One Of Ina Garten's Favorite Comfort Foods Tastes Like Fall In A Bowl

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Most people have a favorite comfort food, a dish they turn to for relief after a long, tough week, or just to warm their belly on a cold winter day. Celebrity chefs are no exception. From tried-and-true comfort classics like grilled cheese with tomato soup, mashed potatoes with gravy, or butter noodles, to less common picks like cherrystone clams, celebrity chef comfort food has no rules as long as it's soothing. 

The queen of comfort food herself, Ina Garten (she wrote the book on it — "Modern Comfort Food," in 2020) has one autumnal selection that gets her through every time. In an interview with Today from October 2024, when asked what her go-to comfort food is, The Barefoot Contessa answered, "Well, it's the fall — I love butternut squash and apple soup."

She makes a good point — comfort foods change with the seasons. In the fall, shorter, cooler days mean heartier, warming, stick-to-your-ribs meals like beef stew, chili, and whole roasted chicken with root veggies. Factor in favorites like warm apple cider and pumpkin pie, and it's clear that fall is a quintessential comfort food season. Garten's choice of soup, with its sweet, earthy flavors of butternut squash and apples, is the epitome of the season — fall in a bowl. But soup isn't all the Food Network star uses butternut squash in; her saffron risotto with butternut squash is just one of Ina Garten's best comfort food dishes, as well as her caramelized butternut squash, a festive side for holiday meals.

Ina Garten's recipe for butternut squash and apple soup is soup-er simple with a relatively short cooking time. Begin by cooking chopped onions, oil, butter, and curry powder on low heat until the onions are soft and the spices are activated by the heat. Meanwhile, prepare the butternut squash and apples, peeling off their outer layers, de-seeding the squash, and coring the apples, before chopping into chunks. Once the onions are done, add the prepped squash and apple to the pot, along with seasonings and water. After bringing to a boil, reduce the heat and let it cook until tender. Then, pop it in a food processor or blender. Finish with apple juice or cider and/or more water, to your desired consistency.

Once you've mastered The Contessa's version, there are loads of ways to add your own touches. Want a thicker, creamier consistency? Try adding cream or cream cheese during the processing stage, or top the soup with a dollop of yogurt or sour cream, then sprinkle on a little crumbled bacon or prosciutto, roasted pumpkin seeds, chives, parmesan, or a simple dash of good-quality olive oil. This soup is great when paired with a fall harvest caramelized mushroom salad and fresh-baked bread with brie. Love squash but not soup? There are more creative ways to use butternut squash that aren't soup.