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 the 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
Equipment
- 5.5-Quart Dutch Oven (I personally use the Staub Cocotte)
- Blender (I've used my trusty Vitamix for years)
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 (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
For serving
- Chopped parsley
- Toasted pepitas
- Crusty bread
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.
Thank you for posting a butternut squash recipe that doesn’t use chilli as the main spice!! This looks like a perfect combination of flavours to contrast the sweetness of the squash while adding depth of flavour all round. Can’t wait to try this!
Yum yum! So good. It was a little ‘soupy’ cause I added 4 cups of broth but I just simmered it 5 more minutes and it is now thick and creamy. My goodness. Such a hit!
Hi Shirley, I’m so glad you loved it!
Very tasty smooth soup and would definitely make it again and again
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Perfect fall soup! My family raves about it and my daughter frequently requests it – and so healthy!
I’m so glad it’s been a hit!
I made this yesterday. I didn’t have ginger or vegetable broth so I used chicken broth instead (I didn’t have a substitute for the ginger). Still turned out great! I’m growing a lot of winter squashes including butternut, so I will definitely make this again, maybe with the other types of squashes. Thank you so much for the recipe!
Ps. I will also use ginger and vegetable broth next time.
Do you happen to have advice on how to make this in an Instant Pot?
This was fantastic! I made it this morning and it came together very quickly. I dropped the oil and it is now whole food, plant based.
Thanks for sharing. I never would have thought to put ginger, sage and rosemary together, along with garlic. Yum!!
Looking to make this soup for summer. Can it be served cold?
Hi Sarah, I think it’s more of a fall soup, but here are a bunch of our favorite cold soups: https://www.loveandlemons.com/cold-soup-recipes/
Can I use an immersion blender in the pot or is using a blender important?
You can sure both of them but if you want you can use the immersion blender it works the same way as the blender.
Indeed! That’s what I used!
This was delicious! Do you have the nutrition info? I didn’t see it listed.
Hi Victoria, I’m sorry, we don’t calculate nutrition info but you can plug the ingredients into a site like my fitness pal.
This is a great easy recipe. I added a teaspoon of cinnamon and about a teaspoon and a half of brown sugar. Delish.
I’m so glad you loved it!
This is my go to – I don’t add ginger, but I don’t think it misses it. And I do add chicken broth instead of veggie because that’s just to my taste. I’m Celiac, so I use Pacific organic broth. This recipe is straight forward and so so delicious. Often make myself a batch on a Sunday and use it for lunches at work year round. It’s filling, but low calorie and high in nutrients – and just so delicious. Win win win.
I’m so glad you’ve been loving it!
This was so good also froze well.
I’m so glad you loved it!
Deliciously moreish!
I forgot the ginger and could taste a gentle hint of sage in this colourful, velvety soup. Thank you so much for this simple, healthy and flavoursome recipe. I shall definitely be making more for family and friends. I’ll even add ginger as the nights draw in. A perfect, tasty lunch that smacks of class!
I’m so glad you loved it!
Delicious, and I didn’t have any sage, just rosemary.
We grow our own squash & puree & freeze. When that runs out we purchase cubed, frozen squash from the grocery store. Can you please tell me how much pureed squash to use? And how much cubed frozen squash to use? Thanks in advance.
This was my first attempt at butternut squash soup! I think it turned out really good! I followed the directions as instructed. I’d never peeled a squash before so that took me ages. But other than my slow chopping skills, I think everything went well! Tastes delightful! 😊
I’m so glad you enjoyed the soup!
You can prick the squash with a fork and microwave 5-6 mins to soften the skin. Then cut ends off, slice in half, scoop out seeds and peel.
This is the best butternut squash soup I’ve ever had! My fiancé went back for seconds and talked about it for hours! Definitely making again!
Oh wow, what a compliment! I’m so glad you both enjoyed it!
Delicious! Instead of 4 cups of veggie broth I added 2 cups of leftover chicken broth I had and one can of coconut milk. Gave it a nice creamy texture and a good taste 🙂
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Love it. It’s healthy
I’m so glad you enjoyed it.
Would this recipe taste good without the onions and garlic? I have food sensitivities 🙁 Would fennel be a good substitute?
Hi Jen, I’m not sure since there are so few ingredients in this one. I think fennel could be good, it’s hard to say without trying.
I plan to make some edits as well ( low foodmap.) Sub fennel for the onion, and Garlic infused olive oil for the olive oil. I will not add garlic and will Sauté some chopped carrot with the squash. The onion and garlic edits are a challenge but I find the fennel and garlic olive oil have worked well:) best of luck!
I added a couple of chopped celery stalks and a chopped carrot to the sautéing onions and the soup was very good.
Also, I just used water rather than vegetable stock.