Easy Butternut Squash Soup

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Quick Summary

This Easy Butternut Squash Soup is perfect for a simple, healthy, and delicious fall meal! It is great for lunch, dinner, or serve as a starter to your Thanksgiving feast.

butternut squash soup in bowl with a drizzle of cream and pepitas and two spoons.

Comfort food is a must during the chilly fall and winter months. Our family loves making chicken pot pie, lasagna, chicken and dumplings, creamy chicken noodle soup, and spaghetti and meatballs. We also love lighter comfort food like this Easy Butternut Squash Soup.

This classic butternut squash soup is creamy, nourishing, and oh so cozy! We love serving it with crusty bread or homemade biscuits. It will warm you up and fill you up!

I love this butternut squash soup recipe because it’s delicious and SUPER easy. It is made in the Instant Pot and only takes 25 minutes to make from start to finish.

If you don’t have an Instant Pot, don’t worry, you can still make it on the stovetop or in a slow cooker, it will just take a little longer.

Enjoy for lunch or dinner! The leftovers are great and the soup freezes beautifully too! This is a winning recipe all-around!

butternut squash soup ingredients in bowls.

Soup Ingredients

  • Olive oil– for sautéing the veggies!
  • Onion, Carrot, and Celery– the start of a good soup!
  • Garlic– adds so much flavor!
  • Butternut squash– you will need a medium sized squash. Peel, remove the seeds, and cut it into cubes. Tip, buy pre-cut butternut squash if you want to save time.
  • Vegetable broth– I use vegetable broth to keep the soup vegan and vegetarian, but you can use chicken broth.
  • Apple– the secret ingredient! The apple adds a sweet, tart flavor that compliments the squash.
  • Cinnamon– just a little bit!
  • Herbs– thyme and rosemary!
  • Nutmeg– optional, but I like to add just a pinch!

How to Make Butternut Squash Soup

diced onion, carrot, and celery sautéing in Instant Pot.
  • On your Instant Pot, select Sauté. Add the olive oil and sauté the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic until soft, about 3 to 5 minutes. I love that you can sauté the veggies right in the Instant Pot.
butternut squash soup ingredients in Instant Pot.
  • Add the vegetable broth, butternut squash, apple, nutmeg, cinnamon, thyme, rosemary, salt, pepper, and nutmeg, if using.
  • Place the lid securely on the Instant Pot and move the knob to seal. Cook on high pressure for 10 minutes and do a quick release of the pressure.
butternut squash soup in blender.
  • Use an immersion blender in the Instant Pot to puree the soup until smooth. If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can let the soup cool a little and carefully transfer the soup to a regular blender (only fill it halfway) and blend until smooth.

Stove Top & Slow Cooker Instructions

If you don’t have an Instant Pot, you can make this soup on the stove top in a large pot or in the slow cooker.

For the stove top, in a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium high heat and cook the veggies until soft, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the vegetable broth, butternut squash, apple, nutmeg, cinnamon, thyme, rosemary, salt, pepper, and nutmeg, if using.

Reduce the heat to low and cook for 20 to 30 minutes or until the butternut squash is soft. Puree the soup in the pot, using an immersion blender or transfer to a blender to puree.

For the slow cooker, add all of the ingredients to the slow cooker and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours and on high for 3 to 4 hours. Blend with an immersion blender or blender.

butternut squash soup in bowl with toppings and fresh herbs and napkin on the side.

Healthy & Delicious

This soup is vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free, but you will never know it because it is SO creamy and delicious. There is no cream or butter in this soup, the butternut squash is thick and creamy on it’s own!

A bowl of this soup will warm you up and fill you up! The tart green apple adds a nice balance to the sweet butternut squash. The fresh thyme, rosemary, cinnamon, and pinch of nutmeg give the soup lots of flavor.

Soup Toppings

The soup is good plain, but it is always fun to add toppings, especially if you are serving to guests. It makes the soup feel more fancy:)

You can garnish the bowls of soup with:

butternut squash soup in bowl with a spoon and drizzle of heavy cream.

Serving Suggestions

The following dishes go great with a warm, satisfying bowl of butternut squash soup.

How to Store

Let the soup cool to room temperature and then transfer it to an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Reheat in the microwave or on the stove top.

The soup also freezes beautifully. Pour the cooled soup into a freezer container or freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months.

butternut squash soup in bowl with toppings.

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Easy Butternut Squash Soup

This easy, creamy butternut squash soup is made in the Instant Pot and is the perfect healthy meal for fall! You can also make it on the stove top or in the slow cooker.
4.70 from 92 votes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
  • 1 large carrot, chopped
  • 1 celery rib, chopped
  • 3 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 3 lbs peeled chopped butternut squash (about 1 medium sized squash)
  • 3 cups vegetable broth
  • 1 green apple, peeled, cored, and chopped
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 sprig fresh thyme
  • 1 sprig fresh rosemary
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • Pinch of nutmeg, optional

Instructions
 

  • On your Instant Pot, select Sauté. Add the olive oil and sauté the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic until soft, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the vegetable broth, butternut squash, apple, nutmeg, cinnamon, thyme, rosemary, salt, pepper, and nutmeg, if using.
  • Place the lid securely on the Instant Pot and move the knob to seal. Cook on high pressure for 10 minutes and do a quick release of the pressure.
  • Use an Immersion blender in the Instant Pot to puree the soup until smooth. If you don't have an immersion blender, you can let the soup cool a little and carefully transfer the soup to a regular blender and blend until smooth.
  • Ladle the soup into bowls and serve warm.

Notes

For the stove top, in a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium high heat and cook the veggies until soft, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the vegetable broth, butternut squash, apple, nutmeg, cinnamon, thyme, rosemary, salt, pepper, and nutmeg, if using.
Reduce the heat to low and cook for 20 to 30 minutes or until the butternut squash is soft. Puree the soup in the pot, using an immersion blender or transfer to a blender to puree.
For the slow cooker, add all of the ingredients to the slow cooker and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours and on high for 3 to 4 hours. Blend with an immersion blender or blender.
Store leftover soup in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Freeze for up to 3 months. 

Nutrition

Calories: 159kcal, Carbohydrates: 36g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 3g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Sodium: 876mg, Potassium: 896mg, Fiber: 6g, Sugar: 10g, Vitamin A: 26074IU, Vitamin C: 51mg, Calcium: 121mg, Iron: 2mg
Keywords butternut squash

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Maria

I'm Maria and my husband is Josh. We share a love of cooking, baking, and entertaining. We enjoy creating recipes that are simple, fresh, and family friendly. We love sitting around the table with good food, good conversation, and good friends and family! Our kitchen is always open!
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  1. If you don’t have an instant pot, how long would you suggest cooking (at medium or bring to a boil then simmer a long time?!?) on the range after sauteeing? Thanks, Maria! 

    1. 4 stars
      Thanks for the recipe. Just a note for anyone giving it a go. Suggest a pinch of pepper, you can always add more to taste later. We added the half teaspoon and found it overpowering.

  2. This soup is amazing. I didn’t want to break out my instant pot (my husband got me the 8-quart one and it’s HUGE) so
    I just simmered the ingredients on the stove for about 30 minutes (until the squash and apple easily broke apart). I also didn’t have any vegetable stock on hand so I used chicken stock instead and a pink lady apple instead of a granny smith one. I’m only angry that I didn’t make a double batch. SO good!

  3. I’m going to make this as an appetizer for TG. Warm, delicious, and healthy.  I’ll get my instant pot this weekend. Dumb question. Which size should I purchase? The small one is too small. Big one looks huge-ummm any recommendations? 🙂

    1. Many chefs say get the 8 qt so you can make big recipes and then have enough to to freeze

      I have a 6 qt I have also read that most recipes are made for a 6 qt.

      I find mine plenty big and some of the recipes I make have plenty leftover for freezing. But I am usually only cooking for two.

      I am very happy with a 6 qt. The three qt seems to small in my opinion.

      Hope this helps.

  4. 5 stars
    This was delicious! I made it exactly as you said. Had it tonight with a kale, cabbage, frisee mix salad. Perfect! And healthy too! Even my husband, who is never thrilled when I make vegetarian meals, loved it too! Easy too, and fast.
    Thank you.

  5. I would love to try the soup but I don’t own an Instant Pot.
    Do you have instructions for a crock pot or for the stove top?
    Thank you

  6. 5 stars
    Thank you for this recipe, this soup was really good. I halved the recipe and kept the cook time the same. Turned out perfectly.

  7. For some reason I couldn’t give a five star rating. First cooking project with my new instant pot. Wonderful soup! This recipe is a keeper!

  8. 5 stars
    This recipe is so yummy! I’ve already made it twice and the second time I doubled the recipe. Very easy to make just a bit time consuming chopping everything. The first time I used a potato masher so it was a tad bit chunky but still so delicious. The second time I emulsified it so it was creamy smooth. I liked it either way. Thanks for this wonderful recipe!!

  9. Amazing recipe!!!! Used frozen butternut squash and chicken broth instead and it was so good, will definitely be making again, thank you!!!

  10. 5 stars
    Surprisingly tasty! I don’t usually like squash soup but I made this because I needed to get rid of a bunch of squash. Light and refreshing.

  11. 1 star
    No flavor made exactly per recipe in Instapot. Tried to enhance it with miso and a dash of ginger. Then tried adding butter and cream. It’s still very blah. Maybe needs bacon. I have a better recipe from elsewhere.

  12. 5 stars
    My family and I loved this recipe. I swapped the apple for a potato and it still came out great. Thank you.

  13. 5 stars
    This soup is absolutely delicious! Super easy to make and packed with nourishing ingredients and flavor!! We keep making it over and over. Thanks for sharing!

  14. 5 stars
    Very simple and easy. I made a peanut butter topping to swirl on top which was very yummy, but you could add curry, or smoked paprika or any number of spices to add to this as it is a good base.

  15. My ancestors are Lichty’s…originally from Canada. Moved to Traverse City, MI. Would like to know if we are related! My grandmother was a Lichty….Lucy.

    Would like it if you would respond!

    Thanks,

    Blanche Lather Breithaupt

  16. Silly question. Do I put the whole sprig of rosemary and thyme in then remove when done? Or do I chop it before cooking so the immersion blender can purée it at the end?

  17. 5 stars
    Absolutely delicious!! So fragrant and perfect for a cold autumn night. Love the recipe but let’s be honest about prep time. Unless you buy the squash pre-cut, it is
    Not ten minutes of prep, more like 25-35.

  18. Is the cook time factoring in the time for pressure to build up in the pressure cooker? I’m very new to using them and wasn’t sure

    1. 5 stars
      No, it’s not. Most cook times for recipes in the instapot do not include the time it takes to come to pressure, in my experience anyway. I’ve made this recipe several times and it’s so easy in the instapot. Just made it yesterday!