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Cozy up with a bowl of Roasted Butternut Squash Soup made with roasted butternut squash, apples and sage- a delicious fall soup that is vegan- adaptable.
Looking for more? Check out 25 Cozy Vegetarian Soup Recipes!
Awareness is like the sun. When it shines on things they are transformed.
~ Thích Nhất Hạnh~
This Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with sage, apple, ginger and coconut is so cozy and comforting. It’s made with very humble ingredients, yet feels decadent! Vegan and gluten-free, it is topped with a swirl of warmed coconut milk and toasted pumpkin seeds.
Apples give this Butternut Soup the perfect amount of sweetness and tartness to balance the creamy nutty earthy flavor of the butternut squash. Butternuts and Apples love to be together and complement each other well. A good marriage.
This soup is so tasty served up with my favorite crusty bread or even sourdough croutons!
Butternut Squash Soup! | 60-sec Video
What you’ll need
- butternut squash ( you can also sub other winter squash- Hubbard, delicata, kabocha, etc.) you’ll need roughly 4 cups, cooked.
- apple- golden delicious, gala, pink lady, honey crisp, – a slightly sweet apple works best here
- shallots- or onion
- garlic cloves
- ginger – fresh or ground, in a pinch.
- fresh sage or thyme
- veggie stock
- salt and pepper
- nutmeg
- coconut milk (or heavy cream, ½ & ½ or other nut or soy milk)
- Optional Garnishes- crispy sage, sautéed apple, pumpkin seeds
How to make Butternut Squash Soup:
Step one: Roast the butternut squash
Step 2: Sauté the apples, shallots, garlic and ginger and herbs
Step Three: Blend the onion- apple mixture with the roasted butternut squash and veggie broth, until smooth and silky. Return to the pot.
Step four: Add coconut milk or heavy cream (or sub nut milk or half and half).
Step five: Season with fresh nutmeg!
How to make butternut squash soup taste better:
If your butternut soup tastes bland, it may be due to insufficient “depth”, spice, sweetness or brightness. This is true for store-bought versions as well.
- You can easily add more depth by adding a little miso paste, more onion and garlic, roasted garlic powder, or even half a veggie bouillon cube. Salt also helps. 🙂
- For spice, add a pinch of cayenne pepper. Or branch out and try a little curry powder! A tiny splash of maple syrup can work wonders too to bring out butternut’s natural sweetness.
- And lastly, sometimes a hint of acid can brighten up a dull soup- a couple of drops of apple cider vinegar, a squeeze of orange. 🙂
- Garnish! Here we are using crispy sage and pumpkin seed “brittle”.
To make the Crispy Sage:
Sizzle the sage leaves in a little coconut oil or butter, until crisp, about 1 minute. Blot on a paper towel.
Make the Pumpkin Seed Brittle- see the recipe notes. 😉
And serve… garnishing with a swirl of coconut milk or cream if you like, the crispy sage leaves and the crunchy pumpkin seed brittle.
Do you have to roast the butternut squash?
No. That being said, roasting the butternut squash is so EASY and brings out the squash’s natural sweetness- just look at that caramelization! That is where all flavor is here but feel to pan sear, pressure cook or even steam. Roasting does give the soup more flavor and truly elevates it. Do what works for you. You’ll need 4 cups, cooked.
Do I need to peel the Butternut Squash before roasting?
No need to peel! Simply cut the butternut squash in half and place face down on a parchment-lined sheet pan or roasting pan. Roast until tender. Scoop out the squash into the blender. Do not use the peels in the soup!
Time Saving Tip
ROAST IT AHEAD: To make this even faster, roast the butternut ahead, say the night before and store it in the fridge until ready to make the soup.
INSTANT POT: You can also cook a butternut squash whole (if it fits) in your instant pot (make sure to place a cup of water below the steamer basket, high pressure for 25 minutes). Refrigerate until using.
More fall soups you may like:
- 25 Delicious Vegetarian & Vegan Soup Recipes
- Roasted Kuri Squash Soup with Harissa & Crispy Chickpeas
- Glowing Carrot Soup
- Coconut Pumpkin Soup with Garam Masala
- Simple Tomato Soup
- Coconut Corn Chowder with Leeks
- North African Carrot soup
Enjoy the falling leaves. Truly a magical time of year here in the Pacific Northwest. The light is golden and the trees are ablaze. The air feels charged with something otherworldly. ✨
Soak it up, friends.
xoxo
Print
Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with Apple and Sage
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 50 mins
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Soup, Vegan, Gluten-free
- Method: Roasted
- Cuisine: Northwest
- Diet: Vegan
Description
A simple recipe for Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with Apple and Sage. Vegan-adaptable and gluten-free.
Ingredients
- 1 med-large butternut squash (3 pounds -or roughly 4 cups of cooked butternut)
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil, olive oil or butter
- 1 large apple- gala, honey crisp, diced (more for garnish, optional)
- 2 large shallots (or 1 onion)- diced
- 5 fat garlic cloves – rough chopped
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger – rough chopped ( or use ginger paste)
- 1 tablespoon fresh sage, and more for garnish
- 3 1/2 –4 cups vegetable stock or chicken stock (I used 4 cups water with 2 teaspoons veggie bouillon paste)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
- fresh grated nutmeg– optional ( about 1/4 teaspoon, more to taste, feel free to use ground)
- pinch cayenne -optional, but tasty here.
- 1/2– 3/4 cup coconut milk (from a can) or use 1/4-1/2 cup heavy cream or half and half. For a lighter version, sub almond milk or just leave it out, thinning the soup with more veggie stock if you prefer.
- 1–2 teaspoons maple syrup (optional- see notes)
- 1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar (optional- see notes)
- Optional Garnishes- crispy sage, Pumpkin seed “Brittle”, sumac, warm coconut milk, sautéed diced apple (sauté in coconut oil)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425F
- Split the butternut in half lengthwise, place open side down, on a greased or parchment-lined, rimmed sheet pan. (See notes) Roast 30-35 minutes or until easily pierced with a fork, through the skin at the top, narrow end.
- While the butternut is roasting, chop the onion, apple, garlic, and ginger and herbs.
- Heat oil in a large heavy bottom pot or dutch oven, over medium heat.
- Add onion and apple and cook 6-7 minutes, stirring until golden and tender, then add garlic and ginger, and cook 4-5 more minutes, add the herbs,turning the heat down to med-low for one more minute. It will smell divine. Turn heat off.
- When the butternut is tender, flip them over, let them cool down, enough to handle, then scoop out seeds. Scoop out flesh and place in a bowl, you should have 3 3/4 to 4 cups.
- Add the apple onion mixture to the same bowl.
- Then, blend in batches with the veggie stock until very smooth, using a blender. (If using hot ingredients, be sure to Hold the lid down tight with a kitchen towel– to prevent a blender explosion!) If you prefer a thicker soup, add less water, thinner soup, more water.
- Add the blended soup back into the same pot and warm over low heat. Add salt, pepper, nutmeg. Stir in you choice of milk to desired richness.
- Taste. If you’d like more sweetness, a teaspoon or two of maple syrup will help. If you need a little acidity, a few drops of AC vinegar, or squeeze of orange juice is nice. Adjust salt.
- To serve, divide among bowls, sprinkle with maple-glazed pumpkin seeds, crispy sage leaves, sautéed apple.
Notes
Alternatively, you can slice apple and onion and roast with the butternut squash. (You’ll still need to saute the garlic, ginger and sage.)
Maple-glazed Pumpkin Seed brittle: Toss 1 cup pumpkin seeds in 1 ½-2 tablespoons maple syrup with a pinch of salt and pepper, and spread out on a parchment lined sheet pan. Bake 11-14 minutes at 350F stirring ½ way through. Let them get a little toasted. (If they they don’t toast enough the maple syrup will not harden). Remove from oven, immediately, fluff with a fork, then let cool on the parchment.
To make Crispy Sage: Heat coconut oil or butter in a skillet over medium heat. Place sage leaves carefully in the hot oil, sprinkle with a pinch of salt, fry unit crisp, about 1 minute. Remove with tongs, from the pan before they get dark, and lay flat on a paper towel.
To drizzle coconut milk over the top, I find it’s easier to heat it up a bit first then spoon it over top in a circular motion.
Sometimes, instead of the vinegar, I’ll add a squeeze of fresh orange juice- delicious!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: -with ½ cup coconut milk
- Calories: 287
- Sugar: 14.5 g
- Sodium: 770.6 mg
- Fat: 14.6 g
- Saturated Fat: 11.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 36.6 g
- Fiber: 5 g
- Protein: 5.9 g
- Cholesterol: 3.6 mg
Keywords: butternut squash soup, vegan butternut squash soup, vegan butternut soup, butternut squash soup vegan, Vegan Butternut soup, butternut apple soup, butternut soup recipes, vegan butternut soup, healthy butternut soup
Never disappointed with these recipes! This time I used this recipe as a base and added carrots, sweet red and yellow peppers (sautéed with the onion & shallot). Instead of apple I subbed in two Anjou pears. Delicious!
★★★★★
Sounds perfect Anna! Yum!
What salad would you recommend to accompany this soup?
How about the Pear Salad with Vanilla Fig dressing?
I’ve tried quite a few butternut squash soup recipes, and none compare to this one. No reason to venture further after finding the best! Thanks so much for this reliably perfect recipe.
So glad you are enjoying Rina!
Great recipe!
Thanks happy you liked it!
I made this soup for dinner tonight and it’s delicious. As a reference, I purchased the butternut squash already cut-up and ready to go from Costco. I sautéed the butternut squash with the shallots, apple, garlic, ginger and sage incrementally. The butternut squash wasn’t quite soft enough after everything had sautéed for the allotted time, so I let it steam in the pot for about 10 minutes with a small amount of the vegetable broth. It blended up perfectly in the vitamix. I added coconut milk and the optional cayenne and apple cider vinegar but not the maple syrup. It was plenty sweet enough. This soup is another winner and will be in my soup recipe rotation.
★★★★★
Wonderful Julie! Helpful to hear your process.
I have yet to make one of your recipes that was not a hit, seriously! This was delicious! I did not have enough pumpkin seeds so I subbed in a few walnuts in the topping. Yummy!
★★★★★
Perfect Julie- thanks so much!
Served this for dinner last night. My husband said, “please keep this on the favorite/repeat list”! I’m pretty sure this is the best butternut squash soup recipe I’ve ever used. The flavors, spices and herbs are exciting and really complement one another!
By the way, once cooked, my medium sized butternut squash made up a bit over 2 cups instead of 3-4 cups.
Thanks!
Ok thanks and good to know!
Another stellar recipe from this website. The toasted sage gave it 5 stars. I roasted the apples and onion in the oven with the squash, but will make it on the stovetop next time as I found this to be more work. I added a bit of cream and cider vinegar. I served the soup with crisp apples on top but my soup was a bit thin and they sank, but still added nicely to the dish. Since it’s squash season and I have guests coming for the holidays, I’ll make more and store it in the freezer.
Thanks Mary- glad you enjoyed this.;)
Delicious!! Can this soup be frozen?
★★★★★
I think it should freeze just fine!
I’ve made hundreds of different kinds of butternut squash soups in my life (last year’s garden yielded 85-had to donate half to the local food bank) but I have to admit that this might just be my all time favorite. I think it was the earthiness of the fresh sage combined with the overall sweetness. I would never have imagined, for instance, using sage and fresh ginger in the same recipe, yet it worked-beautifully! I also loved how you used sweet apples to achieve the sweetness (instead of relying only on maple syrup as most other recipes do), and the pop of acid at the end put it over the top. Thanks, Sylvia. If you ever hold an advanced “healthy” cooking retreat, I’m in!
Thanks Sheila- and glad you enjoyed the soup!
This is a wonderful recipe! The flavors are fantastic, the soup hearty! Love the sage 🙂
Thanks so much Maya!
Love this soup, super easy to make. Definitely a keeper on the weekly menu..
I didn’t add the maple syrup, and I added grated Parmesan cheese in place of apple.
Thanks for another fabulous dish.
★★★★★
Sounds delicious!
This was fabulous. I followed the recipe exactly, but I did not add vinegar or maple syrup at the end. The hint of ginger and garlic was a subtle elevation to humble Butternut. This is now a fall favorite, and I can’t wait to make it for company. Thanks Sylvia!
Thanks Monica!
Finally it’s soup weather and this was perfect. Nicely sweet from the honeycrisp so I didn’t even add any maple syrup. I did add the cayenne and followed the recipe using only 1/2 cup of the coconut milk. Will definitely make this again and again.
★★★★★
Great to hear!
This was the best Butternut Soup I’ve ever had! We are loving your recipes.
Great to hear!
Can you substitute Honey for Maple Syrup when making the toasted Pumpkin Seeds?
Hi Kaye! I have not tried it with honey- not sure if they will get crispy? Worth a try though!
This was an amazing quick dinner. Stayed on the recipe except used mushroom broth. Also, I cooked some wild rice while I was making the soup and some fresh dinner rolls. Spooned it over wild rice and was a great hearty dinner for the family. Thank you!!
Sounds perfect Kiki!
Best butternut squash soup yet! I added a diced carrot to round up a smaller squash, but otherwise used all of the listed ingredients. The pumpkin seed brittle is so easy and truly a wonderful addition (and great snacking / topping), Enjoyed the leftover soup with a handful of regular oats and some chopped kale, reheated for a yum and hearty breakfast treat! I am a giant fan of Sylvia’s recipes!! Wonderful seasonings, special topping/ condiment ideas! Thanks for your wonderful site!! Nancy
★★★★★
Thanks so much Nancy!
What a delicious fall soup! Thank you, as always, Sylvia. I made the soup with homemade veggie broth and added the recommended cayenne and apple cider vinegar (no maple syrup). I used Nutpods original unsweetened non-dairy creamer and it worked perfectly. This evening I served it with crispy sage. Plan to use both the sage and the pumpkin seed brittle with leftovers. Delightful!
★★★★★
Great to hear Deb!
I love all of your recipes and this one was no exception! I used my homemade chicken broth instead of broth and it was perfect! Thank you for your lovely recipes.
★★★★★
Awww thanks Sterling! Appreciate this and glad you enjoyed it!
Excellent. Some nice options and variations. Well presented. Clearly your culinary experience shines through. I also like the name. Look forward to trying your other posts.
★★★★★
thanks Mark- Appreciate this!
I’m such a big fan of your recipes but we didn’t love this one. Maybe I added too much vinegar.
★★
Sorry this didn’t work for you.
This is my first time making and eating butternut squash soup. It’s delicious. I’m not surprised because every recipe of yours is sooo good.
★★★★★
Thanks Donna, Glad you enjoyed this!
This is the worst butternut soup I ever made. The proportion of apples to squash is too high and the thyme is too strong and overpowering. What a waste of ingredients.
★
Oh dear! Sorry this didn’t work for you!
Perhaps if sage was used, instead of thyme, it would have tasted better?
I added 2 leeks, 2 carrots,2 small potatoes, 1 celery stalk, half an onion. Sautéed for about 15 min. Added stock and water simmered for 20 min than puréed with an immersion blender. Don’t like my soup too sweet so added only 1 tbsp of maple syrup. Placed the cooled soup in the fridge and will serve it today. Is it necessary to add the apple cider vinegar? The taste as is is fantastic.
Thanks Pina- sounds good! No, it is not necessary especially since you cut back the maple syrup. 😉 Enjoy it!