This creamy butternut squash soup is the perfect fall meal when you want something warm, comforting, and delicious. We’ve been making it for over fifteen years ever since I became obsessed with butternut squash soup and everyone who’s tried it loves it! And the spiced pumpkin seeds on top give the soup not only a little crunch but so much fall flavor!
Want to save this recipe?
Enter your email below and we’ll send this idea straight to your inbox (plus you’ll receive fun weekly ideas from us too!)
My husband first came up with this soup recipe about fifteen years ago when we were fully engrossed in watching Food Network for Friday night date nights. I was not so adventurous in my eating back then so eating butternut squash soup was a stretch for me. And spiced pepitas on top? No, thank you.
But he convinced me to try it and ever since then, it’s become one of my favorite fall meals. It’s pretty much what you would imagine if you imagined a fall day – warm, comforting, and full of fall spices and flavors.
You can eat it without the spiced pepitas on top of course, but they really add so much to this soup, I personally never eat it without them!
When everyone else is bringing homemade chicken noodle soup and white chicken chili to your next soup swap party, bring this butternut squash soup to mix things up!
Why people love this
- Easy – this soup is about as easy as it gets. You roasted the squash, blend it up, then warm it up on the stove with some cream and spices. Perfect for doubling, tripling, or even quadrupling to share with family and friends!
- Freezes great – not only can you make this ahead of time, but you can also freeze any leftovers so you can enjoy creamy butternut squash soup throughout the fall season even if you only make it once!
- Fall flavors – we love to eat by the season, so this is the perfect way to use all those fall squashes!
Ingredients in butternut squash soup
Ingredient Notes + Substitutions
- Pure maple syrup – we like the warm combo of the maple with the sweet butternut squash but you could also substitute this with honey if you prefer. Oh and make sure it’s actual maple syrup, not the fake kind. If you don’t have pure maple syrup, go for honey.
- Butternut squash – you can use fresh, frozen, or even already chopped (the fastest option). It all works great!
- Flake salt – I love using flake salt in soups because it just melds in better but you can also just use regular classic sea salt. You’ll also want classic sea salt for the pepitas and squash.
- Pumpkin seeds – also called pepitas, shelled pumpkin seeds are becoming all the rage these days and so much easier to find now than they were when we started making this soup years ago!
How to make creamy butternut Squash Soup
This squash soup is souper (see what I did there) simple to make! I’ve included the basic outline below but make sure to read the full recipe card at the bottom of this post for all of the measurements and details!
1 – roast the butternut squash
- Toss the cubed butternut squash with salt and olive oil.
- Spread into a single layer on a parchment or foil lined baking sheet.
- Bake in a 400 degree oven for 25-30 minutes or until fork tender.
- Combine the roasted butternut squash and chicken broth in a blender and blend until smooth.
Note!
We have a high powdered Vitamix blender that works great for this but really any blender should work since the squash will be soft enough to smash. It’s the same process we use for our cauliflower puree (and corn puree).
2 – Cook the soup
- Combine the blended butternut squash with the cream, salt, maple syrup, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large pot.
- Heat on the stove over medium until the soup is hot, stirring regularly to keep the bottom from burning.
3 – Make the spiced pepitas
- While the soup is cooking, combine the pumpkin seeds with cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, water, and maple syrup in a bowl and mix until all of the pumpkin seeds are coated.
- Pour them out on a foil or parchment lined baking sheet, making sure to spread them into one single layer.
- Roast in a 300 degree oven for 10 minutes, stir, then roast for another 5-7 minutes until they’re caramelized and golden brown.
- Remove from the baking sheet immediately so they can cool (and keep from burning).
Serve the soup warm topped with a sprinkling of the spiced pepitas. I typically just pile them into the center but you could sprinkle them all over the top of the soup too!
And if you’re serving this at a party, you could just serve the soup and have the pepitas on the side so people can add them on their own!
Make it in the slow cooker
Want to make this in the slow cooker? Just toss the blended butternut squash and other ingredients into a slow cooker, turn it on high, and let it warm up the soup while you do all the other things you need to do!
You could also just cook it on the stove and serve it at a party in a slow cooker to keep it warm throughout – this is my preferred method!
What to serve With butternut squash soup
- Pomegranate feta salad – this fall salads complements the fall flavors of this butternut squash soup perfectly and who doesn’t love the soup and salad combo!
- Homemade yeast rolls (or store bought ones)
- Almond chicken – if you want to add a little protein to your meal, this almond chicken has some similar flavors as the soup and would go well together!
- Spiced apple cider – this classic fall drink would be the perfect complement to the soup!
How to store butternut squash soup
Store any leftover butternut squash soup in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to five days.
Store any leftover pepitas in a zipper top bag or airtight container at room temperature for up to two weeks. They make a great snack if you want to double the recipe and enjoy them on their own, without the soup.
How to Freeze butternut squash soup
This soup freezes beautifully! Pour individual portions into freezer safe containers – I love these Souper Cubes because they’re silicone so you can just pop out the cubes and reheat whenever you want! Make one big batch, freeze it, and enjoy all fall long!
When you’re ready to reheat, you can either just reheat in the oven or put a portion on the stove and let it heat up until it’s warm enough for you to enjoy.
Helpful Tips
Make sure you blend the butternut squash until it’s smooth – you want it like the texture of a smoothie. It’ll mix with the other ingredients so much better if it’s blended well.
Make it a full meal by adding cooked rotisserie chicken to the soup after it’s cooked!
Make sure both the butternut squash cubes and the pumpkin seeds are in one layer on the baking sheet for proper roasting. If you have too many, use two baking sheets and roast on convection!
Creamy Butternut Squash Soup
Ingredients
Soup
- 1 ½ lbs butternut squash cubed
- 2 TBS olive oil
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 1 ½ cup chicken broth
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 TBS pure maple syrup
- ⅛ tsp cinnamon
- dash nutmeg
Spiced Pepitas
- ⅛ tsp cinnamon
- ⅛ tsp sea salt
- dash nutmeg
- ¼ tsp water
- ½ tsp pure maple syrup
- ½ cup shelled pumpkin seeds aka pepitas
Instructions
Soup
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Line baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.
- Place butternut squash cubes in a large mixing bowl and toss with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.1 1/2 lbs butternut squash, 2 TBS olive oil, 1/2 tsp sea salt
- Place seasoned squash cubes on baking sheet and roast in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until fork tender.
- Place roasted butternut squash in blender with chicken broth and blend until smooth.1 1/2 cup chicken broth
- Pour squash mixture into a large pot and stir in cream, salt, maple syrup, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Heat on stove over medium heat until hot, stirring frequently.1/2 cup heavy whipping cream, 1 TBS pure maple syrup, 1/8 tsp cinnamon, dash nutmeg
- Serve warm topped with spiced pepitas.
Spiced Pepitas
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
- Line baking sheet with parchment paper or silpat.
- Combine cinnamon, sea salt, nutmeg, water, and maple syrup in a small bowl and mix.1/8 tsp cinnamon, 1/8 tsp sea salt, dash nutmeg, 1/4 tsp water, 1/2 tsp pure maple syrup
- Add the pumpkin seeds to the bowl and mix until the seeds are coated completely.1/2 cup shelled pumpkin seeds
- Pour seasoned seeds onto a baking sheet and gently shake the baking sheet to get the seeds into one layer.
- Roast for 10 minutes and then stir the seeds to mix them up a bit. Roast for 5-7 minutes more until carmelized and golden brown, then remove from the baking sheet immediately so the seeds don’t burn.
Tips & Notes:
Nutrition Info
More Soup Recipes
If you love this butternut squash soup, make sure to try these other soup recipes next. They’re great for hosting guests!
Leave a Reply