Made with sweet butternut squash, juicy apple, savory herbs, and a drizzle of coconut cream, my slow cooker butternut squash soup is like comfort by the spoonful, and it couldn’t be easier to make! This creamy, aromatic soup will keep you warm all fall and winter long!
Lately I’ve been falling in love with my slow cooker. It makes some of the easiest soups ever, like my slow cooker lentil soup, slow cooker split pea soup, and slow cooker vegetarian chili. I also love how cozy it feels to have soup simmering away for hours — while I do absolutely nothing! With that in mind, I decided it was time to create the ultimate cozy slow cooker soup. And really, it doesn’t get much cozier than butternut squash.
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I adapted this recipe from my vegan butternut squash soup, tweaking the spice blend and adding a few veggies. Butternut squash cooked in the slow cooker tends to come out a bit sweeter than on the stove, thanks to the long cook time that allows its starches to convert to sugars. Savory herbs, along with carrots and celery, help balance out that sweetness perfectly.
This soup is so good — and so simple to throw together — I think you’ll find yourself making it again and again during those chilly days ahead!
Ingredients You'll Need
Below you'll find a list of ingredients in this recipe, with notes and substitutions. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the post to see the full recipe, including the amount of each ingredient.
- Butternut squash. Choose a squash that feels heavy for its size, and has a matte finish to the skin, without any blemishes.
- Onion.
- Garlic.
- Apple. The recipe calls for a Granny Smith, which will add both sweet and tart flavors to the soup. Feel free to use a sweeter variety if you prefer, such as Honeycrisp or Pink Lady.
- Vegetable broth.
- Dried spices. You'll need thyme, rubbed sage, and ground ginger.
- Fresh rosemary. Rosemary is one herb that I like to always use fresh, so we'll be tossing a whole sprig in the soup while it simmers.
- Coconut cream. This is typically sold in cans near the coconut milk at the grocery store. If you can't find it, chill a can of full-fat coconut milk in the fridge overnight. It will have separated by morning — the thick, semisolid white part is the cream.
- Salt and pepper.
- Toppings. Totally optional, but I love to drizzle my soup with some olive oil and sprinkle it with pepitas. You could also drizzle it with coconut cream instead of olive oil.
How It's Made
Below is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
Step 1: Load the slow cooker. Place everything except for the coconut cream, salt, and pepper into your slow cooker. Stir it up, cover it up, and start cooking.
Step 2: Cook. Cook everything until the squash is very tender and easily pierced with a fork. This should take 2 ½ to 3 hours on high, or 5 to 5 ½ hours on low. All slow cookers are different, though, so keep an eye on it the first time you make it.
Step 3: Blend. You can blend it with a hand blender, like I'm doing in the photo above, or move it to a conventional blender and blend it in batches. Always be careful when blending hot liquids.
Step 4: Finish. Stir in the coconut cream, then season your soup with salt and pepper to taste.
Step 5: Serve. Ladle the soup into bowls, and optionally add some toppings — olive oil, coconut cream, pepitas, or get creative and use what you like. I also like to garnish mine with some extra fresh herbs, just because they look pretty!
Variations
- Spice swaps. Instead of savory herbs, try a warming blend (cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves), curry powder, garam masala, or ras el hanout.
- Butternut soup with pear. Swap out the apple with a pear.
- Add red lentils. If you're a fan of my red lentil butternut squash soup, I've got great news — you can add them to this soup, too! Start with a half cup. If you'd like more than that, you'll need to start increasing the broth as well.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! This recipe has no gluten-containing ingredients.
Yes, but you'd be better off just making my vegan butternut squash soup. You can adjust the spices to match this recipe, if you'd like!
Leftover butternut squash soup will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for about four days, or in the freezer for about three months.
More Winter Squash Soups
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📖 Recipe
Slow Cooker Butternut Squash Soup
Equipment
- Slow cooker (4-quart or larger)
Ingredients
- 8 cups diced butternut squash (from about one 3 ½-pound squash)
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and diced
- 3 cups vegetable broth
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon rubbed sage
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 (4-inch) sprig fresh rosemary
- ½ cup coconut cream (the thick portion from a can)
- Salt and pepper, to taste
For Serving (Optional)
- Toasted pepitas
- Olive oil or coconut cream, for drizzling
Instructions
- Place the butternut squash, onion, garlic, apple, vegetable broth, thyme, sage, ginger, and rosemary into a large (4-quart or larger) slow cooker. Stir to combine (Note 1).
- Cover and cook on high for 2½ to 3 hours, or on low for 5 to 5½ hours, until the squash is tender and easily pierced with a fork.
- Turn off the slow cooker and uncover. Remove and discard the rosemary sprig (Note 2). Blend the soup, either using an immersion blender, or by carefully transferring it to a blender in batches and blending, then returning it to the pot.
- Stir in the coconut cream and season the soup with salt and pepper to taste.
- Ladle into bowls and serve with toasted pepitas and a drizzle of olive oil or coconut cream, if desired.
Notes
- The broth may not quite cover all of your ingredients at this point. This is fine. As the soup starts cooking, the vegetables and apple will shrink slightly and release some liquid. Give the mixture a stir after an hour if you can, but if not, don't worry about it.
- Don't worry if you've lost some leaves of your rosemary. A few always fall off!
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This soup was delicious! I made it as a Christmas eve meal and served it with crusty baguette. My hubby usually isn't a squash fan and he loved it too! Next time I would use a little less sage but thats it. The coconut cream added a really lovely touch.