Smooth, creamy and delicious! The black and red pepper give it a little bit of heat and the half and half gives it great body and beautiful color.
My sweet friend Bonnie, City Home/Country Home, posted this Butternut Squash Soup recipe last fall, but I didn’t get around to making it until recently. I was at the Indoor Farmers Market and the farmer talked me into buying butternut squash for the first time. Since I’d been wanting to try this soup, it wasn’t a tough sale.
I was a bit concerned about how my kids would like the soup, but I didn’t need to worry, the whole family loved it. The black pepper and red pepper flakes give it a little bit of heat and the squash just gives it great body and beautiful color.
Their one complaint about the soup was that it didn’t have anything in it. Since it’s pureed smooth, they didn’t think it was filling enough for dinner. My youngest suggested adding orzo, which I thought was a brillant idea.
So I decided to make it again and this time I added orzo and diced chicken. Now it was hearty, but still smooth, creamy and delicious. My oldest son said it reminded him of a chowder.
I made my soup in my pressure cooker. It didn’t save tons of time, but it’s so nice not to have to stir it or worry about it while it’s on the stove. I based my cooking time on the Cuisinart tomato soup recipe which uses a natural release. One day I’ll try a quick release which would really speed up the process.
This is a great Butternut Squash Soup with Chicken and Orzo recipe. I hope you’ll give it a try. Visit Bonnie for the stove top cooking directions and to check out all her other fabulous recipes. Thanks for sharing this one Bonnie!
Visit Pressure Cooking Today for all my pressure cooking recipes.
Pressure Cooker Butternut Squash Soup with Chicken and Orzo
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lbs. of fresh baked butternut squash peeled, and cubed
- 3 tablespoons butter
- ½ cup green onions diced
- ½ cup celery diced
- ½ cup carrots diced
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 2 14.5 oz. cans chicken broth
- 1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes with juice
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ⅛ teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 cup orzo cooked
- 1 cup chicken cooked and diced (I used rotisserie chicken)
- 1 to ½ cup half and half
- Green onion tops sliced very thin (save for garnish)
Instructions
- Melt butter in pressure cooker pot. Sauté onions, celery, and carrots.
- Add garlic, stir briefly and add chicken stock, tomatoes and squash. Season with red pepper flakes, pepper and nutmeg.
- Select high pressure and 10 minutes cook time. (It took the pressure cooker 10 minutes to come up to pressure and 30 minutes for a natural pressure release after the cook time, for a total prep time of 50 minutes. The second time I made it I was impatient and used a quick pressure release 10 minutes after the cook time ended.)
- Puree until mixture is very smooth. (I used my immersion blender and pureed it in the pressure cooker pot.)
- Select Simmer and add chicken, orzo, and half and half and heat until chicken is heated.
- Serve garnished with thinly sliced green tops of onions and a swirl of half and half.
Aron
Hi Barbara, that is a beautiful looking soup and so good for you as well. I will definately give this a try this weekend. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Cheers,
Aron
claudia lamascolo
I love everything in this soup have never tried it, you just gave me a great reason! Oh and I love the dish its served in too… I have plates like that no bowl, now I want to go find them too! Love them!
Becky at VintageMixer
This sounds scrumptious! It’s on my list to try this week!! Miss you.
Megan
I bet this was fantastic. I love butternut squash anything!
Cate
Got to try this now that the weather is cooling down here!! My goal for the winter is to get my kids to eat soup (even if it kills me!!!)
Juliana
Barbara, this butternut squash soup looks very hearty with orzo pasta and chicken…fabulous meal. Have a great week ahead 🙂
Nic
Oooh, that looks so good. I like everything it bar the celery, lol. Lovely plate you served it in too.
Cakelaw
What a truly devine looking soup – and I adore your seaside bowl.
Beth
Your soup looks wonderful, and I think the additions were a great idea.
Blond Duck
A perfect soup for spring!
Anna Johnston
Mmmm, I love this Barbara, love the plates too 😉