Comfort food is a must during the chilly fall and winter months. Our family loves making chicken pot pie, lasagna, chicken and dumplings, creamy chicken noodle soup, and spaghetti and meatballs. We also love lighter comfort food like this Easy Butternut Squash Soup.

This classic butternut squash soup is creamy, nourishing, and oh so cozy! We love serving it with crusty bread or homemade biscuits. It will warm you up and fill you up!

I love this butternut squash soup recipe because it’s delicious and SUPER easy. It is made in the Instant Pot and only takes 25 minutes to make from start to finish.

If you don’t have an Instant Pot, don’t worry, you can still make it on the stovetop or in a slow cooker, it will just take a little longer.

Enjoy for lunch or dinner! The leftovers are great and the soup freezes beautifully too! This is a winning recipe all-around!

Soup Ingredients

• Olive oil– for sautéing the veggies!
• Onion, Carrot, and Celery– the start of a good soup!
• Garlic– adds so much flavor!
• Butternut squash– you will need a medium sized squash. Peel, remove the seeds, and cut it into cubes. Tip, buy pre-cut butternut squash if you want to save time.
• Vegetable broth– I use vegetable broth to keep the soup vegan and vegetarian, but you can use chicken broth.
• Apple– the secret ingredient! The apple adds a sweet, tart flavor that compliments the squash.
• Cinnamon– just a little bit!
• Herbs– thyme and rosemary!
• Nutmeg– optional, but I like to add just a pinch!

How to Make Butternut Squash Soup

• On your Instant Pot, select Sauté. Add the olive oil and sauté the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic until soft, about 3 to 5 minutes. I love that you can sauté the veggies right in the Instant Pot.

• Add the vegetable broth, butternut squash, apple, nutmeg, cinnamon, thyme, rosemary, salt, pepper, and nutmeg, if using.
• Place the lid securely on the Instant Pot and move the knob to seal. Cook on high pressure for 10 minutes and do a quick release of the pressure.

• Use an immersion blender in the Instant Pot to puree the soup until smooth. If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can let the soup cool a little and carefully transfer the soup to a regular blender (only fill it halfway) and blend until smooth.

Stove Top & Slow Cooker Instructions

If you don’t have an Instant Pot, you can make this soup on the stove top in a large pot or in the slow cooker.

For the stove top, in a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium high heat and cook the veggies until soft, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the vegetable broth, butternut squash, apple, nutmeg, cinnamon, thyme, rosemary, salt, pepper, and nutmeg, if using.

Reduce the heat to low and cook for 20 to 30 minutes or until the butternut squash is soft. Puree the soup in the pot, using an immersion blender or transfer to a blender to puree.

For the slow cooker, add all of the ingredients to the slow cooker and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours and on high for 3 to 4 hours. Blend with an immersion blender or blender.

Healthy & Delicious

This soup is vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free, but you will never know it because it is SO creamy and delicious. There is no cream or butter in this soup, the butternut squash is thick and creamy on it’s own!

A bowl of this soup will warm you up and fill you up! The tart green apple adds a nice balance to the sweet butternut squash. The fresh thyme, rosemary, cinnamon, and pinch of nutmeg give the soup lots of flavor.

Soup Toppings

The soup is good plain, but it is always fun to add toppings, especially if you are serving to guests. It makes the soup feel more fancy:)

You can garnish the bowls of soup with:

• Fresh herbs (sage, rosemary, parsley, or thyme)
• Pepitas or chopped candied pecans or walnuts
• Homemade croutons
• Roasted chickpeas
• A drizzle of heavy cream or coconut milk
• Chopped crispy pancetta or bacon

Serving Suggestions

The following dishes go great with a warm, satisfying bowl of butternut squash soup.

• Easy Cornbread
• Buttermilk Drop Biscuits
• Parker House Rolls
• Simple Kale Salad
• Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad
• Apple Walnut Quinoa Salad
• Easy Green Salad

How to Store

Let the soup cool to room temperature and then transfer it to an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Reheat in the microwave or on the stove top.

The soup also freezes beautifully. Pour the cooled soup into a freezer container or freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months.

More Soup Recipes

• Sweet Potato Soup
• Lentil Soup
• Vegetable Soup
• Easy Black Bean Soup
• Easy Minestrone Soup
• Easy Pumpkin Soup
• Carrot Ginger Soup

Find all of our Soup Recipes HERE!