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Butternut Squash Soup is a rich, sweet and savory comfort soup that is perfect for Fall and Winter. Top with croutons and chopped roasted pecans!
Featured in this recipe
I first tried Butternut Squash Soup at a popular Salt Lake City based restaurant called the Blue Lemon, and it blew me away! Creamy, slightly sweet, warm and spicy, this soup has all the flavor of fall. It is the most comforting of all comfort foods in my opinion. I could not wait to re-create this delicious soup at home. This easy Butternut Squash Soup recipe tastes more like a dessert than a soup! I’ve always loved traditional butternut squash soup, but this recipe takes it to a whole new level. Even if you think you’re not a squash person, try it. You will love this warm, fragrant bowl of goodness.
Ingredients
- Butter – I like to use salted butter for this recipe. You can brown the butter to start for extra flavor!
- Spices – Brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger make up the aromatic and flavorful base of this recipe.
- Chicken Stock – Chicken stock adds flavor and liquid to this creamy soup. If you want to make this soup vegetarian, then use vegetable broth instead.
- Apple Cider – Apple cider adds a fruity and spicy taste to the broth.
- Butternut Squash – The main character of this soup! Butternut squash was given its name because it is “smooth as butter and sweet as a nut.” It does have a smooth texture and a nutty taste to it. See our tips below for preparing the squash.
- Carrots – Sneak some more vegetables into this soup by adding carrots.
- Heavy Cream – Heavy cream helps achieve the creamy, silky texture that makes this soup so dang good! If you want to use a plant based or vegan alternative, try coconut milk.
- Toppings – This soup tastes great on its own but we love to top it with candied pecans and croutons. I also sometimes add hot honey, fresh herbs like sage, and pumpkin seeds.
Tips for Preparing Butternut Squash
- To easily prepare the squash for cooking, trim about ¼ inch off of each end of the squash with a knife.
- Using a potato peeler, peel the outer layer of skin off of the squash.
- Once peeled, cut the squash in half lengthwise with a sharp and sturdy knife.
- Clean the seeds and pulp from each half.
- Place the cut side of each half down on a cutting board and slice the squash in one inch rows lengthwise and then in one inch rows the opposite direction to cube the squash for cooking.
- To make your soup preparation easier, you can also purchase the pre-cut butternut squash in the produce section of your local grocery store.
Frequently Asked Questions About Butternut Squash Soup
We like to serve this soup with a salad or with bread for dipping. You can also serve it with grilled cheese sandwiches.
You don’t have to peel the squash, but I like to peel it. It makes it easier to cut if the tougher skin is peeled.
There are many health benefits to eating butternut squash. It is high in potassium, manganese, vitamin A, vitamin K, vitamin E, and vitamin C. It is recommended as a high-antioxidant food. Butternut squash is also known to reduce inflammation and prevent osteoporosis. Many good reasons to find a place for this nutrient-packed food in your diet!
Yes! Freeze the soup in an airtight container. It will last in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating.
Read Next: All Our Favorite Fall Recipes
More Delicious Recipes with Butternut Squash
Butternut squash tastes delicious on its own steamed with butter, salt, and pepper, or sprinkled with cinnamon and brown sugar. It’s so versatile and can be used in place of meat in vegetarian dishes. Here are a few of our favorite ways to use butternut squash, besides this butternut squash soup:
- Roasted Butternut Squash Flatbread Pizza – This is the pizza of fall! Mozzarella cheese, bacon, kale, roasted butternut squash, and parmesan all on flatbread.
- Gourmet Butternut Squash Burritos – This will change the way you think about burritos. Juicy spice rubbed pork tenderloin grilled and sliced, sautéed butternut squash, black beans, cotija cheese, mango salsa, and avocado lime sour cream.
- Butternut Squash Ravioli – This butternut squash ravioli with a brown sugar glaze as a surprise ingredient that is amazing – shaved chocolate. It is a sweet and savory dish that tastes amazing!
- Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese – A healthier take on a classic.
- Endorian Roasted Chicken Salad – with roasted butternut squash.
Creamy Butternut Squash Soup
Video
Equipment
- Large Soup Pot
- Blender or Immersion Blender
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup butter
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ginger freshly grated is best!
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon cloves
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
- 1/2 cup apple cider
- 8 cups butternut squash cut into 1 inch cubes (about 2 lbs butternut squash)
- 2 carrots sliced
- 1-2 cups heavy cream
- croutons optional
- candied pecans optional
Instructions
- In a large pot, melt butter over medium heat. Add brown sugar and spices to melt butter and stir for 1 minute.
- Add chicken stock and apple cider. Bring to a boil.
- Add squash and carrots. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes, or until squash and carrots can easily be poked with a fork. Check the liquid in the pot while simmering. Add more chicken stock if necessary.
- Pour all the contents of the pot into a blender. Puree until the mixture is smooth. Blend in 1 cup of heavy cream. Gradually add more until the mixture reaches the consistency of a creamy soup. Depending on the size of your blender, you may have to do this in batches. You can also use an immersion blender for this step.
- Pour the contents of the blender back into the pot and keep warm until ready to serve.
- After serving soup into individual bowls, garnish with croutons and chopped pecans.
Notes
- To make preparation easier, you can also purchase the pre-cut butternut squash in the produce section of your local grocery store.
- To freeze – Freeze the soup in an airtight container. It will last in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating.
- We like to serve this soup with a salad or with bread for dipping. You can also serve it with grilled cheese sandwiches.
Can I make this in advance and reheat?
Absolutely!
Is there anyway I can incorporate roasted butternut squash into this recipe instead of having to go out and buy more squash? I roasted 5 lbs for other recipes but was hoping to make this soup because it sounds delicious. Is there a way to use roasted squash instead of raw?
You can absolutely use the squash you have on hand! You will still want to cook the carrots, in step 3 of the directions but they will cook faster than the squash – you will only need to simmer about 10 minutes or so. Once the carrots are cooked, mix in your squash and heat it then continue with the directions of pouring it all into a blender. This soup will be delicious with your roasted squash! Enjoy!
I am dying to make this soup but instead of running out and buying more butternut squash, how can I incorporate the 5lbs of roasted butternut squash I made for other recipes into this recipe?
Best butternut squash soup ever! I was looking for a butternut squash soup with a hint of sweet ess and this is it! However, I used 1/2 the amount of sugar, also substituting the brown sugar for Coconut Secret Coconut Crystals since that’s all I had on hand, shredded the carrots, and mashed it at the end. I was able to make it with all organic ingredients and paired it with Trader Joe’s baby spinach, cranberry, pecan, blue cheese, raspberry vinagrette salad and sourdough bread.
Wow this soup tasted so good!! It tastes so much like Panera Breads Autumn squash soup hmmmm. I only used 1c of heavy cream and was perfect!!
Not to sound like an idiot, but do the squash and carrots need to be cooked before pouring them into the blender with everything else?
Yes, they do. Please see step 3 of the instructions. They are boiled with the seasonings, broth, and applesauce. Thanks for asking!
How many servings for this yummy looking recipes? I have a large family coming for dinner would like to serve this.
About 6 servings.
What can sub for brown sugar as husband is prediabetic?
In my experience, you don’t need to use all of the brown sugar. I love sweets and I really like Blue Lemon’s recipe, but it’s too sweet for me… I can’t finish a bowl. I made this recipe last year and it is also too sweet, but it’s delicious! I just made it again (doubled it), but used only 2/3 of the brown sugar, and it’s still plenty sweet. Next time, I’m going try half the sugar.
Can the chicken stock be substituted for vegetable stock
The recipe does call for chicken stock, but you can substitute vegetable stock without changing the taste or texture of the soup. Thank you for asking!
I made this today and it was amazing! Thanks for the great recipe.
We are so glad you liked it! It is a great winter soup!
Is apple cider the same as apple cider vinegar or should I be looking for a juice?
Thanks!
It’s not the same! You definitely want to look for the apple cider that is juice – not vinegar. Thanks for asking!
made this tonight and loved it! I added only one cup of cream and decreased the spices by about half. The color is a little unappetizing but the taste was great.
i added one carton of Trader Joe’s Butternut Squash soup to the recipe.
Oh my goodness! So easy and so unbelievably delicious! I will be making this over and over again…Thank you!
I’m so glad you liked it! It is one of my favorites!
Do you think it would be ok to substitute evaporated milk for the heavy cream?
Yes, I think it would be fine and it would definitely cut back on the fat content. Using evaporated milk will change the soup to a thinner consistency and make it less creamy, but it will still be good! Thank you for asking!
I have made this twice in 3 weeks…can’t get enough of it…So easy and tasty! Will be making more this upcoming cold New England winter!
also, any idea how many calories a cup would contain?
haha no idea.. if you really needed to know livestrong.com has a calorie calculator for recipes. Hope this helps!
So glad you like it!!!! Thank you so much for your comment! 😀
Just made it! Love it!!! Thank you for this GREAT recipe 🙂
Thank you for the comment! So glad you liked it 😀 !!!
how much does this recipe make?
It makes about 12 cups of soup – so I usually plan on 6-8 servings per batch. Thank you for visiting our site and I hope you enjoy the soup!
What are some other dishes to pair with this soup? 🙂
I think a pear and Gorgonzola salad would be an amazing side-dish with this– add some candied walnuts and craisins with a poppy seed dressing. YUM!!!
What could I sub for the apple cider? Family full of apple allergies.
You could just leave it out and use more chicken stock. It will make a little difference in flavor, but not much. It will still be good! Thank you for visiting our site!