This easy butternut squash soup recipe is perfectly creamy, velvety, and full of sweet and savory autumn flavors. Instant Pot, Crock-Pot and stovetop options included.
The Coziest Autumn Soup
Is there a more quintessentially autumn meal than a cozy bowl of butternut squash soup? ♡
On a particularly chilly day this past weekend, we made our millionth batch of my mom’s butternut squash soup recipe to share with friends who came over for dinner. As always, this vibrant, nourishing, velvety soup delivered all the fall comfort-food vibes and completely hit the spot. It’s just perfect this time of year!
One of the best things about this butternut squash soup is that it’s naturally gluten-free and vegan, which makes it a great option for hosting (especially around the holidays). It’s also easy to make in the Instant Pot, Crock-Pot, or on the stovetop, so you can take your pick. Most importantly, it’s perfectly balanced with sweet-and-savory autumn flavors and absolutely delicious. Thousands of readers have made this one over the years and agree!
Best Butternut Squash Soup Recipe | 1-Minute Video
Recipe Tips
Here are a few tips to help make the best butternut squash soup every time:
- Aim for silky-smooth. Blend longer than you think—an extra 30–60 seconds makes it ultra-velvety.
- Balance the sweetness. Granny Smith adds brightness; a squeeze of lemon at the end can perk flavors right up.
- Salt matters. Different brands of broths vary in saltiness, so season in layers and finish with a final pinch to make flavors pop.
Recipe Variations
Feel free to try these easy twists to customize the recipe and make it your own:
- Roast the veggies: Roast the squash, carrot, and onion at 425°F until caramelized, then blend for deeper, sweeter flavor.
- Make it smoky: Swap cayenne for chipotle chili powder and finish with a sprinkle of smoked paprika.
- Use cream: Sub heavy cream or half-and-half for the coconut milk for an ultra-silky, dairy-based finish.
- Go Thai-inspired: Stir in 1–2 tablespoons red curry paste and 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger; finish with lime and cilantro.
- Go Mexican-inspired: Omit sage/nutmeg and add 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin plus a pinch of chipotle; serve with lime and cilantro.
- Brighten it up: Add a squeeze of lemon juice or a splash of apple cider vinegar to balance sweetness.
- Have fun with toppings: Try toasted pepitas, roasted chickpeas, crispy sage, chili crisp, coconut milk swirl, croutons, or Parmesan.
FAQ
Yes, you will need about 4 to 5 cups diced raw butternut squash, which roughly equals about 2 pounds. Feel free to use fresh or frozen!
Definitely! Let it cool completely, portion into airtight containers, and freeze up to 3 months. Thaw overnight and rewarm gently, adding extra broth if needed.
If you feel that the soup is too sweet, feel free to add a pinch more salt, a squeeze of lemon, or an extra dash of cayenne or black pepper to balance the sweetness.
Sure. Kabocha, honeynut, or sugar-pie pumpkin all work well. They’re often a bit sweeter/drier, so feel free to add a splash of broth or lemon juice if needed.
More Vegetarian Soup Recipes To Try
Looking for more cozy vegetarian soup recipes to make this season? Here are a few of our favorites:
- Cozy Autumn Wild Rice Soup
- Broccoli Cheese Soup
- Potato Leek Soup
- Quick Black Bean Soup
- Tomato Feta Soup
Butternut Squash Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 white onion, peeled and diced
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 1 carrot, peeled and roughly chopped
- 1 Granny Smith apple, cored and roughly chopped
- 1 medium (about 3 pound*) butternut squash, peeled, seeded and diced
- 1 sprig fresh sage
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne
- pinch of ground cinnamon and nutmeg
- 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk
- fine sea salt and freshly-cracked black pepper, to taste
- optional garnishes: smoked paprika, extra drizzle of unsweetened coconut milk, or see more ideas above
Instructions
Stovetop Butternut Squash Soup:
- Sauté the onion and garlic. Heat the olive oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened and translucent. Add the garlic and sauté for 1 to 2 more minutes, stirring frequently, until fragrant.
- Simmer: Add the vegetable broth, carrot, apple, butternut squash, sage, cayenne, cinnamon and nutmeg and stir to combine. Continue cooking until the soup reaches a simmer. Then cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 20-30 minutes until the vegetables are all tender and mash easily with a fork. Remove and discard the sage. Stir in the coconut milk.
- Purée: Use an immersion blender to purée the soup until smooth. (Or alternately, see instructions in the notes below for how to purée the soup safely using a traditional blender.)
- Season and serve: Taste and season the soup generously with salt and pepper as needed. Serve warm, topped with your desired garnishes, and enjoy!
Slow Cooker Butternut Squash Soup:
- Slow cook: Add the oil (optional), onion, garlic, vegetable broth, carrot, apple, butternut squash, sage, cayenne, cinnamon and nutmeg to a small (3-quart) slow cooker or large (6-quart) slow cooker. Toss briefly to combine. Cook for 4-6 hours on low, or 2-3 hours on high, or until the squash is completely tender and mashes easily with a fork. Remove and discard the sage. Stir in the coconut milk.
- Purée: Use an immersion blender to purée the soup until smooth. (Or alternately, see instructions in the notes below for how to purée the soup safely using a traditional blender.)
- Season and serve: Taste and season the soup generously with salt and pepper as needed. Serve warm, topped with your desired garnishes, and enjoy!
Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup:
- Sauté the onion and garlic: Press the “Sauté” button on an Instant Pot. Heat the olive oil. Add the onion and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened and translucent. Add the garlic and sauté for 1 to 2 more minutes, stirring frequently, until fragrant.
- Pressure cook: Add the vegetable broth, carrot, apple, butternut squash, sage, cayenne, cinnamon, nutmeg, and toss briefly to combine. Close lid securely and set vent to “Sealing”. Pressure cook on high for 8 minutes, followed by a quick release. Remove and discard the sage. Stir in the coconut milk.
- Purée: Use an immersion blender to purée the soup until smooth. (Or alternately, see instructions in the notes below for how to purée the soup safely using a traditional blender.)
- Season and serve: Taste and season the soup generously with salt and pepper as needed. Serve warm, topped with your desired garnishes, and enjoy!
Notes
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
This soup is amazing. My family doesn’t love butternut squash, but I do, so I make it anyway! I buy my squash at Costco all peeled and diced – which makes this so easy to get in the crockpot in the morning!
Thanks Jane, we’re so happy you enjoy this!
Hi! I’m planning on making this but I don’t own an immersion blender. Would a handheld mixer do the job?
Hey there! Unfortunately a mixer won’t really do the trick, as there aren’t any blades, and you really need something with a blade to puree this properly. Do you have a blender or food processor? Either of those would work great!
I’d like to try this out but I see that it needs veggie stock. I’m allergic to carrots so both the carrots and stock are out. I haven’t started making my own stock yet that is carrot free so could I use water instead and just add extra spices?
Hi Megan! Oh no, let’s see…we would recommend making your own veggie stock (sans carrots) if you can (homemade stocks are the best, especially the veggie ones)! But if you’re not able to do that, we think we would just use water (you’ll need to add a good amount of salt, just taste and add, taste and add, as needed), and yes, some more spices. We think that should be good – we hope you enjoy the soup!
about how many ppl would you say this serves?
Hi Dena, the recipe states this will make about 6-8 servings, depending on how hungry you are. :) We hope you enjoy!
How much onion?
Just one. We hope you enjoy!
I made this for Thanksgiving and everyone loved it! I made it last week for dinner and again everyone loved it! I just made it tonight just to have it for lunch/dinner the rest of the week. I already put the coconut milk in do you think it will be ok to freeze?
We’re so glad to hear that Beth, thanks for sharing! We think it should still freeze okay. :)
This soup is amazing! It was a chore peeling the butternut squash, but so worth it. My family loved it. Thank you for the recipe!
Thank you Betsey, we’re happy you and your family enjoyed it! :D
I put this together last night and had my husband plug it in before he left for work so it would be ready for lunch. When I got up it smelled so good in my kitchen! Unfortunately, I don’t think I’m going to be able to eat this. I love butternut squash, but this tasted very odd and the cayenne just ruined it for me. (And I like cayenne.) I guess it’s possible I accidentally added 1/4 instead of 1/8 tsp, but I don’t think I did. I hate for it to go to waste but I have no idea how I could salvage it. I really thought I would love this and I’m sorry I could not leave a positive review.
Hi Marianne, we’re sorry to hear you didn’t care for this. We’re not sure why there’s an odd taste. Maybe the squash was a dud? Did it just taste too spicy, or did you find the texture to be off? Any more description you could provide on why it tasted off would be helpful for us to help you. We hope you can find another recipe you like better, we do appreciate your honest review!
I’m making this as I type. But I threw in the coconut milk before not after lol. I hope it turns out ok. My house smells yummy though.
Uh oh, we hope it still turned out okay – let us know! :)
This recipe is really tasty and very easy to make! I am not a sweet and savory type if person so I left the apple, cinnamon and nutmeg out and replaced it with 1 jalapeño and some chili powder, I also used unsweetened coconut milk. It was still *butternut squash sweet* but had a little bite to it which was very nice! Thanks for this wonderful recipe! PINNED!
Thanks Erika, we’re so glad you enjoyed it, and we think those swaps sound lovely – great idea! :)