Silky smooth, spiced, and perfectly sweet butternut squash soup! This creamy flavor-packed soup is healthy, easy to make, and oh so comforting.
Butternut squash soup is one of my absolute favorite fall dishes. Sort of.
See, when butternut squash soup is good, it's SO GOOD. Thick, creamy, naturally sweet and full of flavor. But more often than not, I find it disappointing. Watery, bland, and lacking in spices.
Well folks, this butternut squash soup is really, really good. I've been tweaking and perfecting this one for years and I think I've pretty much got the ultimate butternut squash soup recipe on my hands at this point.
What Makes This Soup the Best?
A few things!
First off, this stuff is super thick, because the recipe uses lots of squash, and not that much liquid. When you're making pretty much any kind of creamy vegetable soup, keep the ratio of veggies to broth super high. Higher than you think you should!
With this soup I recommend using 8 cups of squash with a mere 3 or 4 cups of liquid. Remember, the veggies themselves contain liquid that gets released when you blend them up.
Tip: Always add broth conservatively to blended soups — adding just a smidge too much broth can result in watery soup. It's much easier to fix soup that's too thick (by adding more liquid) than it is to fix soup that's too runny.
Also, roasting the butternut squash is key! This removes some of the water before you add it to the soup, helping you to get an even thicker and richer soup, and it caramelizes the squash, bringing out its natural sweetness.
Finally, spices! You can go as crazy as you like here, but don't skimp on the spices. I used a blend of cumin, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves, with a touch of cayenne pepper for heat.
How to Make Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
Making the best butternut squash soup is actually pretty easy!
Roast the Squash
First off, roast your squash. The method is the same as that used for my butternut squash pasta. Peel and dice the squash, toss it with some olive oil, and arrange it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Pop it into the oven and let it bake until the pieces are tender and just starting to brown around the edges.
Simmer the Soup
While the squash roasts, start the soup.
Heat up a bit of oil in a large pot. Once the oil is hot, add some onion. Cook the onion for a few minutes, until it begins to soften up. Now add some garlic, ginger, and your spices. Cook everything for just about a minute more, until the garlic becomes very fragrant.
Stir in some coconut milk and a diced up Granny Smith Apple (this adds some tartness!). Bring the milk up to a simmer and cook the apple for about 10 minutes.
The squash should be out of the oven by now. It it's not, don't worry! Just let keep the pot at a low simmer until it is, and then add the squash once it's done, along with a cup of broth.
Bring everything up to a simmer and let it cook for 10 minutes more.
Blend
You have two options here!
Option 1: Immersion blender. I love this no-fuss method! Just take the pot off of the heat and blend the soup until smooth and creamy.
Option 2: Blender or food processor. If using this method, you'll need to transfer your soup to your blending device in batches and blend. Be careful not to overfill the bowl or pitcher, and always use caution when blending hot liquids. Return the soup to the pot when it's done.
From here you can thin the soup with extra broth if you like or tweak the seasonings. You'll almost certainly want to season it with some salt.
FAQ & Butternut Squash Soup Tips
- How do I choose the best butternut squash? Make sure it's ripe — darker skinned squash with a matte finish are usually the ripe ones. Avoid squashes with nicks or blemishes. And if you've got a choice, generally go for smaller squash, which are supposed to be sweeter.
- How long does this soup keep? Butternut squash soup will keep in a sealed container in the fridge for about 3 days or on the freezer for about 3 months.
- Feel free to switch up the spices based on your personal tastes. I really like cumin as a savory flavor to compliment the sweetness of the squash, but that's not everyone's thing (although if you try it, you might be surprised at how much you love it if you try it!).
- Is this soup gluten-free? It sure is!
- For a variation, try swapping the vegetable broth with beer! Go for a lighter variety like pilsner or pale ale and taste-test to make sure the alcohol has all cooked off before blending.
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Creamy Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
Silky smooth, spiced, and perfectly sweet butternut squash soup! This creamy flavor-packed soup is healthy, easy to make, and oh so comforting.
Ingredients
- 3 pounds butternut squash, (cut into 1-inch cubes - about 8 cups)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- Pinch cayenne pepper
- 1 (14 ounce or 400 ml) can light coconut milk
- 1 cup vegetable broth, plus more as needed
- 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and diced
- ½ teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a couple of baking sheets with parchment paper.
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Place the butternut squash into a large bowl and drizzle it with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Stir or toss the squash with your hands to evenly coat it with the oil.
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Arrange the squash on the baking sheets. Place them into the oven and bake the squash for 30 to 35 minutes, until tender.
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While the squash bakes, begin the soup. Coat the bottom of a large pot with the remaining tablespoon of oil and place it over medium heat.
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When the oil is hot, add the onion. Cook the onion, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes, until it becomes soft and translucent.
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Stir in the garlic, ginger, cumin, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and cayenne pepper. Cook everything for about a minute, until the garlic becomes very fragrant.
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Stir in the coconut milk and the apple. Raise the heat and bring the liquid to a simmer.
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Lower the heat and allow everything to cook at a low simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
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When the squash has finished baking, stir it into the soup, along with 1 cup of broth. Raise the heat to bring the liquid to a boil.
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Lower the heat and allow the soup to simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
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Remove the pot from the heat. Blend the soup either using an immersion blender, or by transferring it in batches to a food processor or blender.
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Return the soup to the pot and thin it with additional broth if desired. Heat it back up if needed.
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Season the soup with ½ teaspoon of salt, plus more to taste. Adjust any other seasonings to your liking.
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Ladle into bowls and serve.
Hiya 😊 Would I be able to make this with pumpin puree instead? I have to make 10 litres of pumpkin soup for a charity event and it's something I've never made before. Also, would this soup freeze successfully?
Am reeaalllyy hoping it's a "yes" to both questions. 🤞🤞
Thank you
I think it would work with pumpkin puree! I'm not sure how much though - maybe 6 cups, but that's just a guess. I can confirm that it freezes great though!
So creamy, so tasty, so satisfying!
We did this last night, and it was wonderful. Thank you for, once again, a fantastic recipe! :)
Awesome! I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks Christian!
Made this last night, SO good! It has this amazing silky, creamy texture and the seasonings are perfect. Mine did turn out SUPER thick, it was difficult to blend and I had to add an extra cup of broth at the end, but I agree that it is easier to thin a soup than thicken it!
I'm glad you enjoyed it! Thanks so much Anne!
Any recommendations for adding protein? I was thinking maybe trying red lentils in the soup for dinner tonight.
Red lentils would be great - I actually have an older recipe for red lentil butternut soup! https://www.connoisseurusveg.com/red-lentil-butternut-squash-soup-curry-croutons/
Amazing as always. Your recipies are always on point, flavorful and easy to follow. Keep 'em coming. Thank you for sharing your love of food.
I'm so glad you enjoyed it! I will absolutely keep them coming!
Hey so this is going to be my first time making butternut squash soup...so I’m just curious why would some recipes call for maple syrup and others don’t? What does this add in terms of depth of flavour besides sweetness to the soup?
I also seen in some recipes they add thyme...?? Any ideas on why and what this would add in terms of depth of flavour to the soup?
I’m not a vegan or vegetarian and I’ve seen in quite a lot of recipes how they substitute chicken broth instead of veggie broth and I was just wondering if anyone has tried that with this recipe and could tell me the difference it makes in taste.
Thanks!
The maple syrup just adds some additional sweetness - you can leave it out if you prefer. There are a lot of spices you can season butternut squash soup, and thyme is just one of them. Thyme would add some savory flavor, and I wouldn't recommend adding it to this particular recipe - I think it could clash with some of the other spices I've chosen. Since this is your first time making the soup I'd recommend following the recipe exactly, and then maybe experiment with switching things up as you get the hang of it. Another variation you could try would be to leave out the maple syrup and use a mix of savory spices like thyme and sage instead of the ones used in this recipe. Good luck and I hope you enjoy the soup!
This was delicious! The only difficult part about the recipe was getting the butternut squash out of the butternut squash. I ended up cutting it in half and roasting the whole thing and then cutting it in big chunks and cutting the rind off of those chunks. I just couldn’t get it off with a peeler. But other than that it was simple, warm, and perfect for the season!
I love this recipe and have made it many times. I ofent substitute half of the broth with dry white wine. And I always add two roasted red or yellow bell peppers--usually the Italian ones from a jar. We garnish with toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds), cilantro, vegan sour cream, and Aleppo pepper flakes.