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Creamy nutritious soup that feels like a warm hug.

This creamy squash and red lentil soup is what I make when feeling tired, under the weather or fully ill. It’s designed to be easy to swallow and digest, so any snotty business is not interfering with the food in your tummy. I call it my depression soup, and it sits proudly in my depression meals category alongside my British roast creamy soup.

Why This Soup Works When Nothing Else Does

In many ways going through a depressive episode is not unlike having a bad cold. Your body is spent, out of energy and even the most minimal task feels huge. This is the exact right meal for those moments. It also freezes very well so you can make a batch and freeze a few portions for times of need.

Why Your Stomach Will Thank You

My biggest issue with being ill is having a bubbly stomach. I don’t know if this is a me issue or if other people deal with this as well, but all the snot and congestion travels down to my stomach making me nauseous. The turmeric, ginger and cumin in this creamy squash and red lentil soup are great for settling the stomach.

I also blended it with water to be quite thin so it’s easy to swallow and it can be drunk from a mug just like tea.

The Spices

For the spices I used a few different kinds, but I kept it light. Normally for a large pot I would use at least half a tablespoon, but for this I used half to ¾ of a teaspoon. I wanted to extract the benefits from the spices but didn’t want to overwhelm the soup. Because it still is a soup designed to calm the body, tummy and mind and not to overwhelm with flavour.

I used a bit of turmeric, cumin, ground coriander, ginger and black pepper. If using turmeric it’s always essential to use pepper as well. It helps your body absorb the curcumin from the turmeric so it can do its anti-inflammatory magic.

I also added some saffron. This is completely optional as it is an expensive ingredient. However, both turmeric and saffron are proven to boost mood — I find it fascinating that both are yellow/orange, while orange is generally considered a positive colour.

The Base

For the base it’s melted butter, onions and carrots. The combined sweetness of onions and carrots slowly cooking in butter is what brings the ultimate comfort to this soup. That is also the core taste that the soup should carry.

How to Make This Creamy Squash and Red Lentil Soup

So, for the more effort version, you are going to slowly roast onions and carrots in butter in your pot and then add diced celery sticks and roast a bit longer. Then add squash (you can use butternut or Hokkaido or honestly whatever pumpkin you have on hand). I used squash I had in my freezer from last year’s harvest, it was already cubed and I honestly don’t remember what type of squash it is lol.

Then I added red lentils, going with the orange theme of this soup. Then the seasonings went in, which I already mentioned. In addition to the turmeric I also added some saffron. This is completely optional as it is an expensive ingredient. I brought it back from my vacation one time and honestly am still learning how to use it. I add the threads (or should I say flowers?) to the soup as it is, as the flavour is extracted in water.

Both turmeric and saffron are proven to boost mood. I find it fascinating that both are yellow/orange and mood boosting, while orange is generally a positive colour.

I also used a stock cube. I don’t do that much as I am not a fan of processed food and artificial flavouring. Even when buying an organic or bio one you can never be sure what goes in there. But anyways, I did add it as I just wanted my comfort soup to be even more comforting. If that makes sense ha.

After blending I adjust the thickness to my preferred liking. I would say the finished soup comes to around 5 litres for the amounts of veggies used — listed below. I just prefer it really thin but it is absolutely adjustable to be left thick and creamy. The blended lentils make the creaminess so there is no need to add any cream or milk.