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 didn’t do it for us. I roasted the veggies and used a granny smith apple as recommended. But the flavors of this just don’t make sense to us (a squash that smells like watermelon paired with fall spices, onion, cayenne, and a granny smith apple certainly sounds odd to me but my mom really liked it and I know it’s a rather popular and common soup so I decided to try it.) Ended up tossing most of it unfortunately.
I have been making butternut squash soup for years and adding an apple is the best way to help the flavor of butternut squash soup so therefore it’s not odd. It gives it a wonderful flavor .imaybe this is a recipe that you shouldn’t use it there’s many recipes out there that are butternut squash, And maybe should try one of those without the Apple I’ve made the recipe without the Apple also.
It just gives it a satisfying flavor to me anyway. I made this butternut squash soup five batches for a Christmas fair, Everyone wanted the recipe. also made it without the Apple in it and people raved about it. One secret thing but i find is you must let it simmer ‘over night’in your crockpot it is delicious.!!!!
Foolproof. Delicious
I roasted a 2 half of a butternut squash in the oven with the carrots and onions and garlic. Peeled the butternut squash and added all the ingredients (minus the coconut milk) to a soup pot on the stove. Cooked until tender….AMAZING. Highly recommend! Will be making this again.
I’ve never had butternut squash before and this soup turned out amazing. I love it. I ended up not blending about 1/5 of the soup for a bit of added texture. I think next time I will add some roasted cauliflower and asperagus to it, unblended, as another comment suggested. But even without those things it’s still perfect.
Thank you for the recipe! It was super easy for a first timer and turned out so wholesome and delicious!
I don’t like squash. I also don’t really like soup. But I decided to try this recipe in a whim because it was a nice, cold weekend. And wow, this is amazing! It’s so yummy and even craveable!!
We loved this soup! I am making it again tomorrow. The flavours are perfectly balanced.
One thing I will do differently is peel the apples. When I last made it, I cut the apple chunks fairly small, but the peel cooked off of the apple and did not get cut fine enough with the blender. We found ourselves picking the bits of apple skin out of an otherwise perfectly smooth soup!
So good and healthy!!! We subbed veggie with fresh pressed apple juice broth the 3rd time I made it, and it added a sweet taste. Highly recommend!
Happened upon this recipe after i picked up some squash and apples while out on a farm in new england. I grew up in kansas too!! :) And – made the instant pot version and it was PERFECTION. Thank you! will start to check out your other items.
SUPER recipe!! We loved it. I had a 7# squash so doubled the recipe – plenty to freeze for the winter and to give some away. I did not add the cream – I don’t think it needs it. Definitely a keeper!!
We didn’t have sage or nutmeg so I added more cayenne pepper and a little brown sugar and honey.
OMG the best soup I’ve ever had thank you so much for your recipe!!
I have a question. I was just diagnosed with high cholesterol and am too afraid to use the 1 cup of canned coconut milk since there’s so much saturated fat in it. Can I leave it out? And if so, do I need to substitute something else for it?