Winter Squash and Rice Soup with Pancetta Recipe (2024)

NEVEr discard ANy rendered bacon/pancetta fat; it's liquid gold, perfect for frying potatoes or any number of other searing/sauteeing/larding uses. Pour it off and freeze it.

Idea for vegetarian version sub for pancetta. Find a recipe for crispy chickpeas and make to add as about-to-serve garnish. Tweak herb-spice mix for chickpeas to suit, especially some smoked paprika.

After cooking the pancetta, I fried up some chicken tenders (tossed in flour, with a little salt and pepper). I put them aside w/the roasted squash, and continued back to the recipe. Before serving, I chopped up the chicken, and added to the soup. Big hit

The recipe is only five steps long, and one of them is eating it!

Simple, straight-forward and basically a one pot soup except for roasting the squash. Made this last night and found it really nourishing despite the pancetta. I think bacon would be even better to add some smokiness? Next time. Added a lot of back pepper and parsley and some dill I had too.

Thought this was tasty and very simple to make. I added leftover white wine and that punched it up, but I don’t think you need the sugar on the squash. It carmelized and melted off when in the soup and left it a bit too sweet for my taste, even half of it would be better. I also used turkey broth and it was a great substitute

An instant hit! The broth's flavors are subtle, and play off the salty crunch of the pancetta. I wish I'd doubled the recipe. (I only had lemon thyme, and it worked great.)

Fabulous recipe! A total hit with the entire family. I have never sprinkled sugar on a vegetable before roasting but just a light sprinkle had my veggie hating three year old eating the squash cubes right off the sheet pan. So I’m one happy mom

Simply delicious! I happened to have some chicken tenders that I floured with salt and pepper and fried up in the pan, after cooking the pancetta. I put them aside with the roasted squash, and chopped up the chicken to add to each bowl before serving.

Any suggestions for making this vegetarian? What could I use in place of place of pancetta?

I did 4 oz. Pancetta and 4 oz. Bacon and it was very tasty.

This is basically 'Kanji' in Southern India or 'Congee' in China. Leftover 'Kanji' is delicious too, often eaten with leftover fish curry for breakfast in rural parts of Southern India, state of Kerala to be specific. I like to eat 'Kanji' topped with a little buttermilk and hot chili pickle, a party in your mouth!

This is a really good basic soup that can be adapted as needed. I didn't have bacon or pancetta, and used cut up hot dogs in place of them, and it was pretty good :)I added lemon zest and a bit of juice at the end too, and I thought that brightened it up quite a bit!

like others, I was skeptical of the 3 T of sugar to toss with the squash. I used just 1 T, and while overall the soup was very good, next time I will use the full amount, as more sweetness will be a nice counterpoint to the salt of the pancetta and broth.

Just ok. Good flavor but not worth all the steps in making this.

Deborah C- I made this vegetarian by using Crunchsters bacon mung beans and frying up Plant Provisions Tuscan slices (any veg deli slices would do, though). I did 4 oz of the veg meat and 1/4 cup mung beans. Turned out really nicely.

The really sweet squash was a very strange addition to this savory soup. Without the squash, the soup is great. The squash on its own is good too, just not in the soup. Just imagine a savory chicken rice soup with sugary baked squash thrown in. It just didn't balance for me :(

Just made this for a hearty winter lunch and it was delicious. I added some chorizo to the broth. And used bacon instead of chorizo, because that's what I have on hand. My concern is how to reheat it--that the rice and squash will become too mushy and I will have a container of soup that turned to slog. Suggestions?

This is definitely a recipe where you want to use homemade chicken stock since that's the predominant flavor of the broth. I tried it with store-bought and it was good, but fell a little flat. A bowl does get better as you eat it, once the flavors from the squash and bacon infuse into the broth.

This is delightfully better than the sum of its parts. Simple, delicious. I used pancetta from the Italian shop in Portland, ME and less than half the sugar. Adding chicken tenders or red pepper flakes would be a mistake, in my opinion - would take away from the mix of flavors and simple texture. A new comfort staple.

Made this for the first time today. Was concerned the sugar would be too much but it was good. It took closer to 40 minutes for the squash to get just right and I turned the oven off and let it coast home another 8-10 minutes.Considering next time putting some crushed red pepper with the squash and some drops of Sriracha to finish. Also thinking some dried chives could be nice to add to the rice. Much potential here. Will make again and experiment. Maybe chicken thighs. Kale.

Rice got mushy, and pancetta was better crispy than as it got wet in the soup. Probably won't make again, although I liked the roasted butternut squash.

Absolutely delicious, made as written. A perfect combination of flavors and textures. I was doubtful about adding sugar to the squash before roasting, but the added sweetness made a good contrast with the salty pancetta. I saved the broth rice, squash and pancetta separately for leftovers and reheated them in the microwave. Just as good the second day.

Kept it lower calories with diced ham steak. Added smoked paprika for a little more depth. Enjoyed and would make it again.

This soup is surprisingly delicious. It's hearty and not overwhelming. As written, it's a broth with the addition of freshly roasted squash and pancetta. My timing was off, so roasted at night, cooked bacon to crispy perfection in the microwave, and kept some of the rendered fat to use later. Finished it all the next day with added sauteed mirepoix. Blended most of it (but not all, so kept a good texture). Everyone who had the soup asked me to make it again.

Delicious! I used a full cup of rice and also added 2 boneless chicken thighs. Simmered til rice was dissolving and chicken cooked, then shredded the chicken with two forks. I threw in some spinach at the end as well. Didn’t have thyme and didn’t use sugar and it was really great flavor and texture.

I made this last night and it was delicious!! Full of flavors, all of the good. I will definitely make this again and again.

A chicken tender is the small tenderloin type section from the chicken that’s grouped together with others & sold in packages in the USA. They’re tender white meat and usually 4” long and 1” wide. Due to size and likely structure, they stay tender post cooking if not over cooked. Nice for quick add ins of chicken to dishes or solo. Children particularly enjoy them as they can be easily picked up by hand and dipped into sauces …as kids often like to do when they’re little…. Or grown up like me.

This was very good on a cold evening. I felt like it could have used some acid to zing it up so will add a squeeze of lemon next time. I also think stirring in some arugula or spinach at the end until just wilted would be worth a try. But a nice meal as written, too.

This was just really bland and boring. I didn't find the over-sweet, candy-like squash added much and the flavors didn't go especially well together. The nice crispy texture of the bacon and the pleasant caramelized aspect of the squash just melted away into the broth as soon as the ingredients were combined, leaving everything just sorta squishy.