There’s no blending and minimal chopping in this soup that both warms and fills you up.
This is exactly the chunky hearty soup that you want to make on a chilly day.
It checks the boxes for me and is totally suitable as a meal too. And–it rewarms well too. You might just need to add extra water (and salt if you add a lot of water) as it gets very thick when refrigerated.
It starts with the basic mirepoix–onion, celery, carrot, garlic–
And I say it’s minimal chop because I hope that you’re getting your butternut squash already chopped. I still like to chop the butternut squash a little smaller than it comes so the cubes fit in a spoonful. But then you’re really done chopping.
The rest just gets dumped in–the stock, the farro, the tomatoes. And if you want to include beans to get that protein in, then that too (feel free to leave them out if beans aren’t your thing).
Then it just simmers until ready and there’s nothing left to do.
This works for butternut squash fans. It works for tomato soup fans. It works for vegetable soup fans. And it works for mushroom barley fans who like chunky, heart, filling bowls, as the farro really is a great grain for soups.
Hearty and Comforting Chunky Butternut Tomato Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 celery ribs, diced
- 1 carrot, peeled and diced
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 16 oz cubed butternut squash
- 6 cups water or chicken stock
- 1 cup farro
- 1 (28 oz) can whole peeled tomatoes
- 1 (15.5 oz) can navy beans (or any small white beans), optional
- 2 tsp salt, or to taste
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large pot. Add onion, celery, and carrot and sauté until onion is soft. Add garlic and butternut squash and cook for another couple of minutes.
- Add water/stock, farro, and tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Cook for 40 minutes, or until squash is soft and farro is plump. If using beans, add them after 20 minutes.
- Squash some of the tomatoes with the back of a spoon. Optionally, you can smash some of the pieces of squash (using a fork) to add thickness and sweetness to the broth. Season with salt to taste and enjoy.
Enjoy!
Why canned tomatoes? Is it better than fresh?
See comment below.
This looks delicious. Forgive my ignorance- I haven’t used canned tomatoes before and assume they come in liquid. Am I supposed to put in the tomatoes and the liquid or just the tomatoes?
Also, does frozen butternut squash work in this recipe?
Thanks!
Yes, canned tomatoes is a combination of liquid and tomatoes. It’s like tomato sauce with chunks. Fresh tomatoes wouldn’t work as there’s no liquid.
This looks great. I’m excited to try. Are there also jumbo limas in the recipe? Bc seems to be floating in the picture of the soup.
If so , when do they get added in ? Thank you for your great content !
It’s actually baby limas that grew ;). But any beans that you like work. If they’re canned, add them midway through the boiling as in step 2.
SO many recipes call for stock. Is there any company that makes it with a hechsher?
What do you mean? There are plenty even if you don’t want to use consomme powder. And water is totally fine here too.
IMAGINE has kosher stocks/soups
Does it freeze well?
My local grocery doesn’t carry farro. What can I use instead?
brown rice can be a close option.
Made this tonight, was delicious!
Thanks for another amazing recipe!
This soup is absolutely delicious!!! Thank you for the steady flow of amazing recipes! One question: can I freeze the leftovers?
This was a big hit with my family. I used a 28oz can of chopped tomatoes in juice that I bought by accident instead of whole tomatoes and the tomatoes were the perfect size for the soup. I used a potato masher in the pot to lightly smash some of the butternut squash pieces to thicken it slightly. One of my best carrot hacks comes from my mother a’h who just cut carrots in half and cooked them until soft in whatever soup she was making. Remove the large carrot pieces when soft and mash with fork or potato masher on a plate and return to the soup. Adds a nice color to any soup and is a lot easier and quicker than dicing hard carrots. I never used farro before but it seems to me almost identical in taste and size to barley which would make a good substitute if necessary. It’s a hearty pareve soup – good to complete a weeknight supper.
Looks delicious! Can I sub the farro for a different grain?
I haven’t tried, but look at the other comments to see what other readers did (i.e. brown rice). Barley would probably also be good.
This felt way too simple for such a delicious and hearty meal-in-a-bowl! Thank you for saving dinner once again!!
Can I substitute quinoa for farro?
I haven’t tried quinoa in soup so I don’t know. But if you do try and it works well, let us know!
Delish! Made this soup today – cold and rainy and half the family not feeling well. This soup was perfect for a filling, comforting but not heavy dinner.
This was great. I put fresh beans and it took very long to soften. Next time I would use canned or precooked or at least soaked so the soup takes quicker to cook
Oh no! You can’t use dried beans! If you only have dried beans on hand, you must boil them separately for a long time before. They will not cook enough in the time it takes the rest of the soup to be ready at all and they will soak up way too much of the liquid.
Lentils/split peas/ those types cook quickly but not regular beans.
If you don’t want the sodium of canned beans, the Eden brand is a great pick!
Made this tonight and we are LOVING it. Heart filling and delicious. Thank you for your amazing recipes!
Tried with quinoa and is delicious!! (did not try with farro so cant compare the 2)
Tried barley and it worked great!
This soup was a real hit!! Great comfort food for a cold winter night 🙂
Does this soup freeze well?
Not as well as smooth soups. This post has tips on freezing soups: https://betweencarpools.com/how-to-freeze-anything/