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Butternut squash soup served ready to eat.

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Roasted butternut squash soup

Yield
4 servings

A smooth, golden soup that shows what the oven can do for a vegetable. Roasting the squash browns its sugars and deepens its flavor, and then the rest is balance: salt and a little acid so the sweetness tastes bright instead of flat. It also teaches you to blend hot soup safely and set its thickness at the end.

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Ingredients

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4 servings · US measures · 1 batch

Batching

Roast one base batch of squash on each 18- by 13-inch rimmed sheet pan and cook it in one 5- to 6-quart pot; for a larger yield, use a second pan and pot or cook a second batch. Roasting, simmering and blending follow the same cues; cooking times do not multiply with ingredient quantities.

Original recipe: 4 servings.

The apple, heavy cream, extra broth, extra salt and vinegar, and black pepper are left out of the nutrition estimate. Low-sodium chicken broth is the selected broth, so this edition is not vegetarian. Nutrition is incomplete: the edible share of the whole squash and the mass of the fresh sage leaves are not established.

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Before you start

  • Read through the recipe before heating the oven. Gather the sheet pan, knife, pot, blender, towel, heatproof bowl and measured ingredients. If your kosher salt is the dense, fine-grained kind, use about half as much.

Directions

Prepared squash halves and measured soup ingredients.
1

Read through and gather

For the whole recipe

Read through the recipe, then gather the equipment and use the ingredient lines to prepare and measure everything. To halve the squash, stand it on a flat end and rock the knife down through it rather than forcing it. Everything is prepared and measured before the oven goes on.

Oiled squash halves placed cut-side down on a sheet pan.
2

Heat the oven and oil the squash

For each pan and pot of soup

Heat the oven to 400°F with a rack in the middle position. Brush the cut sides of 3 lb butternut squash with 1 tbsp olive oil, sprinkle them with 1/2 tsp flaky kosher salt and lay the halves cut side down on an 18- by 13-inch rimmed sheet pan. The squash halves lie cut side down on the pan.

Roasted squash is browned underneath and tender in the neck.
3

Roast the squash

For each pan and pot of soup

Roast the squash at 400°F on the middle position rack until a knife slides easily into the thickest part of the neck and the undersides are browned, about 45 to 55 minutes.

Pepitas toasted until lightly golden and transferred to a plate.
4

Toast the pumpkin seeds

For each pan and pot of soup

Toast 1/4 cup hulled pumpkin seeds (pepitas) while the squash roasts, in the dry 5- to 6-quart Dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat, stirring often, until golden and starting to pop, about 3 to 4 minutes. Move them to a plate.

Onion, carrot, and peeled apple softened in butter and oil.
5

Melt the butter and soften the vegetables

For each pan and pot of soup

Melt 2 tbsp unsalted butter with 1 tbsp olive oil in the same pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, apple, if using, and 1/2 tsp flaky kosher salt. Cook, stirring now and then, until the onion is soft and see-through but not browned, about 10 to 12 minutes.

Garlic, sage, and nutmeg stirred into the softened vegetables and apple.
6

Stir in the garlic, sage and nutmeg

For each pan and pot of soup

Stir in the garlic, the sage leaves and 1/8 tsp nutmeg over medium heat until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Roasted squash flesh and vegetables simmer in broth until the carrot softens.
7

Scoop in the squash and simmer

For each pan and pot of soup

Scoop the squash flesh out of the skins into the pot, holding each hot half in a folded towel, and throw away the skins. Scrape in the browned bits from the sheet pan and add 3 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, then turn to low heat, set the lid ajar and simmer until the carrot mashes easily against the side of the pot, about 10 minutes.

Soup blended smooth with the immersion blender blade kept submerged.
8

Blend the soup smooth

For each pan and pot of soup

Blend the soup off the heat. With an immersion blender, keep the blade under the surface and blend until completely smooth. With a countertop blender instead, blend in batches no more than half full, with the center cap removed and a folded towel held over the opening, and pour each batch into the heatproof bowl before returning it all to the pot. The soup is completely smooth.

Cream-enriched soup coats the spoon and falls in a thick ribbon.
9

Set the pot over low heat and finish the soup

For each pan and pot of soup

Set the pot over low heat and stir in 1/2 cup heavy cream, if using. If the soup is too thick, stir in extra low-sodium chicken broth to taste, 1/4 cup at a time. Stir in 1 tsp cider vinegar. Warm the soup without letting it boil hard until it steams and coats a spoon in a thick ribbon.

A spoonful of smooth squash soup ready to taste for seasoning balance.
10

Taste and balance the soup

For each pan and pot of soup

Taste the soup. Aim for sweet and earthy, savory underneath, with a bright finish. If it tastes flat, add flaky kosher salt to taste; if it still tastes flat or too sweet, add cider vinegar to taste, up to 1 tsp more. The soup tastes sweet, savory and bright.

Four bowls of squash soup finished with cream, pepitas, and pepper.
11

Ladle and serve

For the whole recipe

Ladle the soup into warm bowls to make 4 servings. Swirl heavy cream to taste over each bowl, if using, and top with the toasted pumpkin seeds and black pepper to taste. Cool leftovers promptly, refrigerate them, and reheat them over low heat, stirring, to 165°F (74°C) on an instant-read thermometer. The soup is portioned and garnished.

About this recipe

Research preview: these details come from our sourced research and haven't been reviewed by our chef yet.

Why it works

Roasting browns the squash and concentrates its flavor before it ever meets liquid. Onion, carrot and apple soften without color, the soup is blended completely smooth, and its thickness is set last with broth. Salt and then a little acid keep the sweetness bright instead of flat.

Associated with

American home cooking

Butternut squash is a modern variety, bred in Massachusetts in the 1940s from older squashes. Squash and pumpkin soups are much older and widespread: pumpkin soup is a common US Thanksgiving dish, squash soup belongs to Mozambican and Namibian cooking, and butternut soup is a usual starter in South Africa.

Taste

  • Sweet
  • Sour
  • Salty
  • Bitter
  • Savory
  • Heat

Sweet, earthy roasted squash with a savory base., Sage and a little nutmeg; a bright finish from cider vinegar. · velvety, completely smooth puree that coats a spoon, crunchy toasted pepitas on top · hot

Skill level

Easy

Familiar steps with clear cues; the only hard part is cutting the raw squash, and the recipe shows how.

You'll practice: Cut a raw squash safely, Roast until a knife glides through, Sweat aromatics without color, Blend hot soup safely, Set the thickness with broth, Balance with salt, then acid

Allergens

Contains: milk.

Check the broth label for wheat and the vinegar label for sulfites. Pepitas can share equipment with sesame or tree nuts; check the pack.

Diets

Vegetarian: Doesn't fit as written Vegan: Doesn't fit as written Pescatarian: Doesn't fit as written Dairy: See the allergen lines Egg: See the allergen lines Gluten: See the allergen lines

Occasions

  • US Thanksgiving · Associated: squash and pumpkin soups are common Thanksgiving starters

    Pumpkin soup is a common US Thanksgiving dish, and roasted squash soup is its close relative.

    Fourth Thursday in November (US federal holiday)

    Next: November 26, 2026 (announced)

  • Halloween and fall · Editorial fit

    A golden squash soup suits fall; this is an editorial tag, not a tradition.

    Fixed: 31 October

  • Lenten Fridays · Fits as written: chicken broth is not forbidden by the abstinence rule. Vegetable broth also works.

    There are no meat pieces in this soup.

    Ash Wednesday (46 days before Western Easter), Good Friday and the other Fridays of Lent

    Next: February 10, 2027 (expected)

    Next: February 12, 2027 (expected)

    Next: February 19, 2027 (expected)

    Next: February 26, 2027 (expected)

    Next: March 5, 2027 (expected)

    Next: March 12, 2027 (expected)

    Next: March 19, 2027 (expected)

    Next: March 26, 2027 (expected)

  • Haitian Independence Day (soup joumou's relative) · Related tradition, not the traditional dish

    Soup joumou, a Haitian pumpkin soup, is eaten on 1 January; this butternut soup is a relative, not that dish.

    Fixed: 1 January

Course: soup-course, main-dish · Technique: bake, toast, sweat, simmer, blend · Time: 1-to-2-hours, make-ahead, freezer-friendly

Serving and keeping

Best served: Right after the final taste In warm bowls with toasted pepitas, black pepper and, if you like, a swirl of cream

Make ahead: Freeze the soup before adding cream if you can; stir the cream in when you reheat, over low heat.

Storage: Refrigerate within 2 hours (1 hour above 90 °F / 32 °C), in shallow containers. Freeze for longer keeping, about 2 to 3 months for best quality.

Leftovers: Cream-finished soup can split if boiled hard; reheat it gently.

Food safety

  • Stand the squash on a flat cut end and rock the knife through it rather than forcing it.
  • Blend hot soup in a stand blender no more than half full, with the center cap out and a folded towel over the opening; an immersion blender stays under the surface.
  • Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours, or 1 hour above 90 °F (32 °C), in shallow containers, and reheat to 165 °F (74 °C).

We make no statement about cross-contact in your kitchen or in packaged ingredients. Check the broth, vinegar and pepita labels.

Nutrition notes

Butternut squash gets its orange color from beta-carotene, which the body can turn into vitamin A.

Most of the sodium comes from the broth and the added salt. Low-sodium broth, or water with a little salt, plus a splash of vinegar at the end, keeps it lower.

We don't show nutrition claims (like “good source of”) until our legal review is done.

Swap notes

  • low-sodium chicken broth · vegetarian

    Works with changes

    Use: Low-sodium vegetable broth, same amount

    What changes: Slightly sweeter.

    Not a swap: Full-salt broth; it leaves you no room to salt at the end.

  • heavy cream · lighter

    Works with changes

    Use: Half-and-half, or leave it out

    What changes: Half-and-half is lighter; without cream the soup is brighter and more of squash.

    Not a swap: Sour cream or yogurt stirred into the hot pot; they curdle.

  • low-sodium chicken broth

    Works with changes

    Use: Water, with a little more flaky kosher salt to taste

    What changes: Keeps the soup squash-forward and lighter; finish with the vinegar.

    Not a swap: Full-salt broth; it leaves you no room to salt at the end.

  • butternut squash · keto

    Not recommended

    Not a swap: Squash is the soup; there is no low-carbohydrate version of this recipe.

These notes don't change the amounts, allergens or nutrition shown for this recipe.

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Recipe url
https://isthebestrecipe.com/soups/roasted-butternut-squash-soup
Name
Roasted butternut squash soup
Servings
4
Recipe yield
4 servings
Recipe ingredient
3 lb butternut squash ends trimmed, halved lengthwise and seeded, 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp flaky kosher salt, 1/4 cup hulled pumpkin seeds (pepitas), 2 tbsp unsalted butter, 1 whole medium yellow onion chopped, 1 whole medium carrot peeled and chopped, 2 cloves garlic smashed, 6 whole fresh sage leaves, 1/8 tsp nutmeg freshly grated, 3 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth, 1 tsp cider vinegar, to taste black pepper freshly ground
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Roasted butternut squash soup