The Martha Stewart Fall Soup I’ve Been Making for 25 Years

I’m a long-time devotee of the St Paul Farmers Market in Minnesota. Back in the 2000s, the market in the fall was the place to fill my canvas bags with locally grown Hubbard, Buttercup, and Sweet Dumpling squash. Hmong farmers brought Asian squashes like the Kabocha to rock my world. And thanks to the apple breeders at the University of Minnesota (Honeycrisp, anyone?) new apple varieties often debuted here.

The first time I flipped through The Martha Stewart Cookbook and found Martha’s Apple-Butternut Squash Soup, I knew it was a perfect expression of the season. It instantly became a fall favorite—my private chef clients loved it then and still love it now.

This lovely soup is a clean hit of squash and apple flavor, and I love that it is so straightforward, as well as easily made dairy-free on request. Or, if you want to stir in some cream at the end, it becomes a classic cream soup.

The “Martha Move” That Makes This Soup Special

There are plenty of ways to make squash soup. The unmistakable Martha touch is how she cooks the squash and apples. Two of the squash are halved, the seeds scooped out and brushed with butter. Then the chopped apple is piled in the cavity and on top of the squash, and it’s wrapped with foil and roasted.

She puts the butter-soft squash flesh and apples through a food mill, but I always just use a blender or food processor. Then, she peels and cubes the remaining squash and simmers in vegetable stock with leeks, cinnamon, butter, and orange zest. She purees that too, but I like to leave the cooked pieces for some texture.

How I Make Martha’s Soup

Martha calls for three butternut squash and doesn’t specify a weight for them, so I assume she means three (2-pound) squash. Using larger squash adds to the baking time. I often substitute Kabocha or other winter squash varieties, too.

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Slice two squash in half lengthwise, then scoop out the seeds. Melt five tablespoons of unsalted butter, then use four tablespoons of it to brush the cut surfaces, reserving the remaining one tablespoon.

Peel and chop the apples and pile them into the squash cavities. Cover with foil pretty tightly to hold in the moisture, and roast on a sheet pan until tender when pierced with a paring knife, 35 to 40 minutes, or longer for larger squash. Let cool, then scoop the squash flesh and apples into either a food mill, blender, or food processor and puree. Place the puree in a bowl and stir in two cups of vegetable stock.

Peel the remaining squash and cut it into small cubes. In a soup pot, combine the squash, two cups of vegetable stock, 1/2 cup chopped leek (reserving the other leeks), a teaspoon of orange zest, and a pinch of ground cinnamon, and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until the squash is tender, about 35 minutes.

At this point, Martha purees the cubed squash mixture, but I prefer to leave it in chunks for a little texture. Add the squash-apple puree, stir it all together, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Thin the soup with a little water if it seems too thick, and warm it gently on the stove.

Finally, slice the remaining leeks and cook them in the remaining melted butter in a skillet, stirring occasionally, until softened and fragrant. Serve bowls of the steaming soup topped with the leeks, and dig in!