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:
4.98 from 1885 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.

 

1273 comments

4.98 from 1885 votes (1,325 ratings without comment)

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Rate this recipe (after making it)




  1. Kyla
    10.04.2020

    5 stars
    Just made a batch – my lunches this week are going to be amazing!

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      10.06.2020

      I love it for lunch too – so glad you enjoyed!

  2. Rina
    10.04.2020

    5 stars
    First time make butternut squash soup. Just made this recipe and added a little red chilli since I like spice and replaced the rosemary with Thyme as I am not a fan of rosemary. Delicious!

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      10.06.2020

      Hi Rina, I’m so glad you loved it!

  3. Lisa Sarpolis
    10.04.2020

    5 stars
    OMG I love everything about this recipe! I cannot wait to make this soup!

  4. Steph Peterson
    10.04.2020

    Cannot wait to make this! I love all things ginger! Thanks for the giveaway!

  5. Allison
    09.28.2020

    5 stars
    Just made this and it turned out so yummy and creamy! I mixed in some leftover tofu ricotta I had into my bowl and it tasted amazing.

  6. Pauladair
    09.27.2020

    5 stars
    Made today!!!!!! Love, love ? it!!!

  7. Ms. Gang
    09.24.2020

    5 stars
    I just finished making this soup. This is by far the best butternut squash soup I’ve had. It tastes like a drive through Vermont in fall…ridiculous I know, but that is the feeling of warmth you get from this soup. Love it!

  8. Shanna Boswell
    09.24.2020

    5 stars
    I loved this soup but I would say “cool slightly” is vague understatement especially for those of us who have nutribullets and similar blenders. The prep took longer than I thought and dinner was late so I rushed the cooling part and suffered a bad scald on my arm from the explosion that occurred! My husband later repeated the process in smaller amounts and the soup was still hot enough to enjoy. How about saying, for example, cool for 10 minutes?

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      09.24.2020

      Hi Shanna, thanks for the feedback, I’m sorry you burned yourself.

  9. Anita
    09.24.2020

    I am disappointed. I don’t think it’s anything to do with the recipe. For some reason the combination of the butternut squash and sage burns my epithelial cells. After touching both of them my skin on my fingers started to peel off. I though I would cook it down and it will be alright. However, I tried a bit of soup and my throat is now dry and scratchy. I guess I am highly allergic to these ingredients. So, I can’t rate it.

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      09.24.2020

      Hi Anita, I’m sorry to hear about your allergy.

  10. Xanda
    08.14.2020

    I am loving your vegan recipes. I am new to plant based cooking and your recipes have proved invaluable. They are much better than the cook book I have.
    This butternut squash soup is so delicious. I followed the recipe exactly. My husband and I both love it. Thank you

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      08.30.2020

      I’m so glad you’ve been enjoying the recipes!

  11. Anna
    06.23.2020

    5 stars
    Thank you for sharing this recipe!!! I had this on my list of soups to try and then I forgot about it. Today I was looking for a simple butternut squash recipe that my 10 month old would enjoy and this one has the perfect ingredients! It was absolutely delicious! I made a few small changes by adding one carrot, using ground spices (except for rosemary which I had fresh on hand) and adding cinnamon. I didn’t add any salt and it was still so good. Love your blog!

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      07.12.2020

      Hi Anna, I’m so glad you loved the soup!

  12. MadamPiazza
    05.16.2020

    A Butternut squash is one of the hardest vegetables to cut and peal. I recommend Roasting the squash whole at 350 degress for 1-1/2 hours which makes the whole prep process easier

  13. Liz
    05.13.2020

    5 stars
    Sooooo good! My new favorite soup!

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      05.15.2020

      Yay! I’m so glad you loved it.

  14. Belle
    04.18.2020

    5 stars
    This was probably the best butternut squash soup I’ve ever had! I halved the recipe (because I had half of a butternut squash lying around) and used 1 teaspoon dried thyme instead of sage and it turned out so well for me. Thank you for this recipe, I’ll definitely use it again!

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      04.22.2020

      Hi Belle, yay! I’m so glad you loved it as much as we do!

  15. Ash
    02.28.2020

    5 stars
    Just made this for family dinner – YUM, what a hit! I’ve only made soup with hokkaido pumpkin previously and I don’t think I’ve ever actually cooked with butternut squash. Can’t say I was disappointed!

    Weirdly, the squash had a smell oddly reminiscent of the store-bought meatballs you can get here in Denmark LOL.
    But a lovely, smooth taste experience indeed.

  16. Heather Stone
    02.10.2020

    5 stars
    Cinnamon. We couldn’t figure out what this was missing exactly until we added cinnamon! Delish!

  17. Elizabeth
    01.04.2020

    5 stars
    Lovely! I doubled the recipe. Realized I was out of fresh sage so used about 1 tsp dry plus fresh rosemary. This was a huge hit with adults and my toddler alike. Just what I was looking for – a very straightforward butternut squash soup – no milks or butters or coconut or sweetener – just beautiful vegetables. Will make again!

    • Elizabeth
      01.04.2020

      5 stars
      Thought I rated – five stars!

      • Jeanine Donofrio
        01.05.2020

        thank you!!

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      01.05.2020

      Hi Elizabeth, I’m so glad you loved the soup!

  18. Olja
    12.15.2019

    5 stars
    I prepared this soup the other day and we all liked it)) a great recipe.

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      12.17.2019

      I’m so glad you loved it!

  19. Pri
    11.24.2019

    Hi there! I’ve been using the butternut squash soup & sage crostini recipe for years around the holidays! Is there a link to the old recipe with the spices and coconut milk?

    Thank you so much!

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      11.24.2019

      Hi Pri, here is that recipe, I’ll put it in it’s own link soon (it’s also very similar to this one: https://www.loveandlemons.com/red-curry-kuri-squash-soup/)

      2 tablespoons coconut oil
      1 large onion, chopped
      3 garlic cloves, chopped
      2 4-inch pieces of lemongrass
      2 tablespoons red curry paste
      One (2-pound) butternut squash, cubed
      1 (14-ounce) can full fat coconut milk
      4 cups vegetable broth
      Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

      Heat a large pot to medium and add the coconut oil. Add the onion and generous pinches of salt and pepper. Smash the lemongrass (using the back of your knife) then add it whole to the pot along with the garlic, and curry paste. Cook until the onions are transluscent, then add the butternut squash cubes, another pinch of salt, and stir.

      Reduce heat to a simmer. Add the coconut milk and vegetable broth. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the squash is very soft. (40-60 minutes depending on your squash).

      Remove large lemongrass pieces and pour everything into a high speed blender (you may have to work in batches), and puree until smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings.

      • Pri
        12.02.2019

        5 stars
        Thank you so much!! I love this recipe, and am excited to make it again tonight 🙂

  20. Debbie
    11.17.2019

    5 stars
    OMG! This was sooo good. Added toasted pepitas on top. Perfect fall comfort food!

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      11.18.2019

      So glad you loved it!

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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.