Imagine coming home to the incredible aroma of earthy butternut squash, savory sausage, and fresh dill mingling in your slow cooker. This crockpot recipe combines the tenderness of butternut squash with the salty richness of a whole pound of your favorite browned sausage. This slow-cooked soup also features a generous amount of fresh dill and the surprising addition of dill pickle juice, which helps cut through the richness of the sausage and helps to make every single bite pop. It’s bold, it’s easy, and you can dress this soup up with shredded Cheddar, grated Parmesan, or a little bit of heavy cream for even more flavor.

Recently, I was pleasantly surprised to find a combination package of sweet and hot Italian sausage links in my local market while shopping. It’s not something I’d ever come across before, and I really liked the idea of combining the two in the same recipe. So, when the expiration date on that package of sausage was looming, I figured that I had better get to making something with it, or else I was going to be doing the walk of shame to the trash can to dispose of it. I had fresh dill from the farmer’s market, a red onion starting to look lonely in my vegetable drawer, and a jar of dill pickle juice that I had decided to save and use for something or other one day in the future. And, of course, I had a butternut squash kicking around because they’ve now become a must-have at all times in our household. So, what did I do? I threw everything in a crockpot, stirred it all up, slapped on a lid, and walked away for the day.

At the end of the day, I packaged up the slightly cooled soup into several soup containers and stored them away in the refrigerator. The next morning, along with our breakfast of bacon and tomato sandwiches with fresh dill mayonnaise, B.O.B. Bob and I got to doing a little taste testing. First, we tried the soup as is, without anything added. Then we tried the soup with freshly shredded extra-sharp white Cheddar on one side, and freshly grated Parmesan on the other side. And finally, when we pushed a little bit of the cheese to the side and tried the soup with a wee swirl of heavy whipping cream. Every version was delicious; however, B.O.B. Bob preferred the Parmesan, while I preferred the Cheddar. You really can’t go wrong here. No matter which way you choose, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised with the results. P.S. Don’t turn your nose up at the pickle juice. It really does add a lovely pop of bright flavor.

Ingredients:

• 1 Pound Regular Sausage, Sweet Italian Sausage, or Hot Italian Sausage
• 1 Large Butternut Squash (Approximately 3 1/2 to 4 Pounds)
• 1 Small Red Onion, Peeled & Finely Diced
• 1/2 Cup Fresh Dill, Finely Chopped (Additional for Garnish)
• 2 Teaspoons Yellow Mustard Seeds
• 1/2 Teaspoon Finely Ground Black Pepper
• 1/2 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
• 1 (32-oz.) Carton Low-Sodium Chicken Broth
• 1 Cup Dill Pickle Juice, Strained
• 2 Tablespoons Honey
• Freshly Shredded Cheddar Cheese, Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese, or Heavy Whipping Cream (Optional)

Directions:

1. Cook the sausage in a large skillet over medium heat until the sausage is browned and fully cooked. Use a wooden spoon to break up the sausage as it cooks. When the sausage is browned, transfer it to a plate lined with several paper towels.
2. Peel, deseed, and cut the butternut squash into large bite-sized pieces.
3. Place all of the soup ingredients into a crockpot and stir well to combine. Set the crockpot on low and cook for 6 to 8 hours, or until the butternut squash is soft and tender.
4. Garnish the soup with additional finely chopped fresh dill.
5. If desired, sprinkle shredded Cheddar, grated Parmesan, or a swirl of heavy whipping cream over the soup when serving.

Suggestions:

• I used a combination package of Premio Sweet & Hot Italian Sausage links for this recipe. If you are using sausage links, make sure to cut the casings off and discard them before browning the sausage. You can use whichever type of sausage you choose for this recipe. Regular, sweet, or hot will all work well with the flavors in this soup. You may need to adjust the seasonings, depending on the type of sausage you use.
• One 3 1/2 to 4-pound butternut squash will yield approximately 8 to 10 cups of butternut squash. My squash weighed 3 3/4 pounds and yielded approximately 9 cups of butternut squash. A little less or a little more won’t hurt.
• I used a small red onion in this recipe because it’s what I had on hand. A small yellow, white, or sweet yellow onion can easily be swapped in.
• For even more flavor, replace the traditional garlic powder in this recipe with roasted or toasted garlic powder, which can be found for sale online.
• Straining the pickle juice will remove any whole black peppercorns from the juice.
• This soup is pretty forgiving with cooking time. Since the sausage is pre-cooked, you just need to make sure that the butternut squash is cooked through. My crockpot took about 6 hours for the butternut squash to become soft and tender; however, I let it remain cooking for an additional hour while I was doing things around the house.
• You can enjoy this soup as is, or top it with a sprinkle of freshly shredded Cheddar or freshly grated Parmesan. You can also swirl in a tablespoon of heavy whipping cream if you so desire.
• This soup will yield approximately 5 bowls of soup.

Improvements:

• Add a few small red potatoes to this soup. Make sure to cut them into bite-sized pieces.
• Serve this butternut squash soup with these Sweet Dill White Cheddar Cheez-It Crackers or these Parmesan Cheese Italian Zucchini Drop Biscuits.
• For a busy weeknight, prep all of the ingredients the night before. The sausage, butternut squash, and onion can all be prepped ahead of time. The next day, you can quickly toss everything into your crockpot or slow cooker. I don’t suggest chopping the dill ahead of time; in my opinion, it’s always better fresh.
• If you’re a garlic lover, add finely chopped fresh or jarred garlic to the crockpot.
• CLICK HERE to see all of our other amazing soup, chili, stew, and chowder recipes. Make sure to check out all of our other Crockpot or Slow Cooker Soup Recipes.

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Crockpot Sausage & Dill Butternut Squash Soup

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