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 miso soup, lentil soup, or vegetable soup next. Then, check out these 35 Best Soup Recipes for more soup inspiration!
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.
This soup was easy to make and so delicious. I put Trader Joe’s Rosemary Croissant Croutons on top, which I would highly recommend. Will make again!
Google estimates that a 3 pound butternut squash will yield 4 1/2 -5 cups of cubed squash.
I made this recipe at midnight last night!
I added some extra ginger and someone else bites the ginger didn’t come through, and I used 2lb of cubed squash. Everything else as intended
It was so good, but I do wish I hadn’t done the extra ginger. It IS good with it, but it was probably enough with just the normal amount.
Hello! How much precut squash will I need for this recipe? Thank you!
Absolutely delicious!! A total hit at our fall holiday dinner party. Loved that it is non dairy but sure doesn’t taste like it is! Thank you!
Wow! I had been craving a nice thick delicious butternut squash soup and this satisfied beyond what I expected. Recipe is easy to follow and goes together nicely. Nearly any garnish adds that professional presentation. My husband and I love this!
This is delicious – and even more creamy & nutritious if you use unsweetened soy milk with a dollop of veggie Better than Bouillon instead of veg stock. To avoid the hassle of peeling winter squash, a farmer from our farmer’s market swore by halving it, scooping out the seeds, then microwaving until soft. That makes it easy to scrape out. For this I only cooked until firm so it could still simmer in the pot with the liquid for 10 minutes for good flavor. A tasty topping is fried sage leaves. Fry them in a bit of olive oil or butter until starting to brown, then let drain on paper towel and sprinkle with a bit of ground salt.
I made this soup but used half a roasted butternut squash and half a roasted acorn squash. After spooning out the flesh from the roasted squash, I mashed and combined with the other recipe ingredients. I used the roasting method recommended by Love & Lemons. I wasn’t sure about the sage and rosemary seasonings but gave it a try. It was delicious! I think the next time I make it, I might increase the ginger since the ginger flavor didn’t seem to come through very much. It’s great recipe. My son enjoyed it too. After the first spoonful, he stopped and said “This is really good”.
It’s 1am and I’m making it too. Will add a little extra ginger. I bought 2 squashes and it was definitely more than the recipe called for so we’ll see if I can increase the spices. Here we go!
How many cups approximately of butternut squash does a 3-pd squash make ? I want to buy precut fresh .
Thank you
About enough to squash your head buddy
Would the recipe work if I just bake the butternut instead? I love butternut squash but it’s such a pain to cut! I usually cut it in half and bake it with the onion before blending it. Was wondering if that would alter the recipe here. Thank you!
Just made this with roasted squash prepared the day before, followed the recipe otherwise. Delicious!
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE! When you say a 3 lb squash PLEASE say the equivalent in cups. I don’t weigh produce, I pick up a few that look good and then wonder how much to use. It would be REALLY helpful. I cook a lot, I have your cookbook, keep it up but…THANKS
Love this soup! It’s super easy and loaded with so much flavor. It will be in my Fall/Winter soup rotation Highly recommend!……
Word of caution, prep time is more than 10 minutes , probably closer to 30 unless you purchase precut squash (which is quite pricey).
I’m waiting to get an answer from someone too on the same question. I want to buy precut fresh butternut squash and need to know how much . Let me know if you get an answer?
Thanks
Lynne
Just buy a thing and adjust how much other stuff you need based on what you have. You really don’t need exact measurements, it’s just squash.
With so many favorable reviews it might be hard to improve this recipe, but I’m wonder if an apple might make it even better. Any thoughts on the subject?
Yes absolutely
Thanks Danny, it’s good with a granny smith apple, but no basis for comparison because I did not try the recipe without one.
I’ve made this recipe a few times now. I always double the recipe. I don’t usually have rosemary on hand but we love sage so I measure it with my heart. I usually roast the veg in the oven then add to the stock and herbs. 😉 This is my favorite go-to butternut squash soup. Sooo delicious!! Thank you.
Loved the butternut squash soup! Shared it with two other neighbors and they loved it! I love your recipes! How does this freeze?
Hi Jamie, it freezes well!
Such a simple yet flavorful soup! We thought it was even better the next day after fully absorbing the spices, which further deepened the flavor. Serve this with some nice bread and you have a delicious meal!
Can I use dried herbs?
I love this soup and make it all the time. But I do add some coconut milk before serving for creaminess.
This soup was exactly what my family has been asking for in a butternut squash soup. I roasted the squash with carrots, used chicken broth and doubled the ginger (half during cooking and half at the end). Perfect!
Thank you for this idea! Think I’ll roast too.
Made this the other night and it was delicious! I used bone broth to up the protein and added turmeric. Paired with some kale chicken sausage and sourdough and it was perfect!
Can i use chicken broth instead?
I did and it came out fantastic !
I did! It came out perfect!