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 just made this an it was excellent. I brought it over the top by adding Nutritional yeast and a dash of turmeric. Superyum!
Wow that was good. I baked the squash in it’s shell and then scooped it into the blender. Soup just doesn’t get any better than that!
I already have cooked squash in the freezer. How do I know how many cups to use? I have looked for a ratio all over and cannot seem to find one for cooked.
Delicious as is. I like more spice so I added cumin seeds ( add curry), chili flakes and coriander seed. I had left over seed potatoes so I threw them in too. I used a bone broth I had left over from last nights lamb dinner.
Wonderful recipe. Thank you! I am a newbie to plant based eating, Can you please tell me what makes this recipe “vegetarian” instead of “vegan”? Thank you!
Delicious!! Loved it!! Great recipe
How many calories?
Hi Lori, I’m sorry, we don’t calculate nutrition facts but you can plug the ingredients into a site like my fitness pal.
Can I make the night before and reheat??
yep, it’ll keep well in the fridge for a few days, it freezes well too!
Super easy and super delicious! I made it according to the recipe. Next time I’ll get more creative to play with the flavors. But, as is, it’s fantastic! Even my persnickety mom liked it! LOL
I followed most of the recipe. I used chicken brooth instead of vegetable brooth. I also added a teaspoon of curry and two table spoons of coconut oil. Final add was table spoon of honey.
Delicious
I found that I was wanting a bit more flavor, so I added about 1/8 cup of brown sugar to the recipe, as well as a splash of heavy whipping cream, extra garlic, and extra salt. I had to use dried rosemary and sage, and it was still amazing!
I wanted it creamier so I added a can of coconut milk and that made a great difference. Yummy
We loved the soup, have made it twice already! Regards from Russia.
LOVE IT!
I’ve made it three times already. Super easy and delicious! Great for those winter months.
Whoa! Even my daughter liked this soup, but she hates squash! I used acorn squash only because it was available, and had to use dried herbs since the fresh ones were not. My big secret: I replaced 1 cup of water with apple cider, and swirled a spoonful of nonfat plain yogurt into each bowl. Superb!
Made this last night – Excellent! This recipe shines just the way it is, needs nothing to dress it up. Will definitely go in the rotation.
So delicious! I love that it doesn’t need heavy cream! I added bay leaves and an extra cup of veggie stock. I also roasted the squash because I hate peeling them! I had covid when I made this and it was super nourishing and felt good on my throat. Thank you for sharing your recipe!
Terrific soup – fresh flavor and easy to make as written. Like it better than other recipes I’ve made that are way more time consuming. Thanks for sharing!
I’m so glad you loved the soup!
I made this just now. I put a shot of cardamom and a granny Smith apple in it. Delish!!
oh delicious! I’m glad you enjoyed the soup.
Typically, I don’t make soups from scratch. This recipe was easy and delicious! Even had a compliment of “restaurant quality” from a guest—? ?!
I’m so glad you loved it!