Slow Cooker Butternut Squash Soup with Maple Roasted Chickpeas

I've never been a big fan of butternut squash, but Dave really enjoys it, so I've been making an effort to incorporate it into more recipes. We served this to friends during one of our game nights. This was incredibly easy to make.

Recipe from Two Peas and Their Pod.

Ingredients: 

Butternut Squash Soup:

-1 medium yellow onion, chopped

-3 medium carrots, peeled and chopped

-1 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded and chopped into 1-inch cubes 

-1 large green apple, peeled and chopped 

-3.5 cups vegetable broth

-1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

-1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

-2 tablespoons maple syrup

-Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Maple Roasted Chickpeas:

-1 (15 oz) can chickpeas

-1 tablespoon canola oil

-1 1/2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

-1 tablespoon brown sugar

-1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

-1/8 teaspoon salt

Add the onion, carrots, butternut squash, and apple to the slow cooker. Pour the vegetable broth over all of the ingredients. Cook on low for 6 hours.

Before the soup is finished. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Rinse and drain the chickpeas and pat dry with a paper towel. Remove the skins by lightly squeezing each chickpea until it pops out of its skin. In a small bowl, combine the canola oil, maple syrup, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Add the chickpeas and stir to coat. Place the chickpeas on a large baking sheet and bake for 40-45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes or so. Remove from the oven when chickpeas are crunchy.

After 6 hours, use an immersion blender to puree. Add the cinnamon, nutmeg, and maple syrup. Season with salt and pepper.

We had no leftovers -- everyone really like this soup. The flavor was good, the texture was great, the seasoning was spot on. The chickpeas got mixed reviews, however, I thought they were crunchy and sweet, a nice contrast to the soup. Others enjoyed the soup better without the chickpeas. Overall this was a success.