Learn how to make a creamy and delicious butternut squash soup that includes flavors that pair perfectly with the squash.
It’s actually amazing how easy it is to make butternut squash soup. The most difficult part is peeling and chopping up the squash, which can be cumbersome. Because of that, I’m explaining instead how to cook the squash whole, with the peel on. You’ll do that first, and it’s ridiculously easy, and then the rest of the soup-making is a breeze.
Scroll down to read more about how it all comes together or click here to jump straight down to the recipe.
Ingredients
As you read on, you might find it surprising that this soup has coconut milk and basil in it. Most people expect butternut squash soup to have things like pumpkin pie spice in it.
I urge you to try my version since it truly is delicious. But, if you want to go the more traditional route, simply use whole milk in place of the coconut milk, and pumpkin pie spice instead of basil. It’s going to be incredible, and you’ll quickly learn how versatile this soup recipe is.
Another popular variation of roasted butternut squash soup uses curry powder to flavor the soup, which goes wonderfully with the coconut milk. I can’t wait to hear how you flavor yours!
How To Cook Butternut Squash
To make this soup I roasted a whole butternut squash. As in, I roasted it while it was still whole, like this. This is the easiest way to cook a butternut squash, hands down. It also gets you a bit of caramelization flavor.
If you want the squash to be ready even quicker, you can instead microwave it whole, or cook it whole in the Instant Pot. Any of these options will work just fine.
If you bought already peeled and cubed raw squash, you’ll need 4 cups of it, and you can roast it like this or simmer it in salted water until fork-tender, the amount of time it will take depends on how big your cubes are.
Making Butternut Squash Soup
Once your squash is cooked, the soup comes together quickly. Sauté the onion with some butter (or oil to make the soup vegan). Combine the onion and butternut squash with your other ingredients and blend until smooth.
Because butternut squash vary in size a bit, and also in density, your soup may be thicker than you’d like. If this is the case, as you pour the puree back into the saucepan, you can add some stock or broth to thin it out. Vegetable stock is my favorite choice for this.
Heat the soup through, stirring occasionally. Taste and adjust the seasoning to your liking. That’s it!
Try adding some fresh basil on top or even garnish your bowl of soup with roasted pumpkin seeds.
More Butternut Squash Recipes
If you love butternut squash as much as I do, you’re going to love the three recipes I’ve linked to below. And also, be sure to check out my whole collection of over 100 delicious side dish recipes over here.
- Easy Mashed Butternut Squash
- Butternut Squash Casserole
- Roasted Butternut Squash With Cranberry Glaze
Butternut Squash Soup with Coconut Milk Recipe
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
DESCRIPTION
The subtle sweet flavor of the coconut milk works really well with the squash. The lemon mellows out some of the sweetness, and if you’d like, a tiny bit (like half of a teaspoon) of sriracha or other hot sauce adds a lot of depth. You’re going to love it!
Ingredients
- 1 whole (3 lb.) squash*
- 1 Tbsp. butter
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 10 fresh basil leaves, plus more for garnish
- 1 can (13.66 oz.) coconut milk
- 2 Tbsp. maple syrup
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1–2 cups vegetable stock (optional)
- 2 tsp. lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a pan with aluminum foil. Put the whole squash onto the pan. Poke it in several places with a sharp knife. Roast until a skewer or paring knife goes in easily, 60-80 minutes. Or, cook the squash in any way you’d like until soft.
- Once the squash is cooked, heat the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until softened, 2-3 minutes.
- Put the squash, sauteed onion, basil leaves, coconut milk, maple syrup, and salt into a heavy-duty blender or a food processor. Puree until smooth. (Alternately, you can use an immersion blender to puree it all in the saucepan).
- Transfer the mixture back to the sauce pan. If you’d like the soup thinner, stir in vegetable stock to achieve the desired consistency. Heat the soup over medium, stirring occasionally, until steamy and hot but not boiling.
- Remove from heat. Add the lemon juice. Stir.
- Taste. Add more salt and maple syrup if desired.
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Notes
*1 whole 3 lb. squash is equivalent to about 4 cups of cubed raw squash.
This post originally appeared in March 2018 and was revised and republished in November 2023.