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!
This is super delicious, I used 2 lbs of frozen, diced butternut squash, 1 whole yellow onion as well as 1/2 of a red, 1 TB of ginger paste, 1 tsp paprika, 1 tsp smoked paprika, 2 tsp ground coriander, 1/2 tsp ground cumin, and 1 tsp red chili powder.
The combination of spicy, sweet, and smokey was delicious.
Recipe excellent but I do not see the nutrition facts at the end of the recipe, for a diabetic they need to measure carbohydrates and sugar.
My toddler drinks this cold With a straw he loves it so much. Just made it for a second time and used some pumpkin from a fresh mini pumpkin I had- also delicious! Thank you for the best- chop & dump recipe!
Delicious!!!!!!
I added yesterday’s mashed potatoes and more vegetable stock, baked butternut squash and carrots in the oven prior to instant pot, mmm how great it tasted. Thank you for the recipe!!!
Enjoyed this. The hardest part was peeling the squash. A different flavor but I’m glad I have leftovers for later…only wish I didn’t have to clean up the kitchen!
My daughter made this and it was delicious, but I wish there was a calorie count or nutrition information somewhere on the recipe.
I use fresh nutmeg and it adds to the great flavors in this soup. I used frozen cubed butternut squash if I don’t have time to get a fresh one.
This soup is pure delicious. I’ve never been a fan of sweet squash dishes but this recipe is the perfect blend of savoury with a hint of sweet. I cut the garlic down to 1 clove as 4 was too strong for me, otherwise I follow the recipe to a T and it’s literally liquid gold every time. Love love love. Thanks for sharing it!
Loved it!
This turned out great. I did make a few changes based on what I had on hand. I cooked it on the stovetop so I added 1 cup more broth. I used 20 oz. frozen squash cubes because I didn’t have a whole squash at the time. I used a large Honeycrisp apple because I’m not crazy about the tart Granny Smith apples. I used 1 tsp dried sage and left it in the soup, and used 1/8 tsp each of the nutmeg and cinnamon. I used 1 cup of coconut milk. I also added one small/medium sweet potato, peeled and diced, and used an extra-large carrot. This is so creamy and yummy! I left out the cayenne pepper because I don’t care for the heat, but I bet it would be good with a pinch of curry powder instead. I will definitely make this again.