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.
Just made a batch – my lunches this week are going to be amazing!
I love it for lunch too – so glad you enjoyed!
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!
Hi Rina, I’m so glad you loved it!
OMG I love everything about this recipe! I cannot wait to make this soup!
Cannot wait to make this! I love all things ginger! Thanks for the giveaway!
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.
Made today!!!!!! Love, love ? it!!!
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!
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?
Hi Shanna, thanks for the feedback, I’m sorry you burned yourself.
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.
Hi Anita, I’m sorry to hear about your allergy.
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
I’m so glad you’ve been enjoying the recipes!
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!
Hi Anna, I’m so glad you loved the soup!
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
Sooooo good! My new favorite soup!
Yay! I’m so glad you loved it.
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!
Hi Belle, yay! I’m so glad you loved it as much as we do!
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.
Cinnamon. We couldn’t figure out what this was missing exactly until we added cinnamon! Delish!
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!
Thought I rated – five stars!
thank you!!
Hi Elizabeth, I’m so glad you loved the soup!
I prepared this soup the other day and we all liked it)) a great recipe.
I’m so glad you loved it!
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!
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.
Thank you so much!! I love this recipe, and am excited to make it again tonight 🙂
OMG! This was sooo good. Added toasted pepitas on top. Perfect fall comfort food!
So glad you loved it!