Served piping hot with a hunk of crusty bread, this creamy, nourishing butternut squash soup recipe is fall comfort food at its best.
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 butternut squash soup all week long! Happy fall. 🙂
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!
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.
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!
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:
- Simple Lemon Green Beans
- Roasted Cauliflower with Lemon Zest
- Simple Roasted Beets
- Rainbow Kale Salad with Carrot-Ginger Dressing
- Shredded Brussels Sprout Salad
- Roasted Brussels Sprouts
- Roasted Beet Salad
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!
If you love this butternut squash soup…
Try my ginger miso soup, curried lentil soup, or many-veggie soup next, or check out this post for more of my favorite soup recipes!
Butternut Squash Soup
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- One (3-pound) butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cubed
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
- ½ tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
- 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
- 3 to 4 cups vegetable broth
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Chopped parsley
- Toasted pepitas
- Crusty bread
- 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.
This such a perfect match for a roasted Turkey. Happy Thanksgiving in advance.
thanks, you too!
I would dunk that crostini in that perfect soup and just be happy as a clam!
ha, me too – I could go for soup + bread any day of the week 🙂
This couldn’t possibly be more festive – I just love it!
This looks so delicious!! Going to try it x
cherieedle.blogspot.com
Ha – I know the feeling :). Hope you like this version – I tried to make it easier by taking out oven-roasting step (it all happens on the stove now).
Yum!! This looks exceptionally delicious. Your photos are so vibrant. Thank you for sharing!
ha, congrats!
I didn’t see, thanks 🙂
Omg the texture of the soup is so nice. Thanks for the recipe :). Squash is a bit expensive in where i live now tho 🙁
What happened to your other butternut squash recipe that had coconut milk in it?
Hi Arielle, here is that recipe (it’s also very similar to this one: https://www.loveandlemons.com/red-curry-kuri-squash-soup/)
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 4-inch pieces of lemongrass
2 tablespoons red curry paste
One (2-pound) butternut squash, cubed
1 (14-ounce) can full fat coconut milk
4 cups vegetable broth
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Heat a large pot to medium and add the coconut oil. Add the onion and generous pinches of salt and pepper. Smash the lemongrass (using the back of your knife) then add it whole to the pot along with the garlic, and curry paste. Cook until the onions are transluscent, then add the butternut squash cubes, another pinch of salt, and stir.
Reduce heat to a simmer. Add the coconut milk and vegetable broth. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the squash is very soft. (40-60 minutes depending on your squash).
Remove large lemongrass pieces and pour everything into a high speed blender (you may have to work in batches), and puree until smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings.
Thank you so much for this recipe of your old soup!!! I just came to find it and was sad you replaced it but then I found this. Thank you! It’s a soup I make very often because everyone in our family love it but yet I’ve not memorized it. I’m gonna write it down now!
I’ll put it on it’s own link soon – I hope you enjoy both soups!
Rather than black pepper, which is hard for some folks, including me, to digest. I am allergic to black pepper. I break out in a rash, so I use cayenne pepper to give my butternut squash soup a kick. For our 50th high school reunion those of us on the planning committee who were placing our order with the caterer asked her to prepare a huge pot of butternut squash soup as the appetizer for 100 people and it was a huge hit. Many had never, ever tasted this recipe.
Could you please tell me how many pounds of squash is the right amount after it is cut up? I want to try this recipe but I am forbidden( by the hubby) from cutting up tough squashes after a kitchen mishap with butternut squash. Thank you.
Hi Gail, I didn’t weight it cubed, but you’ll need about 4 1/2 cups of cubed squash. Hope that helps!
Hi! Do you have to use a blender or can you use an immersion hand blender?
You can use an immersion blender, it won’t be as creamy, but it’ll work.
I used an immersion blender and it was creamy!
About how many cups of butternut squash? I have frozen butternut squash cubes, and was hoping to make that enough.
This recipe looks amazing, and I cannot wait to try it!
Hi Lindsay, about 4 1/2 cups cubed squash!
One of my favs! Yum!
My husband, who generally dislikes squash, LOVED this. I didn’t have quite enough butternut so I used a yellow (summer) squash that needed to be used…was perfect in this soup. Didn’t have the rosemary so used my fresh oregano (just a little), parsley, dried sage, and ground ginger. My son (who tends to shy away from soups) also really liked it. Is a keeper!
Hi Christine, yay! Happy to hear that he enjoyed the squash 🙂
This is one of the best things I’ve ever tasted. Savory. Sweet. Perfect for fall. I can’t wait to make this for Thanksgiving—thank you!!
Hi Heather, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!!
Would it be okay to use ground spices? If so what would be the ratio for the ginger, rosemary, and sage?
Hi Brittany, I haven’t made it with dry spices, I’d probably start with: 1/2 teaspoon of each and add more to taste. Although I really recommend fresh herbs for this one since there are so few ingredients in the soup!
This soup is so good. I will definitely be making this many more times this fall and winter.
Hi Hannah, I’m so glad you loved it!
Followed this exactly and it was amazing! Forget store bought butternut squash soup, this is too easy and so delicious. I even got my ingredient from the local markets.
Hi Paulina, I’m so glad you loved it!
OMG! This was sooo good. Added toasted pepitas on top. Perfect fall comfort food!
So glad you loved it!
Hi there! I’ve been using the butternut squash soup & sage crostini recipe for years around the holidays! Is there a link to the old recipe with the spices and coconut milk?
Thank you so much!
Hi Pri, here is that recipe, I’ll put it in it’s own link soon (it’s also very similar to this one: https://www.loveandlemons.com/red-curry-kuri-squash-soup/)
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 4-inch pieces of lemongrass
2 tablespoons red curry paste
One (2-pound) butternut squash, cubed
1 (14-ounce) can full fat coconut milk
4 cups vegetable broth
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Heat a large pot to medium and add the coconut oil. Add the onion and generous pinches of salt and pepper. Smash the lemongrass (using the back of your knife) then add it whole to the pot along with the garlic, and curry paste. Cook until the onions are transluscent, then add the butternut squash cubes, another pinch of salt, and stir.
Reduce heat to a simmer. Add the coconut milk and vegetable broth. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the squash is very soft. (40-60 minutes depending on your squash).
Remove large lemongrass pieces and pour everything into a high speed blender (you may have to work in batches), and puree until smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings.
Thank you so much!! I love this recipe, and am excited to make it again tonight 🙂
I prepared this soup the other day and we all liked it)) a great recipe.
I’m so glad you loved it!
Lovely! I doubled the recipe. Realized I was out of fresh sage so used about 1 tsp dry plus fresh rosemary. This was a huge hit with adults and my toddler alike. Just what I was looking for – a very straightforward butternut squash soup – no milks or butters or coconut or sweetener – just beautiful vegetables. Will make again!
Thought I rated – five stars!
thank you!!
Hi Elizabeth, I’m so glad you loved the soup!