Butternut Squash Soup
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This creamy butternut squash soup is full of flavor and surprisingly easy — ready in under an hour and pure fall comfort in a bowl.
If you’re looking for a butternut squash soup that’s as easy as it gets, this is it! It starts with my favorite time-saving trick: pre-cut squash cubes from the supermarket. From there, everything goes into one pot to simmer before getting puréed into silky perfection. One important note—please follow the recipe as written. Every ingredient, including the full measures of sugar, salt, and cream, is key to the rich flavor and texture that make this soup so special.
For the finishing touch, you get to choose your own adventure: keep it classic with fresh thyme or give it a different twist with curry powder. Either way, you’ll end up with a bowl that’s warm, comforting, and worth making again and again.
I love this butternut squash soup with crusty bread or buttermilk biscuits, or for a lighter fall meal, alongside my shaved Brussels sprouts salad.
“So good and so easy!”
What You’ll Need To Make Butternut Squash Soup
- Butternut squash & red bell pepper: The squash brings a naturally sweet, nutty flavor and blends into a silky texture, while the pepper adds a gentle sweetness and bright color. Skip frozen squash—it tends to make the soup watery.
- Onion & garlic: The aromatic base that gives the soup its depth right from the start.
- Water & heavy cream: Water keeps the flavors clean and balanced, while a splash of cream at the end makes the soup luxuriously smooth.
- Salt, sugar & thyme or curry powder: Salt pulls everything together, sugar enhances the veggies’ natural sweetness, and your choice of thyme or curry powder sets the flavor tone—to herbal and earthy with thyme, or warm and lightly spicy with curry.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-By-Step Instructions
Step 1. Prep the vegetables. Add all of the vegetables, salt, and sugar to a large soup pot, then pour in enough water to cover them.
Step 2. Cook until tender. Bring the pot to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover, and simmer until the vegetables are very tender, about 35 minutes.
Step 3. Purée the soup. Use a hand-held immersion blender (or a standard blender) to blend until silky smooth.
Pro Tip: If using a countertop blender, remove the center cap from the lid and cover the opening with a folded kitchen towel—this lets steam escape and prevents a soup volcano.
Step 4. Add the cream. Pour in the heavy cream and stir until combined.
Step 5. Finish and serve. Bring the soup to a simmer and stir in the fresh thyme (or curry powder). Taste and adjust the seasoning, if necessary. Serve hot, or make ahead—the soup keeps nicely for 3 days in the fridge or can be frozen for longer storage.
Pro Tip: If you want to dress up the soup with a garnish, try pomegranate seeds for a sweet-tart burst, toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds) for a warm crunch, or homemade croutons for buttery crispness that soaks up the soup in the best way.
More Fall Soups That Warm You from the Inside Out
Butternut Squash Soup
Ingredients
- 2½ pounds pre-cut butternut squash, 7 to 8 cups, cubed (see note)
- 1 red bell pepper, roughly chopped
- 1 medium yellow onion, roughly chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
- 7 cups water
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- ¾ cup heavy cream, plus more for serving
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme (or 1 teaspoon curry powder for a different flavor profile)
Instructions
- Combine the squash, pepper, onion, garlic, water, salt, and sugar in a large soup pot. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 35 minutes
- Using a hand-held immersion blender, purée the soup until silky smooth. (Alternatively, cool the soup slightly, then purée in a blender in batches, making sure to leave the hole in the lid open to allow the steam to escape.) Stir in the heavy cream and bring to a simmer. Mix in the thyme (or curry powder), then taste and adjust seasoning (depending on the sweetness of the vegetables, you may need a touch more sugar). Ladle the soup into bowls, drizzle with more cream if desired, and serve.
Notes
- For the best flavor and texture, use fresh butternut squash in this recipe. Frozen squash can release extra water when cooked, which may dilute the soup and make it thinner or less flavorful.
- Make-Ahead/Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The soup can be prepared up to 3 days in advance and stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container. It can also be frozen, without the cream, 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. Once heated through, add the cream and bring to a simmer before serving.
Nutrition Information
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.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
Comments
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Hi Jenn, I have everything I need for this except the red bell pepper. I have a jar of pimentos, can I substitute that, or should I bite the bullet and go to the store? Thanks for what will be, I’m sure, another perfect recipe.
Sue
Hi Sue, I think you can get away with the pimentos. Hope you enjoy!
Made as is except I used chicken broth instead of water. Loved it and sooooo easy.
Thanks Jenn!!
I don’t have time to go through all the past comments so forgive this if others have already offered this observation. I did read enough to cut back on the liquid and use vegetable broth. I used 4 cups of broth and added 1 1/2 cups of water. Definitely think 7 cups of water might produce a blander flavor. Also added a little maple syrup after pureeing before stirring in the cream. It’s a good recipe overall. Enjoyed my dinner.
Hello, I’m glad that I wasn’t the only person that had issues with this recipe despite following instructions exactly. I attributed the thin texture to the fact that I used frozen cubed butternut squash. I will use fresh butternut squash and use 6 cups of chicken or vegetable stock in place of water when I try this soup again. The addition of a further teaspoon of salt, a few grinds of pepper and 1/4 cup of cream improved the result.
Unfortunately I have to agree with Nancy. I love your recipes but this soup was very watery and flavourless.
I agree and I LOVE this site. Also I am not a fan of water in soup, the base needs broth or stock or something more. This fell flat me.
Jen, I use your recipes all the time and love them.
Unfortunately, this wasn’t what I expected.
I had to do some doctoring afterwards.
I think the water made it too bland and there was too much of it. Even after I added the cream, it was too thin. I also think using a combination of chicken broth and water would add to the taste.
I ended up adding a little ginger, some nutmeg, more cream and the I boiled it down to a thicker consistency.
After that I added salt and pepper and a dab of butter to make it taste richer.
Sorry, you’re the best but this one missed the mark.
Fabulous soup! Will make again. I did use less sugar but a full cup of whipping cream. Added 1 cup of chicken broth to the 7 cups of water to cover the veggies. Guests really enjoyed it last night and everyone asked for your recipe to be forwarded to them!
Made this soup today just as directed except I didn’t add thyme or curry.
Absolutely delicious and so easy.
I always wanted to make butternut squash soup. This recipe is a keeper!
If I double everything, would it change the flavor?. Is doubling the soup ideal or just make it as written? I plan to make it for Thanksgiving dinner.
Hi Hazel, It’s perfectly fine to double everything. Enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving!
Absolutely delicious. Added curry powder this time and will try it with fresh thyme next time.
Thank you