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.
I absolutely hate peeling squash so I roasted the squash and scooped the cooked flesh out. Roasting it gives it an incredible sweet/smokey flavor that goes so well with the warmth from the ginger and the freshness from the herbs. One of my favorite soups of all time!
I’m so glad you’ve loved the soup!
Amazing flavour and love how healthy and hearty it is. Will become a winter staple in my home.
This is the best Pumpkin soup I have ever tasted/made!! I didn’t have any onions so swapped it for a leek, but the fresh herbs gave it that special spark.
Thank you for this fantastic recipe.
Hi Rachael, I’m so glad you loved the soup!
Hi! Can you freeze this soup after making? Thanks xx
Yep, it freezes great!
Hi, can I bake the squash first for this recipe?
It’s not necessary, it’ll cook in the pot.
Perfect cozy bowl on a cold November night! Didn’t change a thing and it turned out fantastic.
I’m so happy to hear!
Absolutely delicious and very comforting on a cold evening. We added a couple of teaspoons of vinegar at the end to balance out the sweetness of the squash. This has become one of our go-to recipes for a nutritious dinner.
I’m so glad you loved it!
I made this without changing a single thing in the recipe. We really like it. It is a sort of “comfort food.”
Hi Evelyn, I’m so glad you loved it!
So, so delicious and simple. The ginger and herbs add great flavor and complexity to the soup.
I’m so glad you loved it!
LOVED this soup. The ginger just gives it that edge. Served with sour cream. Thanks!
I’m so glad you loved it!
Soooo good! Made this soup and it is the best butternut squash soup I have ever made. It will become a staple in my kitchen.
I’m so glad you loved it!
Can I use frozen butternut squash cubes?
yep!
This recipe was delicious !! I used chicken broth and it was still amazing !! This will definitely be a weekly dinner of ours.
Me too! Loved it with chicken broth.
I would normally substitute chicken broth automatically, assuming I would prefer it, I “took a chance” and used vegetable stock. The soup was delicious.
I tried this and it turned out great! I didn’t have vegetable broth so I used chicken. Had to use dry herbs but I will definitely try it again when I can do fresh ones. It was delicious!
This soup is amazing! A friend brought it to a school potluck, I’m hooked! We are making it tonight. Would you have suggestions for the time need to do it all in the instant pot? Then blending when cooked? Thank you!
Hi Virginia, I’m so glad you enjoyed it! I haven’t tried this one in the instant pot, but for other soups we pressure cook on high for 15 minutes, then let it natural release. I think that would be enough time for the squash to soften. And then transfer it to the blender. Hope that helps!
Not my first rodeo with Butternut squash but I just needed a little push.
I pressure cooked my squash. It was so soft that the peel went into the soup.
One quart of broth and a bunch of spices (cumin, turmeric, red pepper, cardamom, salt, coriander) later, I had a spicy soup ideal for a cooling autumn day. I used my immersion blender instead of the vitamix—no spillage or risk of mess/burns.
Hi Jeff, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Love loved LOVED this recipe. I love The simplicity, the full flavor and the healthy, satisfying feeling you get as you enjoy it.
I topped it was crumbled goat cheese and paired it with a hot ham and cheese panini with my husband.
Could try sprinkling sausage or bacon in it next time as well.
DEF one I’m bound the repeat. This and Love and Lemons’ Pea Asparagus Soup are go-to’s
Hi Jill, I’m so glad you loved both of the soups!
I made your recipe but with 1 tweak; the squash was too hard for me to deal with so I pressure cooked it for 20 minutes to get it to a state where I could work it. Everything else was according to your recipe and it is delicious! This is a keeper, thanks for sharing so freely! Many sites insist on an email before they will let you see the recipe.
Hi Leslie, I’m so glad you enjoyed the soup!
Loved this! I used chicken broth because I already had it on hand, and roasted the squash in the oven. The sage and rosemary give it a lot of depth- feels like I’m eating Thanksgiving stuffing ( in a good way!).
Hi Britt, I’m glad you loved it!
Love, Love, Love this soup!!
My husband made this for me and we enjoyed it so much. Bright, delicious and let’s the Squash be the star.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!