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.
Are you able to freeze this soup?
yep! It freezes wonderfully.
This is seriously good! I didn’t have sage or rosemary so just left that out. I used chicken broth bc I didn’t have vegetable. Added a tiny bit of maple syrup per another comment. Bomb!
I’m so glad you loved it!
Great recipe! I added curry powder to mine. Question – how many calories per serving is this? What amount is a serving? Thanks!!
Delicious and easy to make. I put the squash in the microwave for a few minutes, as suggested. It was much easier to peel the top than the bulb part. It was the first time making this soup, but it won’t be the last.
Hi Lori, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
WOW! I’ve made this five times now and thought it was high time I leave a review. The soup is amazing! The longer you puree it the smoother it becomes. Krusty bread is an excellent side.
I’m so glad you’ve loved it so much!
I made this tonight because my youngest is on liquids after oral surgery. Everyone loved the soup! The fresh ginger is so refreshing! Will definitely make this again.
Hi Judy, I’m so glad everyone enjoyed it!
We had guests over for dinner and ginger squash soup was a request and I found this one. I made it in my Instant Pot Ace Cooking Blender and 25 minutes later I had the most amazing tasting squash soup ever. The flavour was outstanding and my guests asked for seconds. Thank you.
Hi Ralph, I’m so glad everyone loved the soup!
Just made this on a whim. I’ve always been on the fence about the texture of blended soups (flashbacks to baby food making days) but I decided to give it a go and I still don’t know if I can fully board that train. That being said, THIS soup has FANTASTIC flavor!! The smell in the air during the cook on this thing was a whole experience itself! I might not be able to handle it as a soup, but I will use the leftovers to serve as a purée under a juicy, crispy skinned, roast chicken breast and some roasted veggies. Thank you for this incredible recipe!
Hi Andy, I’m so glad you loved the soup! Great ideas for different ways to use it.
Best butternut soup I’ve EVER had!
Thank you!!
Hi Connie, I’m so glad you loved it!
Butternut pumpkin soup…so easy to make and great flavours. I will definitely be using more of your recipes!
Can this be made in the crock pot or instant pot?
Hi Diane, we haven’t tested this, so I’m not sure what the exact time/temperature settings would be.
I made it in the Instant Pot Ace cooking blender and it was easy and quick.
I Loved this soup! I actually doctored it up a bit because I thought is was a bit bland as well. I used Pink Himalayan salt & seasoned pepper, I added ginger, more butter and more nutmeg and used 3 tablespoons of Pure Maple Syrup. Topped the soup off with parsley and served with toasted French bread. Sooooo good! I will definitely make this again!
Hi Melanie, I’m so glad you enjoyed the soup!
I made this soup and it’s yummy!
Can I use dried rosemary but fresh sage
Hi Judy, Definitely! I would reduce the rosemary to 1 teaspoon if you’re using dried.
Yes. I did exactly that but used less dried rosemary as it would be stronger.
Wow loved this soup. I added another clove of garlic, did not use rosemary and used chicken broth instead of vegetable broth. I can’t wait to make it again
Hi Margaret, I’m so glad you loved it!
My husband and I made this, was amazing. Exactly what we wanted. If you want to make the squash easier to peel put in the microwave whole for about 3 minutes the outside just peels off. We will be making this again and again.
Hi Mindy, I’m so glad you both loved it!
Great recipe! I used cubed butternut squash that was precut to make it easier. Came out creamy and delicious. Will definitely make this one again!
Hi Jill, I’m so glad you loved it!
Hi Jill,
I would like to make this soup for my son daughter-in-law and the 3 children. I have already made it for myself and husband. It’s a lovely soup but would it feed 7, 4 adults and 3 children.
How many cups of cubed butternut squash? I was thinking about using packaged cut up butternut squash.
Hi Gail, I don’t have a cup estimate, but the pre-cut squash packages should have a weight on them! 2 1/2-3 lbs work well here.
4.5 cups. I was wondering too since I was cutting up about 5 mini ones so I googled it.
Thank you for this recipe – and countless others. We LOVE this soup. As well as your rosemary cornmeal muffins which we had with the soup. We probably have those once every other month in the Fall/Winter. Wonderful!
Hi Barbara, I’m so glad you enjoyed the soup and the corn muffins!
I never leave comments but this soup was so good that I just had to. I find that so many five star recipes are not great but this one is! It seriously warrants five stars