Roasted Butternut Squash and Bacon Soup
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This easy roasted butternut squash soup is so silky smooth, so dreamy, and so creamy! The secret is roasting the butternut squash first!
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Have made this recipe 3x in the past 3 weeks! Everyone LOVES it. From my parents, to my 5 year old and 1 year old nieces. The goat cheese is amazing with it, it’s so savory and satisfying. It also couldn’t be any easier to make! Thank you for such an incredibly easy and delicious recipe, this is a staple in our house now!
Why you’ll love this Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
- Dreamiest butternut squash soup. With its silky smooth texture, this is the only recipe you will need this fall (and winter) season for years to come.
- Smoky goodness. The secret to the recipe is roasting the butternut squash with bacon, onion, bell pepper, and garlic first. That way, you have that smoky, garlicky-bacon goodness built right into the soup.
- The garnishes are simply the best. A sprinkle of crumbled, crispy bacon, goat cheese, and fresh chives simply takes this soup to the next level. It’s truly just so much coziness in a single bowl.
How to make Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
- Prep the butternut squash. Place the butternut squash, onion, bell pepper, and bacon on a greased baking sheet. Stir in the olive oil, garlic, salt, and peper, tossing until evenly coated. Pro tip: for a quick weeknight shortcut, use pre-cut butternut squash.
- Roast the butternut squash. Spread out the vegetables in a single layer, avoiding any overlap. Bake at 400°F for 25-30 minutes, or until the squash is fork-tender, stirring or flipping halfway through.
- Cook the bacon. Dice the raw bacon slices into small pieces and add to a hot Dutch oven over medium heat. Spread the bacon out in a single layer and cook, stirring often, until brown and crispy, about 6-8 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
- Blend. Stir in the roasted butternut squash and thyme in the leftover bacon grease until fragrant. Then stir in the chicken stock, pureeing with an immersion blender until smooth and creamy.
- Simmer. Reduce the heat to a simmer until thickened, about 5-10 minutes. Pro tip: if the soup is too thick, add a small splash of chicken stock.
- Serve. Serve warm, ladled into bowls and garnished with the crispy bacon, crumbled goat cheese, chopped fresh chives, or any other garnishes (see below) as desired.
Garnishes to add
- Crunchy: croutons, crumbled bacon, chopped nuts, or pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
- Creamy: dollop of sour cream or Greek yogurt, drizzle of heavy cream, or swirl of full-fat coconut milk
- Herbs: chopped fresh chives, green onions, cilantro, or parsley
- Fruit: pomegranate seeds
- Cheese: crumbled goat cheese, crumbled blue cheese, or freshly grated Parmesan
what to serve with butternut squash soup
Tools For This Recipe
Roasted Butternut Squash and Bacon Soup: Frequently Asked Questions
Can I substitute sweet potatoes for the butternut squash?
Absolutely! You can substitute about 3 pounds sweet potatoes.
How can I make this vegetarian?
You can omit the bacon and substitute vegetable stock for the chicken stock.
What if I don’t have an immersion blender?
A countertop blender (such as a Vitamix or Blendtec) or food processor should do the trick! When using a countertop blender, cool the soup slightly and blend in batches.
What toppings can I add?
Toasted pumpkin seeds, fried sage leaves, sour cream (or Greek yogurt), heavy cream, or blue cheese crumbles are all great options!
Is butternut squash soup freezer-friendly?
Yes! You can freeze the leftovers without the garnishes in individual freezer bags, thawing overnight and gently reheating on the stovetop, adding fresh garnishes just before serving.
Can I make butternut squash soup in the Instant Pot?
Absolutely! Click here for a favorited Instant Pot version.
Roasted Butternut Squash and Bacon Soup
This easy roasted butternut squash soup is so silky smooth, so dreamy, and so creamy! The secret is roasting the butternut squash first!
Video
Ingredients
- 4 slices bacon, diced
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 ½ cups chicken stock, or more, to taste
- ¼ cup crumbled goat cheese
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
for the roasted butternut squash
- 1 butternut squash, about 3 pounds, peeled, seeded and cut in 1-inch chunks
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 4 slices bacon, diced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Heat a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add bacon and cook until brown and crispy, about 6-8 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
- Add the roasted butternut squash and thyme, and cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir in chicken stock and puree with an immersion blender.
- Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until slightly thickened, about 5-10 minutes. If the soup is too thick, add more chicken stock as needed until desired consistency is reached.
- Serve immediately, garnished with bacon, goat cheese and chives, if desired.
for the roasted butternut squash
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly oil a baking sheet or coat with nonstick spray.
- Place butternut squash, onion, bell pepper and bacon in a single layer onto the prepared baking sheet. Add olive oil and garlic; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Gently toss to combine.
- Place into oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until butternut squash is tender, stirring at halftime.*
Equipment
Notes
- Grab pre-cut squash. To cut down on prep time even more, use pre-cut butternut squash or sweet potatoes.
- Roast the butternut squash. Roasting the butternut squash beforehand will add more rich and caramelized flavors all around.
- Use good-quality stock. The better quality your stock, the better your soup. Many brands love to pack in the salt so always opt for unsalted or a lower-sodium variety. Homemade stock is even better.
- Blending is key. With the help of an immersion blender or a countertop blender, the soup will yield an even creamier, smoother consistency.
- Add garnishes. Garnishes are always optional but a fresh sprinkle of chives or some crispy bacon will certainly take your soup to the next level, adding more flavor, texture and contrast.
- Mix it up. Use sweet potato in place of butternut squash, or a blend of both.
- Freeze without the garnishes. Butternut squash soup can keep in the freezer for up to 3 months, freezing in single-serving sizes (for easy thawing) and reheating gently on the stovetop or in the microwave.
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I followed your instructions exactly and OH MY GOSH! So so good! I’ve never had butternut squash soup before but saw it on a TV show and looked for a recipe. Came across this one and I’m so glad I did! By far the easiest soup I’ve ever made! If I had bought precursor squash, my prep would uave been three minutes! What a great suggestion with the goat cheese. It made it so delicious. Thank you so much! Will be making again (and again…and again…)
Fantastic recipe! I omitted the goat cheese due to allergies, but it was still fantastic!
Can you freeze this recipe?
Unfortunately, I cannot answer this with certainty as I have never tried freezing this myself – there were no leftovers left to freeze! Please use your best judgment for freezing and reheating.
I freeze butternut squash soup all the time. Of course, its better fresh but it works. I haven’t frozen this recipe yet, I just made it for the first time and I can’t eat peppers and its still AMAZING!! such a good recipe.
This looks amazing! Can I make this in the crockpot?
Denean, please understand that it is very difficult to give exact conversion information to translate a traditional stovetop recipe to the slow cooker method without further recipe testing. Please use your best judgement to convert this recipe to utilize a slow cooker.
Ok, thanks! I think I’ll just make it ahead of time and reheat as needed. I was looking for a crockpot soup to eat with sandwiches for a Sunday afternoon. It looks too delicious to pass up trying!
This soup looks awesome! I love all the colors and texture… I NEED to try this soon. Pinned!
I made this soup tonight after seeing it on multiple Pinterest boards, and OMG, is it TASTY! So sweet and creamy. Took a little longer to prep and cook that I had thought, but totally worth it. It is for sure going in our regular winter rotation, and I’m sure I’ll get it down to a science for timing.
Fantastic recipe, thank you! 🙂 I used cheap bacon and it was still delicious but felt it was slightly lacking in body even with additional salt/pepper. Next time will use higher quality bacon – I think it might add that extra bit of roundness I was hoping for. Thank you again for all of your recipes!
i am going to try this without the goat cheese and I will tell you all how it turns out! I figure it won’t be lacking in flavor since the butternut squash, bacon and chicken stock are flavorful enough to carry the soup! Crossing my fingers!
Just made this soup over the weekend and my family could not get enough of it! I LOVE this stuff, and i normally don’t like soup. amazing recipe! I wrote about it at my blog http://scantronsandscones.wordpress.com/2015/01/04/a-texture-thing-a-soup-recipe-and-other-traumatizing-childhood-stories/
thanks for posting great recipes!
just made this soup, on this chilly January day and it is super delish!
I made this tonight. It was amazing! But, then again, I have never made one of your dishes that wasn’t amazing! You are my “go to” lady.
Made this last night, only had vegetable stock but it was still amazing. My husband LOVED it.
Made this soup for New Years Eve and it was so simple to make but very delicious. I didn’t put the crumbled goat cheese though. Using the already packaged cube squash made it that much easier. Try this soup if you love, love, love butternut squash❤️
Did you remember how much pre bagged you used ?
Made this for Christmas dinner and it was a big hit. Did add a lot more stock because mine seemed a bit too thick but that just means more leftovers. Thanks!
Hi,
Do you blend the bacon in with the soup, along with topping it off with bacon?
Yes, that’s exactly right! The bacon topping is completely optional but I highly recommend it.
LOVED this soup! So flavorful. I did use my blender as my immersion blender didn’t get the texture as smooth as I like. Thanks! Looking forward to the leftovers tomorrow 🙂
I’ve always found butternut squash soup to be a little to bland and maybe too sweet. But the addition of bacon and goat cheese is perfect! That’s what it’s been missing all along 🙂
Oh my heavens. I have been craving butternut squash something for a while, and the goat cheese and bacon makes this absolutely perfect! I can’t wait to make this!
Love this bowl of butternut squash soup right up in my face this morning – YUM!!! I am thinking its gotta be good for breakfast too since it includes bacon… 😉
This is a seriously delicious looking roast squash soup.. but what I am really loving is that spoon!