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Take the sweet flavors of your butternut squash soup to the next level by roasting the butternut squash. It caramelizes the outsides and gives it more depth and flavor. Roasting it whole means no cutting the squash. Add a whole garlic to the pan for the most delicious roasted garlic flavor!
Butternut squash soup is one of the fall soup recipes of all time. It’s rich and creamy, sweet and savory, and always delicious. It’s a classic soup for Thanksgiving and is easy to freeze for anytime the craving strikes.
Cozy up with a big bowl of creamy butternut squash soup with only 5 simple ingredients!
Why You’ll Love this Butternut Squash Soup
- No cutting the squash.
- Thick and creamy texture.
- The roasted garlic is the secret ingredient.
- Full of fall flavors and spices.
- Naturally sweetened.
- You only need 5 basic ingredients!
- Easy to freeze and reheat.
- Deep (caramelized) roasted butternut squash flavor.
Love butternut squash? Make butternut squash pasta sauce, brown butter butternut squash ravioli, or air fryer butternut squash next.
Ingredients You Need
Here are the simple fresh ingredients for this easy butternut squash soup. Jump to recipe for exact measurements.
- Butternut squash: The main ingredient in this soup and where it gets most of it’s flavor! It makes it so rich and creamy too.
- Garlic: caramelize an entire head of garlic in the oven (thank me later).
- Onion: Sweet onion is a staple to add depth and flavor.
- Olive oil: for cook the squash and onion. Butter is a great option for cooking the onion.
- Maple syrup: this fall flavor adds a touch of sweetness to the recipe.
- Vegetable stock: Or vegetable stock to give it a soup consistency, store bought or homemade. Chicken stock works too.
- Spices: I love to add cinnamon and just a touch of nutmeg to enhance the sweet flavors. Add salt and fresh cracked black pepper as needed!
How to Make Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
These are the step-by-step instructions for this easy butternut squash soup recipe. Jump to recipe card for the printable instructions.
Roast the Squash and Garlic
Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seedy centers. Cut a whole garlic bulb in half crosswise and rub both the squash and garlic with olive oil. Roast them face down with olive oil and salt at 425°F for 40-50 minutes. Set it aside until it’s cool enough to handle.
Blend it Together
While it’s cooling, saute the onion with olive oil or butter. Transfer it to a countertop blender. Scoop the roasted squash from the skin and add it to the blender with the maple syrup, broth, and spices. Squeeze the roasted garlic cloves out of the skin.
Does your blender have a soup preset? Use that! If it doesn’t, blend until smooth then transfer back to the stock pot and simmer to heat. You can use an immersion blender too, but I’ve found a stand blender works best.
Serve and Enjoy!
Transfer the soup back to a large pot and simmer to keep warm. Serve hot soup with fresh herbs like crispy sage or fresh thyme, a swirl of cream or sour cream, or toasted pumpkin seeds.
Why Roast the Butternut Squash?
Roasting the squash in the oven first makes this delicious soup so easy! There are two major reasons I’ve been roasting my squash for soup for years:
- No dicing required! Just cut it in half and roast the butternut squash in two halves. I tested this recipe by dicing the squash because I thought more caramely surface area on the squash might make a difference, but there wasn’t a large enough difference for the amount of work it requires.
- Depth of flavor: roasting vegetables, especially ones with sweet undertones, caramelizes all the sugars and adds a rich and sweet flavor.
Variations and Add-Ins
- Make it creamy: blend in coconut milk to keep it vegan or try heavy cream or creime fresh for a creamy texture.
- Add apples: for sweetness if you have them!
- Curried butternut squash soup: omit the nutmeg and cinnamon and replace them with 1 teaspoon of curry powder and a pinch of turmeric.
- Use acorn squash: swapping another winter squash is easy!
What to Eat with Butternut Squash Soup
Enjoy this soup as an appetizer, side, or main dish! I typically serve it with a salad or sandwich for a light lunch or dinner. Here are a few different ways:
- With bread: crusty bread, sourdough rolls, or avocado toast.
- On its own: with toasted pumpkin seeds, crispy croutons, fried sage, or a swirl of cream.
- Soup and salad: night with brussels sprout caesar salad or la scala chopped salad.
- As a side dish: Eat it as a side with a hearty main dish like baked vegan mac and cheese, healthy sloppy joes, or blackened chicken tenders.
- Soup and sandwich: alongside curry chicken salad or grilled cheese.
- Thanksgiving side: this butternut squash soup stands up against the best Thanksgiving recipes cheesecloth turkey, boursin mashed potatoes, and broccoli casserole.
Storing Leftovers
Allow the soup to cool and store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. Butternut squash soup freezes well laying flat in a freezer bag for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat on the stove.
More Favorite Soups
- Easy vegetable soup
- Lemon lentil soup
- Sweet potato chili
- Ground turkey vegetable soup
- Copycat Panera autumn squash soup
Or check out all of my soup recipes!
Butternut Squash Soup Recipe
Save this Recipe!
Ingredients
- 3 Tablespoons olive oil divided
- 1 medium butternut squash
- 1 whole head garlic
- 3 cups chicken stock, vegetable stock or bone broth
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon sea salt plus more to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper plus more to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F and cover a sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seedy centers. Rub it with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Cut a whole garlic bulb in half crosswise and rub it with more oil. Roast them face down for 40-50 minutes. Check on the garlic at the 30-minute mark and remove it if it's caramelized on the surface. Set it aside until it's cool enough to handle.3 Tablespoons olive oil, 1 medium butternut squash, 1 whole head garlic
- While it's cooling, heat remaining Tablespoon of olive oil in a large dutch oven or stock pot over medium heat. Add the onion and sweat until its translucent and starts to turn golden, 2-3 minutes.1 yellow onion
- Transfer the onion to a stand blender with the vegetable broth, maple syrup, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, and pepper. Use a large spoon to scoop the butternut squash from the skin and add to the blender. Squeeze the roasted garlic into the blender.3 cups chicken stock, vegetable stock or bone broth, 1/4 cup pure maple syrup, 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon sea salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- Cover the blender tight and blend on high until smooth, 1-3 minutes. You can use the soup setting to heat the soup if you have one. If not, return the smooth soup to the pot and simmer over low to warm. Taste and add more salt, pepper, or cinnamon as needed.
- Serve warm with crispy fried sage, heavy cream, crème fraîche, toasted pumpkin seeds, or more cinnamon.
Equipment
- Sheet Pan
- High Speed Blender or Immersion Blender
- Large pot
Nice list! Thanks for that. Homemade can’t be beat. You control everything that goes in and create the greatest dishes.
Harold Burton
hi,
could you use maple extract to lower the carbs?
Absolutely! You could use any sweetener you like for this recipe.
Hi Molly, I can’t wait to try this soup! Thanks for the recipe! I think maybe there is a typo-should the recipe should read 4 TBS not 42? 😉
Hi Christine! LOL yes, you’re right! I fixed it:)