Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato Soup
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This easy-to-make butternut squash soup with sweet potatoes, apples, and warm spices tastes like fall in a bowl.
This easy-to-make butternut squash and sweet potato soup is one of my favorites, and I serve it every year for Thanksgiving. The hardest part of making it is wrestling with the butternut squash, so, to make life easy, I call for pre-cut squash from the produce department. Anytime you’re selecting pre-cut produce, make sure it’s fresh; I always grab a package from the back of the shelf, as those tend to have later expiration dates.
What you’ll need to make Butternut Squash and sweet potato soup
Step-By-Step Instructions
To begin, melt the butter over medium heat in a large pot and add the onions.
Cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
Add the butternut squash, sweet potatoes, chicken broth, salt, and pepper to the pot.
Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce the heat to low.
Simmer until vegetables are very tender, about 15 minutes.
Add the diced apple and honey.
Purée the soup with a handheld immersion blender until very smooth and creamy. (Alternatively, use a standard blender to purée soup in batches, being careful not to fill the jar more than halfway. Leave the hole in the lid open and loosely cover with a dishtowel to allow the heat to escape. Pour the blended soup into a clean pot.)
Stir in the cinnamon, mace, nutmeg, and heavy cream.
Bring to a simmer, then taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. If you like a sweeter soup, add more honey. To thicken the soup, simmer over low heat until desired consistency is reached.
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Butternut Squash & Sweet Potato Soup
This easy-to-make butternut squash soup with sweet potatoes, apples, and warm spices tastes like fall in a bowl.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 cups roughly chopped yellow onions
- 2 pounds pre-cut butternut squash
- 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks (about 1½ pounds before peeling)
- 8 cups chicken broth
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 tart yet sweet apple, such as Fuji or Honeycrisp, cored, peeled and cut into ½-inch pieces
- 3 tablespoons honey
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground mace
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 cup heavy cream
Instructions
- Melt the butter over medium heat in a large pot. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add the butternut squash, sweet potatoes, chicken broth, salt, and pepper to the pot. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce the heat to low; simmer until vegetables are very tender, about 15 minutes. Turn off the heat. Add the diced apple and honey and purée the soup with a handheld immersion blender until very smooth and creamy. (Alternatively, use a standard blender to purée soup in batches, being careful not to fill the jar more than halfway. Leave the hole in the lid open and loosely cover with a dish towel to allow the heat to escape. Pour the blended soup into a clean pot.)
- Stir in the cinnamon, mace, nutmeg, and heavy cream. Bring to a simmer, then taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. To thicken the soup, simmer over low heat until desired consistency is reached.
- Note: This soup thickens as it cools. If necessary, add a bit of water to thin it back to desired consistency.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The soup can be frozen for up to 3 months. Defrost the soup in the refrigerator for 12 hours and then reheat it on the stovetop over medium heat until hot. (The soup will thicken up while in the freezer. While reheating, add a bit of water if necessary to thin it to your desired consistency.)
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (8 servings)
- Calories: 359
- Fat: 18 g
- Saturated fat: 10 g
- Carbohydrates: 43 g
- Sugar: 19 g
- Fiber: 5 g
- Protein: 9 g
- Sodium: 816 mg
- Cholesterol: 59 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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I made this today for the family. I am trying to eat lighter between now and Thanksgiving with nourishing foods and this hit the spot nicely! I did one substitution because I am dairy free. I used coconut cream instead of the whipping cream and it worked great. It was so comforting and I had mine with some sourdough bread. The young adult children and hubby had grilled cheese sandwiches with theirs. This one is going in my regular rotation for fall soups for sure. We loved it very much!
Made this soup today. FANTASTIC!! Fast, easy, and so flavourful. Didn’t have mace, so I just left it out.
Should I add the cream before freezing the soup? I saw on your pumpkin soup recipe you said not to add the cream before freezing the soup.
Hi Diane, it’s fine to add the cream to this soup before freezing. Enjoy!
Loved this soup! So much so that I’m tossing out all other squash soup recipes. Thank you Jenn!!
Absolutely loved it. Huge hit for a autumn afternoon with football and board games.
Additions: clove of garlic, allspice, cayenne, squeeze of 1/2 lemon at the end, roasted the squash and potatoes also;
Removal: honey, nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves
THANK YOU!!
Absolutely love this soup! I made it for the first time 2 years ago and it’s been a go to since then. Made it for my parents and family for Thanksgiving last year and every single person asked for the recipe, it’s a crowd favorite! Only adjustment I make is using basically a 1:1 ratio of butternut squash and sweet potatoes because I like to balance the squash flavor a bit, but that’s fully personal preference.
Lovely testing soup. I did not peel the apple and was still able to achieve a smooth soup using my handheld immersion blender. Will be making this soup again during the winter months.
Hi Jenn, I’m very keen to make this….can you advise the dimensions of the pot? I recognise the brand but want to get it right!
Hi Michael, that’s a 5.5-quart Dutch oven. Hope you enjoy if you make the soup!
Can I sub coconut milk for the cream?
Sure!
First time to use your recipes and am very impressed, this soup was amazing. I used a spoonful of sour cream as didn’t have full cream. I also tried toasted pumpkin seeds, crispy bacon pieces and chorizo as different toppings all of which were delicious. Thank you for a great recipe.
Wonderful Made 1/2 the recipe and roasted the vegetables in the air fryer instead of frying also used coconut milk as I had no cream
I have made this recipe many times. Tonight I roasted the halved squash and sweet potatoes without peeling and spooned the soft innards into the broth then pureed. So easy!
Hello Jenn— would I be able to make this soup vegetarian by using vegetable broth instead of chicken broth? Not sure if the taste would change dramatically! I love your recipes! They are approachable, yet they are a level above others. Thank you!
Hi Nancy, it’s perfectly fine to use vegetable broth here (and so glad you like the recipes)!
Morning Jenn! Going to make this on Sunday. Why do you have to pour the pureed soup into a clean pot? Just wondering 🙂
Ally in NJ
Hi Ally, you only need to pour the puréed soup into a clean pot if you use a traditional blender. (You won’t be able to fit all of the soup in the blender at once and so you’ll need a clean pot to pour the puréed soup in while you still work with the unpuréed portion. Hope that clarifies!
Gotcha! Thanks Jenn! 🙂 Making it tonight for supper. Mmmmmmmm
Thanks for this recipe! It is silky smooth and delicious and definitely better after a couple of days in the fridge. I decorated it with pumpkin seeds and served as a starter. My friend loved it so much that she asked me for the recipe. My meat-and-potatoes husband said that it was “his kind of soup.” Made a half batch and added only a small squirt of honey. Yum…. will make again.
My husband and my father in law both hate squash/sweet potatoes etc. They absolutely love this soup and have asked for it multiple times!
How can you make this vegan and dairy free?
Hi Madeleine, I think you could replace the butter with oil, chicken broth with vegetable broth, and the heavy cream with coconut cream. I’d love to hear how it turns out if you try it this way!
A little too sweet and bland. I peeled and chopped a whole squash, think I would roast it first next time. I only used one teaspoon honey, added some ground ginger. Skipped the cream too.
This is the first soup I’ve made and it’s really delicious. I pureed everything using an immersion blender and the consistency was fine, I didn’t add the cream, didn’t buy it and didn’t miss it. I used 1 tblsp of honey instead of 3 and that sufficient, for me, and I have a sweet tooth. Great recipe! Will make again.
Excellence soupe, meilleur le lendemain.
This soup is so delicious!! So many wonderful flavour layers. I didn’t need to add the cream as it had a lovely consistency once puréed. The recipe makes plenty so I was able to freeze two mason jars to enjoy layer. Thank you again Jenn for another “keeper” recipe!
Super easy and delicious! This is my favorite butternut squash soup recipe. It’s perfect to get you through a Cleveland winter!
Outstanding – sooo good! I do think it’s best to wait overnight – for some reason it was like night and day for me in flavor. I will add the apples earlier and cook them down a bit as I had a hard time blending them when added at the end, but that’s neither here nor there. Will be sharing this recipe.
It is good without the mace. I didn’t have any but the soup was still delicious. I also added a little diced carrot and cooked it a little longer.
I didn’t have mace either and could not find after going to 3 markets. It still turned out delicious BUT I used 6 cups of broth NOT 8, which would have been too thin. I reduced the nutmeg by half and the cinnamon by a quarter. I topped with dollop of softened mascarpone cheese and a drizzle of honey to serve and it was OUTRAGEOUSLY DELICIOUS.
This is hands down one of the BEST soups I have ever had (and made). I shared the soup with friends and family and every single person was blown away by the nuances of this soup. I was hesitant to add apples and honey but believe me, the complexities of this is the closest you’ll ever come to “autumn in your mouth.” I am already back and making this a second time this month.
another wonderful meal! my husband’s reaction after his first spoonful- “WOW.” such great depth of flavor. thank you for yet another delicious recipe!! 🙂
Could not be more delicious, This is my lifetime recipe here, thank you so much!!!
Jenn, As everyone has noted, I am sure this is another fabulous recipe! I’m about to make it and have all the ingredients ready to go. However, I’m in northern New York for a couple weeks, and my food scale is home in northern Virginia. The grocery stores near me do not have the pre cut squash. Can you give me an idea of how many cups of the chopped up squash would equal two lbs.
I’m enjoying your new cookbook very much. Unfortunately, I cannot post a review on Amazon, as I ordered it from one of the independent book shops.
So glad you’re enjoying the cookbook — thank you for purchasing it! I’d guesstimate you’d need about 4 cups of cubed squash. Hope that helps and that you enjoy!
When I don’t have mace, should I just omit mace or add more cinnamon or nutmeg?
Hi Nikki, You can just leave out the mace. Enjoy!
I am wanting to try this recipe in class (I am in culinary school), do you think that a vegetable stock would work well? I am looking at multiple variations to see any tweaks we may want to make to tie in with the other dishes for the meal. Thank you!
Sure, Nicole, vegetable stock would work nicely here. Good luck with culinary school! 🙂
Another winner! Don’t wait until autumn to make. I had no mace so substituted ground nutmeg and chose no sodium stock. Extremely flavorful and the sweet potato, apple and honey gave it a subtle sweetness. This recipe will replace Jenn’s Butternut squash one for me- though that is really good too. This has more depth of flavor. I found the cubed squash at Wegmans and even cubed sweet potatoes. Made it so quick to pull together. I pureed in batches in blender and put puree in my stand mixer bowl. When done pureeing, wiped out the pot and poured the soup back in the pot. So easy. Can’t wait for your new cookbook to come out. Thanks, JENN!
My tip, I always store leftover soup in pint or quart Mason jars. They are my new BFF in the kitchen.
I made this soup so many times now and love it! I have shared it with so many people because once they also try it, they are hooked too!
Hi Jenn Love all of your recipes! I have been wanting to make this soup, and have everything on hand but wondering could i use coconut milk instead if i dont have any cream?
Thanks so much!
So glad you like the recipes! I haven’t used coconut milk here, but a number of other readers have commented that they have successfully. Hope you enjoy!
This is so comforting on a cold winter day!! I’ve made this at least once a week recently with all the snow, sometimes with sweet potatoes and sometimes subbing regular potatoes and some extra honey instead in a pinch. It’s great both ways!
Silky smooth alone with the butternut squash, but the addition of sweet potatoes takes it to another level! This is a staple in my house every fall, and I’ve even served it at Thanksgiving as an apetizer “shooter” in tiny espresso mugs. My family loved it!
This is a perfect snow day soup! Despite having my immersion blender break at the end, I will be making this recipe again. Make sure to use your largest pot with this recipe. I used a four-quart and it is full to the brim! I also substituted pears for apples because I couldn’t make it to the store and my soup is delicious.
I have made this delicious soup a few times. It is now a family favorite!
Love this recipe! I sautéed the onions and garlic and roasted the butternut squash. If you like the apple taste which I do use a whole apple. For a more subtle sweetness consider using 1/2 or 3/4 of an apple. Easy, delicious and you will be happy that you have leftovers for a few days.
Soooo easy to make. This soup was so good, it went from being an appetizer to my actual meal. Just couldn’t stop eating it. Second time I made it, I used 1/2 low sodium and 1/2 no sodium broth, first batch was just a tad too salty
Seriously one of the easiest and most delicious soups I’ve made this winter! Keep in mind this makes a HUGE batch of soup so be prepared to bring a quart to a friend. I may have cut the apples much to small and they just weren’t totally processed by my immersion blender. I left them as is and called them apple croutons!
I have tried this recipe! So yummy! I was wondering, if ever, I ran out of apples, can I substitute with pears?
Sure, Lynn – I think pears would work well here.
My family has always loved the Panera Autumn Squash soup but it’s only available seasonally. When I first made this recipe they were skeptical but after they tried it, they now say that it’s better than Panera’s and request it all the time. Bonus is how easy it is to make. A definite keeper! In
I love all of Jenn’s soup recipes and I’m getting ready to make up a batch of the Butternut/Sweet Potato Soup today, as I bought a box of butternut squash from the Mennonite Community Market for $12.00 before they closed down for the season last Nov.
I’ve made the soup both ways but I tend to like it just plain, without the extra spices. I also add the apple but not the honey. Either way, it’s a lovely soup!
This soup is wonderful – I’ve made it several times and it’s always delicious. I sometimes substitute allspice for the mace. I usually double the amount of mace, cinnamon and nutmeg for a bit more spice. It’s a great fall recipe.
My bride likes this soup, so it should get 5 stars!
I’m going to wait until my second time AFTER I’ve managed to find ground mace. I used an 1/8 of a teaspoon of nutmeg instead of 1/16th of a teaspoon of nutmeg and an 1/8th of a teaspoon of mace. I go to a medium-sized store, Petaluma Market, here in Sonoma County, CA. I guess I’ll try Whole Foods or worse case, the Internet and then try to do the recipe as written.
What we love about the soup is the wonderful color, the texture, and before I added the nutmeg and cinnamon and cream, the taste. It’s the kind of soup that warms one’s soul. I’ve got it all done early in the afternoon. And I’ll just bring it up to a simmer as our Tuesday cocktail party with friends in San Francisco via FaceTime winds down. I’m going to do an arugula and pear salad along with it. But the muffins sounded like they would be fun to try.
I made this soup last night for dinner and everyone loved it. It makes quite a full pot of soup so does feed a family of 4 or 5 people. Had leftovers for lunch today and I haven’t eaten lunch in years so it must be good. It’s a thick soup so very filling. Try it, you’ll like it!
Super tasty, needs nothing else!
Family really enjoyed the soup and pumpkin muffins. For the muffins I used 1 1/2 cups of pumpkin purée instead of 1 cup. I add the remaining pumpkin purée to the soup. We try and avoid waste. Turned out wonderful. Thanks Jen
Made this today for a sick friend. It’s like Fall in a bowl! A definite keeper.
Hi Jen. What would you recommend as a substitute for the mace? I’ve never used it before and am hesitant to spend the high price on it for one recipe. Thank you for your time.
Hi Monica, you can just leave out the mace. The soup will still taste great – enjoy!
Is it OK to freeze the soup WITH the heavy cream added, or is it better to add the cream after the soup thaws?
Hi John, this soup is fine to freeze with the cream but if you haven’t added it yet, I’d probably freeze it without and then add it when reheating. Hope that helps!
Thanks Jenn. I haven’t added the cream yet, so I’ll add some cream to what we’re going to eat tonight, and then freeze the rest without. BTW, the soup is definitely a winner. I tasted some after puréeing and adding the spices – AWESOME! This one’s definitely going into my book of favourite recipes.
In reality, I’ve not yet found one recipe on this wonderful site that I really don’t like. Thank you.👍
I am making this today for Thanksgiving…would it be ok in the refrigerator until Thursday or should I freeze it? Thank you!!
Hi Vikki, You can get away with refrigerating it. Happy Thanksgiving!
Thank you Jenn… I have to say one of the many reasons I love your blog is that you answer questions. You truly care about helping the home cook. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.
💗 Hope you and your family have a great Thanksgiving too!
I’m planning to make this for thanksgiving. Can I make this in advance, like a day or two? Thanks.
Sure – hope you enjoy! 🙂
You know you have a keeper when you’ve flubbed as much as I did making this and it still blows your mind (perhaps more so). I made some silly substitutions out of necessity and Jenn, I’m about to rock your world with this variant (or maybe not, I don’t know you personally).
As a novice cook, I apparently didn’t know what butternut squash was (cue pointing and laughing) and accidentally got Kabocha squash. With it’s hard exterior and awkward shape, I had to cut it in half + foil it, bake it ahead of time, and then scoop out the meat, which I added alongside the diced apple and honey.
Further, I only had 1 litre of regular chicken broth at my disposal and one litre of VERY garlicy Campbell’s chicken broth.
Now I know you might be wincing at this point, but Jenn, what came out was the most amazing, sweet + savoury honey garlic squash soup the world has ever seen. The Kabocha added nuttiness with a tinge of sweet, and the whole thing was still decidedly fall. If I did it again, I would try adding carmelized onions or shallots to the soup after blending it.
If you have the time and interest, I would suggest trying this variant! Overall, this soup still gets a 5 star rating because the texture and balance of everything was still great and, again, it’s flexible. Thank’s for this awesome recipe!
Hi Corrine, so glad to hear that the soup turned out so nicely even with all of your “tweaks!!” 🙂
Just made this… I am sipping on it as I’m typing this! It’s November 2020 and I was looking for something hearty and warm… it turned out great! I used vegetarian stock. Next time I’m thinking to use 1/2 the honey since the sweet potato already adds some sweetness. Making again!
Made this soup for the first time and it was delicious! I did change it a little though. I added pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon instead of mace, one Tbsp of hot pepper infused honey with two regular, and instead of cream I added thick vanilla yogurt. It turned out fabulous!
Kathy (Peterborough, Canada)
Hi Jenn! First of all, love love this recipe just as written! I have a couple questions for substitutions though. I would like to reduce the carbs for friends on the Keto diet. Would subbing pumpkin for the sweet potato work and would you start with a fresh pumpkin or would pureed pumpkin do? Also, would pureed squash work in this recipe? What adjustments would I need to make other than cooking time? My friend harvested and put up a large quantity of squash this year which I will gladly accept! Thanks Jenn!
Hi Kathy, so glad you like the soup! I do think this would work with either pumpkin or squash. (And it’s fine to start out with it in puréed form.) Hope that helps and that your friends enjoy!