Creamy Butternut Squash Soup
Classic butternut squash soup with apple somehow manages to be both the ultimate in comfort and totally elegant at the same time. Make it in the Instant Pot or on the stovetop.
Servings: 8
Calories: 243kcal
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 large butternut squash about 3 pounds/1(360 grams) (see note 1)
- 2 tablespoons (28 grams) butter
- 1 large yellow onion diced
- 1 garlic clove peeled and smashed
- 1 large Granny Smith apple cored and diced
- 2 ½ cups (590 ml) good, lower-sodium vegetable broth (see note 2)
- ½ cup (120 ml) apple cider
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) pure maple syrup
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ cup (120 ml) heavy cream
Instructions
- Trim ends from butternut squash. Peel, scoop out seeds, and dice into 1-inch pieces.
- Instant Pot Instructions: Place all ingredients except cream in Instant Pot and close lid. Set vent to sealing position. Cook on high pressure for 12 minutes, then carefully release steam manually.
- Stovetop Instructions: In a large, heavy pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, and apple, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about five minutes. Add butternut squash, broth, cider, maple syrup, bay leaves, salt, pepper, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer until squash is very tender.
- Remove bay leaves.
- Stir in cream.
- Puree soup with an immersion blender directly in Instant Pot/pot or in batches in a blender. (The Vitamix makes this soup super-creamy and luxurious, if you’re into that sort of thing.)
- Ladle into bowls and serve.
Notes
- A three-pound squash (weighed whole) will yield about 2 ¾ pounds trimmed flesh, which makes about 11 cups diced squash cubes. If starting with pre-cubed butternut, whether fresh or frozen, use approximately that amount. If starting with squash puree, use two cups.
- If you're using the Instant Pot method, reduce the broth to 2 cups. The IP is a sealed environment, so you won't lose as much liquid to evaporation. To make this recipe vegetarian, use a good vegetable broth. This one has by far my favorite flavor profile. Or use chicken broth if you're not concerned with making it vegetarian.
- Like many soups, this one only gets better as it sits and has a chance to relax. (Don't we all?) Once cooled, store it in airtight containers in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for up to a year.
- This soup has a wonderful depth of flavor under any circumstances, so I don't typically find the need to start with roasted squash. But if you'd like to give it a try, here's how. To roast the squash, cut it in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Set it on a rimmed baking sheet cut-sides up in the center of a 400°F oven and roast until very tender, about an hour depending on the size and shape of your squash. When cool enough to handle, scoop out the flesh and add it to the soup at the same time you would if you hadn't roasted it. The cooking time will be much shorter from this point forward — just simmer the soup for about 10 minutes to marry all the flavors and then proceed with the recipe.
- For a dairy-free, vegan version of this soup: Replace the butter with vegan butter or olive oil (or leave it out, if using the Instant Pot method). Replace the cream with cashew cream, coconut cream, or a cup of cooked white beans, or leave it out entirely.
Nutrition
Calories: 243kcal | Carbohydrates: 41.4g | Protein: 2.9g | Fat: 8.7g | Fiber: 5.3g