If you're looking for a smooth, creamy roasted butternut squash soup, this easy blender version is one of the best ways to make it. Roasting the squash first caramelizes the natural sugars and gives the soup a deeper flavor than versions made with boiled squash.
The rest of the soup is simple: onion, carrot, broth and a couple of quietly powerful spices like rosemary and celery seed. After simmering until tender, everything goes into the blender and turns into a silky, restaurant-style soup in seconds.
Type of Blender for Butternut Squash Soup
This recipe originally started as an experiment with an "Ace" heated blender, but after making it many times the traditional way I realized it actually works just as well in a regular blender or with an immersion blender. Better yet, a high speed blender. When I finally bought a Vitamix, this is one of the first soup recipes I used. If using a Vitamix, you can actually just heat the soup with the friction of the blender. Some models even have a Soup function. I prefer to just puree the soup until very creamy and heat it in a pot.
The result is a naturally sweet, savory butternut squash soup with no cream required. The roasted squash and carrots provide plenty of sweetness, so there's no need to add maple syrup or sugar the way many squash soup recipes do.
Why Roasting the Squash Matters
Roasting the squash cubes is what makes this soup special. When butternut squash is roasted at high heat, the edges caramelize and the flavor becomes richer and sweeter.
If you skip this step and simply simmer raw squash in broth, the soup will still be good, but it won't have the same depth of flavor.
Ingredient Notes
Butternut Squash -- Fresh cubed squash works best because it browns nicely in the oven. You can also use frozen squash cubes if that's what you have; they roast a little faster and won't caramelize quite as much but the soup will still taste great.
Rosemary and Celery Seed -- The two spices that really define the flavor of this soup are rosemary and celery seed. Celery seed is one of those underrated pantry ingredients. It gives the flavor of celery without adding actual celery pieces, which is helpful if you don't enjoy the texture of cooked celery.
Broth -- Use vegetable broth or chicken broth depending on your preference. Salt levels vary widely between brands, so the final seasoning may need adjustment. If using a fully salted broth like Swanson, you may only need a small pinch of additional salt. If using reduced-sodium broth, plan to add a little more at the end.
Recipe
Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
Ingredients
- 24 ounces cubed, fresh butternut squash ( 5 cups) weight is for trimmed, seeded and cubed
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ teaspoon dried rosemary (add more if you love rosemary)
- ¼ teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 3 ½ cups vegetable broth, Swanson fully salted or any brand, plus more as needed
- 2 cups roughly chopped onions (2 medium) (240 grams)
- ¾ cup rough chopped carrots or 12 baby carrots (105 grams)
- ¼ teaspoon dried celery seed (feel free to add more!)
- black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
- Spread squash on a large rimmed heavy duty baking sheet and toss with oil, salt, pepper and about half the rosemary. Roast at 450 for about 35 minutes, stopping halfway to turn, or until sides are nicely browned and you see some caramelization. The 22-24 oz of squash should cook down to about 10-12 oz.
- Add broth to the blender, then add roasted buternut squash, onions, carrots, and everything else.
- Close blender and puree. If using a high speed blender, start on a lower speed and gradually increase speed.
- When the blender is finished, remove lid and add pepper to taste. If you've used unsalted broth, you'll probably need to add at least ¼ teaspoon more salt. I use salted broth and end up adding an extra pinch or two.
- Pour the soup into a large pot and heat over medium. Adjust salt level to taste.
Anna says
This soup is really good, but it comes out thicker if you make it over the stove and with a blender rather than in the Instant Pot blender. I think it just loses more liquid due to evaporation. The fix is just to add more broth at the end.
Sue says
I stumbled on this post after coming to Cookie Madness to forward your Tortilla soup recipe to friends. I don’t have an Ace Blender but I do have a Vita Mix. I’ve never used it for soup and now I’m wondering if it would work for this? Hmmmm…..
Anna says
Taneka, I think she'll like it. Also, the link is kind of buried within the text, but here's a good comparison of the Instant Pot Ace to the Vitamix. https://www.thekitchn.com/instant-pot-blender-vitamix-review-266004
T. Martin says
Going to throw this into the mix for Thanksgiving consideration. Right up Mom's alley and the Vitamix has a soup setting. I wonder how Vitamixes compare to the Instant Pot Ace.