Sweet Dumpling Squash Soup

This Sweet Dumpling Squash Soup is the perfect way to celebrate one of autumn’s most unique squash varieties. As easy as roasting, blending, and topping with crispy bacon! 

If there’s one thing in my kitchen that I kind of, sort of regret buying, it’s my very expensive, very fancy blender.

To be fair, I didn’t really buy it out of pocket, but used Williams-Sonoma gift cards that I had received for many birthdays and Christmases to purchase it. But still, it was a big purchase, and I’m not sure I use it enough for it to have been worth it.

Aside from the occasional lemon smoothie or blended lemon margarita, my fancy blender sadly doesn’t get a lot of love most of the year.

With one exception. Every fall, without fail, I make some sort of blended squash soup. While I like butternut for butternut squash noodles and roasted acorn squash slices for my famous Thanksgiving salad, for soup, I love sweet dumpling squash.

If you’re not familiar with this variety, this post will explain what sweet dumpling squash is, how to cook it, and why Sweet Dumpling Squash Soup is the best kind of squash soup.

What is sweet dumpling squash?

Sweet dumpling squash is a small winter squash that weighs about about one to two pounds (it’s about the size of a grapefruit). It’s available during the fall and winter, at farmer’s markets and some grocery stores.

Dumpling squash has hard, speckled green and white skin, and ridges like a pumpkin.

It has pale orangish-yellow flesh and stringy pulp. Just like pumpkins, the seeds of sweet dumpling squash can be roasted and snacked on (use any recipe for roasted pumpkin seeds for squash seeds, too). I also like the roasted seeds sprinkled over a cottage cheese breakfast bowl.

What does sweet dumpling squash taste like?

The orange flesh of a dumpling squash is very sweet, as the name implies. It also has a nutty flavor that makes it ideal for savory cooking (just like pumpkin can be used for pies AND savory pumpkin dip).

The flesh is on the drier side, which means it caramelizes very well when roasted (and gets even sweeter), and becomes smooth and creamy when pureed.

The taste is comparable to a mild pumpkin flavor, with a little bit of sweet potato also.

What you’ll need for this sweet dumpling squash recipe:

• dumpling squash – you’ll need 2-1/2 pounds of dumpling squash for this recipe, which is about 2 medium dumpling squashes, usually. A little bit more or less is just fine.
• garlic – you’ll need 2 cloves of garlic, and you can leave their skins on!
• onion – I like the sweetness of a yellow onion for this recipe, but white onion works, too.
• olive oil – for roasting the squash, garlic and onion.
• salt and pepper – savory seasonings to balance the sweetness of the squash.
• sage – fresh sage leaves provide the best flavor, but a pinch of dried sage works in well, a pinch. Dried sage is the key ingredient in Jeff’s grandma’s bread stuffing recipe, also.
• broth – I like the flavor that chicken broth adds to this sweet dumpling squash soup, but vegetable broth is great, too!
• spices – a combination of cumin, paprika and turmeric enhances the sweet and savory notes of the squash and provides deep depth of flavor. Turmeric also enhances my slow cooker carrot soup.
• half and half – finish the soup with a dash of half and half or cream to make it extra delicious.
• bacon – I like to cook a few slices of bacon in the oven and crumble them over the soup.

How to cook sweet dumpling squash:

Sweet dumpling squash can be steamed or microwaved, but the best way to cook it is to roast it (I feel the same way about cauliflower, ala roasted cauliflower pizza).

First, you’ll want to cut each squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Place the halves on a baking pan, drizzle them with olive oil and season well with salt and pepper.

Transfer the squash to a 375 degree F oven and roast one hour or until the squash is very tender.

How to make the soup:

You’ll start this sweet dumpling squash recipe by roasting the squash, garlic and onion, which will take about an hour in total.

Once the squash is tender, let it cool slightly and then scoop out the flesh and discard the skins. Put the squash flesh into a blender or food processor, along with the onion and garlic cloves (remove and discard the garlic skins).

Add the sage, broth, a bit of water and the spices and blend until everything is nice and smooth. Then, you’ll be transferring the mixture to a pot on the stove and cooking it for a few minutes until it’s warmed through.

Stir in the half and half, and adjust the consistency of the soup by adding additional water or broth if needed. Taste the soup and season with additional salt if it needs it.

Garnish with bacon and serve this sweet dumpling squash soup hot!

Can you eat the skin of a sweet dumpling squash?

That’s one of the unique things about this variety of squash – you can eat the skin! Unlike other varieties of autumn squash where the skin is thick and too tough to chew, the skin of dumpling squash is very thin and entirely edible.

For this sweet dumpling squash recipe, I chose to use just the flesh of the squash so my soup had a brilliant orange color, but if you’d like to also puree the skin into the soup, you’re welcome to do that.

Can you freeze squash soup?

Yes, just like my homemade gravy, this sweet dumpling squash soup freezes very well. Simply thaw and reheat before serving. Give it a good stir, as it might separate a little bit, but will come back together with stirring.

What to serve with sweet dumpling squash soup:

If you’d like to serve this soup (or my old fashioned ham and bean soup) with a salad, I’d recommend a simple green salad dressed with citrus salad dressing or creamy feta dressing.

If soup and a sandwich is your ideal combo, a prosciutto sandwich or salmon BLT would pair well with this dumpling squash soup.