How To Make Delicious Butternut Squash Soup

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Easy Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup

Butternut squash soup is a favorite part of cold weather, like cozy slippers, fluffy throws, scented candles, and warm spiced apple cider. It's comfort food at its finest: smooth, creamy, and the most delightful marriage of flavors! Great news! An Instant Pot makes butternut squash soup easy and quick enough for a weeknight meal!

Butternut squash has a bowling pin shape and grows on a vine. The wide portion is the blossom end, where the seeds are stored.

The outer skin is yellowish-tan, but the flesh is orange. It has a sweet, nutty taste. As it ripens, the flesh darkens to a deeper shade of orange and becomes even sweeter. It is a good source of fiber, vitamins C and A, magnesium, and potassium.

How To Make Butternut Squash Soup

The skin of butternut squash is notoriously tough, so you'll need a sturdy cutting board and a sharp knife to cube it for this soup. You can soften the squash a little by piercing it with a fork or knife tip in several places and cooking it for 2 minutes or so in the microwave, but this step is optional.

Begin by cutting off both ends of one medium-sized butternut squash, then cut the squash in half at about the "waist." It's much easier to peel when cut into two smaller sections. Use a knife or a vegetable peeler to remove the tough skin.

You may find it easier to do with a wide, straight vegetable peeler than a swively peeler like you use for potatoes or carrots. Look in the kitchen section of your favorite retailer or find one online.

You'll also need to scoop out the seeds. Butternut squash makes it easy because all the seeds are conveniently stored in its little round belly.

Next, cut each quarter in half lengthwise, then lay flat side down and cut into cubes about 1 inch in size. Put the squash into the instant pot along with a diced tart apple like a Granny Smith, a diced carrot, a chopped onion, some peeled garlic, salt, pepper, spices, and sage. By all means, use fresh sage if you have some. Otherwise, dried is just fine.

Now add 2 cups of vegetable broth. My very favorite vegetable broth is made from Knorr Vegetable Flavor Base. I got hooked on this product, then during the pandemic, it was hard to find in the store. I use it so much, not just in soups, but in dishes like my Easy Skillet Ham and Scalloped Potatoes, that I still buy it online in a restaurant-size tub that makes 11 gallons! I notice Walmart is now carrying it in an 11-ounce jar. Better Than Bouillon makes a good vegetable base, too.

Load everything into the Instant Pot and pressure cook on high for eight minutes. Let the pressure drop, add the coconut milk, then use an immersion blender to puree all the yumminess together. If you don't have an immersion blender, you can puree the soup in two batches in a regular blender or food processor. Do be careful, please. The soup will be hot!

If you are not a fan of coconut milk, feel free to substitute heavy cream. Season to taste, adding more salt or spices until it's just right for you! Serve up in a nice big bowl. If you like, add an extra swirl of coconut milk or cream.

Why You'll Love Butternut Squash Soup

This creamy butternut squash soup tastes like fall in a bowl — smooth, naturally sweet, and gently spiced. It’s easy to make, freezer-friendly, and always a hit at the table.

Butternut squash is a nutritional powerhouse, and I have found many neighbors happily giving away some of their abundant squash harvest. Right now, they are plentiful and prices are low. The sturdy butternut squash has a wonderful flavor- you can use it in place of pumpkin in many recipes, and it keeps for weeks!

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Yield: 8 servings

Butternut Squash Soup

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A cozy, tasty soup that says welcome fall! Smooth, creamy, and vegan when made with coconut milk. You can also use heavy cream.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 8 minutes

Additional Time 10 minutes

Total Time 33 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 medium (uncooked) butternut squash (about 2 to 3 pounds) 
• 1 Granny Smith apple, cored and diced
• 1 carrot, peeled and sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 1 white onion, diced
• 1 sprig fresh sage, or a pinch of dried sage
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, or more to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper, or more to taste
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne, or more to taste
• pinch of ground cinnamon and nutmeg
• 2 cups vegetable stock
• 1/2 cup canned (unsweetened) coconut milk. Can substitute heavy cream.
• optional garnishes: pepitas, extra coconut milk and a sprinkle of smoked paprika (or cayenne pepper)

Instructions

1. Peel and cut the squash into 1-inch cubes.
2. Dice the onion.
3. Peel, core, and dice the apple.
4. Peel and mince the garlic.
5. Peel and slice the carrot.
6. Put all the ingredients in an instant pot along with salt, pepper, spices, and vegetable broth.
7. Cook on high pressure for 8 minutes.
8. Let the pressure release, then add the coconut milk or heavy cream.
9. Puree with an immersion blender or in a regular blender or food processor.
10. Ladle into serving bowls and garnish as desired.

Notes

Please be careful if you use a blender to puree the soup, it will be HOT!

Pepitas make a perfect garnish for butternut squash soup, but garnish away with whatever you want! Fall is soup time, and there are so many wonderful soups to choose from! I love cooking once and eating two or even three times! Most soups get even better when reheated, don't you agree?

Do you have a favorite soup? Here are some of our other favorite soups:

🥣Easy Italian Sausage And White Bean Soup: This hearty, flavorful soup tastes like it simmered all day, but it's ready in 30 minutes, so it's perfect for a weeknight meal! Brimming with tasty sausage, creamy white beans, spinach, and tomatoes for a taste of Tuscany!

🥣Instant Pot Beef Noodle Soup: Tender beef, celery, and carrots combine with noodles in a rich, hearty beef broth. Tastes like it simmered all day, but it's ready in about 90 minutes.

🥣Split Pea and Ham Soup: Here is a recipe for a simple and hearty soup that's meaty enough to be a main dish entree. It tastes amazing, and it's loaded with protein and fiber. An excellent use for leftover ham!

🥣Lasagna Soup: This soup tastes just like lasagna with none of the fuss. You can have it on the table in about an hour! Any night can be an Italian night!

I think you might like this yummy Mountain Dew Cake, too! It's quick and easy because it starts with a cake mix and dry instant pudding!

So yummy! Do you eat soup a lot when the weather gets cooler? Still hungry? Type soup in my search bars and you'll find lots more recipes! Do you have a favorite? If you do and you'd like to share, please drop a note in the comments! I answer every single comment personally!

If you liked this butternut squash soup recipe, you are my people! If you did, please share it on your social media accounts, such as Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter! It would sure tickle me, and I would be ever so grateful!

If you haven't already, please look me up on Facebook and Pinterest, where I share easy, delicious, family-friendly recipes every week!

If you enjoyed a post, I'd love it if you would leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review or a comment. It really helps my little business. ❤❤

🐝 Bee Cozy: Few things say “I love you” quite like a warm bowl of homemade soup. Every time you serve it, you warm the tummy and the soul.

Love, GB (Betty Streff)

Real food. Real kitchen. Real easy.

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