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 –Â These veggies add delicious depth of flavor.
- Fresh sage and rosemary –Â 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 –Â 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 –Â 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.
Easy fall soup. Love it
Could this be made with frozen butternut squash? It would save a lot of time to use the pre-peeled and pre-cut stuff!
Hi Caitlin, I haven’t tried it, but that should be fine.
Hi! Are there nutrition facts for this recipe? Thanks!
Hi Caroline, I’m sorry, we don’t post nutrition info but you can plug the ingredients into a site like my fitness pal.
This was delicious! It tasted like fall in a bowl!
I’m so glad you loved it!
Tried this tonight with some roasted brussel sprouts and garlic bread! Very comforting and delicious. I blended in a block of silken tofu at the end for protein and extra creaminess
Can this be frozen? If so how do you recommend?
Thank you !
helen
Yep! I freeze mine in glass storage containers.
Hi! I can’t wait to make this soup. It sounds amazing, as everything I’ve tried from your page is. I had a question though. Do I roast the squash in the oven first? I’m not sure how I’d cut it so easily to put in a pot without doing that first.
Hi Vanessa, I’m so glad you’ve been enjoying the recipes! The squash gets cooked in the pot, just peel it and cut it into cubes like the photo above – it’ll cook and soften as the soup cooks. Hope that helps!
This was SO good. I honestly had no idea how it would turn out since I’ve never made butternut squash anything, but I saw it at the store and then googled a soup and WOW. I substituted the vegetable broth for chicken broth since I already had it and I added 2 extra cups of it.
I’m so glad you loved the soup!
Try a tsp of ground cumin – fabulous!
I just made your Butternut Squash soup. It was simple, and delicious! Thank you!!
Made this today, absolutely delicious!!
Wonderful roasted the squash whole.
I’m making this for a dinner party, 20 guests. Would you just triple everything? I made this before for just my family and it was amazing!!!
Hi Jessi, you could triple if you have a large enough pot!
This is a fabulous recipe! I am really trying to limit my dairy intake and have never made a butternut squash soup without dairy, so I was nervous. I didn’t change anything about this recipe and I’m so glad! It’s absolutely delicious! I topped the bowls with roasted pepitas and it added a really nice crunch. Thank you!! I’ll be adding this to my regular rotation of fall recipes!
This soup was delicious! It is much healthier than the recipe I usually use and even my teenager loved it! Thank you for sharing!
Simple yet super flavorful. Perfect fall soup!! Thank you for a wonderful recipe!!
I followed the recipe to a T, without subs or omitting any ingredients, even though I am not a huge fan of rosemary – PERFECT! A new favourite!
I made a double batch of this using two butternut squashes. I did not measure everything to a T, but luckily my soup turned out amazing with this recipe as a guide. I will make it again!
Hi Monica, I’m so glad the recipe was a great guide!
I did make this soup. It was awesome and very easy. A few of my family members didn’t like it but it’s definetly an acquired taste. I didn’t have any pepitas but i just toasted a few chopped walnuts and put on top with the parsley. I thought it was great. I don’t have instagram or any of that stuff but i thought I’d leave a little feedback. Thank you for the recipe.
Angela
I was looking for the health info on the soup.
It’s healthy 😉