Vegan Butternut Squash Soup
This easy vegan butternut squash soup recipe is seasoned with all the right spices and served smooth, with a savory, creamy sauce. It’s like comfort food in a bowl! You’ll be sure to come back for bowl after bowl, and you can do it without guilt because it’s so healthy.
Does it seem impossible to make a butternut squash soup vegan? This curry squash soup recipe proves otherwise. I love to serve this vegetarian butternut squash soup hot with some vegan coconut yogurt over the top and sprinklings of pumpkin seeds and cranberries. It’s perfection in a bowl.
And scroll down below to see the nutrition information on this butternut squash curry soup. It’s so healthy!
What Makes This Recipe Shine?
- Roasting butternut squash before adding it to the soup richness its flavor
- Adding cashews makes this soup extra creamy
- Using gala apples adds a bit of tart sweetness, complementing the flavors in the soup
Key Ingredients
You can find the full printable recipe, including ingredient quantities, below. But first, here are some explanations of ingredients and steps to help you make this recipe perfect every time.
Here are the ingredients you’ll need for this recipe, including substitution ideas:
- Butternut squash — You can use one regular-sized butternut squash or skip this step by selecting peeled and pre-cut butternut squash, usually available in the produce or frozen goods aisle.
- Olive oil
- Seasoning — You’ll need salt, black pepper, curry powder, dried ginger, and ground turmeric.
- Onion — I used a mild yellow onion, or you can substitute white or red onion.
- Raw cashews — I buy these in the produce section of some grocery stores, in health food stores, or online.
- Garlic — You’ll need 1 clove of garlic (or use two if you like it extra garlicky).
- Apples — I use 2 gala apples for this recipe.
- Broth — I recommend using a high-quality vegetable broth, which is why I think Better Than Bouillon Vegetarian combined with water is the best option.
- Vegan Cream — I used Ripple Half and Half because it’s unsweetened creamy milk. You can substitute coconut milk, vegan evaporated milk, cashew milk, or any vegan creamer that’s plain (not vanilla-flavored) and unsweetened.
- Pumpkin seeds — This is optional, but it adds a little crunch on top.
How To Select Butternut Squash for Soup
Look for squash without bruises or cuts, although some surface-level scratches are common. Hold the squash in your hand. It should feel heavy, which is a sign of moisture (a good thing, as old squash are dried up inside and weigh less). Because it’s a winter squash, it has thick skin and should not be stored in the fridge (unless it’s cut up). Because the skin is so tough, we’ll cook the squash first and then scoop out the flesh.
How to Make Vegan Butternut Squash Soup
- Roast the butternut squash by placing squash cut-side down in a pan and baking for 40 to 45 minutes.
- Cook onions in an oiled pot until tender, then add garlic.
- Stir in the remaining soup ingredeints and bring to a simmer, cooking for about 20 to 30 minutes.
- When the squash is done and cooled slightly, spoon out the flesh into a high-speed blender.
- Pour in the broth mixture and the vegan cream. See tips below for blending hot liquids.
- To serve, pour into soup into individual bowls and top with additional cream and pumpkin seeds.
Here are more detailed step-by-step instructions.
Step One: How to Cut Butternut Squash
There are several strategies for how to cut butternut for soup. I happen to really like the method that requires roasting the butternut squash first. Why? Because roasted butternut squash brings out some of its richer flavors.
And if you haven’t tasted a rich, roasted butternut squash, you are missing out.
- Cut a sliver off the bottom of the squash, to create a stable base, and then cut off the stem.
- Slice the squash beginning at the top, and working down to the bottom.
- Scoop out the seeds and goop.
- Drizzle olive oil over each cut-side and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Turn them cut-side down on a pan and bake for 40 to 45 minutes.
- Allow the baked squash to cool a little bit and then remove the peel and cut into 1″ cubes.
Making Vegan Butternut Soup
To make the vegan roasted butternut squash soup itself, simply cook the onion with a little olive oil in a pot until the onions are tender. Then add the rest of the ingredients, like garlic, apples, spices, broth, and more. Let all that simmer until the apples are tender.
Should you peel the apples? I say no. Because the peel is where so many of the nutrients reside. That said, if you don’t have a high-powered blender, you might want to go ahead and peel the apples because they are harder to pulverize. You can save those peels to something else like a green smoothie!
Transfer all the dairy-free butternut squash soup ingredients, including roasted squash into a blender. Now, one thing to note here: this makes a lot of soup! You will want to do this in batches. It helps to have a bowl handy so you can puree one batch, transfer it to a bowl, and then move on to the next batch.
Blending Hot Ingredients
- Never fill your blender more than halfway full.
- Place the blender lid with the insert removed securely on top.
- Cover the lid with a kitchen towel.
- Blend initially on low speed to break the ingredients down.
- Slowly increase the speed to cream the mixture.
Serving Suggestions
To serve vegan butternut soup, spoon it out into a bowl and microwave it on high for a minute or two, until heated through. Allow it to cool slightly and then add vegan coconut yogurt on top with pumpkin seeds and even a few dried cranberries. It’s delicious!
Storage Tips
I like to store vegetarian squash soup recipes in several smaller containers rather than one large one. That way I can choose to freeze some portions of the soup. That works perfectly in the case of this soup. I freeze half and then leave half in the fridge for dinners or lunches.
Frequently-Asked Questions
What goes well with butternut squash soup?
You can serve butternut squash soup as a pre-dinner soup. However, it can also be served as the main meal with a grilled cheese sandwich, or hearty harvest salad on the side. Be sure to include croutons, crackers, and/or cornbread with this hearty, creamy soup.
Can butternut squash soup be frozen?
A butternut squash soup freezes well. Simply transfer the cooled soup into a freezer-friendly container or freezer bag. When stored properly, it can keep up to 3 months in the freezer.
More Vegan Soups
Sure, we can make the best butternut squash soup recipes vegan, but do you want even more vegan soup recipes? Here you go:
Here are even more Vegan Soups you’ll want to try today!
Want to know what to serve with the best vegan butternut squash soup recipe? Any of my soup recipes are even better when served with Vegan Cornbread.
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Vegan Butternut Squash Soup
Ingredients
- 1 large butternut squash
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 small onion, peeled and roughly chopped
- ½ cup raw cashews
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 medium gala apples, cored and chopped (with peel)
- 5 cups low sodium vegetable broth
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
- 1 teaspoon dried ginger
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- ¾ cup Ripple half and half
- ¼ cup pumpkin seeds, for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F/200°C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Cut top and bottom off of butternut squash. Then sit it upright and beginning at the top, cut it in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds. Place both halves, cut side up, on the prepared baking sheet. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil and use your fingers to make sure all the squash is covered. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Turn the squash cut-side down and place in a heated oven and cook for 40 to 45 minutes, until squash is tender. Remove from oven and set aside to cool slightly.
- In the meantime, set a large pot over medium-high heat and add the remaining olive oil. Add onions and cashews and stir until coated. Cook about 5 minutes until onions are tender. Add chopped garlic and cook for about 30 seconds.
- Stir in the following to the pot: chopped apples, broth, curry, ginger, turmeric, and rosemary. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to low. Cook over low heat for about 20 – 30 minutes while the squash is cooking.
- When the squash is done and cooled slightly, spoon out the flesh into a high-speed blender. Then pour in the mixture from the pot and vegan half and half. Don’t fill the blender more than halfway full, and remove the lid insert to allow heat to escape. Place a kitchen towel over top and blend at low speed, increasing to a higher speed, in short bursts until the mixture is smooth
- Transfer soup back to pot to allow it to cool. After it's cooled slightly, either serve immediately or transfer to sealable containers and refrigerate. This will keep up to 5 days in the fridge or can be frozen for up to 2 months.
- To serve, pour into individual bowls and top with additional cream and pumpkin seeds.
Recommended Equipment
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The nutrition information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator and should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
This post was originally published in 2018 and was updated to include new photos, new text, and an updated recipe in 2021.
This was a sponsored post. All opinions are my own. See our full disclosure for more information.
I love the depth of flavor in this! It’s easy and delicious! **How much rosemary should be used? It’s in directions but not ingredient list.
I’ve never had butternut squash soup. Mamma made vegetable soup and I loved that. I’m going to try this soup soon.
Thanks! Hope you agree this is the best vegan butternut squash soup recipe!