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Whole30 Butternut Squash Soup

Whole30 butternut squash soup is so easy to make and is made from just 4 ingredients! Thick, creamy and so delicious this healthy soup is ready in about 30 minutes on the stove but can also be made in the instant pot or crockpot (instructions included below)!  

Butternut squash soup in white bowl with cashew drizzle on top.
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Why you will love this recipe

  • Pantry ingredients – all you need is butternut squash, vegetable broth, cinnamon and salt to make this recipe! Butternut squash can be stored for a month or more in a dark, well ventilated space. So if you see them on sale, grab a few and make this soup anytime you are in the mood for comfort food!
  • So simple – This soup cooks on the stove in broth and then is blended with an immersion blender or blender. If you can find frozen butternut squash cubes or find cubed butternut squash at the grocery store, this recipe is essentially a dump and cook situation.
  • Great for parties or meal prep – who doesn’t love butternut squash soup? And since this soup is so easy to make, you can easily double the recipe and serve it to a crowd or have it all week as part of your meal prep! Butternut squash soup is so comforting and filling and a great addition to any meal, especially holiday meals like Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner.
  • Comfort food in a bowl – This is the best healthy soup recipe for fall! The flavor is so rich and the creamy texture of the soup is so comforting! You will not believe how creamy this soup gets without any cream or dairy!
  • Great ingredients for any diet – this recipe is naturally vegan, gluten free, dairy free, Whole30 and paleo friendly! You can substitute half the butternuts squash for cauliflower to make it lower in carbs!
Ingredients to make Whole30 butternut squash soup.

Ingredients

  • Butternut squash – the star of the show for this soup. You want to peel and cube the butternut squash. You can easily use frozen butternut squash in this recipe as well with little or no changes!
  • Vegetable broth – I like to use a low sodium broth so I can control the sodium in the recipe but you can use whatever you have on hand. If you are not vegan or vegetarian, you can use chicken broth or stock in place of vegetable broth.
  • Cinnamon – cinnamon and butternut squash are a match made in heaven. The cinnamon brings out the sweet notes from the butternut squash and also adds to the comforting flavor.
  • Salt – salt helps to elevate the flavors of any dish it’s added to. If you are using a vegetable broth with salt added, you may only need a small pinch of salt.

How to make Whole30 butternut squash soup

Check out the step by steps process in How to Make Butternut Squash Story!

Peel and chop the butternut squash. The smaller you can cut the butternut squash into cubes, the faster it will cook. I aim for ½ -1 inch cubes.

Steps on how to cube a butternut squash.

Add the cubes of butternut squash to a large pot along with 3 cups of broth, the cinnamon and salt (only use a small pinch like ¼ tsp or less) if your broth has sodium added.

Pot filled with butternut squash, broth, cinnamon and salt.

Cover the pot and bring it to a boil over high heat.

Once boiling, reduce the heat to low and move the lid so it’s slightly cracked (so the soup doesn’t boil over).

After about 20 minutes of simmering, the butternut squash cubes should be very soft and easy to smash with a fork or spoon.

Butternut squash soup after simmering.

Once the squash is soft and fully cooked, turn off the heat. Blend the soup using an immersion blender or by carefully transferring the soup to a blender (you may have to work in batches). See tips below on working with hot liquid and blenders so you can be safe.

Immersion blender in butternut squash soup with broth.

Once blended you may decide you want to thin out the soup even more. Add up to 1 cup of stock to the soup until you get your desired consistency. Serve immediately or stir in your favorite additions (see ideas below).

Butternut squash soup after blending in a white pot.

Top tips

  • Time saving tip: You can use frozen butternut squash in place of fresh. When frozen, the squash is already peeled and cubed making it perfect to use in this recipe! You will want about 5 cups of squash so you may need to buy a few bags of frozen! You can also look for fresh butternut squash cut into cubes in the produce section of the grocery store.
  • Money saving tips: If you find butternut squash on sale, peel it and cube it and put it in the freezer for later in the season. You can freeze butternut squash raw so you can just dump it in the soup later in the year!
  • Tips for using a blender to make this recipe: Anytime you are blending hot liquid in a regular blender, it’s important that you ensure the mixture can breathe or it will explode in the blender from the heat build up. To do this, you want to take off the top or vent the blender and cover the top/vent with a kitchen towel. The towel allows hot steam to escape while ensuring you don’t get butternut squash all over the ceiling.
  • Squash hands! You may need to wear gloves to peel and chop your butternut squash. Many people (myself included) get contact dermatitis from the sap of the butternut squash. When I peel and cut butternut squash my hands get dry and my skin tightens and feels rough for an hour or so after touching the raw squash. To combat this, I wear gloves to peel and chop the butternut squash. The good news is that even if you suffer from this contact dermatitis, you should have no problem digesting the squash once it’s fully cooked!
  • Make this whole30 butternut squash soup in the instant pot or crockpot instead of on the stove. This soup is incredibly easy to make in the instant pot (just needs 7 minutes at high pressure) or the crockpot (3 hours on high or 6 hours on low) before blending the soup with the immersion blender or blender before serving.

How to make whole30 butternut squash soup in the instant pot

  1. Start by peeling and chopping the butternut squash into cubes.
  2. Add the butternut squash, 3 cups broth, cinnamon and salt to the instant pot.
  3. Put the lid on and cook high pressure for 7 minutes.
  4. You can manually release the pressure or allow it to naturally release.
  5. Once the pressure is released, carefully blend the soup and add more broth as needed.
Large ladle filled with Whole30 butternut squash soup.

How to make whole30 butternut squash soup in the crockpot

  1. Start by peeling and chopping the butternut squash into cubes.
  2. Add the butternut squash, 3 cups broth, cinnamon and salt to the crockpot.
  3. Put the lid on the slow cooker and turn on low heat for 6 hours or high heat for 3 hours.
  4. After done cooking, blend the soup with an immersion blender or high speed blender (carefully see tips above). Add more liquid as needed to create the consistency you prefer.

Topping ideas

  • Toasted pumpkin seeds
  • Drizzle with canned coconut milk or creamy cashew milk (1/4 cup raw cashews soaked blended with ¼ cup water)
  • Hemp hearts
  • Red pepper flakes
  • Thinly sliced apples
  • Crumbled bacon

What to serve with vegan butternut squash soup?

Salad: this creamy butternut squash soup would go great with kale salad, a simple green salad with creamy balsamic dressing, or a crunchy broccoli salad for a full meal!

Crackers or crusty bread: I highly recommend my crunchy almond flax crackers or seed crackers (great for nut free meal). You can also serve this with your favorite crusty bread of choice, naan bread or even this lentil flatbread (gluten free).

Veggies: Cauliflower Rice Stuffing, 5 Minute Creamy Kale, Air Fryer Frozen Broccoli, Air Fryer Carrot Fries, Sweet Potatto Tots, Broccoli Tots

Common Questions

How to make this soup creamier

  • Add 1/4 cup raw cashews blended with 1/4 cup of milk + 1/4 tsp salt.
  • Add 1/2 cup canned coconut milk (be sure to shake the can well before opening as it can separate). If lumpy use immersion blender to blend).
  • Add 1 cup cooked white beans blended with 1/2 cup water + 1/2 tsp. salt.
  • Add 2-3 peeled potatoes or sweet potatoes to soup with butternut squash + 1/4 tsp. salt. The potatoes will naturally thicken the soup when blended.
  • Add 1 cup frozen cauliflower rice + 1/4 tsp. salt.

Want a sweeter butternut squash soup?

  • Add 1 apple or pear to the soup before boiling, peeled and cored
  • Add 1-2 tbsp. maple syrup or honey
Bowl of whole30 butternut squash soup with pumpkin seeds on top.

Can you freeze butternut squash soup?

Yes! You can freeze butternut squash soup for 4-6 months. I like to use Soupercubes to freeze the leftover soup in 1 cup portions. Once frozen, transfer to a freezer safe bag or container and be sure to label the container with the name of the recipe, date, and freeze by date.

Can you double this recipe?

Yes! You can easily double this recipe without changing any of the cooking instructions.

Cashew cream on top of butternut squash soup.

Storing leftovers

  • Fridge: Store leftovers in the fridge for 3-4 days in an airtight container.
  • Freeze: Freeze leftovers for 4-6 months in a freezer safe container.

Substitutions

  • Butternut squash – you can use roasted pie pumpkins, sweet potatoes or pumpkin puree in place of the butternut squash.
  • Vegetable broth – you can use vegetable stock, chicken broth or chicken stock in place of the vegetable broth.
  • Cinnamon – if you don’t have cinnamon you can use ground nutmeg in place of the cinnamon.

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Butternut squash soup in a white bowl with spoon in bowl.

Whole30 Butternut Squash Soup

$4.17 Recipe/$1.04 Serving
Whole30 butternut squash soup is so easy to make and requires just 4 ingredients! Ready in 30 minutes on the stove, you can also make this in the instant pot or slow cooker. This recipe is vegan, gluten free, dairy free, paleo and can be made low carb friendly.
Print Pin Save Rate
Course: Soup
Cuisine: American
Keyword: 4 ingredient butternut squash soup, paleo butternut squash soup, whole30 butternut squash soup
Prep Time: 7 minutes
Cook Time: 23 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients

  • 1 large butternut squash (about 3 pounds) - $1.99
  • 3-4 cups vegetable broth or stock - $1.99
  • 1.25 tsp. cinnamon - $0.15
  • .75 tsp salt (less if your broth or stock has salt) - $0.04

Instructions

  • Peel and cut the butternut squash into cubes.
    I like to wear gloves as I get contact dermatitis from squash. Peel the squash, cut the top and bottom off and cut the squash where the bulb of the squash starts (the bulb has seeds inside). Cut the bulb in half and scoop out the seeds. Carefully cut the rest of the squash into 1 inch disks. Cut the disks into 1 inch strips then cut them into cubes.
  • Add the cubed squash, 3 cups of vegetable broth, cinnamon and salt (only 1/4 tsp. if your broth has sodium added).
  • Cover the pot and put over high heat. Bring to a boil.
  • Once boiling, turn down the heat to low and crack the lid on the pot. Simmer 20 minutes.
  • Squash should be very tender and fall apart when pressed on at this point. Blend the soup with an immersion blender or carefully transfer the soup to a blender and blend until smooth (you may need to do this in batches).
  • At this time you can add more broth if needed until you get the consistency you want from the soup.
  • Serve hot.

Notes

Top tips
Time saving tip: You can use frozen butternut squash in place of fresh. When frozen, the squash is already peeled and cubed making it perfect to use in this recipe! You will want about 5 cups of squash so you may need to buy a few bags of frozen! You can also look for fresh butternut squash cut into cubes in the produce section of the grocery store.
Money saving tips: If you find butternut squash on sale, peel it and cube it and put it in the freezer for later in the season. You can freeze butternut squash frozen so you can just dump it in the soup later in the year!
Tips for using a blender to make this recipe: Anytime you are blending hot liquid in a regular blender, it’s important that you ensure the mixture can breathe or it will explode in the blender from the heat build up. To do this, you want to take off the top or vent the blender and cover the top/vent with a kitchen towel. The towel allows hot steam to escape while ensuring you don’t get butternut squash all over the ceiling.
Squash hands! You may need to wear gloves to peel and chop your butternut squash. Many people (myself included) get contact dermatitis from the sap of the butternut squash. When I peel and cut butternut squash my hands get dry and my skin tightens and feels rough for an hour or so after touching the raw squash. To combat this, I wear gloves to peel and chop the butternut squash. The good news is that even if you suffer from this contact dermatitis, you should have no problem digesting the squash once it’s fully cooked!
How to make whole30 butternut squash soup in the instant pot
  • Start by peeling and chopping the butternut squash into cubes.
  • Add the butternut squash, 3 cups broth, cinnamon and salt to the instant pot.
  • Put the lid on and cook high pressure for 7 minutes.
  • You can manually release the pressure or allow it to naturally release.
  • Once the pressure is released, carefully blend the soup and add more broth as needed.
How to make whole30 butternut squash soup in the crockpot
  • Start by peeling and chopping the butternut squash into cubes.
  • Add the butternut squash, 3 cups broth, cinnamon and salt to the crockpot.
  • Put the lid on the slow cooker and turn on low heat for 6 hours or high heat for 3 hours.
  • After done cooking, blend the soup with an immersion blender or high speed blender (carefully see tips above). Add more liquid as needed to create the consistency you prefer.
To make this soup creamier:
  • Add 1/4 cup raw cashews blended with 1/4 cup of milk + 1/4 tsp salt.
  • Add 1/2 cup coconut milk (be sure to shake the can well before opening as it can separate). If lumpy use immersion blender to blend).
  • Add 1 cup white beans blended with 1/2 cup water + 1/2 tsp. salt.
  • Add 2-3 peeled potatoes or sweet potatoes to soup with butternut squash + 1/4 tsp. salt. The potatoes will naturally thicken the soup when blended.
  • Add 1 cup frozen cauliflower rice + 1/4 tsp. salt.
Want a sweeter butternut squash soup?
  • Add 1 apple or pear to the soup before boiling, peeled and cored
  • Add 1-2 tbsp. maple syrup or honey
Storing leftovers
  • Fridge: Store leftovers in the fridge for 3-4 days in an airtight container.
  • Freeze: Freeze leftovers for 4-6 months in a freezer safe container.

Nutrition Information

Nutrition Facts
Amount per Serving
Calories
99
Fat
 
1
g
Carbohydrates
 
25
g
Fiber
 
5
g
Sugar
 
5
g
Protein
 
3
g
Where does nutrition info come from? Nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy, sourced from the USDA Food Database.
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