Creamy Squash Soup

This squash soup recipe is everything fall! Serve a cup or bowl of this lusciously creamy puree with any fall meal.

What’s more quintessential for fall and winter than a great Squash Soup recipe? This cozy orange puree warms you from the inside out, ideal with a grilled cheese for lunch or as a first course to Thanksgiving dinner. Sure, it takes a while to peel and dice the squash: but that’s all part of the fun! This is the top way to use the season’s most popular squash, the mighty butternut, but it works with other varieties as well. Through the years we’ve honed our recipe to perfection: and we think you’ll love this creamy, classic take.

Ingredients in squash soup

There are many different ways to make a squash soup, and here’s ours! A few secrets: adding a potato to the mix helps to round out the creamy texture (using only squash can make the texture rather grainy). There’s no need for heavy cream: just a handful of vegetables and spices make a robust, cozy flavor. Here’s what you’ll need for this squash soup recipe:

Olive oil
Shallot
Celery
Garlic
Butternut squash
Red potato
Vegetable broth
Dried sage, nutmeg, and cinnamon
Sugar
Kosher salt

Types of squash for soup

The best types of squash for squash soup? Butternut squash is a favorite: its naturally sweet flavor makes it ideal for pureed soup. But there are lots of other types that work well here! Just make sure to taste the finished soup and adjust the sugar and salt to taste, since all squashes vary in sugar content. Here are a few types of squash that work well:

Butternut squash: a pear-shaped winter squash with pale orange skin. Its flavor is sweet and subtly nutty, almost like a mild sweet potato.
Acorn squash: a round, yellow and green squash that’s easy to find in grocery stores; its flavor can be slightly less sweet
Delicata squash: a yellow and orange oblong shaped squash with a very sweet flavor; this is a favorite of ours (it’s great as squash fries)
Kabocha squash: a Japanese variety that’s similar to butternut squash, with a more buttery texture

How to peel and cut butternut squash

If you use butternut squash for this squash soup, it’s notoriously difficult to peel and cut. But it’s well worth it in the end: we promise! Here are a few tips for how to cut butternut squash:

Slice off the neck first. Peeling and chopping the base and neck separately makes its oblong shape easier to handle.
Peel with a serrated peeler. It’s easier to peel tough-skinned vegetables with a squash peeler because the serrated edges grip the skin. (Here’s the serrated peeler we use.)
Slice into planks, then chop. Cut the base and neck into planks, then dice them.

Squash soup variation: curried

This squash soup recipe is classic, with a straightforward squash flavor. Want to mix it up a bit? Our favorite variation is a curried squash soup! Warm curry spices accent the sweet squash perfectly. Here’s what we’d recommend adding to the mix:

1 tablespoon finely grated ginger (add with the garlic)
1 cup full fat coconut milk (add when blending)
2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste (add when blending)

Butternut squash nutrition

Is butternut squash healthy? You’re in luck: it’s a great source of fiber and other vitamins. Here’s a little breakdown on the nutrition info of butternut squash:

Butternut squash is a good source of fiber. It’s got 7 grams per 1 cup diced, or about 28% of your daily need (source). You’ll get that in one serving of this butternut squash soup, along with more from the other ingredients.
Butternut squash is also high in Vitamin A and Vitamin C. The same serving size also provides 457% of your daily Vitamin A and 52% of your daily Vitamin C. (Source)
Butternut squash is a low calorie food. 1 cup has 82 calories.

Ways to serve squash soup

This squash soup recipe is creamy and delicious: but it’s not a meal in itself! You’ll need to add a decent source of protein to this soup to make it a meal. Here are some ideas for what to serve with squash soup:

Grilled cheese like Gourmet Grilled Cheese or Grilled Cheese in the Oven
Hearty salad like Brussels Sprout Salad or Pear Salad with Pecans
Grain salad like Hearty Farro Salad or Farro with Mushrooms & Parmesan
Crackers and cheese like smoked gouda or havarti
Toast with goat cheese
Muffins like Classic Cornbread Muffins or Apple Oatmeal Muffins

More squash recipes

What else can you make with the season’s best produce? Here are a few more squash recipes to add to your arsenal:

Try Butternut Squash Salad or make a pan of Butternut Squash Lasagna
Go for Mashed Butternut Squash or Butternut Squash Puree
Opt for classic Roasted Butternut Squash or Perfect Baked Butternut Squash
Grab Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese
Go for Roasted Delicata Squash, Roasted Spaghetti Squash or Stuffed Acorn Squash

This squash soup recipe is…

Vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free and gluten-free.