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 SteaksVegan Meatball Sandwiches, Homemade Mac and CheeseSun Dried Tomato Pasta, or a grilled cheese sandwich!

Butternut squash soup

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!

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Butternut Squash Soup

rate this recipe:
4.99 from 1604 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.

 

955 comments

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Rate this recipe (after making it)




  1. Kate
    02.02.2021

    5 stars
    Delicious soup! I’ve tried several different recipes for butternut squash soup and this one is hands down my favorite! And so easy to make too!

  2. Michelle B.
    01.26.2021

    5 stars
    Absolutely DELICIOUS! It’s a beautiful and perfect combination of ingredients that just make this soup so yummy! My hubby loved it! Thank you.

  3. PAMM L PETERSON
    01.21.2021

    I just printed off your recipe. I always read reviews before wasting time energy and ingredients. I will take my butternut squash and make soup today. Such glowing reviews. Thanks.

  4. Susan
    01.16.2021

    5 stars
    Best butternut squash soup! I live that it does not have coconut in it ( which makes it too rich!). The herbs are a perfect compliment!

  5. Corrie
    01.12.2021

    5 stars
    This recipe is so good! It’s healthy and easier than other butternut squash soup recipes I’ve seen, but it’s still very tasty. Definitely will make it again!

  6. Stella
    01.07.2021

    Seems delicious can’t wait to try it out! Would there be any difference if I roasted the squash and onion instead? How would the flavor/consistency be? Thanks!

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      01.08.2021

      Hi Stella, it may change the amount of liquid you need since roasting dries out the vegetables a bit. We really love this one as-is so I might try following the recipe first, and riff on it next time.

  7. Erin
    12.27.2020

    5 stars
    This was amazing! So creamy and easy to make

  8. Bill
    12.27.2020

    I tried making it but over spiced it and threw it out due to not knowing how much dried spice to substitute.

  9. Andrea
    12.18.2020

    I’m thinking about making a BIG batch of this to give as gifts to friends (in pint mason jars). Any idea how many cups/pints/ounces one batch of this makes?

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      12.19.2020

      Hi Andrea, I’m not sure, I haven’t measured it down to the cup.

  10. Misha
    12.08.2020

    I have cubed butternut squash that I bought from the store. How many cups should I use in the recipe?

  11. Dorothy
    12.07.2020

    Best Butternut Squash Soup…simple, creamy with the perfect herbs…made it three times in two weeks…..no need to look for another version of this recipe when this is the best!!
    Thank you

  12. Suzanne Printy
    12.06.2020

    5 stars
    Absolutely delish!

  13. Jared
    12.03.2020

    5 stars
    I’m not a soup person, but I LOVED this soup! I had some leftover squash to use up and thought I’d try making a soup – and I am glad I made this!

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      12.03.2020

      I’m so glad you loved it so much!

    • Jaime
      02.06.2021

      I am not a soup (or squash) person either but this recipe is the bomb!

      • Jeanine Donofrio
        02.07.2021

        Ha, I’m so glad you loved the soup 🙂

  14. Jennifer
    12.02.2020

    That was the best soup ever. Easy and delicious thank you. My favorite now.

  15. Amy
    12.02.2020

    5 stars
    Made this soup yesterday, YUMMY! I roasted butternut, acorn and delicata squash with the onion and garlic in the oven. I also added some red pepper for a little bite. Thank you!

  16. Kent Draeger
    11.28.2020

    JEANINE .Soup was fantastic. I made soup before but it was always bagged soup.my first time making it from scratch. I will admit I did make a bag of soup .cheddar and broccoli just in case.i was surprised when everybody was ladling up the squash soup.at that moment I’m getting nervous. No body is going to like it.but to my surprise they all enjoyed it.i got comments on the texture on how creamy it was and on the taste.some were going up for a second bowl.thank you so much for your recipe.it was a big hit

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      11.28.2020

      Hi Kent, I’m so glad the soup was a hit!

  17. Mary
    11.26.2020

    5 stars
    Made this for Thanksgiving with Honeynut Squash instead of butternut- delicious! Also did 4tbsp olive oil instead of 2tbsp. Came out fantastic!

  18. Kent Draeger
    11.25.2020

    J eanine.could I make this soup a day ahead.how would I keep it .would it get like a film on top

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      11.26.2020

      Hi Kent, you could make it a day ahead. It probably won’t get a film on top. Just give it a stir, it should reheat great.

  19. Kathleen
    11.24.2020

    5 stars
    I was skeptical of how rich/creamy this would be since it is vegan but it did not disappoint! So good!!

  20. Kent Draeger
    11.22.2020

    Do you have to use a blender.can I use a food processor?

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      11.22.2020

      Hi Kent, a blender is better, I think the soup might be too liquidy for a food processor.

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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.