This Savory Spiced Butternut Squash Soup is rich, velvety and surprisingly savory. It can be made in the Instant Pot, slow cooker or right on your stove top and is so easy to throw together with minimal work!

Jump to:
- Why You’ll Love This Creamy Butternut Squash Soup Recipe
- Ingredient Information And Substitutions:
- How To Make Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Tips For Making Spicy Butternut Squash Soup
- What To Serve With Creamed Butternut Squash Soup
- Hosting Thanksgiving?
- Easy Butternut Squash Soup Recipe
Why You’ll Love This Creamy Butternut Squash Soup Recipe
A while back, I went on a brand tour in the Finger Lakes area, which is local to me and had the pleasure of dining at FLX Table. The entire meal was fantastic, but the most memorable to me was a savory butternut squash soup that completely changed my preconceived notions of what a squash soup could be.
I’ll be honest, I’m not a huge squash fan. I’ve been working on acquiring a taste for them but it’s a slow process for me. But this soup was different. It was light but rich. With a deliciously savory and slightly spicy flavor. And topped with creamy burrata cheese, a drizzle of chili oil and chopped cilantro.
While most squash soup recipes that I’ve tried tend to be on the sweet side, this soup was my gateway to savory butternut squash soup recipes. So naturally I had to make my own version and you should too!
Here’s why you’ve got to try this:
- Minimal work
- Options for Instant pot and slow cooker
- Simple ingredients
- Delicious savory flavor
- Not overly heavy
- Very easy to make
Ingredient Information And Substitutions:
- Butternut Squash- this is our main character, so I typically don’t recommend substituting a different squash. Make sure you peel the squash and move the seeds. I’ve found that one large butternut squash provides around 6 cups.
- Aromatics- Onion and garlic contribute to the fantastic savory flavor of this soup. I used yellow onion, but any onion variety will work.
- Seasonings- In addition to Kosher salt and ground black pepper, the flavors are rounded out by chili powder, ground cumin and ground cinnamon.
- Liquid- Chicken broth provides the liquid base for this soup but if you’re looking for a vegetarian option, you can totally use vegetable broth. A couple Tablespoons of heavy cream is added at the end to make it even creamer and slightly decadent. If you aren’t looking to use heavy cream, you can also use coconut cream.
- Toppings- I topped mine with burrata cheese and chopped cilantro. While the restaurant served it with chili oil, I went with a sprinkle of chili powder for the same flavor and similar look without buying an infrequently used ingredient.
How To Make Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup
Step 1: Place ingredients into the pot
Place squash, onion, garlic, spices, and broth to the instant pot and secure the cover on top.
Step 2: Cook in Instant Pot
Choose the Soup setting (which is also 30 minutes manual) and cook. When the cooking time is up, do a quick release to depressurize the Instant Pot and uncover. Purée the ingredients until smooth.
Step 3: Stir in cream
Stir in cream until combined. Serve immediately topped with Burrata, chili powder and chopped cilantro.
Frequently Asked Questions
You absolutely can without making any changes to the recipe.
It sure is!
Around 5 days covered in the refrigerator.
Yes! Substitute vegetable broth and coconut cream in place of chicken broth and heavy cream respectively and leave out the burrata.
I like to serve it with a big hunk of burrata cheese, a sprinkle of chili powder and plenty of chopped cilantro.
Yes- it will keep for a few months in an airtight container in the freezer.
Yes! Add squash, onion, garlic, spices, and broth to the slow cooker pot. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours or on high for 3 hours. Puree with a stick blender and stir on heavy cream. Ladle the soup into bowls and top with a sprinkle of chili powder, a hunk of Burrata and roughly chopped cilantro. Enjoy!
Tips For Making Spicy Butternut Squash Soup
- To prep the squash you’ll peel it, remove the seeds and cut to pieces around 1-2 inches.
- Don’t worry about making perfect cuts, you’ll be pureeing this once cooked. The goal should be trying to cut them to uniform size.
- Blend to puree. I use an immersion blender (or stick blender as some call it) to puree the soup once the cooking is done but you can also use a food processor or a high powered blender like a Vitamix.
- Prep ahead by cutting up the squash, chopping onions and peeling the garlic.
- Storage and leftovers: this will last up to 5 days covered in the refrigerator.
What To Serve With Creamed Butternut Squash Soup
A few great recipes to round out and complete this meal would be:
- Three Cheese Garlic Bread
- Roasted Beet Salad
- Summer Bounty Strawberry Salad
- Four Ingredient Chocolate Mousse
- Cherry Chocolate Oatmeal Cookie Bars
Hosting Thanksgiving?
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5 star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in the recipe card below ⬇️ and/or a review in the comment section further down. Check out my Amazon Store for all my favorite tools, including those used in this recipe. And follow @thelifejolie on Instagram and TikTok!
Easy Butternut Squash Soup Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 6 cups raw butternut squash, cut into 1 inch squares- this was basically one large squash
- 1 cup onion, diced
- 2-3 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon chili powder + a little extra for garnish
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt if using low sodium broth, double this
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 2 Tablespoons heavy cream
- Burrata cheese
- Cilantro to taste roughly chopped
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions
- Add squash, onion, garlic, spices, and broth to the instant pot and secure the cover on top.
- Choose the "Soup" setting on the Instant Pot and leave it at normal. This will show up as 30 minutes.
- Once the Instant Pot indicates that it's done, do a quick release to depressurize the Instant Pot.
- Use a stick blender to puree the soup until smooth.
- Stir in the heavy cream.
- Ladle the soup into bowls and top with a sprinkle of chili powder, a hunk of Burrata and roughly chopped cilantro. Serve immediately.
Crockpot Instructions
- Add squash, onion, garlic, spices, and broth to the crockpot.
- Cover and cook for 6 hours on low or 3 hours on high.
- Uncover and use a stick blender to puree the soup until smooth.
- Stir in the heavy cream.
- Ladle the soup into bowls and top with a sprinkle of chili powder, a hunk of Burrata and roughly chopped cilantro. Serve immediately.
Stovetop Instructions
- Add squash, onion, garlic, spices, and broth to the pot. Bring to a boil over medium high heat.
- Once boiling reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour partially covered.
- Uncover and use a stick blender to puree the soup until smooth.
- Stir in the heavy cream.
- Ladle the soup into bowls and top with a sprinkle of chili powder, a hunk of Burrata and roughly chopped cilantro. Serve immediately.
Video
Notes
- To prep the squash you’ll peel it, remove the seeds and cut to pieces around 1-2 inches.
- Don’t worry about making perfect cuts, you’ll be pureeing this once cooked. The goal should be trying to cut them to uniform size.
- Blend to puree. I use an immersion blender (or stick blender as some call it) to puree the soup once the cooking is done but you can also use a food processor or a high powered blender like a Vitamix.
- Prep ahead by cutting up the squash, chopping onions and peeling the garlic.
- Storage and leftovers: this will last up to 5 days covered in the refrigerator.
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