This easy, roasted acorn squash soup is bursting with spicy, Moroccan flavor and is sweetened with dates! It’s a healthy, whole30 compliant, paleo and vegan friendly meal for only 200 calories!
You know what?
It’s FINALLY winter squash season!
If you follow me on Instagram, you would know that I am HIGHLY obsessed with squash. Kabocha squash actually. And “obsessed” as in I literally drove miles and miles to find somewhere that carries it year ‘round, and I’ve been ordering it BY THE CASE all year.
I can’t only eat my favorite food during ONE SEASON. That would be a travesty with a capital SAD.
Anyway.
We’re actually not talking about kabocha squash today. Although we COULD talk about Kabocha squash soup in the slow cooker.
Mostly because I love it so much that I want to eat it the same way every day: roasted kabocha squash with peanut sauce (if you click that link, I apologize for the REALLY OLD PHOTOS.) Aaaand, I don’t want to risk messing up my favorite food by blending it.
Is that weird?
Whichhh is where my 2nd favorite sweet, winter squash friend comes in: acorn squash.
Don’t get me wrong or anything peeps. Roasted acorn squash by itself? ALSO tastes very good in my mouth. But, when you give it a healthy hug of superfood coconut oil, roast it to tender, creamy perfection and then blend it all up with zesty onion and SUPER flavorful roasted garlic into velvety-smooth soup? THAT’S THE GOOD STUFF.
Same goes with butternut squash. Pass me a bowl of paleo vegan butternut squash soup ALL DAY.
We didn’t even talk about the smoky-spicy-sweet combination of flavors that are layering themselves throughout this entire pot of fall-food-goodness that is going to make your house smell, LIIIIIKE, SO amazing.
I know that we had Moroccan cauliflower soup last year, which was followed by Moroccan instant pot hearty vegetable beef soup….aaaaaand Moroccan style paleo pork chops, a Moroccan chicken skillet AND paleo grilled Moroccan chicken bowls. There is just SOMETHING about mixing together a pinch of smoky paprika, spicy cumin, warm ginger and (my favorite flavor ever) cinnamon that makes EVERYTHING better, and I won’t apologize for being obsessed with deliciousness.
I obsess like it’s MY JOB.
Which, it is.
In other news: LIQUID coconut oil. As in coconut oil that isn’t ALWAYS annoyingly hard that ONE time that you actually want it to be smooth and runny. As in, SUCH a brilliant food invention from Better Body Foods that’s gonna make you say YAAAAAAAAAS.
You will love this liquid coconut oil in PARTICULAR because it’s got a neutral flavor, which doesn’t BATTLE with the ridiculous amount of flavor that we’re packing into this spicy-sweet soup. I say a big YES please to meals that hit my taste buds in the face with a whop of flavor-packed yumminess…
But, there IS such a thing as TOO much goin’ on inside my mouth. This leads to taste buds confusion.
I don’t even need to tell you this is a VRY VRY bad thing indeed.
In other news (the sequel) DATES. Like, boiled until they’re UBER soft, and blended INSIDE the soup.
And you thought dates were only for boring old energy bites.
This was one of those experiments that I thought was either going to be:
- Your NEWEST favorite addition to soup everrrrrr.
Or
- Your least favorite addition to soup everrrrr, due to weird chewy, chunky, not-so-smooth pieces of dates in your teeth. Blech.
I am EXTREMELY happy to report that option 1 was the winner. Dates (naturally!) amp up the sweetness of the acorn squash, play RLY nice with the spicy-warm-sensation that shimmies down the back of your throat, AND gives this sauce a thick, full-bodied creaminess that is about to make your cozy-dinner-loving self VERY happy right now.
Pssst: it’s also a feel-good, good-for-you soup that is WHOLE30 compliant.
Really, there’s only one thing left to do:
Slurp, slurp, babyyyyy.
Other recipes you might like:
Tomato Grilled Moroccan Chicken Kebabs
Moroccan Simple Gluten Free Stuffing
Moroccan Healthy Gluten Free Paleo Breakfast Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 Large Acorn squash Just over 2 Lbs
- 1 Large onion
- 1 Tbsp + 2 tsp Better Body Foods Liquid Coconut Oil divided
- 2 tsp Ground cumin
- 1 tsp Ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp Sea salt
- 1/4 tsp Smoked paprika
- 1/8 tsp Ground allspice
- 1 Large head of garlic
- 2 Cups Reduced-sodium vegetable broth
- 1/2 Cup Dates halved and lightly packed (73g)
- 1 1/2 – 2 tsp Fresh ginger minced * (read note)
- Cilantro for garnish
- Pepitas for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and line a large baking sheet with tin foil.
- Cut the squash in half and scrape out the seeds. Place it cut side up on the baking sheet. Try to make sure that the cut sides stay facing straight up, and the squash doesn’t fall onto its side.
- Chop the onion in half lengthwise. Slice off one of the ends so that you loosen the papery outside coating, and peel it off. Do not cut the other end of the onion off, or it won’t hold together. Place it cut-side up on the baking sheet.
- Drizzle 1 Tbsp of the coconut oil over the squash (so 1/2 Tbsp of oil per each side) and rub in. Then, drizzle 1 tsp of the oil over the onion (1/2 tsp per each side of the onion) and rub in.
- In a small bowl, combine the cumin, cinnamon, salt, smoked paprika and allspice. Divide it evenly between both halves of the squash and onion, rubbing in gently. Make sure you get ALL the spice mixture on the vegetables.
- Place two layers of tin foil on top of each other (shiny side in!) Cut the top of the garlic head off and place it in the center of the tinfoil. Drizzle the remaining 1 tsp of coconut oil on the garlic, rub it in and then fold the tinfoil around it to create a packet. Place onto the baking sheet.
- Bake until the squash and onion are fork tender, about 50 mins to an hour.
- While the vegetables roast, place the vegetable broth and chopped dates into a medium pot and bring to a boil on high heat.
- Once boiling, boil for 1 minute. Then, reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the dates are very soft, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit until the vegetables are done.
- Scrape the flesh of the roasted squash into a high-powered blender (don’t get the skin in there) and then add in the whole onion. Peel the tinfoil off the garlic head and squeeze the softened garlic out of the cloves into the blender as well.
- Add the ginger, along with the softened dates and vegetable broth into the blender. Blend until smooth and and creamy, scraping down the sides as necessary. Taste and adjust ginger and salt if necessary.
- Pour into bowls, garnish with cilantro and pepitas and DEVOUR.
Tips & Notes:
Recipes written and produced on Food Faith Fitness are for informational purposes only.
FOR THIS RECIPE, I RECOMMEND:
THIS POST IS SPONSORED BY MY FRIENDS AT BETTER BODY FOODS. THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME TO CONTINUE CREATING GREAT CONTENT FOR YOU BY SUPPORTING PARTNERSHIPS WITH SUPER-FAB BRANDS THAT FOOD FAITH FITNESS LOVES TO WORK WITH! AS ALWAYS, OPINIONS REMAIN 100% MY OWN!
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Weight Watchers Points Per Serving: SmartPoints: 6 Points+: 5. Old Points: 4
IF YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE, PLEASE REMEMBER TO TAG @FOODFAITHFIT AND #FOODFAITHFITNESS ON INSTAGRAM! I LOVE SEEING YOUR RECIPE RECREATIONS! 
Want more paleo whole30 recipes?
Jerk Shrimp Stew with Cauliflower Rice
Mango Chicken with Coconut Cauliflower Rice
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