Inside: Looking for something lighter, yet no less nourishing? Butternut Beer Brats Soup is just what the cook ordered! With just a hint of sweetness from the butternut squash but enough stick-to-your-ribs goodness from the brats, you might just have found your new go-to soup.
Welcome back to the soup series, day 2. Today’s soup has become a favorite of ours over the last two winters. For those of you who crave something lighter in which the broth takes a more commanding role, I have just what you need–Butternut Beer Brats Soup!
For many years we had a soup standoff in our household. I would try making soup for dinner and Hubs would grudgingly eat it, claiming that soup wasn’t a real meal because it didn’t stick with you. This was not the rewarding repast for one who has toiled all day in the salt mines. Not that my attitude was any better. Truthfully, I wanted the quick, easy culinary fix that soup provided and didn’t want to hear about his hunger issues.
So I tried upping my game, serving steaming hot yeast rolls or fresh from the oven biscuits to go along with what I considered to be a substantial bowl of comfort. Perfect, right? Wrong! He only became more cranky, as did I, so I finally abandoned the whole notion. Soup for dinner was officially banned. (Thankfully that didn’t include chili.) I resigned myself to a quick soup fix from the microwave just for me during my lunches at home.
Then one night I got a craving and made a mock potato soup–cauliflower taking the place of the spuds–while fixing Hubs an entirely different meal. “I know you don’t like soup for dinner,” I said, “but you’re welcome to try some of this if you want. It’s really pretty good.”
He did try it–and liked it. Every so often I would make that soup, served alongside some beefy main dish, and he’d eat it. Gradually, I removed the main dish and served the soup as the focus, paired with a side. But not often. Then Hubs decided to completely overhaul his eating habits and lose weight. That first winter he came to me and said, “Could we do more soups?”
So here we are, five years later, happily residing in Soup Town, where the only requirement is the soup be tasty and fit according to our low carb ways.
And our culinary world is a much better place.
Enjoy today’s soup selection.
- 1 package of beer brats pork sausage fresh links (5 brats)
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 4 cups of cooked butternut squash, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 4 cups of chicken bone broth or chicken stock
- salt and pepper to taste
- Brown the brats in skillet over medium heat and slice them into bite-sized chunks when cool enough to handle. Set aside.
- Saute the onion until translucent in the same skillet the brats were cooked. Return the brats to the pan and saute another minute or so.
- Add the broth to deglaze the pan. Don't skip this step! Much of the flavor for this soup comes from the pan drippings.
- Add the butternut squash and seasonings.
- Simmer for ten minutes to let the flavors mingle.
- Enjoy!
A few quick notes. . . If you want to lighten this soup even more, you can use fresh link turkey sausage. I’ve tried the sweet Italian kind, and it works well. You can also use a different flavor of brats. I bake the squash ahead of time, but you might try buying diced, uncooked butternut squash from the produce section and allow this to cook in the broth. Of course, you’d need additional cooking time.
Another day another soup. . . Followed by a satisfying sigh.
Do you serve soup often at your house? Tell us your soup tales in the comments.
Related posts:
Simple Suppers: Creamy Cheesy Cauli Soup
How to Make Chicken Bone Broth
Simple Suppers: Roasted Chicken Thighs
Kelly Dunn
I really want to try this. It sounds so good!
amy@amyharkemoore.com
Thanks, Kelly! 🙂 I love that there are only a few ingredients, but it all comes together so nicely to make a hearty soup.