Healthy Butternut Squash Soup

This Healthy Butternut Squash Soup is paleo, Whole30, vegan, and naturally gluten/dairy free. Easily made in your crockpot, instant pot or on the stove! Super creamy and rich – this is a soup recipe everyone will love!

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Is there anything more delicious and cozy than butternut squash soup? This easy healthy butternut squash soup recipe is a staple in our home during the fall. Made with only a few ingredients – it’s quick to make and so tasty!

This paleo butternut squash soup is naturally gluten free, dairy free, whole30 friendly and vegan!

We love butternut squash. It’s delicious roasted or even made into chips! However.. we all know that butternut squash soup is where is really shines.

Today I’m showing you just how easy it is to make healthy butternut squash soup that’s Whole30, paleo and vegan!

What makes this butternut squash soup healthy?

Wholesome ingredients – Typically butternut squash soup is loaded with lots of funky ingredients, heavy cream and loads of cheese. This soup doesn’t have that!

Creaminess from veggies – Most butternut squash soup recipes have a lot of heavy cream in them, but this soup just uses NO milk! It gets all the creaminess from broth + veggies.

Easily customizable – Whether you need to make this lower salt, lower carb.. there’s a substitution for basically everything below!

Veggie loaded – There is one serving of veggies per serving of soup, and you can easily bulk up that amount by adding more carrots, celery or onions.

Ingredients for Healthy Butternut Squash Soup:

To make this Healthy Butternut Squash Soup we used vegetable stock or bone broth if not vegan/vegetarian, pepper, salt, paprika, cinnamon, turmeric+ olive oil.

You’ll also need a blender for this recipe. A crockpot or instant pot will also be helpful, or you can make it on your stove!

Before we get into how to make butternut squash soup, I thought you might want to learn how the heck to cut a butternut squash!

How to cut butternut squash:

The first step to cutting/preparing a butternut squash is to peel it. This is the best vegetable peeler! Once your squash is peeled, cut the neck off (the cylinder shaped side).

Remove the bulbous (round) shaped slice and slice longways. You’ll find that this part of the squash has seeds in it. Scoop the seeds out and discard (or save them and roast them up for a snack!)

The top half (or ‘neck’) of the squash doesn’t have seeds in it. You can use this part of the squash as is.

Now that your squash is cut, let’s go over how to make butternut squash soup. I’ve included instructions for the crockpot, instant pot and stove – but the photos show the crockpot.

How to make Vegan Butternut Squash Soup:

Making butternut squash soup isn’t hard at all! This healthy butternut squash soup comes to just one pan or your crockpot/instant pot.

Step 1: Heat olive oil in a pan over medium high heat. Sauté squash, carrots, onions + garlic until slightly browned + soft on edges.

Step 2. Add your spices, fill with stock + bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat and simmer for 30-40 minutes.

Step 3: Allow soup to cook + blend it up! My Vitamix always gets jobs like this done in no time! You can also use an immersion blender or food processor.

That’s literally it… it doesn’t get any easier than that!

Look how dreamy!! SO creamy and delicious.

(If you love creamy soup, you have to try this Healthy Broccoli Soup!)

Why is this Butternut Squash Soup Made without milk?

Because it doesn’t need it 🙂 Once you try this, you won’t even miss the milk. The creaminess of the squash + veggies when blended tastes just like soup that has milk in it. You really don’t need it!

Substitutions for this Whole30 Butternut Squash Soup Recipe:

Herbs- Feel free to add thyme, rosemary or sage to this this recipe. 1/2 teaspoon of dried herbs will be the perfect amount!

Milk/Cream – You an add regular milk, cream, almond milk or coconut milk to this soup. Blending the soup with milk will make it thinner in texture, while making it a creamier.

Broth – You can use beef or chicken broth instead of vegetable broth

Can butternut squash be roasted? You can roast the butternut squash and veggies in this soup rather than sautéing or cooking in the crockpot/instant pot. Coat all vegetables in olive oil and roast at 400 for 30 minutes. Make sure to roughly chop veggies rather than dicing them if roasting them

Sodium: If you’re looking to reduce sodium, omit the salt and use a salt-free broth. The nutrition facts reflect using a salt free broth.

Tips for blending hot soup:

You can blend this soup with an immersion blender, regular blender, or even a food processor. 

Make sure to be very careful when blending soup in a regular blender. If you are blending hot soup, it can lead the blender to steam up or build pressure which can result in the top popping off. To avoid that, here are our tips for blending hot soup in a regular blender.

Allow the soup to cool for a few minutes if you can. It’s best not to take this right off the stove/instant pot/crockpot and put it in the blender. Give it a few minutes uncovered/off heat to release some steam.

Blend the soup in batches. It’s probably best to divide this in half and blend it 1/2 the batch at a time. By doing this you’re leaving room in the blender for the soup to move around.

Remove the center cover from the blender and cover with a towel instead.  Most blender tops have a removable plastic piece in the center. Take this center piece out and put a clean dish towel over the opening while blending. (You don’t want soup on the ceiling!). Doing this allows the steam to vent out and prevents pressure from building up in the blender. Make sure to hold your hand over the dish towel to avoid it from moving/splattering.

What can you serve this butternut squash soup recipe with?

Toppings– I like to garnish with bacon and toasted pumpkin seeds. You can add herbs, cream, spices.. the options are endless!

Bacon- You can add bacon bits on top

Protein- Serve it alongside these Whole30 Cashew Coconut Chicken Tenders for a well balanced meal

Bread- If you’re not paleo/whole30 – a big loaf of crusty bread is the way to go 🙂

Salad – This Strawberry Avocado Goat Cheese Salad is my favorite

How to store butternut squash soup:

This butternut squash soup will last for 5 days in the refrigerator.

Can this be made ahead? – Yes, you can serve the soup straight from your blender. Or, make it the day before and reheat it in your blender or in a pot on the stove

Can this soup be frozen? Yes! Let leftover soup cool to room temperature before transferring it to a proper storage container. You can freeze this soup for up to 3 months

Other healthy soup recipes:

We love soup SO much that we actually have a free healthy soup ebook! We also have a post filled with 25 Healthy Soup Recipes!

• Easy Minestrone Soup
• Healthy Potato Soup
• Healthy Lemon Chicken Soup
• Vegan Pasta Fagioli
• Whole30 Italian Wedding Soup
• 15 Bean Soup
• 25 Healthy Soup Recipes

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4.43 from 7 votes

Healthy Butternut Squash Soup

This Healthy Butternut Squash Soup is paleo, Whole30, vegan, and naturally gluten/dairy free. Easily made in your crockpot, instant pot or on the stove!

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword healthy butternut squash soup, paleo butternut squash soup, whole30 butternut squash soup

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Servings 6

Calories 102kcal

WW Freestyle Points 1

Author The Clean Eating Couple

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 lbs butternut squash cut in 1 inch pieces, about 5 cups
• 1 cup carrots diced
• ½ cup onion diced
• 1 tablespoon garlic minced
• 1 quart vegetable stock
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon turmeric

Instructions

Stove Top instructions

• Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Saute squash, carrots, onions + garlic until squash has browned on edges and onions/garlic are translucent
• Add stock and spices to the pan. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat + simmer for 30-40 minutes.
• Puree with an immersion blender, or allow soup to cool + add to a blender. Blend until smooth.

Crockpot Instructions

• In a large pan, heat olive oil. Sauté squash, carrots, onions + garlic until squash has browned on edges and onions/garlic are translucent. (about 10 minutes)
• Place cooked vegetables in crockpot. Cover with stock and add spices. Cook on low for 6-8 hours
• Puree with an immersion blender, or allow soup to cool + add to a blender. Blend until smooth.

Instant Pot Instructions

• Set instant pot to sauté. Heat olive oil. Sauté squash, carrots, onions + garlic until squash has browned on edges and onions/garlic are translucent (about 10 minutes)
• Stir in spices and add stock.
• Cover instant pot and set to sealing, Pressure Cook for 10 minutes.
• Once cooked, allow the pressure to manually release for 10 minutes, than quick release.
• Puree with an immersion blender, or allow soup to cool + add to a blender. Blend until smooth.

Notes

Why is this Butternut Squash Soup Made without milk?

Because it doesn't need it 🙂 Once you try this, you won't even miss the milk. The creaminess of the squash + veggies when blended tastes just like soup that has milk in it. You really don't need it!

What can you serve this butternut squash soup recipe with?

• I like to garnish with fresh cilantro and toasted pumpkin seeds
• You can add bacon bits on top
• Serve it alongside these Whole30 Cashew Coconut Chicken Tenders for a well balanced meal
• If you're not paleo/whole30 - a big loaf of crusty bread 🙂

Nutrition Facts

Nutrition Facts

Healthy Butternut Squash Soup

Amount Per Serving (1 cup)

Calories 102 Calories from Fat 36

% Daily Value*

Fat 4g6%

Sodium 843mg37%

Potassium 361mg10%

Carbohydrates 15g5%

Fiber 2g8%

Sugar 4g4%

Protein 1g2%

Vitamin A 12100IU242%

Vitamin C 18.6mg23%

Calcium 49mg5%

Iron 0.8mg4%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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