This Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup recipe is super quick and easy to make in the pressure cooker, it’s naturally gluten-free and vegan, and it’s full of the best fall flavors that everyone will love! (This post contains affiliate links.)
This one goes out to all of my Instant Pot fans out there!
We’ve had loads of requests ever since this magical pressure cooker hit the market for tips on how to adapt my favorite Slow Cooker Butternut Squash Soup recipe for the Instant Pot. And with good reason — why wait 4-8 hours for this cozy soup to cook when it could be ready from start to finish in about 30 minutes instead?!
Like I said…magic. ✨✨✨
Seriously, this continues to be one of my all-time favorite soup recipes, and thousands of readers have made it over the years and agreed as well. So grab your pressure cookers and let’s make a batch…in an “instant”!
This butternut squash soup recipe actually hails from my mom, who first made it for our family when everyone was back home in Wichita a few Thanksgivings ago. It’s loaded up with lots of fall favorites — hearty butternut squash, tart Granny smith apples, a (surprise!) carrot, and some extra garlic and sage for seasonings. It’s also made extra creamy with coconut milk, although you’re welcome to sub in heavy cream or any other kind of milk that you prefer.
To make the soup in the Instant Pot (<– this is the model I own), just pop the beginning ingredients in there together and cook on high pressure for 8 minutes. Then, there’s no need to wait for the natural release. Just (very carefully) turn the valve to “venting” for a quick release. Then remove the sage, add in the coconut milk, puree with a blender (or immersion blender) until smooth and creamy, taste, season…
…and if you feel like adding an extra touch, drizzle some extra coconut milk on top and sprinkle with some fresh herbs or pumpkin seeds or a sprinkle of seasoning (smoked paprika, cinnamon, cayenne, you pick).
And within about 30 minutes, this gorgeous meal will be yours to enjoy. It’s so warm and hearty and comforting, it’s full of ingredients you can feel great about, and it is just SO amazingly good. Every time.
Enjoy, everyone!
Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup
Ingredients
- 2 cups vegetable stock
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 1 carrot, peeled and diced
- 1 Granny Smith apple, cored and diced
- 1 medium (uncooked) butternut squash*, peeled, seeded and diced
- 1 sprig fresh sage
- 1 white onion, diced
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, or more to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper, or more to taste
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne, or more to taste
- pinch of ground cinnamon and nutmeg
- 1/2 cup canned (unsweetened) coconut milk
- optional garnishes: extra coconut milk and a sprinkle of smoked paprika (or cayenne pepper)
Instructions
- Add vegetable stock, garlic, carrot, apple, butternut squash, sage, onion, salt, pepper, cayenne, cinnamon and nutmeg to an Instant Pot pressure cooker. Toss to combine. Close lid securely and set vent to “Sealing”.
- Press “Manual”, then press “Pressure” until the light on “High Pressure” lights up, then adjust the +/- buttons until time reads 8 minutes. Cook. Then very carefully, turn the vent to "Venting" for quick release, and wait until all of the steam has released and the valve has dropped. Remove the lid.
- Remove and discard the sage. Stir in the coconut milk.
- Use an immersion blender to puree the soup until smooth. (Or you can transfer the soup in two batches into a traditional blender, and puree until smooth, being very careful when working with the hot liquid.) Taste, and season with additional salt, pepper and cayenne if needed.
- Serve warm, with optional garnishes if desired.
Notes
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
Excellent soup! It smelled so delicious as soon as I opened the instant pot! I garnished it with some sesame salt and it worked perfectly with the flavors. Thanks for this delicious recipe!
SUCH A DELICIOUS RECIPE. Oh man if you haven’t tried this, TRY IT!! I’m not a huge cook, but I’ve been trying to get better. I’m a newly married wife and I’m trying to make more healthy meals for my husband. I’ve made butternut squash soup before but not in an instapot and not with this recipe. It didn’t turn out that great the first time. I decided to try making it again with this recipe and I fell in love. It was my first recipe using an Insta pot and it’s so easy. I’m so grateful to the person who made this recipe. They’ve made me like cooking and making homemade meals.
I made this last night for dinner and it was really good. I didn’t have any sage, and I decided to forgo the cayenne this time, but it was great without them. I think I will add in a little curry powder next time. Excellent recipe. Super easy. I will be definitely making this again.
Absolutely delicious! I used chicken stock and omitted sage (because I didn’t have any on hand). Sautéed the onions on 2 tablespoons of butter before adding the other ingredients. Topped with extra coconut milk, fresh cilantro and lime Yum!
1st recipe I made with my new instapot duo and I have to say it was fantastic! Looking forward to enjoying it for the next few days! Thank you for sharing!
Loved this soup!
We love this soup at our house! It’s soooo good. It’s not too sweet. Overall, I feel like it’s flavors are complex and layered! We sprinkle some pumpkin seeds on top. Yum!!! I’ve made this twice now and it’s been a hit both times.
Very good!I
I used a 2 lb. bag of cubed butternut squash from the grocery store and a 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce because I didn’t have an apple. Also added a red bell pepper I had in my fridge. Used about a half teaspoon of rubbed safe instead of a sprig, and used 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes because I didn’t have cayenne. Didn’t have coconut milk so I used heavy cream (a little more than 1/2 a cup) and then everything else called for in the recipe. First time making it and it was delicious. Next time I will try the true recipe to compare.
Very delicious! I used some delicata squash found at Trader Joe’s instead of butternut (a very yummy squash).
My peeler wasn’t up to the task, so it took quite a bit longer to prep than the 12 minutes advertised. (Luckily, the rest of the veggies and apple took much less time to prepare) but the instant pot did its magic, and our nutri bullet made the soup nice and smooth.
Would this still all fit in the InstantPot if I were to double the recipe? I have a 5 L/10 cup InstantPot (not sure how many quarts).