Butternut Squash Soup

Served piping hot with a hunk of crusty bread, this creamy, nourishing butternut squash soup recipe is fall comfort food at its best.

Butternut squash soup

My favorite fall tradition is making butternut squash soup on Sunday afternoons. On a brisk day, there’s nothing more soothing than chopping and simmering vegetables over a warm stove. As you cook, the kitchen fills with the cozy scent of sage, rosemary, and butternut squash, and when you’re finished, steaming bowls of butternut squash soup (that will last all week!) reward you for your work.

In the past, my go-to butternut squash soup recipe has included coconut milk and curry spices, but this fall, I found myself craving one that was a bit more traditional. When I say traditional, I don’t mean that I use chicken stock, heavy cream, or butter in this recipe. It’s a delicious, all-veggie healthy butternut squash soup with ginger, sage, and rosemary. This is basically fall in a bowl.

We’ve been loving this soup lately – it’s creamy and nourishing, perfect for satisfying cozy fall cravings. With only 10 ingredients, it’s easy to make, so cook a big batch today, and enjoy the soup all week long! Happy fall. 🙂

Butternut squash soup recipe ingredients

Butternut Squash Soup Recipe Ingredients

To make this easy butternut squash soup recipe, you need 10 simple ingredients:

  • Butternut squash – This soup packs in 3 pounds of squash, so look for a medium-large one at the store or farmers market. If you don’t have a scale at home, I recommend weighing the squash when you buy it!
  • Yellow onion and garlic – These veggies add delicious depth of flavor.
  • Fresh sage and rosemary – I don’t reach for rosemary as often as some other fresh herbs, but I absolutely love it here. Along with the sage, it makes this soup cozy and complex.
  • Ginger – Its warm flavor highlights the autumnal taste of the herbs and squash.
  • Extra-virgin olive oil – 2 tablespoons add the perfect amount of richness.
  • Vegetable broth – Because the blended squash becomes creamy on its own, there’s no need for dairy, coconut milk, or nuts here! With veggie broth as its base, this is a vegan butternut squash soup recipe.
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper – Add them with the onion at the start of the cooking process, but make sure to taste and adjust at the end as well. That way, you’ll make a soup you really love!

Let’s cook!

Butternut squash

First, chop the veggies! Sauté the onion until it becomes translucent, add the squash, and cook until it begins to soften. Then, stir in the herbs, garlic, and ginger. Pour in the broth and simmer until the squash becomes tender, about 20 minutes.

Butternut squash soup recipe Vegan butternut squash soup

When the squash is soft, transfer the soup to a blender. Blend until the soup is vibrant orange and creamy. Finally, pour it into bowls, garnish with chopped parsley and pepitas, and enjoy!

Butternut squash soup

What to Serve with Butternut Squash Soup

Enjoy this soup as a starter, side, or main dish. When I’m making it the center of a meal, I serve it with good crusty bread, homemade focaccia, avocado toast, or corn muffins and a simple veggie side or fall salad. Here are a few of my favorites:

Alternatively, serve it as an appetizer with a hearty vegetarian main dish like Roasted Cauliflower Steaks, Vegan Meatball Sandwiches, Homemade Mac and Cheese, Sun Dried Tomato Pasta, or a grilled cheese sandwich!

Butternut squash soup

If you love this butternut squash soup…

Try my miso soup, lentil soup, or vegetable soup next. Then, check out these 35 Best Soup Recipes for more soup inspiration!

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Butternut Squash Soup

rate this recipe:
4.96 from 2031 votes
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Serves 6
This vegan butternut squash soup is the ultimate fall comfort food! Store it in the fridge for up to 4 days, or freeze it for up to a few months.

Equipment

Ingredients

For serving

Instructions

  • Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, salt, and several grinds of fresh pepper and sauté until soft, 5 to 8 minutes. Add the squash and cook until it begins to soften, stirring occasionally, for 8 to 10 minutes.
  • Add the garlic, sage, rosemary, and ginger. Stir and cook 30 seconds to 1 minute, until fragrant, then add 3 cups of the broth. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook until the squash is tender, 20 to 30 minutes.
  • Let cool slightly and pour the soup into a blender, working in batches if necessary, and blend until smooth. If your soup is too thick, add up to 1 cup more broth and blend. Season to taste and serve with parsley, pepitas, and crusty bread.

 

1567 comments

4.96 from 2031 votes (1,327 ratings without comment)

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Rate this recipe (after making it)




  1. Deborah
    01.19.2026

    4 stars
    Lovely soup. I used 1 kilo (2.2 pounds) of frozen squash, and needed a bit more stock. To mellow the flavour I added 2 heaped teaspoons of honey after reheating. Agave syrup could be a vegan option.

  2. Brenda
    01.19.2026

    4 stars
    I had to substitute the squash for anchovies.

  3. Jen
    01.18.2026

    5 stars
    This was fantastic! Don’t skip the toasted pepitas.

  4. Lisa
    01.18.2026

    Is it possible for you to share how many cups of chopped squash is ideal? I used 2 squash and the weight before and after chopping was different due to seeds etc but I think maybe going by cups needed is easier. For me anyway!

  5. Sonia
    01.17.2026

    2 stars
    We tried this but I want to caution everyone. Add the sage and rosemary in small increments to flavor, if at all. Make sure you love sage especially. We made it and the sage just hid the flavor of the butternut squash. Way too strong. My husband will eat anything and he didn’t care for it at all. The consistency was great but the flavor not so much.

  6. Mitzi
    01.16.2026

    5 stars
    I made this soup and it was so yummy. I wasn’t trying to make it vegan so I used chicken broth and also a little heavy cream. But I tasted it before I put the cream in and it was delicious without it!! Honestly, i was just trying to make it go a little further since my squash was on the smaller side. Making it again tonight with a bigger squash so we have plenty of leftovers this time.
    Make it!! You won’t regret it!

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      01.17.2026

      I’m so glad you enjoyed it!

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Photograph of Jeanine Donofrio and Jack Mathews in their kitchen

Hello, we're Jeanine and Jack.

We love to eat, travel, cook, and eat some more! We create & photograph vegetarian recipes from our home in Chicago, while our shiba pups eat the kale stems that fall on the kitchen floor.