$4 Ginger Carrot Butternut Squash Soup
I love how quick this meal is to make, and the cost is minimal. I also love how much my toddler loves it!
Ingredients:
- 20 oz bag frozen pre-cut squash, $1 at Market Basket
- 14.5 oz can of chicken broth, $0.65 at Hannafords (I buy reduced sodium)
- 14.5 oz can of sliced carrots, $0.50 at Hannafords
- half of an 8 oz bar of cream cheese, $1.50 at Market Basket (I buy reduced fat)
I am a cook by taste/smell person, so it’s hard to give amounts on the spices I use.
- Ground cinnamon
- Ground ginger
- Ground nutmeg
- Ground cloves

Directions:
Put squash, chicken broth and carrots into a pan and bring to a boil (this takes about 5-7 minutes).
Once the ingredients are at a boil, pour them into a blender and blend (I use liquify setting).
Pour the purée back into the pan.
Add in spices and cream cheese. I love ginger, so I primarily use ginger and cinnamon — probably about 1.5 tablespoon of each, and only do about .5 tablespoon of the nutmeg and cloves. Add in a bit of each and if it’s not enough for you, feel free to add more of whichever you chose.
Once the cheese melts, the soup is ready to serve!
I typically get five bowls of soup out of this.
I like to serve mine with a sprinkle of cinnamon and some ginger snaps.
Some Tips and Variations:
- You want a nice creamy texture; if after blending, it doesn’t seem smooth enough, try cooking the purée a bit longer and give it a second blend.
- I have a friend who is a vegetarian. When she came over, I used vegetable stock and vanilla soy milk in place of the chicken broth and cream cheese. If you find GMO soy milk it could even be a vegan soup, bonus!
- Don’t be afraid to play around with the spices.
- Fresh squash and carrots would probably work just as well but would require a longer cooking time.
- I’ve done half portions before, where I use half of the bag of squash, half of the can of broth, and an 8 oz can of carrots.
- The texture can be modified to your liking as well. If you want chunkier, blend for a shorter amount of time. If you’d prefer a creamier soup, add more cream cheese, or even some whole milk. If you want a thinner soup try adding some extra stock or skim milk.
- If you want a sweeter soup, instead of ginger try adding some brown sugar or even maple syrup.