squash. Cut the peppers, peeled carrots, apples, and garlic cloves into small pieces. Everything will be blended later, so the shape of the cut vegetables and apples is not that important.
Step 2
Put the chicken breasts in a pot, pour in the broth/stock, and cook until the meat is tender. From the moment the broth/stock boils, you will need to cook the meat for about 20-25 minutes. After this time, carefully remove the chicken breasts from the pot and place them in a bowl.
Step 3
Heat the oil in the pan. Put the carrots and yellow bell peppers in the pan and cook over medium heat for about 2-3 minutes. After this time, make room in the center of the pan and put chopped garlic. Fry it for about one minute, then mix everything. Then transfer the vegetables from the pan to the boiling broth. Add sliced apple pieces and sliced pumpkin.
Step 4
Add salt and pepper, sugar, and lemon juice. Cook the soup for about 20 minutes. Check if the butternut squash is soft. If it is soft, the soup is ready to blend. You can use a hand blender or a stand blender. If you use a stand blender, you will have to divide the soup into two or even three parts.
Step 5
Pour the soup into a pot, then add the paprika powder. Shred the chicken breast and add it to the soup.
How to shred a chicken breast?
If the chicken breasts are well-cooked and tender, they should be very easy to slice or shred. You can use a fork and knife or two forks. It can even work with your fingers.
Step 6
Now it’s time to add fresh parsley. You can add noodles to the soup. Egg noodles are the best here.
Cook the egg noodles according to the instructions on the package. Do not add them directly to the pot. Especially if you plan to eat the soup the next day as well. Put as much egg noodles on the plate as you want and pour the soup over it. If you add them directly to the soup pot, they may become too soft and not as tasty after a few hours.
Butternut Squash Chicken Breast Soup
Ingredients
- 2 lb/900 g butternut squash
- 12,5 cups / 3 litres chicken broth/stock you can use vegetable broth/stock
- 2 yellow bell peppers you can use red bell peppers
- 1 big carrot
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 1 tbsp paprika powder
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley
- salt to taste*(note 1)
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 tsp sugar optional
- 2 big or 3 small chicken breasts ~21oz/600 g
Instructions
- Peel and dice the butternut squash. Cut the peppers, peeled carrots, apples, and garlic cloves into small pieces. You don't have to peel the apples.
- Heat the oil in the pan. Put yellow bell peppers and the carrot in the pan and cook over medium heat for about 2-3 minutes.Then add chopped garlic to the pan and fry everything for one more minute. Stir the vegetables and then carefully place them in the simmering broth. Add chopped butternut squash and apples to the broth.
- Add lemon juice, sugar and fresh ground black pepper to the broth. Add salt if needed. Cook for about 20 minutes. After this time, check if the butternut squash is soft. If it's soft enough, it's time to blend the soup.
- Blend it until soup is creamy. You can use an immersion hand blender or stand blender. *(note 2)
- Pour the soup into a pot, then add the paprika powder and gently mix. Shred the chicken breast and carefully add to the soup and stir. If the chicken has cooled down too much, you can reheat the soup.
- You can add fresh parsley at the end.
Notes
