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Butternut Squash Soup

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The best butternut squash soup recipe I know! It’s super-easy to make, naturally gluten-free and vegan, and so incredibly cozy and delicious. Stovetop, Crock-Pot and Instant Pot instructions included.

Best Butternut Squash Soup Recipe

Is there a more quintessentially autumn meal than a cozy bowl of butternut squash soup?

Well on a particularly chilly day this past weekend, we made our millionth batch of my mom’s butternut soup recipe to share with some good friends who came over for dinner. And as always, this vibrant, healthy, velvety soup came through with all of the fall comfort food vibes and completely hit the spot. It’s just perfect this time of year!

The great thing about this butternut squash soup recipe too is that it happens to be naturally gluten-free and vegan, which makes it a wonderful option for hosting large groups (especially around the holidays). It’s easy to make in either the Instant Pot, Crock-Pot or on the stovetop (all options included below). It’s loaded up with lots of savory veggies and seasonings, plus a hint of sweetness thanks to the addition of one apple. And most importantly, it’s just incredibly comforting, flavorful and delicious.

I first shared this butternut soup recipe on the blog nearly a decade ago, but thought it was worth bumping back to the top of the site today for anyone who’s craving some lighter fall comfort food. Our family hopes that you enjoy it as much as we do!

Best Butternut Squash Soup Recipe | 1-Minute Video

Crock Pot Butternut Squash Soup Ingredients

Butternut Squash Soup Ingredients:

To make this easy butternut squash soup recipe, you will need:

  • Butternut squash: You can either use 1 medium-sized fresh butternut squash (here is my tutorial for how to select, peel and cut fresh butternut squash) or you will need between 4 to 5 cups of pre-cut raw butternut squash.
  • Carrot and onion: These will serve as the additional veggies for the soup.
  • Apple: Any variety of apple will work in this recipe (peeled or unpeeled), but I’m partial to Granny Smith apples that add extra hint of tartness in addition to their sweet flavor.
  • Vegetable broth: I typically make this soup with veggie broth to keep it vegetarian and vegan, but chicken broth would also work well in this recipe too.
  • Coconut milk: I love the subtle sweetness that unsweetened coconut milk adds to this soup. But feel free to sub half and half (or heavy cream) instead of coconut milk if you prefer.
  • Seasonings: My mom’s recipe uses a simple blend of garlic, fresh sage, cayenne, ground cinnamon, nutmeg, sea salt, and black pepper. Feel free to adjust the amount of cayenne to taste. And I also highly recommend briefly frying up a few extra sage leaves to sprinkle on top of the soup as a crispy garnish.
  • Your choice of garnishes: I like to drizzle on some extra coconut milk (or cream), a sprinkle of toasted pepitas, and a sprinkle of extra black pepper and/or smoked paprika. Or see more ideas below!

You will also need a:

Slow Cooker Butternut Squash Soup in Crock Pot

How To Make Butternut Squash Soup:

Detailed instructions are included in the recipe below for how to make butternut squash soup in the Instant Pot, Crock-Pot or on the stovetop. But here is a brief overview:

  1. Cook. For extra depth of flavor, I recommend sautéing the onion and garlic in a bit of olive oil first if you are making the Instant Pot or stovetop versions, but this step is optional if you’re making the Crock-Pot version (or if you’re in a hurry). Add in the squash and veggies and cook until they are completely tender, then add in the coconut milk.
  2. Blend. I typically use an immersion blender to purée the soup until smooth, but you can alternately purée the soup in two batches using a traditional blender. (Just be extremely careful as always when blending hot liquids in a traditional blender. Safety instructions are included in the notes below fhte recipe.)
  3. Season. Once the soup has been puréed, give it a taste and season generously with salt and pepper as needed. If you would like to amp up the heat, you’re welcome to add in extra cayenne as well.
  4. Serve. Then dish it up, garnished with your favorite toppings, and enjoy!

Best Butternut Squash Soup recipe in dutch oven

Possible Variations:

Want to customize your butternut squash soup recipe? Feel free to:

  • Roast your veggies: To make roasted butternut squash soup, simply roast the butternut squash, carrots and onions before adding them to the soup to make roasted butternut squash soup. It doesn’t add too much extra time (especially if you prep the rest of your soup while the veggies roast) and the roasted veggies add a delicious depth of flavor.
  • Give it a Thai twist: To make Thai-inspired curried butternut squash soup, add a tablespoon or two of red curry paste and 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger, then serve the soup with lime wedges and chopped fresh cilantro.
  • Give it a Mexican twist: To make Mexican-inspired butternut squash soup, omit the sage and nutmeg and stir in 1.5 teaspoons ground cumin and a big pinch of chipotle chili powder instead, then serve the soup with lime wedges and chopped fresh cilantro.
  • Give it a Chai twist: See my recipe here for the yummiest chai-spiced butternut squash soup.
  • Add rice or grains: To make your soup extra hearty, feel free to add in some rice, quinoa, farro or other favorite grains. Just be sure to also add in extra broth accordingly to help cook the rice or grains.
  • Use cream instead of coconut milk: If you are not a big fan of coconut milk, feel free to use heavy cream or half and half in place of the coconut milk to make this soup nice and creamy.
  • Have fun with toppings: So many toppings can pair well with butternut squash soup! Some faves include:
    • cheese: Parmesan, grated sharp cheddar, feta
    • nuts: toasted almonds, walnuts, pine nuts, pepitas, or candied pecans
    • herbs: fresh cilantro, thyme, sage, chives, etc.
    • bacon: crispy bacon or prosciutto
    • greens: fresh baby arugula or microgreens
    • homemade croutons

Vegan Butternut Squash Soup in Bowl with Pepitas

More Favorite Soup Recipes:

Looking for more cozy, comforting soup recipes for the season? Here are a few more of my faves…

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BEST Butternut Squash Soup Recipe

Butternut Squash Soup

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.8 from 498 reviews
  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes
  • Total Time: 50 minutes
  • Yield: 6 -8 servings 1x

Description

My all-time favorite Butternut Squash Soup recipe!  It’s super-easy to make, naturally gluten-free and vegan, and so incredibly cozy and delicious.  Stovetop, Crock-Pot and Instant Pot instructions included below.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 white onion, peeled and diced
  • 4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
  • 2 cups vegetable broth
  • 1 carrot, peeled and roughly chopped
  • 1 Granny Smith apple, cored and roughly chopped
  • 1 medium (about 34 lb) butternut squash, peeled, seeded and diced
  • 1 sprig fresh sage
  • 1/8 teaspoon cayenne
  • pinch of ground cinnamon and nutmeg
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk
  • fine sea salt and freshly-cracked black pepper, to taste
  • optional garnishes: smoked paprika, extra drizzle of unsweetened coconut milk, or see more ideas above

Instructions

Stovetop Butternut Squash Soup:

  1. Sauté the onion and garlic. Heat the olive oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened and translucent. Add the garlic and sauté for 1 to 2 more minutes, stirring frequently, until fragrant.
  2. Simmer: Add the vegetable broth, carrot, apple, butternut squash, sage, cayenne, cinnamon and nutmeg and stir to combine. Continue cooking until the soup reaches a simmer. Then cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 20-30 minutes until the vegetables are all tender and mash easily with a fork. Remove and discard the sage. Stir in the coconut milk.
  3. Purée: Use an immersion blender to purée the soup until smooth. (Or alternately, see instructions in the notes below for how to purée the soup safely using a traditional blender.)
  4. Season and serve: Taste and season the soup generously with salt and pepper as needed. Serve warm, topped with your desired garnishes, and enjoy!

Slow Cooker Butternut Squash Soup:

  1. Slow cook: Add the oil (optional), onion, garlic, vegetable broth, carrot, apple, butternut squash, sage, cayenne, cinnamon and nutmeg to a small (3-quart) slow cooker or large (6-quart) slow cooker. Toss briefly to combine. Cook for 4-6 hours on low, or 2-3 hours on high, or until the squash is completely tender and mashes easily with a fork. Remove and discard the sage. Stir in the coconut milk.
  2. Purée: Use an immersion blender to purée the soup until smooth. (Or alternately, see instructions in the notes below for how to purée the soup safely using a traditional blender.)
  3. Season and serve: Taste and season the soup generously with salt and pepper as needed. Serve warm, topped with your desired garnishes, and enjoy!

Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup:

  1. Sauté the onion and garlic: Press the “Sauté” button on an Instant Pot. Heat the olive oil. Add the onion and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened and translucent. Add the garlic and sauté for 1 to 2 more minutes, stirring frequently, until fragrant.
  2. Pressure cook: Add the vegetable broth, carrot, apple, butternut squash, sage, cayenne, cinnamon, nutmeg, and toss briefly to combine. Close lid securely and set vent to “Sealing”. Pressure cook on high for 8 minutes, followed by a quick release. Remove and discard the sage. Stir in the coconut milk.
  3. Purée: Use an immersion blender to purée the soup until smooth. (Or alternately, see instructions in the notes below for how to purée the soup safely using a traditional blender.)
  4. Season and serve: Taste and season the soup generously with salt and pepper as needed. Serve warm, topped with your desired garnishes, and enjoy!

Notes

Puréeing using a traditional blender: As always, please be extra-careful when blending hot liquids in a traditional blender. I recommend puréeing the soup in two or three batches, so that the blender is not too full. Then also be sure to slightly tent the cap of the blender lid open so that the extra steam can escape.

Butternut Squash Soup Recipe from Gimme Some Oven

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1,369 comments on “Butternut Squash Soup”

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  1. I just made this soup for Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow. I must say, when I tasted it, I fell in love! I doubled the recipe since I have 16 people coming and I did add extra salt, but the flavor is perfect! I also used chicken broth instead of vegetable broth, but it’s great that it can be vegan! Good job! Thanks for sharing this recipe!






  2. When’s do you add the coconut milk?

  3. I made this for Thanksgiving and while it was good it was very “airy”. I’m not sure if I used too much butternut squash but I would have liked it to have a heavier feel in my mouth. Would adding extra broth or coconut milk do this? Thanks for the recipe. I will be making it again.






  4. This was just excellent. I made this on the stove top and I added half a teaspoon of cumin and a teaspoon of curry. I forgot to add the carrots and I didn’t have coconut milk. But it was all excellent anyway! I will be making this over and over again.






  5. This is the second time i made this. Today i added some fresh pureed pumpkin, celery and paprika (during cooking). Roasted the vegetables. Served with pumpkin seeds. I live alone and this is what I cook for myself. It freezes well.

  6. Silky and excellent. Don’t be stingy on the spice.






  7. This is SO delicious! I made the Thai version with chopped green onion as a garnish rather than cilantro. We grow butternut squash in our garden so I’m excited to have another way to prepare it.






  8. This soup is amazing. I made good butternut squash soup, but this blows mine out of the water. I used about a teaspoon of dried sage and chicken broth just because I didn’t have any vegetable broth. I sauteed the onion and garlic, I did cut the garlic down to one clove and felt it was perfect.
    I toasted packaged raw pumpkin seeds in olive oil, with salt, pepper, and thyme for about 10 minutes to use as a garnish. They provided a nice crunch and flavor contrast although next time I think I will add just a pinch of cayenne pepper to them for a little kick.






  9. I made this soup for my ladies’ night and it was a hit! I followed it exactly, but next time I might cut down on the Cayenne Pepper next time, only because I am a wuss, but the soup was still amazing! So glad I found it through my old friend, Google. :) Thanks so much for sharing!






  10. I’ve made this soup before and served it the same day. Just wondering can you make this soup a day ahead before serving? Thank you
    Kay






  11. Just as good as the non-vegan recipes






  12. This is a favorite go to, healthy soup. Easy and delicious.






  13. If you don’t have coconut milk can you use half half milk

  14. Excellent! I left out the coconut milk only to save myself some calories. I’m sure it would be equally delicious. I also used the red thai curry and ginger; added a bit of bite to it! I will definitely makemthis again!






  15. This soup is fabulous!!! I followed the directions exactly and put some smoked paprika on to of it. Yum!!!






  16. My favorite recipe, I make it at least once a week in my instant pot






  17. I only needed to cook it in the slow cooker at low for about 3 hours, but it was delicious! I added paprika, cayenne, and fresh black pepper on top for some kick and wow. Amazing. I will try to double this next time so I have a bunch left over!






  18. I made this for the first time with some family coming so I was curious to see how everyone liked it…it was a hit!
    Everyone wanted more! Sadly enough for me, there was not enough for the next day! Next time, I’ll double it! Great recipe!






  19. The absolute BEST






  20. Will any Apple work? We do not have Granny Smith apples at our grocery store. Thanks!

  21. Fantastic soup! I’ll totally make it again! Flavorful and easy to make!






  22. This soup has become a favorite to my husband and I !! So creamy, warm, comfy and delicious, we brought it for a potluck and our friends asked for the recipe. Needless to say there was no leftovers!






  23. I’ve made this soup twice so far and I used two different brands of canned coconut milk. I found the Goya brand overwhelming in coconut flavor but the organic one that I can’t remember the name of to be just right. All in all a great recipe. Thanks for all the options. I will be making this often.






  24. This is so yummy! The flavors are perfect. Thank you!






  25. Very delicious soup. Made it as directed excepted I did not have any broth so just used water. Didn’t seem to make a difference as it was still very tasty. I will make this again for sure. Probably for company!






  26. Did the Instant Pot version and it was delicious in 10 minutes! I used light coconut milk and it was still very thick.






  27. This soup is delicious! I roasted the vegetables before adding them to the pot.






  28. I am making this right now! I used 4 cups of homemade jiggly bone broth in it, added an extra carrot and apple. Used extra cinnamon, nutmeg, sage and added some allspice. Im cooking up some bacon to sprinkle on top with some fresh sage. Excited to see how it turns out. I’m very picky about my squash soups and have followed a few other recipes and never found a favorite. I’m hoping this will be it!






  29. Can you make this with frozen butternut squash soup?

  30. I loved it!! So delicious!! I did add a couple of Splenda packets to increase the sweetness a little bit.






  31. I followed this recipe exactly as written except I didn’t have any sage, and I roasted all of the veggies before cooking the soup. And the results were HORRIBLE. This was absolutely the WORST soup we ever tasted, we threw it all out (and I don’t throw out food!!!). It had a weird flavor, I think it was because of the massive amount of onions and because I roasted them, the weird flavor was kicked up ever further. So disappointed because I love butternut squash.

  32. Ali, it looks awesome! So much flavors packed on this recipe that makes this simply irresistible, definitely having this on my table!






  33. Ali, it’s amazing! I just randomly found your blog looking for this recipe. Awesome! Good for you!






  34. Well that was ridiculous good. I roasted the squash for an added layer of deliciousness.






  35. This was so good I would probably double it next time to ensure lots of left overs.






  36. I made the recipe as is and it is delicious! I can’t wait to make it again and try some of the add ins suggested.






  37. So if you do the slow cooker version, you add the coconut milk at the end, that is clear. But according to the stove top recipe you leave out the coconut milk entirely, because it says “minus the coconut milk” and doesn’t mention it again. Wondering if this is a mistake in the recipe or is because of the different preparation method.






  38. Delish! I made mine very thick by doubling the squash, carrots and apples. I used the same amount of broth though. Turned out amazing. I also added curry and ginger to mine and I’m so glad I did! We marked this recipe in our recipe book. Thank you!






  39. In my town, we don’t have Meals on Wheels so my wofe and I cook every other week for Hospice patients and their families. This is one recipe that gets the most feedback! Its comforting and delicious!






  40. Amazing. Tasty. Simple






  41. LOVE this recipe!!! ?






  42. Super easy to make and super delicious! Even my kiddos love it.






  43. I have probably made this recipe of yours two dozen times. We always love it!






  44. I have cooked this soup twice and loved it, I added curry and instead of coconut milk I added cream of coconut it was so delicious!!

  45. Last summer we grew squash and had an abundance when fall came. So I was scrambling for recipes and happily came across this one! I made it with a slow cooker and it was divine. I used more coconut milk, probably 3/4 – 1 cup, and it was terrific. My husband loved it too – we pretty much lived on it for dinner for several days. I followed the directions for seasoning but only had dried sage, which was fine. We still have squash 10 months later so I’m glad I found this recipe again. I thought pieces of chicken might go well in it – that’s for this time around.






  46. This recipe was so easy and delicious! I’ve never made butternut squash soup, but, always wanted to. It made it a ton easier by buying pre-cut squash from my grocery store. Thank you for helping to kick my fall spirit into gear!






  47. Does this soup yield about 6-8 servings is that 1/2 cup servings?

  48. Am I able to freeze this soup as I’m making a meal for a friend.

  49. Loved it. Will cut down on the cayenne pepper next time.






  50. Sooooo good! ?