Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
This simple homemade butternut squash soup is the best I've ever tasted! It's super creamy (yet cream-less) and full of delicious roasted butternut flavor.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on July 10, 2024
Let’s cozy up with a bowl of warm, creamy butternut squash soup. Butternut squash and cool weather go together like they were made for each other—which, really, they were. I was so happy to find butternut in stock again, and came home to make my favorite soup.
My butternut squash soup is ultra creamy and full of complex roasted butternut squash flavor. This recipe has become a smash hit with readers, receiving a 5-star rating from well over 500 reviews!
This traditional butternut squash soup will round out your fall and winter meals. Serve it with grilled cheese sandwiches and salads through the end of winter. Keep it in mind for the holidays, too. I designed this soup to complement typical Thanksgiving fare, like green beans and mashed potatoes.
This easy butternut squash soup recipe is also a great make-ahead option. In fact, it tastes even better the next day. Let’s get to it!
The Best Butternut Squash Soup
Here’s why readers love this recipe:
Simple Ingredients
I kept the ingredients list simple so the squash flavor can shine through, but the end result offers exceptionally rich flavor. You’ll only need eight basic ingredients to make this luscious soup: butternut squash, olive oil, butter, shallot, garlic, vegetable broth, maple syrup and nutmeg.
Butter is Better than Cream
A little bit of butter rounds out the flavor and makes it truly irresistible, without weighing down the soup like heavy cream tends to do. (You can substitute olive oil for vegan/dairy-free soup. It’s already vegetarian.) That’s a little trick that I used in my tomato soup in my cookbook, too. It’s by far the best butternut squash soup I’ve ever tasted, and infinitely better than any canned or boxed option.
Roasted Butternut Yields Major Flavor
Most of this soup’s flavor comes from the cooking method, which starts with roasting the butternut squash to bring out its caramelized best. Bonus! That means you don’t have to peel and chop the squash. Once the squash is out of the oven, you can start sautéing some shallot and garlic.
Serve It Now or Later
If you’re planning to make this soup for company, you can serve the soup straight from your blender. Or, make it the day before and reheat it in your blender or in a pot on the stove. Thanksgiving table real estate is always limited, so you might want to serve this soup in matching mugs or tea cups to leave room for the salad plates.
Garnishes Are Optional
This soup really doesn’t need a garnish, but feel free to add a sprinkle of freshly ground black pepper or some toasted pepitas (green pumpkin seeds) for extra visual appeal.
How to Blend Butternut Soup
This is when the soup deviates from other butternut squash soups. You usually have two options, and I don’t recommend either of them:
- You can add the remaining ingredients to the pot and then try to blend it with an immersion blender, which inevitably leaves the soup disappointingly gritty.
- You can very carefully transfer hot soup to a blender in batches, which is always a little harrowing but yields creamier results.
I found a better way with this soup. We’re going to use a stand blender, since it yields creamier soup (see recipe notes if you’re determined to use an immersion blender).
Here’s the gist: Instead of warming all of the ingredients in the pot, simply transfer scoops of roasted butternut squash and sautéed shallot and garlic to the blender. Then, pour in the vegetable broth and remaining ingredients. Blend it until it’s ultra creamy.
If you have a regular stand blender:
Any stand blender will do! Once you’ve blended the ingredients into creamy oblivion, pour the soup back into your soup pot. Warm it up on the stove over medium heat, stirring occasionally. That’s it.
If you have a fancy blender with a soup preset:
Use the soup preset, and you can serve your hot soup straight from the blender. I used my Vitamix (affiliate link/provided by Vitamix) and it worked great. The container is 64 ounces, which allowed me to fit all of the ingredients for this soup without surpassing the maximum fill line.
If you have a fancy blender without a soup preset:
(By fancy, I mean a high-end performance Vitamic, Blendtec, KitchenAid or similar.) Oftentimes, blending your soup for 4 to 6 minutes will heat it up sufficiently to serve directly from the blender. Consult your manufacturer’s directions for details.
Or, simply pour the mixture back into your soup pot and reheat on the stove. That will certainly work.
More Butternut Squash Recipes to Enjoy
Extra butternut squash? Here are some fun recipes to use it up:
- Balsamic Butternut, Kale and Cranberry Panzanella
- Butternut Squash Chipotle Chili with Avocado
- Roasted Butternut Squash Risotto
- Roasted Butternut Squash Tacos
- Roasted Butternut Squash, Pomegranate and Wild Rice Stuffing
Please let me know how this butternut soup turns out for you in the comments! Your feedback is so important to me, and I hope you love this soup as much as I do. It’s my absolute favorite.
Watch How to Make Butternut Squash Soup
Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
This homemade butternut squash soup is the best I’ve ever tasted! This recipe is super creamy (yet cream-less) and full of delicious butternut flavor. Leftover soup tastes even better the next day. Recipe yields about 4 bowls or 6 cups of soup.
Ingredients
- 1 large butternut squash (about 3 pounds), halved vertically* and seeds removed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- ½ cup chopped shallot (about 1 large shallot bulb)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 3 to 4 cups (24 to 32 ounces) vegetable broth, as needed
- 1 to 2 tablespoons butter, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the butternut squash on the pan and drizzle each half with just enough olive oil to lightly coat the squash on the inside (about ½ teaspoon each). Rub the oil over the inside of the squash and sprinkle it with salt and pepper.
- Turn the squash face down and roast until it is tender and completely cooked through, about 40 to 50 minutes (don’t worry if the skin or flesh browns—that’s good for flavor). Set the squash aside until it’s cool enough to handle, about 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a large soup pot, warm 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat until shimmering (if your blender has a soup preset, use a medium skillet to minimize dishes.) Add the chopped shallot and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring often, until the shallot has softened and is starting to turn golden on the edges, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute, stirring frequently. Transfer the contents to your stand blender (see notes on how to use an immersion blender instead).
- Use a large spoon to scoop the butternut squash flesh into your blender. Discard the tough skin. Add the maple syrup, nutmeg and a few twists of freshly ground black pepper to the blender. Pour in 3 cups vegetable broth, being careful not to fill the container past the maximum fill line (you can work in batches if necessary, and stir in any remaining broth later).
- Securely fasten the lid. Blend on high (or select the soup preset, if available), being careful to avoid hot steam escaping from the lid. Stop once your soup is ultra creamy and warmed through.
- If you would like to thin out your soup a bit more, stir in the remaining cup of broth. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons butter or olive oil, to taste, and blend well. Taste and stir in more salt and pepper, if necessary.
- If your soup is piping hot from the blending process, you can pour it into serving bowls. If not, pour it back into your soup pot and warm the soup over medium heat, stirring often, until it’s nice and steamy. I like to top individual bowls with some extra black pepper.
Notes
*How to safely slice your butternut squash: You’ll need a sharp chef’s knife and a slip-free cutting board (place a lightly damp tea towel beneath your cutting board to keep it from moving around). Use the knife to cut off the tip-top and very bottom ends of the squash. Stand the squash upright with the thickest flat side as the base. Carefully slice through it from top to bottom to divide it in half (your fingers should never be in the blade’s way). Lastly, use a large spoon to scoop out the seeds and discard them.
Make it dairy free/vegan: Substitute high-quality olive oil for the butter. It will make your soup taste luxurious and lightly herbal.
Storage suggestions: Let leftover soup cool to room temperature before transferring it to a proper storage container and refrigerating it for up to 4 days (leftovers taste even better the next day!). Or, freeze this soup for up to 3 months.
If you are working with an immersion blender: Cook the shallot mixture in a large soup pot. Then add the scoops of cooked butternut squash, all 4 cups of broth, maple syrup, nutmeg and a few twists of freshly ground black pepper. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 to 20 minutes so the flavors have a chance to meld. Carefully use your immersion blender to blend the soup completely, then add 1 to 2 tablespoons butter or olive oil, to taste, and blend again. Taste and blend in more salt and pepper, if necessary.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Wow! Just made this and it was so good! I subbed chicken stock and white onion as that’s what I had on hand. Will definitely be making this again!
Great, Lisa! Thanks for taking the time to review.
I’ve made this 3 times and it is great! It is so smooth and flavorful.
Wonderful, Jacquelyn!
OMG, absolutely delicious!! Made exactly as directed with my Vitamix. Only addition was crumbled crispy sage on top (hot olive oil, fresh sage leaves, salt, and one minute!). Thank you, this will become a regular for me!!
Oh that sounds like a delicious addition. Thanks for sharing, Regina!
This soup turned out amazing. The only adjustment I made was adding a heaping tablespoon of cream cheese instead of butter at the end. I used a Ninja blender and it pureed it beautifully. It was absolutely delicious. The site says it tastes better the next day…if there’s any left…
Thank you, Tina for sharing! I appreciate your twist.
Very tasty! I must have done something wrong tho. It came out a bit grainy. Did I not blend it enough?
That would likely be the case. Also make sure your squash is nice and roasted completely.
Can I use a food processor in lieu of the Vitamix?
Yes! Just be careful of the steam.
Delicious! As a fantastic finishing touch to this great soup, I added a sprinkle of crumbled Italian Amaretti cookies to each bowl—the burst of almond flavor really puts the taste over the top!
Thank you, William!
I made this last night but roasted cubed butternut instead. Amazingly good soup.
Thank you!
Does this soup freeze well?
I believe other readers have tried it and it’s worked well!
I make the soup and then put it in a rectangular glade ware container (the size you would use for food preps). Put it in a freezer for a day so it becomes a brick. Then pop it out of the container and place the brick of soup into a Foodsaver bag and vacuum seal it. It will last for a year without getting any frost or freezer burn. Once defrosted it makes one large bowl of soup or two smaller cups.
I also do the same freezer method for home made turkey gravy or cranberry sauce that’s left over from thanksgiving.
I made this once and MY GOODNESS it was magical!!!!
Magical!? Love that! Thanks for sharing and for your review.
You absolutely DO NOT need a vitamix for this recipe. I have a 10+ year old basic cuisinart blender and I put half of the roasted squash and sautéed onions and garlic with 1 cup of room temperature broth in and start at the lowest setting and work my way up to purée and it’s perfect! Then I do the other half and put the entire mixture in a saucepan to heat when needed. Ps I also added a couple shakes of cinnamon.
Thanks for sharing. I prefer my Vitamix, but yes can work with other. Just be careful!
My 1st attempt at Roasted Butternut Squash ANYTHING!! toasted the seeds, very yummy.. soup was Delicious!! I added a bit of table cream, just a tad and Voila!!!
Wonderful! Thank you, Patricia for sharing.
This soup is delicious!! Over the years, I’ve used several different butternut squash recipes and this is by far the best. I love it and my husband requests it often. Thank you!
Great! Thank you, Maureen!
I made this verbatim minus the nutmeg because I don’t like it at all but I do like cinnamon so I used that instead. And a splash of red cooking wine after I threw in the garlic and butter to break up the fondt. Other than those two things I followed the recipe exactly. And wow. I was so surprised. It was really easy but the end result tastes like I spent 5 years in a French culinary school. It was SO good. This recipe will be used every fall!
That’s great! I’m happy it has your seal of approval.
YUM! Excellent recipe. We served with greek yogurt, apple chunks and toasted the seeds from the squash! Completely forgot the butter at the end and the syrup… but turned out wonderfully!
Sounds delicious, Emilia!
Help – I am excited to make this recipe but don’t currently own a Vitamix or even an immersion blender. :( Can I use a plain old blender? Is there a work around?
Hi Kristin, if it is a high powered blender you should be able to make it work. Just be very careful with the hot contents and that steam can get out as you are blending.
The soup is silky and creamy. I added a sweet potato and a regular potato since I was short on squash, added a touch more sweetness with 1/2 T of local honey and spiced the soup with a pinch of cayenne. The balance of sweet and heat is really nice with the buttery richness.
Thanks for sharing, Meg!
Just made this! Delicious! I roasted my garlic and shallot eliminating the need for a pan :) worked great! Thank you!
You’re welcome, Miranda! Thanks for sharing your experience. :)
thank you for sharing. Had no maple syrup-used honey—no vegetable both-used chicken broth, finally no fresh garlic-used garlic pepper salt. Basically had left over baked butternut squash in the fridge. I peeled it cubed it, heated olive oil, garlic pepper, honey & allspice (out of nutmeg) added cubed squash– added boiling chicken bouillon liquid. Returned to soft boil–mashed cubes with fork and carefully placed in regular blender. Yumm. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you for sharing!
I made this soup using butter and my Ninja blender…it is amazing! Several ladies asked me for the recipe. It is now a new fall favorite of mine!
Great to hear, Brenda!
I just took a vegan cooking class focused on butternut squash. The chef suggested not to seed the squash before roasting – he said the seeds add a dimensional flavor to the squash – and they’re far easier to remove After roasting. He also used coconut milk which added a lovely supporting undercurrent of richness. Made sense to me because I’m so lazy….. That being said, I’m a big fan of C & K. Thanks for the continued inspiration!
That’s an interesting idea with the seeds! I will have to try it. Thanks so much for sharing.
I have made this soup three times now! I love it! Thank you!
Hooray! Love that, Riley. Thanks for your star review.
This is absolutely amazing and delicious soup! Thank you so much for this recipe. I am printing it and it goes into my special recipe binder.
Making this delicious soup for the third time this morning. I love it!!
Wonderful, Nan!
Thank you for this recipe, we love our Vitamix, bought it on Amazon Prime Day so it was more affordable, it makes making soup so easy. Just fyi, the photos of the soup have a mustard yellow look to them on our monitor. It looks pretty bad, quite shiny and yellow.
Amazon is great! I’m glad you were able to get such a deal.
Mmm thank you! I made a double batch with oil to keep it plant based. My squash may have been on the large side and my tastebuds wanted a bit more flavor so I topped it with cool yogurt, peppery cilantro, sunflower seeds to substitute for pepitas and a handful of chickpeas to fuel my afternoon in the art studio. Yum!
Oh delicious! Thank you, Elizabeth.
THanks for recipe!! I didn’t have maple do used pancake syrup. It worked great!
Great to hear! I appreciate the review, Sandra!
OMG this is the best. For years I have tried to make a good butternut squash soup but they were either too bland or too sweet, this was the greatest!! I did omit the maple syrup and added smoked paprika to the shallots when cooking. I also topped with some pepitas. OMG again. I can’t wait to make this for my daughter when she is back from college for the winter break. Thank you for this you have made my day.
Love it! You made my day :) Thanks so much for your review, Cheryl.
My first time making butternut squash soup. Following your recipe made it easy. I do not have a Vitamix so I used the immersion blender. Soup came out perfect. Very creamy and tasty.
I’m happy to hear that, Christa!
Can I make this ahead of time and freeze the roasted butternut squash soup.
I don’t freeze all my soups but I believe others have had luck!
It would be much easier for you to provide a list and amounts of ingredients at the start. A shopping list if you will.
I thought I saw reference to black beans so I bought a can and will add aft blending.
I’ll let you know how it goes.
Super easy to make and delicious! I used immersion blender. Sprinkled top with Parmesan at serving.
Thank you, Karen!
AMAZING!!!!
Very easy to make!
DELICIOUS!
Wonderful to hear, Karl! Love your excitement :)
This soup was delicious. The best I have ever had. There’s a flavor in it that’s different for me. Either the shallot or nutmeg but it was just fabulous and easy to make. Thank you!
I’m happy you love this just as much as I do! Thanks for sharing, Carolyn.
Wow! I just made this soup and it was so easy and so good. I can’t wait for my husband to try it. I will definitely save the recipe and make it again!
Oh lovely soup for right now! I hope your husband enjoyed it just as much as you.
I made this soup when our neighbor gave us a huge winter squash (not butternut). Other than the type of squash I followed the recipe as is. The soup is excellent! Added bonus is that my grandson, who has food allergies, can eat it. It has become a family favorite. It is also very good made with pumpkin.
Thank you, Jan for sharing! I really appreciate your review. :)
Holy garlic! I was worried about the four cloves plus the shallot (which is already a bit garlicky) and rightfully so! The soup came out smooth and creamy, and I liked how easy it was to scoop after roasting, but next time I will drop this down to 1-2 cloves.
Sure! Adjust to your specific taste, Angela. I really like the additional garlic here. :)
My husband and I rate new recipes out of 10 and after trying this one out, we both gave it a 10 out of 10! I added a half cup of chopped parsley simply because we have an abundance of it from our garden and it still tasted great!
10 out of 10! Wonderful! Thank you, Patty.
I did make it. I’ve never had butternut squash soup before. I did tweak it a little. I used chicken broth and regular onion. It is very tasty.
Thank you for your review, Marion!
Absolutely delicious, my first time making any butternut squash soup and I’m glad I picked this simple, easy recipe! I used an immursion blender, and was a bit worried since some of my squash didn’t seemed cooked through (I had cooked it a few days ago not sure what I was going to do with it since kids wouldn’t eat it), but the squash all cooked as it simmered. I also used chicken broth but still!
AMAZING!! Even my 7 year old just had a taste and gave 2 thumbs up, who wouldn’t touch the squash before hand!
Two thumbs & 5 stars, thank you! :)
Delicious
Thank you, Judy!
This is the second time I made this soup. It is so simple but so delicious! This is one of my favorite soups. I am so happy you shared this receipe, thank you!
You’re welcome, MaryAnn! I’m glad you like this one.
I made a pot of this soup tonight and cant believe how sim0le and delicious it is! Cant go wrong eith this reciepe.
Thank you! I love it. :)
this is damn good stuff, makes me feel good
Ha! Love that, Viv. Thanks for sharing.
Cookie and Kate, I have made this butternut squash soup several times. It is absolutely addicting! I shared with coworkers and my oldest sister. She pulled huge butternut squash out of her garden, and she ended up using your stuffed butternut recipe- super delicious!
I have also made your apple muffins. I find your recipes healthy and incredible. THANKS!
Phyllis Stedford
You’re so sweet, Phylllis! I’m glad you love this recipe and have made it so much.
I just made this soup and it was delish!! I made my own vegetable broth to cut down on the sodium!! I Only gave it four stars because of store bought broth!
Thanks for sharing, Amy!
I was looking for some new way to make my favorite butternut squash soup and I’m gald that google helped me to come accross this one. It is absolutely the best version of this soup I’ve ever had.
Glad to hear that, Aria!
I enjoyed your recipe. I was attracted to it because it excluded dairy and a lot of sugar. I would reduce the amount of garlic by half. I only used 3 cloves, and it was very strong. Next time I will try adding some ginger as suggested below.
Thanks for sharing, Peggy! Let me know what you think the next time you make it. :)
Hi
Would the amount of squash from the 3 lb squash by equal to 6 cups?
Really good. Had to season it a bit more and added half coconut cream and half broth. Really good. Added some cayenne to spice it up some.
Thank you for sharing, Donna!