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!
Delicious!! The second time I made it I added a little more cayenne than the recipe called for – made it just a bit more spicy – SO good!!
I made this wonderful soup after a friend posted that she had made it. I loved it. It was very easy to make. I shared samples and they all loved it. So I’m doing a distant lunch with 2 very special friends so I’m in the process of making my 2 batch. Thanks for sharing. I had been buying it and it’s only seasonal so I’m excited I can have it all winter.
Omygoodness this is soooooo tasty! I thought it would taste coconuty but it doesn’t – it’s not overpowering. So delicious! Thankyou!
My favorite soup, period. My favorite from any recipe book, blog, cooking show … My absolute favorite. Tastes like Fall in a bowl. I found this recipe years ago after I had my first bowl of butternut squash soup at a super fancy restaurant in Nashville. My company had a holiday party there. I loved the soup so much I decided to recreate it by looking online for recipes. But I had no idea that id find a recipe not only as good as the restaurant, but even better! It’s so frothy and creamy and smooth and flavorful and sweet and it’s HEALTHY! I ate it everyday during my first trimester of pregnancy when I had no appetite and was constantly throwing up lunch. It was the only way to get vegetables down without feeling nauseas. I printed off the recipe three times just in case the blog or recipe gets deleted. OBSESSED.
This soup is fantastic and I will be adding it to my dinner soup list. My only comment is to make sure you use a SMALL white onion or 1/2 of a medium one or the onion taste is overbearing. I also saute’ the onion and garlic first for more flavor.
I have been experimenting with this recipe, not that it needs it, however that is what I do. Here are some of the things I have tried.
suggestions:
1 tbs. brown sugar if you like to sweeten it up a little
1 tsp. cinnamon and 1 tsp. nutmeg
1tsp. pumpkin spice
1/4 cup apple cider
sprinkle of pine nuts on top as a garnish with the coconut milk (unsweetened) from a squeeze bottle. You can be very creative with dispensing from a squeeze bottle, designs, names, etc.
I have made this soup several times starting with one change at a time to test the flavors.
You can also make the basic soup and place a 1/2 cup of the soup in each of several ramekins and then add a small amount of the optional ingredients to see which one you like or do combinations.
My last batch I did all of them and it turned out great.
Very easy recipe to use> very delicious too!
Tasty indeed.
Easy, quick and very tasty!
This recipe came out great! It was super easy! I definitely added a bigger quantity of all the seasonings and it came out just a little spicy which is delicious with the warming spices like cinnamon! I added almost the whole can of coconut milk. Will definitely make again – Used a blender and it came out way creamier than I thought it would!!
This was delicious. I added cheese ravioli after blending. Perfect soup for fall!