Squash Soup Recipe

A silky, flavorful squash soup recipe using a combination of roasted squash, fresh herbs, onion and garlic. This is my favorite easy, healthy vegan lunch or dinner!

I make this soup or a variation of it several times a month all winter long because it’s that cozy, that silky, and that reliable. Roasting the squash brings out a natural sweetness, while fresh herbs make the flavor deep and comforting.

This recipe works beautifully with roasted squash or even canned butternut puree if you’re short on time! Top each bowl with spiced pepitas, a swirl of olive oil, or homemade croutons for contrast.

If you’re looking for more winter comfort, you might also love my lamb stew recipe, quinoa vegetarian meatballs, or red chili with ground beef.

Ingredients & Substitutions

• Vegetable Stock or Vegetable Broth
• Kosher Salt: I like to use kosher salt in my cooking because it is less salty per teaspoon than other types of salt.
• Butternut Squash
• Onions: Sweet, white, and yellow onions will work for this recipe, but I most commonly use yellow onions and sweet onions. Those are also my favorite onions to use in my Best French Onion Soup!
• Garlic
• Olive Oil: Olive oil is used to sauté the aromatics before adding the broth and other ingredients. You could use avocado oil here as well.
• Black Pepper

• Roasted kabocha squash, or Blue Hubbard
• Fresh sage, thyme, and rosemary: Cooking woody herbs like rosemary and sage in oil pulls out and intensifies their flavors, which can otherwise be lost in a dish like soup. You could use dried herbs. I would still add the dried herbs with the garlic and onion to try to soften and coax out as much flavor as possible.
• Pepitas: The spiced pepitas are optional but who doesn’t love a little crunch. You could also roll with croutons. Maybe made from leftover pumpkin dinner rolls or pumpkin challah!

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Variations for Creamy Butternut Squash Soup

• Incorporate different veggies. You can swap in parsnips, russet potatoes, or sweet potatoes.
• Add an apple! Adding a tart apple, like a Granny Smith, when you add the squash will give you a sweet-tangy lift that’s especially fun in autumn.
• Could you use your freshly separated seeds to make the topping? Yes, but who has the time for that? Pepitas are just the soft seed within the casing and are much more palatable anyways.

Professional Tips

• Roast for flavor, not just softness. Roasting the squash cut-side down develops caramelization on the edges. This deepens sweetness and prevents watery soup!
• Best to peel the squash. Technically the skin is edible and soft when baked covered and I do not peel before serving, but I do peel it before using in soup or making puree. I do find it easier to remove the skin when it is hot but it is still very easy to do once cold.
• Add the stock in stages as you blend. This keeps the soup thick and creamy instead of accidentally thinning it too much.

How to Make Squash Soup

Use these instructions to make the perfect squash soup every time! Further details and measurements can be found in the recipe card below.

How to roast butternut squash for soup:

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350°F.

I choose to slow roast the butternut rather than roasting at a higher temperature to allow for a little caramelization. It’s optional. Do what you need to do!

Step 2: Cut the top and bottom off the butternut squash with a large chef’s knife. Stand the squash upright on the bottom – you just cut a nice flat surface, which will make a solid base to slice the squash in half. Use the chef’s knife to cut the squash in half lengthwise, pushing down from the top of the knife, keeping your fingers clear of the blade!

Step 3: Scoop out the seeds and either throw them out or set them aside to clean and roast (photo 1).

Step 4: Prepare the baking sheet. Line a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper and place the squash cut side up on the baking pan. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt. Flip them over, cut side down. Poke some holes using a fork or the tip of your knife (carefully!) up and down the length of the squash (photo 2).

Step 5: Roast until tender. Place it in the oven and bake until they are soft when pressed with your finger or provide no resistance with a paring knife. The roasting time will vary greatly by the size of your squash! Expect anywhere from 25 – 40 minutes.

Step 6: Scoop all the soft, roasted butternut squash flesh from the skins and set aside or cool and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

How to roast kabocha or Blue Hubbard squash for soup:

Step 7: Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Step 8: Cut the top and bottom off the kabocha squash with a large chef’s knife. Stand the squash upright on the bottom – you just cut a nice flat surface, which will make a solid base to slice the squash in half. Use the chef’s knife to cut the squash in half lengthwise, pushing down from the top of the knife, keeping your fingers clear of the blade! Kabocha have thick rinds, so this might take some force; you can also pick the whole thing up and bang it down on the cutting board while keeping your fingers clear of the knife blade!

Honestly, a cleaver would be a better tool, but I don’t have one. If your grocery store sells them by the half, consider it a blessing straight from God to your kitchen and pick one up! Or 2 because paying a little more is worth saving the effort! Trust me.

Step 9: Scoop out the seeds and either throw them out or set them aside to clean and roast.

Step 10:  Cut into pieces. Working one half of the squash at a time, cut strips about 2 inches wide. Then cut each of those strips into 2 inch pieces. This is approximate. It really doesn’t matter, you just want them to be of a similar size. Repeat with the other half, if you have one (photo 3)!

Step 11: Arrange on a baking sheet. Place all the pieces skin side down (cut side face up!) on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. They can all be crammed together; don’t worry about it. Sprinkle with a little kosher salt and cover with another piece of parchment paper and then a large piece of aluminum foil. Seal the edges down around the squash by curling the foil around the rim of the baking pan.

You can also do this in a large roasting pan or baking dish, depending on how much squash you are cooking and your personal pan selection.

Step 12: Bake until tender. Bake in a preheated oven until the squash is soft and can be pierced easily with a cake tester or pairing knife. This typically takes me around 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and remove parchment and foil from the top.

How to Make Roasted Squash Soup:

Use a Dutch oven or thick-bottomed skillet. Heat olive oil over medium heat until it is hot but not smoking.

Step 13: Sweat the aromatics. In a medium sauce pot add 2 tablespoons olive oil, the onion and herbs. Turn the heat to medium-low and sweat the herbs and onion until almost translucent (photo 4). 

Sweating is the term for cooking aromatics enough to release their moisture but not enough to brown them.

Step 14: Add the minced garlic to the pot. If the onions stick even on low heat, add a little more olive oil. Continue to sweat until the onions are transparent (photo 5).

Step 15: Add the squash & half of the stock. Simmer over medium-low to allow the squash to break down into the stock (photos 6 & 7).

Step 16: Blend the soup. Using an immersion blender, blend the soup while still in the pot, adding a little stock at a time until the resulting soup is smooth, pourable but viscous, or where you want it (photo 8)!

You can also purée the soup in a traditional blender with the pour spout open to let steam escape. Consider covering the hole with a folded kitchen towel to protect from hot splatters and mess. Depending on the size of your stand blender, you might need to do this in batches, don’t exceed the maximum fill line! You can still loosen with stock as you go.

Step 17: Taste and season. Taste the soup for seasoning and add fresh ground black pepper and kosher salt to taste. 

How to make roasted pepitas:

Step 18: Toss and roast the seeds. In a medium bowl, toss the pumpkin seeds with olive oil, salt and spices. Spread onto a baking pan lined with a piece of parchment paper.

Step 19: Stir until golden. Stir or toss the seeds frequently either while roasting in the oven or pan. Once they look matte (no longer shiny) and have started to turn a golden brown, remove them to cool on the baking sheet (photo 9).

Step 20: Serve in bowls with pepitas and/or croutons sprinkled on top (photo 10).

Recipe FAQs

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Winter Dinner Recipes

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Before You Go

I hope you enjoyed this cozy weeknight recipe. Check out our other delicious soup recipes!