dairy free

Kick-off the season with this gourmet game-changer!

FULL of vitamins and so satisfyingly thick and creamy … good luck if you didn’t want your dinner guests back. This soup is Paleo friendly. For vegan, vegetarian and other needs – stop by our “Savvy Alternates” table below!

Creamy Leek & Acorn Soup Bowls

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes minutes

Servings: 6 people

Calories: 451kcal

Author: Dana Ketter

Cost: $2.40 – $2.75

This paleo dish is loaded with vitamins and is yummy enough to satisfy a household.

Print Recipe

Equipment

• skillet, baking sheet, cutting board, knife, measuring spoons, measuring cup, food processor or trusty blender, spatula, spoon

Ingredients

• 3 Acorn Squash (about 5 pounds)
• 1.7 lbs Leeks (1 bunch)
• 1 lbs Sweet Potato
• ½ Avocado (or whole small avocado)
• 8 oz Organic Bone Broth
• 3 cups water
• ½ cup Almond Flour
• 3 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 tbsp Coconut Oil
• 1 tsp Organic Turmeric
• ½ tsp Garlic Powder
• 1 tsp Thyme
• 1.5 tsp Crushed Rosemary
• 1 tsp Black Peppercorn fresh ground
• 2 tsp Lime Juice
• ½ cup Raw Pumpkin Seeds (pepitas)

Optional Addition

• 3 oz Goat Cheese (extra protein & calories)
• ¾ lbs Free Range Chicken Breast (Paleo protein add)
• 8 oz Low Sodium Vegetable Broth (Vegan swap)

Instructions

Cooking the Squash

• Preheat the oven to regular bake at 400°F.
• Wash and cut each squash in half. I cut them length-wise from stem to end, but you could cut them horizontally against the gourd's ridges too. If you go the horizontal route, you'll need to cut a small strip off the bottom so it sits flat as a bowl.
• Scoop out and discard the seedy flesh and seeds.
• Brush each half generously with coconut oil. Sprinkle with pumpkin spice or cinnamon.
• Place flesh-side-down on a baking sheet and add 1-2 tbsp of water to the baking sheet.
• Bake at 400°F for 35-40 minutes. Squash should be easy to scoop out.

Cooking the Leeks

• Wash and slice the leeks, then wash again thoroughly and drain. (I use a sieve to wash sliced veggies if a salad spinner won't work).
• Batch cook or use two skillets to cook your leeks. Add 1 tbsp olive oil and saute over medium heat for about 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently, until done.
• Add 3/4 of the leeks to the food processor, saving the remaining 1/4 for toppings and crunch.

  *For extra crunch: saute 2/3 of the leeks and oven roast the remaining 1/4 for toppings. If you oven roast them, watch them closely and stir them occasionally to avoid burning the leeks.

Blending the Soup

• Scoop out about 1/3 of the flesh from each acorn squash half. Add this to the food processor. (this means you'll add 6 halves x 1/3 flesh each = 2 acorns worth of flesh in the food processor.)
• Add the steamed sweet potato, avocado, bone broth, spices and any remaining oil to the food processor and blend to a desired consistency. I like mine extra creamy so I pureed for a while.

Roasted Pepitas (Pumpkin Seeds)

• Roasting your pumpkin seeds makes them crunchy and adds a nuttier flavor. I recommend it.

  To do so: Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, sprinkle enough pumpkin seeds to cover, the foil, but not overlapping each other.

  Bake at 325°F for 20-30 minutes or until brown, stir once.

Serving Instructions

• Add a squash half to each plate. (If they fall apart a bit from over cooking, serve each squash half in its own bowl).

  Fill the squash bowl 3/4 full to leave room for guests to sprinkle leeks and roasted pepitas on top!
• Have a festive table runner and looking for a fancy spread?

  Prepare the acorn squash bowls per step 1, and set plates on the table at each guest's seating location.

  Place the toppings (cheese, roasted pepitas, leeks, chicken) in separate decorative bowls, lining the table runner for guests to create their own custom soup bowl.

Notes

WHOLE RECIPE:

Total Calories: Paleo Soup w/ Pepitas: 3,329 kcal 

Total Cost – $14.50  .  Grade – B  . *Monthly Cost – $523.60

Programming Notes:

• Nutrition Facts Label calculates info for the original Paleo soup with pepitas.
• For Calories, Costs and Grades for:
  • Paleo-Vegan, Paleo w/ chicken + pepitas, non-Paleo w/ cheese+ pepitas, and for non-Paleo w/ Keto Breasticks + pepitas — see “Savvy Alternates” table below.
  • For an A-grade meal – see the “Savvy Alternates” table below.
• Soup keeps for about 2-3 days (because of the avocado in the recipe).

*This refers to the monthly grocery bill if TWO PEOPLE ate cumulatively 4,000 Calories per day, and only ate this meal all month long. If you’re running calcs for one person – divide the “Monthly Cost” in half.

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Creamy Leek & Acorn Soup Bowls

Amount Per Serving

Calories 451 Calories from Fat 198

% Daily Value*

Fat 22g34%

Saturated Fat 6g38%

Sodium 97mg4%

Potassium 1377mg39%

Carbohydrates 58g19%

Fiber 11g46%

Sugar 9g10%

Protein 11g22%

Vitamin A 13692IU274%

Vitamin C 44mg53%

Calcium 205mg21%

Iron 6mg33%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Don’t let the total carbohydrates scare you — this soup is packed with fiber which helps moderate carb load.

That Life-Saving Savvy Alternate Table:

$-SAVVY: Recall that the “Monthly Cost” is the total grocery bill FOR TWO PEOPLE eating (cumulatively) 4,000 Calories per day, if they ate only this meal all-month-long. Flying SOLO? Divide this number in half.

Did You Know?

Leeks are a quality source of beta-carotene (vitamin A), as well as carotenoids lutein & zeaxanthin (think eye health).

Additionally, one leek has about 0.5 mg of Manganese – approximately 20 – 25% of a healthy adult male’s and female’s* daily requirements, respectively.

One leek also offers almost half the daily needs of vitamin K for a healthy adult female*, and nearly 35% for a male. There are 3 leeks in this soup — everyone gets about half a leek!

*Pregnant and lactating females typically require more nutrients.

Here’s a table with external links for each recipe ingredient (plus a few alternate ingredient ideas). As previously mentioned, prices vary per region, season, city, store and personal preference for brand or specific type of food item.

TJ’s = Trader Joe’s . Sam’s = Sam’s Club