This Butternut Squash and Carrot Soup is just 7 ingredients and comes together in less than an hour. It's the perfect fall dinner recipe for a busy weeknight, or weekend dinner party. Great to prep in advance and full of seasonal flavors. It can also be made vegan or vegetarian too.
I love simple, seasonal butternut squash soup because it's such an easy dinner. Its velvety texture and sweet and savory flavor is heavenly on a chilly day, just like all my soup recipes.
Butternut squash is so versatile and I have more favorite recipes using it, like a slow-cooker Beef and Squash Stew, or Kale and Butternut Squash Salad. Try one of my Best Winter Soups too!
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Why you'll love this recipe
I've created a versatile butternut squash and carrot soup so that you can play with any flavors you want. Plus, there are more reasons to keep this soup on rotation!
- The smooth texture of pureed soup is perfect for mixing in flavors or adding toppings.
- It's perfectly thick, velvety smooth, and flavorful like my Chipotle Sweet Potato Soup.
- Over 10 ways to flavor this soup. Read on!
- You can make this soup vegan for dietary needs.
- This soup is perfect for batch-cooking and freezing.
Ingredients
This is a very simple butternut squash soup, so it is easy to top with delicious things, or add flavorful ingredients. Use these for the basic soup:
- Olive oil: Use a mild olive oil or avocado oil to saute the vegetables.
- Yellow onion: You can use a white onion as well, both will offer great savory flavor.
- Carrots: The carrots add a nice texture and compliment the sweetness of the squash.
- Butternut squash: Cooked and pureed, the squash creates a creamy soup base.
- Nutmeg
- Dried thyme
- Kosher salt
- Low-Sodium Chicken broth: You can also use vegetable broth.
How to make Butternut Squash and Carrot Soup
Making savory butternut squash soup is so easy!
Cube the peeled and seeded squash into 1 to 2 inch pieces to it cooks evenly. You can also buy already peeled and diced butternut squash in the produce section of the store!
The carrots can be cut into about the same size or just smaller than the squash. Cook them with the onion and squash in an oiled skillet just until the onion softens.
Then, the remaining ingredients are added and the whole soup is simmered until the veggies are tender.
Use an immersion blender to puree the soup, or carefully transfer it to a regular blender. Here are the steps:
- In a stockpot over medium-high heat, heat olive oil and add onion, carrots and butternut squash. Stir to coat with hot oil.
- Cook, stirring occasionally until the onions are just starting to soften and turn translucent.
- Add the nutmeg, thyme, salt, and broth. Cover and reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer until squash, carrots and onions are very soft.
- Use an immersion blender, or carefully transfer soup to a blender and blend until very smooth.
- Serve, or return to the pot to keep warm until serving. Top with various toppings if desired.
Expert Tips
- The key to perfect pureed soup is a good blender. The more powerful, the better! I love my Vitamix for sure. You can use other brands like Blendtec, or Ninja. You can also puree soups in a food processor.
- Peel a whole butternut squash before cutting open to remove seeds. It is much easier to cut into that way! Or, buy pre-cubed butternut squash in the produce section of the grocery store.
- Cut the onion into small dice so it cooks quickly. And, cut the butternut squash and carrots into the same size pieces so they cook through at the same speed.
- Make this soup vegan and vegetarian by using vegetable broth in place of chicken broth.
Variations
Butternut squash and carrot soup is the perfect base for some wonderful variations.
- Vegan or vegetarian - Swap the chicken broth for vegetable broth.
- Coconut Butternut Squash soup - Swap one cup, or can, of chicken broth with the same amount of canned coconut milk.
- Curry Butternut Squash Soup - Add a teaspoon or two of curry powder to the basic soup recipe, or the coconut variation above.
- Thai-inspired - Swap a cup of broth for coconut milk, and add 2 teaspoons red curry paste to the onions and squash while sautéing.
- Latin Flare - Add a cup of chopped poblano chilis, half a jalapeño, and a clove of garlic to the onions. This is a sofrito flavor base and is great with a squeeze of lime at the end.
- Mexican Soup - swap ½ cup of the onion for 1 cup of salsa. Top finished soup with avocado and cilantro.
- Italian Squash Soup - Add a can of tomatoes in place of 1 cup of broth and stir in 2 to 3 tablespoons of prepared pesto at the end.
- Fall Apple - For a fall favorite swap the carrots for a chopped, peeled apple. Top with crispy, dried apples and bacon for serving.
- Creamy Soup - Before serving stir in a dollop of plain yogurt or sour cream and top with a sprinkling of parsley or scallions.
Check out more flavorful ideas using spices and herbs from your pantry with my Easy Tips for Using Spices!
Garnish and Serving Options
This butternut squash and carrot soup can be loaded with as many toppings as you'd like. I love a little crunch, or swirl of flavor. Try any of these options:
- Pomegranate arils
- Candied nuts
- Compound butter
- Chopped nuts
- Pepitas
- Crispy fried onions
- Bacon bits
- Grated cheese
- Croutons
- Drizzle of olive oil
Storage and Freezing
Store cooled soup in the fridge for up to a week. Try reusable silicone bags, or glass containers that can be microwaved!
Since this is a broth-based, pureed soup, it freezes very well. Let the soup come to room temperature, then freeze in freezer bags or freezer containers for up to three months.
When ready to eat, reheat from frozen or thaw overnight in the fridge first.
FAQs
To make butternut squash soup thick, be sure to blend it with only enough of the cooking broth as needed. You can add more as you blend to make the soup the perfect consistency.
You can also add cream or yogurt to help thicken a thin soup.
Flavor the soup along the way by using salt, and seasonings such as nutmeg and dried herbs.
Add extra flavor by adding spices such as cumin, curry powder, smoked paprika, or garlic powder before blending.
Try incorporating an acidic ingredients like lemon juice, apple cider vinegar or a swirl of balsamic.
Refer to the variations above to see more flavor options.
If the onions, carrots, and squash are not sauteed and cooked in the broth long enough they will not become soft–resulting in a puree that is not smooth. Make sure you can smash the vegetables easily with a fork before blending in a powerful blender or food processor.
I don't recommend leaving the skin on butternut squash in soup. It would need to be washed really well, and would need longer cooking time than the carrots and inside of the squash to become soft.
What to serve with Butternut Squash Soup
Here are some side dishes you can try with soup:
- Sweet Cornbread
- Dinner Rolls
- Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad
- Winter Citrus Salad
- Savory Ricotta and Three Bean Tarts
More delicious soup recipes
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📖 Recipe
Butternut Squash and Carrot Soup
Ingredients
- 1½ tablespoons olive oil
- 1½ cups diced yellow onion
- 1 cup diced carrots
- 8 cups diced butternut squash (1-inch dice)
- ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth (Or vegetable broth)
Instructions
- In a stockpot over medium-high heat, heat olive oil and add onion, carrots and butternut squash. Stir to coat with hot oil. Cook, stirring occasionally until the onions are just starting to soften and turn translucent, about 8 minutes.
- Add the nutmeg, thyme, salt, and broth. Cover and reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer until squash, carrots, and onions are very soft, about 15 minutes.
- Use an immersion blender, or carefully transfer soup to a blender and blend until very smooth*. Serve, or return to the pot to keep warm until serving. Top with various toppings if desired.
- *You can add flavor variations while cooking or just before blending, depending on what you are adding.**See Notes for Instant Pot instructions.
Notes
Nutrition
Tara Teaspoon
I’ve been in food publishing for over 25 years, creating recipes & food-styling for magazines, books, television, food brands, & advertising. With two cookbooks under my belt and thousands of my recipes at your fingertips, I hope you'll be inspired to spend more time in the kitchen!
Recipe and Photos by Tara Teaspoon
Mary Bench says
Can't wait to try!
Zara says
One of my favorite soups to make, but I’m dying over all the variations! Now I need to try them all!
Amy says
Found your site and am in love! Thank you for these wonderful recipes! With this recipe, what would be the measurements of cooked butternut squash, if I were to use canned cooked butternut squash? Thank you so much!
Tara says
Hi!Oh my goodness I'm so happy you found Tara Teaspoon and like the recipes. Thanks!! I have not tested the soup with squash puree so I don't know the exact measurements, but you should be good using about 4 to 5 cups of puree. 8 cups of diced butternut squash is about 5 lbs raw squash. And that roughly would make about 1/2 of the amount in puree once it's cooked down.
Melanie Withall says
A really yummy soup perfect for a snowy day in Wales, I did add a clove of garlic and just under a teaspoon of crushed coriander seeds, will definitely be making again, thank you.
Melanie E says
I do love a good butternut squash soup over the winter months especially but have never tried making one myself. I really love the idea of bacon bits as an optional garnish!!