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!
I cannot believe how absolutely wonderful this tasted! I reluctantly made some changes, didn’t find the vegetable broth until right after I finished the dish, so I had to use chicken, not one single apple in the entire house, so I substituted 3 drops of lemon juice and 3 pkts. Of Splenda.Also had to use garlic powder and dried sage. But even with all that, it still came out delicious. I am going to go to the grocery store tomorrow and make it right next time. : )
I followed the instant pot recipe. It was quick and easy, but for me it had too much cayenne pepper. It was a little too spicy for me. I’ll try it again without that. I did add the coconut milk at the end and that tasted yummy … helped with the spice. I will also peel the apple next time.
Oh, Yum, Yum, Yum!! I got an immersion blender for Christmas and the first thing I wanted to make was Butternut squash soup. I saw the reviews on this one so tried it. I debated the coconut milk and heavy cream but went with the exact recipe and it was just delish! My only issue was the garlic, I think maybe the cloves I had were too large as it tasted a little garlic forward..I added a few pinches of the other spices, a splash of heavy cream and it helped. This recipe is a keeper!!
So Easy! So Quick! So Good! So Healthy! 5 stars
Turned out delicious! Thanks so much! Definitely will make again.
Great recipe. Great flavours for fall. Definately a keeper.
Delicious! Can u freeze this?
The hardest thing was all the cutting lol tasted great. Omitted the cayenne because I didn’t have it. Will be making it again!
I was using the Instant Pot for something else, so I cooked this on my stove top. It turned out I did not have coconut milk either, so I put in a little almond milk to thin it a bit. Delicious!
NOTE: Cutting up a butternut squash into dice is a LOT of work and took waaay longer than the recipe was supposed to be. I suspect that in the Instant Pot, you might leave it in big chunks and it would still cook – but I haven’t tried that.
I’m confused about time. It says 12 min for prep and 28 for cook but “30 min total”??
I see cook 8 min. takes 10 minutes to heat up to preheat then 8 minutes. so actually 18 minutes to cook.
Can vegetable broth be substituted for vegetable stock?