Easy Chunky Acorn Squash Soup Recipe with Pancetta and Onion

Should you find yourself in possession of some acorn squash, go ahead, try this marvelous, flavorful chunky acorn squash soup, with all the flavor of an onion soup, and the umami touch of pancetta. Amazing what a few ingredients can produce.

By Clara Gonzalez - Last revised Nov 10, 2023. Published Oct 22, 2013.

Why I ❤️ it Recipe Ingredients Preparation

Chunky acorn squash soup.

Why I ❤️ it

In a case of "the cobbler's children go unshod", I often find myself with no idea what to make for dinner. With the temperature dropping ever so slightly I decided to make soup for dinner. But what soup? Well, how about a very filling, comforting chunky acorn squash soup that has all the flavor of traditional onion soup, but with some pancetta to make things even more interesting?

In this soup the onion and pancetta are softened by the acorn squash, while the acorn squash gains a lot of flavor from those ingredients. Served with some rustic bread toast, it made the perfect lazy dinner for a Sunday evening.

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Utensils and tools

• Medium soup pot
• Toaster oven

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
• ½ pound of pancetta, [0.23 kilograms] or uncured bacon
• 4 large white onion
• 6 acorn squash
• 1½ teaspoon of salt, (or more, to taste)
• 2 quart of vegetable broth, [2 liters]
• ¼ teaspoon of nutmeg (freshly-grated)
• 2 cups of white wine
• 1 loaf of rustic bread, sliced or cubed
• ¼ teaspoon of freshly-cracked pepper (or more, to taste)

Preparation

Before starting, please make sure you have all the ingredients and utensils ready.

Step 1: Halve the squash

Halve the acorn squash, scoop out the seeds and soft parts with a spoon (discard them). Cut the halves into slices, then peel them (discard peels) and dice the flesh.

See notes on how to make a bowl if you want to serve it as shown above.

Step 2: Cook

Heat the oil in the pot over medium heat. Add the pancetta and cook stirring to brown. It will render some fat, but not as much as bacon would.

Stir in the onion, acorn squash and 1½ teaspoon of salt. Cook and stir until the onions have turned translucent.

Step 3: Simmer

Pour in the broth, and simmer covered over low heat for 30 minutes.

Stir in the nutmeg and wine. Simmer covered for another 5 minutes.

Step 4: Toast the bread

While the soup is simmering, place the bread in the toaster to your desired doneness and toast.

Step 5: Serving

Season the soup with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with bread.

What's acorn squash?

Acorn squash, also known as Des Moines squash, is a summer squash with prominent ridges, dark green rind with bright orange spots, and pale orange-yellow flesh with a mild flavor.

Variations

You can make this into a perfectly flavorful vegan soup by leaving out the pancetta. In that case I'd use 4 tablespoons of olive oil instead of the vegetable oil to make up for the fat added by the pancetta.

Top tips

Yes, you do need one acorn squash per serving. There's not a lot of squash in it once the inside and the rind is removed. Acorn squash is what gives this soup its chunkiness.

This is the type of soup that tastes even better the next day (sans bread). You may want to double the ingredients to make twice as much and save the remaining soup for next day, or even freeze for later in the week. Just toast the bread right before serving.

Serving suggestions

If you feeling a bit fancy, you can carve the acorn squashes like the picture and serve the soup in it like a fancy bowl.

To do this, cut the top off the squash, scoop out the seeds and threads using a spoon and, using a melon baller, scoop out the "flesh" that you'll use in the soup (no need to dice it then, just use the balls). Mind that the "bowl" is not edible. 🙂

Nutritional information

Calories: 433kcal - Carbohydrates: 53g - Protein: 10g - Fat: 17g - Saturated Fat: 5g - Cholesterol: 25mg - Sodium: 2119mg - Potassium: 1824mg - Fiber: 8g - Sugar: 17g - Vitamin A: 6880IU - Vitamin C: 61.1mg - Calcium: 153mg - Iron: 3.2mg

FAQs

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