Butternut Squash Soup (Thick & Creamy)

This butternut squash soup recipe is thick, creamy, healthy, and naturally sweet. It’s the perfect cozy and warming fall or winter soup!

Well, it’s just about time to start making all the fall recipes! I’ve held off as long as I can, but I admit I am excited to post this recipe even though I’m a summer girl at heart. This is a bowl of liquid sunshine… look at that color! 

I like to make butternut squash soup with coconut milk (it makes it extra silky and that little bit of coconut flavor makes it taste soo good), but if you wish to leave it out for any reason, it isn’t 100% necessary. 

Want to make this soup in your Instant Pot? Try my Instant Pot butternut squash soup recipe. 

How to peel a butternut squash

Peeling squash isn’t my favorite thing in the world, but from trial and error I’ve found that using a sharp knife is the best way. The peel is very thick, so your standard potato peeler isn’t too effective. Once I cut the squash in half and then into quarters, I just use the knife to basically cut the peel off. I ensure the chunks are stable on the cutting board so I don’t cut myself. Or, you can be more precise and peel it with a knife like you’d peel an apple (if that makes any sense). 

How to make butternut squash soup

1. Prep the squash, carrot, potato, and onion.
2. Sauté the onion in a soup pot.
3. Add the squash, carrot, potato, broth, and cinnamon + nutmeg to the pot. 
4. With the lid slighly ajar, simmer the soup until the vegetables are tender.
5. Blend the soup using a stick blender or regular blender.
6. Stir in the coconut milk and season to taste. 

(See full instructions in the recipe card below). 

Pro tip: With this soup, I err on the side of caution and add less liquid to start with. It’s always easy to add more when you’re in the blending stage. The potato helps make this soup thicker and more hearty. It’s a nice little trick you can use to easily help thicken blended soups like this one. 

If you love butternut squash recipes, you may like my butternut squash pasta. Or try my hasselback butternut squash for a fun and impressive side dish you can add to your fall table (or keep it simple and try my honey cinnamon roasted butternut squash).

Some recipe notes:

• You don’t have to discard the squash seeds – try roasting them like in this roasted butternut squash seeds (5 ways) recipe. 
• Want to add a little zip to the soup? Grate in some fresh ginger! 
• Need to make this a vegan butternut squash soup? Omit the butter and use vegetable broth. 
• This soup freezes well. Or you can keep it in the fridge for a few days. 

What to serve with butternut squash soup:

Try a couple slices of fresh bread (sourdough or a baguette is perfect), some garlic bread, or add some croutons like I did for the photos. 

More fall soups you’ll love:

• Butternut Squash Carrot Soup
• Roasted Butternut Squash and Cauliflower Soup
• Spicy Chipotle Sweet Potato Soup
• Thai Coconut Squash Soup
• Acorn Squash and Carrot Soup

I hope you’ll give this easy butternut squash soup a try!

Questions? Let me know in the comments below. 

5 from 1 vote

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Butternut Squash Soup

This butternut squash soup recipe is thick, creamy, healthy, and naturally sweet. It's the perfect cozy and warming fall or winter soup!

Course Soup

Cuisine American

Keyword butternut squash soup

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Servings 6

Author Salt & Lavender

Ingredients

• 4 pounds butternut squash peeled, seeded, & cut into pieces
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 medium onion chopped
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1 large carrot peeled & sliced
• 1 large Russet potato peeled & diced
• 3 cups chicken or veggie broth
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• Salt & pepper to taste
• 1 (5.4 ounce) can coconut milk (I used full fat)

Instructions

1. Prep your squash (cut it into roughly 1.5" pieces), onion, carrot, and potato. To easily peel the squash, I carefully use a knife since the peel is thick, and I find potato peelers don't do a good job.

2. Add the oil and butter to a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion to the pot and sauté for 5 minutes.

3. Stir in the garlic, carrot, potato, squash, broth, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Increase the heat to high and bring the soup to a boil. The liquid likely won't completely cover everything, and that's fine.

4. Once it's boiling, cover the pot with the lid slightly ajar. Reduce the heat so it's simmering but not boiling furiously. Cook until the veggies are soft (easily pierced with a knife), about 15-20 minutes depending how large you cut everything.

5. Blend the soup using either an immersion blender (that's what I used) or a regular blender. Do this with caution. You may want to let the soup cool for a while first. The soup will be quite thick. If it's too thick for you, I recommend adding 1/2 cup of broth at a time until the desired consistency is reached.

6. Stir in the coconut milk and season with salt & pepper as needed (I was pretty generous with both).

Recipe Notes

• I used one of those tiny cans of Thai Kitchen coconut milk. If you can't find a small can, use 1/2 of a regular size can. You can leave out the coconut milk if you wish, but I like the added silkiness and coconut flavor it adds.
• I usually end up buying two smaller squashes because I can't always find one that's around 4 pounds. 
• Want to make this in your Instant Pot? Here's the recipe.