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 recipe is a keeper! Easy with pre peeled squash. I didn’t have any sage and skipped the cayenne. So flavorful. I love that you don’t have to saute the onion. Definitely one for week night meal rotation. Highly recommend. Thanks!
Family loved it! Used chicken stock as I didn’t have any veggie on hand and used leeks from my garden instead of an onion. Sautéed the leeks, garlic and added a teaspoon of fresh ginger first. Great recipe!
Simple and easy, nice balance of sweet and spicy. I used butternut squash and a hot pepper from my garden instead of ground cayenne.
If you use butternut squash and want to make peeling super easy:
Cut the ends off
Cut it in half cross wise
Stand each section on end and cut in half
Remove seeds
Pressure cook on a trivet with 2 cups of water for 6 minutes, quick release. The squash will be firm, but very easy to peel.
Came out really good. My husband loved it. Garnished with sweet corn and corn chips for crunchiness !!
Planning to make this for Thanksgiving. Looks so good. Can I simply double the recipe with the same Instapot 8 minute cooking instructions? Or should I cook in 2 separate batches. Im a novice at pressure cooking. Thanks!
Made this and agree for at least my kid’s sake I’ll use less cayenne next time. I ended up adding brown sugar since it seemed like it was missing sweetness. I also used more garlic than listed and thought it was not too overpowering. Great soup for anytime!
I’m about to find out…. doubled the recipe…we’ll see what happens!!
I need to remember to put just a smidge less cayenne for my liking, but otherwise this soup is perfect. Love it!
LOVED THIS! It was so easy to make and soooooo yummy!! Even my picky toddler ate her whole bowl, winning!! 🙌🏼
Thank you for sharing the recipe. This soup is perfect fall soup!
Could you please tell me the Nutritional value and calories in this soup? I log everything I eat.
1 fat
15 carb
1 protein
Per serving if it’s 6 servings. I use MFP and when I created a recipe for it, this is what I got.
How many calories are in this recipie? For the whole thing?
I NORMALLY DONT REVIEW THINGS BUT THIS IS ONE OF MY MOST FAVORITE RECIPE I HAVE EVER MADE!!! I bought my squash from a local small farm and made this later!!! SO EASY! So flavorful!! So filling!!! I served it with flakey bread! I used sweetened condensed milk instead of coconut! I also added raw unrefined sugar (aka jaggery or panela) and it was INCREDIBLE!!!
I am looking forward to making this wonderful soup again tonight. Each time I have made it, it has received glowing reviews. I think I’ll leave out the carrots this time as I found it slightly sweet and will add an extra garlic. Such a warm, fall soup that makes me feel cozy even when the wind and rain are blowing. Thanks for a great recipe.