I stinking love butternut squash soup. It is a fall staple that I eat throughout the season, starting the second I see butternut squash show up at my grocery store and ending once I can no longer conveniently get one. It is the perfect way to bring some variation to your meal rotations. Need more vegetables? Need a meatless but satisfying entree? Need a lazy way to make a soup that feels classy and can be done in an hour? I’ve got you covered.

One of my favorite parts about this recipe is that about 50 minutes of the cooking is just letting things get soft in a pot (with the first 20 minutes requiring an occasional stir). That leaves a lot of room for making any sides you want to go with your soup (because what is a soup without sides?). I highly recommend serving this with a sweet, fall-y salad like my Autumn Harvest Salad (20 mins) or my Easy Artisan Bread (time is mostly hands off, can be easily pre-made and then baked fresh while the soup simmers). I also appreciate that everything except the squash and the onion is shelf-stable, and even those two have a pretty good shelf life for a fresh ingredient. I once bought a butternut squash at the beginning of the month and didn’t get around to making this soup until the end of the month. No stress about meal planning because my groceries might go to waste! The butternut squash has got your back.

This recipe is an adaptation of one from Love and Lemons. Over the almost four years I have been making this, I’ve adjusted it so that it better suits my lazy-a** cooking. Still, that food blog is amazing, so if you’re ever looking for something and see that they have a recipe for it, definitely give it a look-over!

Ingredients

1 3-pound butternut squash
1 large yellow onion
2 Tablespoons olive oil, canola/vegetable oil also works
½ teaspoon salt
black pepper to taste, I usually start with about ½ teaspoon
¾ teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground sage
½ teaspoon dried rosemary
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
32 ounces vegetable broth (1 carton)

How to Make It

Start heating a large pot on medium heat.
Peel, seed, and chop your squash. Then chop your onion.
Add the oil, onion, salt, and pepper. Cook until soft, about 5 to 8 minutes. Then add the squash and cook until it begins to soften a bit, stirring occasionally (another 8-10 minutes).
Add the rest of the spices (garlic, sage, rosemary, and ginger). Stir and cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute, until fragrant. Then add 3 cups of the broth (or most of the carton if you’re too lazy to measure) and bring the mixture to a boil.
Once boiling, reduce the heat to a simmer and cover. Cook for 20 to 30 minutes, until the squash is tender.
Let cool slightly and pour the soup into a blender (working in batches if necessary) and blend until smooth. If the soup is too thick, add up to 1 cup more vegetable stock (or whatever remains). Season to taste and serve.

Variations

Cranberry sauce for more zing!
Bacon adds a divine savory element to this soup, as it does to most things. If you have any bacon and cranberry sauce lying around, I highly recommend doing them both together!
Texture: add some pumpkin seeds or pine nuts.
Heavy cream to make the soup a bit creamier/heartier. Just know you might want to add a little more spice, as this could thin the flavor.

Storage

You can store this soup in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months. To thaw, leave it in the fridge for about 24 hours before reheating.

Final Thoughts

If you really want a soup to help you get into the fall/winter spirit and you are not willing to spend more than an hour on it, this butternut squash soup is just the thing. It’s fancy enough to serve to guests while still being easy and cosy enough to make just for you. And if you are unsure about your feelings on butternut squash, this delicious dish is a great place to start figuring it out.