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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Sorry, meant to give it 5 stars!
The Official Home Food Taster, aka my husband, said this was delicious! I am not usually a soup enthusiast, but this soup has changed that! I got to use my immersion blender for the first time – make sure you put the soup in a tall stock pot as there is a lot of cast-off from the blender which otherwise will fly all over your kitchen LOL! Also, my double-bottomed Food Network baking sheet worked perfectly roasting the veggies and bacon, while a regular one burned them (I needed 2 of them). So I would recommend either reducing the baking time and/or put a baking sheet on top of another if you only have regular ones. Thanks for this outstanding recipe!
This was so yummy! I feel like this would be GREAT with mushrooms in it as well.
Just bought an immersion blender and this was my first dish using it. The butternut soup was fabulous. The toppings finished it off perfectly. Will make it again!!!!!
Great dish !! Added red pepper flakes as well! Love all these recipes!!
I swore I didn’t like butternut squash until I tried this soup. Pleasantly surprised at how good this was, definitely a repeat in my household!
This is an amazing butternut soup! The bacon definitely gives it a richer taste. This will be a new staple meal.
Perfect every time! Yuuuummmmm!!!
I plan to make this tomorrow – it sounds delicious, particularly with the addition of red bell peppers, I haven’t seen this in other recipes. However, I have seen the addition of 2 potatoes. Would this addition be okay with this recipe, or would it completely change the flavor? Many thanks!
yummmm I am in love with this soup. I also love to just roast the bacon and veggies without making it into soup.
Oh my stars and garters, this soup is delicious!
I have never made, or had, butternut squash soup. This soup is so good I will make it for a dinner party!
Great directions too!
Question: Can I use pancetta instead of bacon? For both the blending into and garnish?
All I can say is this soup is a must! It is absolutely amazing in every way, the bacon is truly the star! This is a soup I will continue to make for many years to come. I did add some dried rosemary in with the time and I also added probably about 4 cups of chicken/vegetable broth.
one of my favorite soups of all time! Sometimes I add more vegetable broth as it gets too thick. The hardest, well, the only difficult part of this recipe is cutting the squash. I use a knife and a peeler and a lot of effort. I always end up bruising my knuckles.
The only thing I do differently with this recipe is I add rosemary to the thyme. I only garnish with goat cheese as well. The goat cheese is a MUST. Not optional. You only need a wee little bit.
This recipe is the only one that I can make exactly as written and be 100% pleased. Plus Rosemary of course.
I made this recipe. It is the best butternut soup recipe I have tasted.I added more chicken broth and a cup of 1/2 and 1/2 milk to it for creamier texture. Even my son that doesn’t like butternut squash loved it. I will be making again soon. Thank you.
I make this nearly every Thanksgiving as a starter/appetizer, everyone goes crazy for it!
Also wonderful as a light lunch with crusty bread.
It´s a Fantastic recipe.
Can I freeze the extra soup, without the garnish of course.
Please, would you tell me which ones I can freeze of the 10 recipes you posted?
Thank you
Best regards
Marcela rinaudo
From Bariloche, Patagonia, Argentina.
You can find me on Instagram
abutatamarcerinaudo
The best butternut squash EVER!!!! So easy definitely will make again!!!
This recipe is absolutely delish! I did end up adding a little more chicken broth to have more of a soup like consistency. Plus doubled the garlic. I also sautéed mushrooms with the extra bacon for added texture because I knew my hubby wouldn’t eat it otherwise. It’s a little sweet but my gosh it’s good! My husband added a little cayenne powder to his to spice it up. yum! Definitely adding this to our dinner menu again!
First time making this. I subbed carrot for red pepper. It tasted good, albeit a bit sweet for me, even with a bit of nutmeg in there. Main issue for me was texture. Even with doubling practically doubling amount of chicken stock it was far too thick – the consistency of baby food. I would probably use far less squash and more chicken stock next time.
Even my husband, who claims he doesn’t like squash, had seconds.