3 Ingredient Butternut Squash Soup
3 Ingredient butternut squash soup is so easy to make and is made from just 3 simple ingredients. Thick, creamy and so delicious this slightly sweet soup is ready in about 30 minutes on the stove but can also be made in the instant pot or crockpot (instructions included below)!
Why you will love this recipe
- Pantry ingredients
- So simple
- Great for holiday meals
- Comfort food in a bowl
- Great ingredients for any diet
3 Ingredients
- Butternut squash – the star of the show for this soup. You want to peel and cube the butternut squash. You can easily use frozen butternut squash in this recipe
- Vegetable broth – I like to use a low sodium broth so I can control the sodium in the recipe
- Cinnamon – The cinnamon brings out the sweet notes from the butternut squash and also adds to the comforting flavor.
How to make 3 ingredient butternut squash soup
Peel and chop the butternut squash. The smaller you can cut the butternut squash into cubes, the faster it will cook. I aim for ½ -1 inch cubes.
Add the cubes of butternut squash to a large pot along with 3 cups of broth, the cinnamon and salt (only use a small pinch like ¼ tsp or less) if your broth has sodium added.
Cover the pot and bring it to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low and move the lid so it’s slightly cracked (so the soup doesn’t boil over).
After about 20 minutes of simmering, the butternut squash cubes should be very soft and easy to smash with a fork or spoon.
Once the squash is soft and fully cooked, turn off the heat. Blend the soup using an immersion blender or by carefully transferring the soup to a blender (you may have to work in batches).
Once blended you may decide you want to thin out the soup even more. Add up to 1 cup of stock to the soup until you get your desired consistency. Serve immediately or stir in your favorite additions (see ideas below).
How to make in the instant pot
- Start by peeling and chopping the butternut squash into cubes. Add to the instant pot with 3 cups broth, cinnamon and salt.
- Put the lid on and cook high pressure for 7 minutes.
- You can manually release the pressure or allow it to naturally release.
- Once the pressure is released, carefully blend the soup and add more broth as needed.
How to make in the crockpot
- Start by peeling and chopping the butternut squash into cubes. Add to the crockpot along with 3 cups broth, cinnamon and salt.
- Put the lid on the slow cooker and turn on low heat for 6 hours or high heat for 3 hours.
- After done cooking, blend the soup with an immersion blender or high speed blender (carefully see tips above). Add more liquid as needed to create the consistency you prefer.
Topping ideas
- Toasted pumpkin seeds
- Drizzle with canned coconut milk or creamy cashew milk (1/4 cup raw cashews soaked blended with ¼ cup water)
- Hemp hearts
- Red pepper flakes
- Thinly sliced apples
- Crumbled bacon
What to serve with Whole30 butternut squash soup?
- Salad: this creamy butternut squash soup would go great with kale cranberry brussel sprouts salad
- Crackers or crusty bread: I highly recommend my crunchy almond flax crackers
Common Questions
Can you freeze this soup?
Yes! You can freeze butternut squash soup for 4-6 months. I like to use Soupercubes to freeze the leftover soup in 1 cup portions. Once frozen, transfer to a freezer safe bag or container and be sure to label the container with the name of the recipe, date, and freeze by date.
Can you double this recipe?
Yes! You can easily double this recipe without changing any of the cooking instructions.
3 Ingredient Butternut Squash Soup
Ingredients
- 1 large butternut squash (about 3 pounds)
- 3-4 cups vegetable broth or stock
- 1.25 tsp. cinnamon
- .75 tsp salt (less if your broth or stock has salt)
Instructions
- Peel and cut the butternut squash into cubes. Peel the squash, cut the top and bottom off and cut the squash where the bulb of the squash starts (the bulb has seeds inside). Cut the bulb in half and scoop out the seeds. Carefully cut the rest of the squash into 1 inch disks. Cut the disks into 1 inch strips then cut them into cubes.
- Add the cubed squash, 3 cups of vegetable broth, cinnamon and salt (only 1/4 tsp. if your broth has sodium added).
- Cover the pot and put over high heat. Bring to a boil.
- Once boiling, turn down the heat to low and crack the lid on the pot. Simmer 20 minutes.
- Squash should be very tender and fall apart when pressed on at this point. Blend the soup with an immersion blender or carefully transfer the soup to a blender and blend until smooth (you may need to do this in batches).
- At this time you can add more broth if needed until you get the consistency you want from the soup.
- Serve hot.
Notes
- Time saving tip: Use frozen butternut squash in place of fresh. When frozen, it is already peeled and cubed making cutting down the prep time. You will want about 5 cups of squash so you may need to buy a few bags of frozen. You can also look for fresh butternut squash cut into cubes in the produce section of the grocery store.
- Money saving tips: If you find butternut squash on sale, peel it and cube it and put it in the freezer for later in the season. You can use frozen in this recipe without defrosting.
- Tips for using a blender to make this recipe: Anytime you are blending hot liquid in a regular blender, it’s important that you ensure the mixture can breathe or it will explode in the blender from the heat build up. To do this, you want to take off the top or vent the blender and cover the top/vent with a kitchen towel. The towel allows hot steam to escape while ensuring you don’t get butternut squash all over the ceiling.
- Squash hands! You may need to wear gloves to peel and chop your butternut squash. Many people (myself included) get contact dermatitis from the sap of the butternut squash.
- Start by peeling and chopping the squash into cubes.
- Add the squash, 3 cups broth, cinnamon and salt to the instant pot.
- Put the lid on and cook high pressure for 7 minutes.
- You can manually release the pressure or allow it to naturally release.
- Once the pressure is released, carefully blend the soup and add more broth as needed.
- Start by peeling and chopping the squash into cubes.
- Add the squash, 3 cups broth, cinnamon and salt to the crockpot.
- Put the lid on the slow cooker and turn on low heat for 6 hours or high heat for 3 hours.
- After done cooking, blend the soup with an immersion blender or high speed blender (carefully see tips above). Add more liquid as needed to create the consistency you prefer.
- Add 1/4 cup raw cashews blended with 1/4 cup of milk + 1/4 tsp salt.
- Add 1/2 cup coconut milk (be sure to shake the can well before opening as it can separate). If lumpy use immersion blender to blend).
- Add 1 cup white beans blended with 1/2 cup water + 1/2 tsp. salt.
- Add 2-3 peeled potatoes or sweet potatoes to soup with butternut squash + 1/4 tsp. salt. The potatoes will naturally thicken the soup when blended.
- Add 1 cup frozen cauliflower rice + 1/4 tsp. salt.
- Add 1 apple or pear to the soup before boiling, peeled and cored
- Add 1-2 tbsp. maple syrup or honey
- Fridge: Store leftovers in the fridge for 3-4 days in an airtight container.
- Freeze: Freeze leftovers for 4-6 months in a freezer safe container.
