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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Wow! I just made this for the first time and my whole family couldn’t stop going for seconds. Perfect comfort food for autumn.
About how many people do you think this recipe would serve? I’m excited to make it for my moms luncheon.
This yields about 4-6 servings.
Hi Chungah, Do you use an app to calculate the nutrition facts that you post? I am needing to stay low on salt and I have used myfitnesspal.com but wondered if you had something better to recommend. Thanks, Kit
Hi Kit, we have our nutritionist, Pam Gibson, who calculates the nutrition facts and advises on the recipes. But I’m sure myfitnesspal works great unless you want to hire a nutritionist yourself! Pam’s bio can also be viewed on the website under “Our Team”.
Such a great recipe and thanks for putting the pictures into your emails! I appreciate that!
So recipe calls for a total of 8 slices of bacon? 4 to be roasted and blended into soup and 4 cooked on stove top for garnish?
Yes!
I just made this soup and WOW I LOVE it. I used feta cheese. I’ve never roasted vegetables before and I could’ve eaten them right out of the oven.
This soup is amazing!
I use feta in place of goat cheese and Hot Portuguese Linguesa in place of bacon.
Devine! My whole family loves it.
The smoky linguesa paired with the sharpness of feta and the sweetness of the butternut makes this soup worthy of becoming a household favorite.
Amazing!! I didn’t have chicken stock so just used water and instead of olive oil used bacon grease leftover from morning’s bacon. OMG!! It carmelized so beautifully that I almost just at the veggies alone. Soooo delicious!!!
This recipe was amazing! I must admit I am not really a fan of butternut squash soup, but this recipe was absolutely delicious!
Made this tonight and hubby gave it 5 out of 5 stars (which is high praise, especially for soup!). Our 4-year-old and I both loved it too. My only change was to only purée half for a chunkier soup. Hearty, flavorful, so good – will definitely be making again – thanks!
I have made this recipe a few times, and I can say that it is definitely a favourite. The only thing I omitted was the peppers due to an allergy, which I think kept the flavours very earthy and hearty, and I used a whole box of chicken stock for a double batch to keep it loose, but flavourful. However, the chives as garnish help perk it up and keep it tasting perfectly fresh The bacon adds a rich smokiness (the more the better), and the goat cheese melts so decadently, which adds another dimension of delicate flavour. Additionally, the thyme is just the perfect pairing with the sweet butternut. A really lovely recipe.
Just made butternut squash soup for the first time with this recipe = AWESOME!!!! Thank you!!!!
I’m thinking of making this as a roast instead of a soup — basically season everything (including all the bacon, diced) before putting it in the oven, sprinkle goat cheese and chives/scallions on it when it’s done, and voila! No stock or blending or stove cooking (I’m lazy!). Has anyone tried this? Do you think it would be good?
Sounds amazing!
Update: I tried it. It WAS amazing!!!! I completely left out the oil because the bacon grease fell onto the veggies while baking, and I sprinkled with feta. Oh my freaking god it’s so good! 😀
I love this! just made it but I roasted fresh thyme with the veggies and added paprika and crushed red pepper to the final step after immersion! we like a little warmth! thanks for the pin! Delish for sure!
I made this soup today minus the goat cheese and it was delicious. The family loved it also. I used a full 4 cups of chicken broth because it was so thick. Also subbed red pepper with a yellow one cause that’s what I had on hand. I’ll be making this again, only I’ll find already peeled and cut butternut squash.
Do you just roast the diced bacon with the butternut squash, then pick all of the bacon out to fry it in the pan after? Or do you use an additional four slices of diced bacon and fry it in the pan just for the garnish on top?
The additional four slices of bacon in step #4 are used as a garnish.
Great recipe! Delicious! I will use a smaller onion next time. It sort of overpowered all these wonderful flavors. Goat cheese wad a nice touch.
Thanks so much for this recipe! I made this last night and could not believe how delicious! I really wasn’t sure the goat cheese would go with the soup but it really does. I roasted about half a cup of canellini beans along with the other veggies just because I had them on hand and they’re great in there – probably add a bit of richness to the soup. I also added some red pepper flakes as the soup was finishing up simmering. Absolutely delicious, and absolutely perfect for a rainy first-week-of-fall in Boston! Thanks again!
This looks delicious! Was wondering if this soup would freeze well? I was thinking of bringing to a friend with new baby.
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 this soup ALL THE TIME. My cousin brought it to a family thing in October and I’ve made it at least 6 times since then. I freeze them in single-serve ziplock freezer bags (after the soup is cooled). You can then freeze them flat and stacked on top of each other. Just let it thaw a bit before you put it in a pan to reheat. It’s easier to come out of the freezer bags if it’s just barely thawed and you can break it into a few mostly-frozen chunks. 🙂 One caveat…I don’t use the goat cheese (I eat paleo) so I’m not sure how it would freeze with the cheese.
This was honestly the most delicious soup I have ever made! I did a double batch instead of a single one and I still don’t have enough! A few tweaks I made because of personal preference: I omitted the thyme, seasoned the veggies/bacon with onion powder and garlic powder and used a food processor instead of the immersion blender and sour cream instead of goat cheese. Thank you so much for this recipe!