For maximum flavor, lightly drizzle veggies with your favorite healthy oil and roast for 30-40 minutes. This can be done in advance as part of the previous night's dinner (roasted veggies make an awesomely easy side dish!) and you can squirrel away enough leftovers for this soup. If you're jonesin' for a bowl and don't want to roast the veggies you absolutely can skip it and amp up the flavor with your choice of seasoning and mix-ins.
Set your slow cooker (any size will work!) to either LOW or HIGH setting and add squash, carrots, onion, veggie broth, salt, and paprika.
Cover and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours or on HIGH for 3-4 hours.
Once the veggies are fabulously tender, turn off the crock-pot and add your almond milk, or your favorite dairy or dairy-free equivalent.
Blend using an immersion blender (my most favorite space-saving appliance ever!) and you're good to go!
Alternatively soup can be poured into a blender or food processor and blended in batches. Be sure to leave some space at the top because liquid expands when it's hot.
Ladle soup into bowls and add all your favorite toppings!
Enjoy!
Notes
I kept this soup simple so you can customize it any way you'd like! Have a bowl straight up one time, spike it with a hearty dose of sriracha the next, and then whip out the coconut milk and your favorite curry spice blend for an entirely new flavor profile altogether. Butternut squash and carrots have this silky, buttery, sweet-yet-savory profile that's so easy to compliment!Recipe yields about 4 cups of soup, perfect for 4 cups of soup or 2 large bowls. Nutrition facts below are an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator; adjust as needed.