Creamy Roasted Butternut Squash and Sage Soup Recipe

It’s soup season! (We celebrate soup season year-round around here.) I hope you love our hearty, sweet and savory roasted butternut squash soup recipe as much as we do. It’s easy to make, thick and creamy, and can be made with either dairy or coconut cream for a vegan twist. Roasting the butternut brings out the absolute best caramelized flavors of the squash!

Roasted butternut squash soup is one of our go-to fall favorites. In addition to homemade butternut squash puree, making and freezing soup is a great way to preserve butternut from the garden too! We often make a double batch to stock the freezer for easy future meals.

RELATED: Want to make it homegrown? Come learn how to grow butternut squash, or when to harvest butternut squash for the best flavor and storage life possible! Don’t miss our delicious butternut squash pie recipe too.

Ingredients

Yield: This recipe makes approximately 3-4 quarts of finished butternut squash soup.

• 2 large or 3 small butternut squash, or approximately 5 pounds. (We’ve also made this recipe using 5 cups of homemade roasted butternut squash puree that we’d already prepared and had stored in the freezer.)
• 2 medium granny smith apples
• 1 large sweet yellow or white onion
• 10 to 12 fresh sage leaves
• 4 cups (1 quart container) of low-sodium vegetable broth. We love to make and freeze homemade vegetable broth! Or, use concentrated “better than bouillon” paste mixed with water to achieve the same volume. 
• 1.5 cups of water
• 1 cup plain canned coconut cream (not coconut milk) OR ½ cup of heavy cream
• 1.5 tsp salt
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• 1 pinch of nutmeg and/or clove
• Olive oil, coconut oil, or butter
• Optional: pumpkin seeds + parmesan cheese, to garnish 

Instructions

Step 1: Roast Butternut Squash

• Preheat your oven to 425°F.
• Carefully cut the butternut squash in half, and remove the seedy guts with a spoon.
• Poke the fleshy parts of each squash with a fork in several places.
• On a baking sheet or roasting pan, roast the butternut squash in the oven until it is tender to the fork – about an hour. We usually line our pan with parchment paper first.
• You’ll want to let the squash to cool a bit before handling it, so you can wait to start the next step until after the squash is finished roasting.

Step 2: Sauté Apples, Onion & Sage

Yes, you read that right. Apples, in soup. Trust me – it’s good! Really good in fact. I do suggest using granny smith apples if possible, because they’re the perfect blend of tart and sweet.

• In a large pot over medium-high heat, add a dollop of your preferred cooking fat such as butter, coconut oil, or extra virgin olive oil.
• Dice the onion, apples, and fresh sage leaves and add them to the pot, along with a little dash of salt and pepper. The size and shape of the cuts don’t matter much here since it will all get blended later.
• Sauté and stir frequently until tender, about 7 to 10 minutes. 

Step 3: Add Butternut and Broth

• Once the butternut squash has cooled enough to safely handle, scoop out the middle flesh to remove it from the thin skin portion.
• Next, add the roasted butternut to the pot of apples, onions, and sage.
• Pour in 4 cups of low-sodium vegetable broth (one full average quart container) and 1.5 cups of water. 
• Add 1.5 teaspoon of salt, ¼ teaspoon of black pepper, and a small pinch of nutmeg and/or clove.
• If you are using coconut cream for this recipe, add one cup now. For those using heavy cream instead, wait until the soup is blended and off the heat (next step) to add the cream to avoid curdling.
• Stir to combine, bring it to a boil, and then reduce the heat to simmer for 15 minutes.

Step 4: Blend

After simmering for about 15 minutes, it is time to turn this chunky butternut squash soup into a creamy one! To blend the ingredients, we use an immersion blender right in the pot. If you don’t have an immersion blender, carefully transfer the soup into your standard blender to blend – in batches if needed. Blend until smooth and remove from the heat. If you haven’t yet added your cream of choice, do so now! 

Step 5: Serve and Enjoy

Now, please enjoy your roasted butternut squash soup. I highly suggest to garnish the top with roasted, sprouted, or even raw pumpkin seeds. They give it the perfect little addition of texture and crunch, plus protein!

We also enjoy ours with grated parmesan cheese and a slice of crusty, chewy homemade sourdough bread or fluffy sourdough focaccia. If you’re feeling extra fancy, try quickly pan-frying a few sage leaves in oil or butter until crispy. They’re delectable!

Even for a family of four or more, this recipe should give you some leftovers. Enjoy within one week if stored in the refrigerator, or keep reading below for freezing tips.

How to Freeze Butternut Squash Soup

To preserve and freeze butternut squash soup, first let it fully cool before freezing. If you made a large double batch, you can help expedite safe rapid cooling by putting the pot in an ice bath in a clean sink. (Retired health inspector here!)

Once cooled, transfer the roasted butternut squash soup into freezer safe storage containers of choice. We love to freeze chili and soup in these reusable BPA-free freezer containers. The quart size makes a perfect two person meal. Butternut squash soup is good for up to a year in the freezer.

Defrost frozen butternut squash soup in the refrigerator a day or two before you want it, and simply reheat on the stovetop in a pot. To make a healthy meal even more nutritious, we sometimes like to lightly sauté fresh garden greens such as bok choy, kale, and/or mustard greens in the bottom of the pot before adding the soup to reheat it!

That’s it! We hope you thoroughly enjoy this delicious soup recipe too. Please let me know if you have any questions, and don’t forget to come back to leave a review once you’ve tried it.

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• How to Make Pumpkin Shaped Sourdough Bread Loaf
• How to Make Crunchy Soaked and Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
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