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 is an amazing soup! I did add go ginger to it, otherwise, it’s perfect. Everyone absolutely loves it!
This was my first time to attempt to make homemade butternut squash soup. I added an extra cup of broth, roasted the squash, sauteed the garlic and onion, and used sweet onion. It was fabulous, plan to freeze leftovers, and I will definitely make again!!!
Will definitely leave out the cayenne pepper next time. Ruined the soup. So sad, I was really looking forward to this soup.
I just made this today, and it is absolutely is delicious. I bought pre-package butternut squash which made it so easy to put together. I made mine on the stove top, and adding the coconut milk just took it over the top. My son even suggested this would make a good cold soup for the summer, which I will do. Thanks for the recipe it was definitely a winner in our house.
This has become my favorite fall/winter recipe! I’ve made it more than 10x and I have my variation memorized. I share it with all of my friends and family so now I want to share my version with you.
1. I double the recipe ALWAYS
2. For the carrots, I do 1/2 carrots and 1/2 parsnips
3. Take the time to roast all of the veggies. I rough chop the veggies, toss in vegetable oil, season liberally with salt and pepper. I also mix in the fresh garlic. We like robust flavors in our house so I also season with red curry powder and hot paprika. 425 for 20-30 minutes or enough to brown.
4. Put all ingredients into slow cooker (except coconut milk) PLUS 1-2 more tablespoons red curry powder on high for 4 hours. Then follow recipe to blend with coconut milk.
5. Best fresh, freezes pretty well if you are patient about reheating to reincorporate.
love, love, love…. thank you for the recipe and all of the great enhancement suggestions
I have made a lot of soups but this one is unreal. This is a permanent soup on my menu. Thank you!
Well, to be honest, I kept scrolling and scrolling, and saw a video, and lots of ads, and lots of comments about the process, so I just started dumping ingredients into my pressure cooker, substituting according to what I had available. I never got to the actual recipe and ingredient list until I came back to make a comment.
What I came out with was tasty, but I just wish I could have gotten to the recipe without scrolling so far.
I used a third of a local squash called a “neck pumpkin”, a gala apple, half of a large yellow onion, a large clove of garlic, a couple of parsnips, some coconut water (it’s what I had)… the seasonings I used were similar. I didn’t have fresh sage, but used fresh thyme instead. I liked the little kick that the pinch of cayenne had, but come to think of it, I substituted some chipotle seasoning for that too. I will make it again. (I do have the rest of the neck pumpkin in my freezer.)
I made this soup for my baby girl. I’ve given her nothing but fruits and veggies since birth and she loves butternut squash. I wanted to make a soup and wanted a quick idea on what to use that I could just use as a reference. This recipe was great! I didn’t follow it verbatim but used mostly the same ingredients. I diced up the squash and added onions, green peppers, carrots and veggie stock that I made myself. I also added my own seasonings like paprika and lots of garlic and other things. I cooked it in the stovetop because I needed it done quickly and it didn’t take long. I added oat milk to mine because that’s the closest thing I had and I don’t give her regular milk. I just blended mine with a whisk, she likes it kinda chunky. ☺ She tore it up. Thanks for the recipe
I dont have veggie stock. Can I use chicken instead?
Sure thing!
Made this tonight – loved it! Really fast once the veggies are prepped. I left out the sage as it’s not a flavor I like and there was plenty of flavor without it.
It was a good recipe but it began w way too much cayenne pepper! Should have warned us that the soup recipe was spicy and advised that we put in half the amount of cayenne for starters. I added a lot of cream, lemon juice and maple syrup to tone it down.