This roast butternut squash soup is one of the most gratifying uses we’ve experienced for this gangly winter gourd. What results is silken and satiating and all but defines autumn.–David Leite
Butternut Squash Soup FAQs
Finished soup is not as thick as you’d like? The addition of neutral-flavored ingredients (leftover mashed potatoes, cooked white rice, or a little canned pumpkin) to give it body. Add your ingredient, a spoonful at a time, and purée again. You should only need a couple of spoonfuls to get a thicker consistency, so just add a bit at a time. Stirring in a few tablespoons of instant mashed potato flakes never hurt, either.
On the other hand, if you find your soup is too thick, you can always add some cream, coconut milk, vegetable broth, or water. Remember to taste the soup and adjust the seasonings afterward, since you’ll be diluting it.
Vegetable stock makes a fine substitution here for chicken stock if you’d prefer a vegetarian version of the soup.
A wedge of crusty artisan bread or a savory Parmesan biscuit would be perfect alongside this comforting bowl of soup.
☞ Like soup recipes? Try these:
Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
Ingredients
- 4 pounds butternut squash
- 1 medium yellow onion, coarsely chopped
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter or olive oil
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 6 sage leaves
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 4 cups homemade chicken stock or canned chicken broth, or vegetable stock
- 1 cup heavy cream or crème fraîche
- Pumpkin seeds, raw or toasted (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
- Prick the squash with a fork and place it whole on a baking sheet. Roast until the squash has softened, about 45 minutes.
- Set the squash aside until cool enough to handle, then cut it in half and scoop out the seeds. Turn each squash half over onto a cutting board and run a vegetable peeler over the curved sides to remove the peel. Cut the squash into 2-inch chunks.
- Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. When the butter starts to brown, add the onion and sauté until it is translucent and begins to brown, 4 to 5 minutes.
- Add the honey to the onions and cook until it bubbles. Add the squash chunks and sage and season with salt and pepper.
- Add the chicken stock and enough water to cover the squash by an inch. Bring the soup to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer the soup until the onions and squash are very tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Add more liquid if necessary to keep the squash submerged. Remove the pan from the heat and cool for 15 minutes.
- Purée the butternut squash soup using an immersion blender or pouring it into your old-fashioned blender and processing until smooth. (If using an old-fashioned blender, don’t fill it more than 2/3 full.) Strain through a coarse strainer if you want a smoother soup or if you prefer a more rustic soup return the purée to the pan without straining.
- Season the soup with salt and pepper to taste. Bring the finished soup back to a boil. Ladle it into bowls and serve with a small drizzle of heavy cream or dribble of crème fraîche, about 1 tablespoon per bowl and, if desired, some pumpkin seeds and freshly cracked black pepper.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe Testers’ Reviews
Roasting the squash whole made this soup recipe a cinch to make. I didn’t even need to peel the cooked squash—I just scooped it out. The result was a very flavorful and satisfying butternut squash soup. The crème fraîche added a nice touch of richness to this hearty but healthy soup.
This butternut squash soup is elegant and lovely—perfect for a winter night and great topped with a little grated Parmesan and maybe even a freshly fried and salted sage leaf if you have one.
This recipe is quite similar to another soup recipe I’ve been experimenting with but I really like the additions of the honey and sage in this one. I didn’t have fresh sage on hand so I used about a 1/2 tsp dried sage and it worked perfectly. I also added about 1/2 tsp ground cumin and the smallest grate of nutmeg at the same time I added sage, it really gave the soup a nice depth of flavor.
I roasted pre-cut cubes of butternut squash in the oven, tossed with olive oil salt, and pepper at 425°F for about 25 minutes, and then added them to the sautéed onions and garlic and followed the recipe as instructed. I omitted the 1 cup cream and used 1/4 cup half and half. I still tasted the richness of the cream but saved a lot of calories. I used a hand immersion blender to blend the soup but a regular blender works great as well.
I’ll be making this again!
This butternut squash soup is so simple to make it feels like “cheating,” because it’s so elegant. The roasting of the squash adds a mildly nutty flavor that gently offsets the sweetness of the flesh inside. A great starter for fall menus.
Lovely, Karis. Thanks so much!
A deliciously simple soup rich with autumn flavor—hearty enough to stand on its own as a main dish.
Thanks Stacey! We couldn’t agree more.
I made this last night as an alternative to my usual butternut squash soup recipe that includes an apple. I loved it! I only had a small butternut so I combined it with an acorn squash and used my own chicken stock. I also added a tough of garam masala at the end – yum!
Love the garam masala trick, Amy. Perfect with butternut squash. Perfect.
Question: does any of the heavy cream go in the soup or is it all for garnish only?
Kim S, the cream is simply for garnish. Thank you for asking, I just clarified the instructions to hopefully make that clearer. And you could, if you prefer a dairy-free version of the soup, instead use full-fat coconut milk or coconut cream, the kind that comes in a can, in place of cream. Just shake the can first and perhaps, if there are still lumps, process it in a blender and then strain it prior to using.