Best Butternut Squash Soup (Vegan!)

This classic vegan butternut squash soup recipe has just the right fall flavor! Creamy and cozy, serve with crusty bread for an easy meal.

When the air gets that certain chill, it’s like a toggle switch. Suddenly the name of this pale orange, oblong pumpkin is on everyone’s lips. That is Butternut Squash Season! Here’s a recipe that turns that hard-to-cut squash into a silky orange puree. Meet our contact point Butternut Squash Soup Recipe! To put a modern twist on the classic, it’s a plant-based and vegan butternut squash soup. You will find that the taste is so deliciously creamy that all your fall dreams will come true.

All About Butternut Squash

The pumpkin everyone is talking about is more than just a fad. Butternut squash is a pear-shaped winter squash with light orange skin. Its taste is sweet and slightly nutty, almost like a sweet yam. It is popular in soup recipes, as a pasta sauce or in risotto. Is Butternut Squash Healthy? Here’s a little breakdown of the nutritional information for butternut squash:

• Butternut squash is a good source of fiber. It contains 7 grams per 1 diced cup, or about 28% of your daily requirement (source). You get that, along with other ingredients, in one serving of this butternut squash soup.
• Butternut squash is also high in vitamin A and vitamin C. The same serving also provides 457% of your daily vitamin A intake and 52% of your daily vitamin C intake. (Source)
• Butternut squash is a low-calorie food. 1 cup contains 82 calories.

Ingredients for this butternut squash soup recipe

Our must-have butternut squash recipe is vegan and plant-based: which fits as a modern twist! Instead of the rich, heavy butters and creams of the past, today’s butternut squash soup can boast beautiful flavors made entirely from plants. Here’s what we included in this Vegan Butternut Squash Soup recipe:

• yellow onion
• Garlic
• fresh ginger: This is the key to autumn’s nuanced flavor profile!
• carrot
• Butternut Squash
• olive oil
• vegetable soup
• Dried Sage
• Chickpeas: This trick adds protein to vegan soup and makes it more filling than most!
• coconut milk

What is the best way to cut butternut squash?

The longest piece in this soup? Cut the butternut squash! This squash is notoriously difficult to peel and chop. For best results, we recommend using fresh butternut squash in this recipe (although you can use frozen squash in a pinch). Here are some tips on how best to cut butternut squash:

• Cut the neck first. Peeling and chopping the base and neck separately makes the elongated shape easier to manage.
• Peel with a serrated peeler. It’s easier to peel hard-skinned vegetables with a pumpkin peeler because the jagged edges grab the skin. (Here’s the serrated peeler we’re using.)
• Cut into boards, then chop. Cut the bottom and neck into planks, and then dice them. Here is a video to show the process.

Make sure it’s bright orange!

When you cut your butternut squash, make sure it’s a bright orange color. This means it’s perfectly ripe, giving the best sweet flavor and creamy texture. If you cut it and it has a pale yellow color: Attention! That means the squash isn’t ripe. That happened to us in one of the experiments with this soup. If that happens: give up! We hate to say it, but the pumpkin doesn’t taste as deliciously sweet as it should. Maybe opt for grilled cheese instead?

How to Make Butternut Squash Soup

This butternut squash soup recipe is easy to make once you get past the cutting edge! Here are the basic steps for a butternut squash soup:

• Prepare the ingredients. Chop onion, ginger, carrot and garlic. See the recipe below for exact instructions!
• Sauté the onion. Cook until translucent, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and stir until just fragrant.
• Add the remaining ingredients and let simmer. Let simmer until the vegetables are soft.
• Mixed! Add the chickpeas and coconut milk and puree. We used a large high speed blender to fit all the soup. If you have a standard blender you will need to do this in batches.

Chickpeas add body, protein, and fiber to vegan soups

A unique ingredient in this vegan butternut squash soup helps keep it filling by providing protein and fiber: chickpeas! Don’t worry if you’re not a fan of chickpeas. They puree them right in the soup, so the flavor is almost imperceptible and the texture is non-existent. You can omit the chickpeas if you’d like, but we like to add extra nutrients and keep the soup as hearty as possible.

What to serve with butternut squash soup

Once you’ve cooked and mixed, we’re ready to eat this delicious soup! There are many ways to serve a Butternut Squash Soup recipe, but remember: you need to add something to make it complete! Here are a few options we like:

What else can you make with butternut squash?

There are so many ways to use this delicious pumpkin! Here are some other butternut squash recipes for fall:

This butternut squash soup recipe is…

Vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free and gluten-free.