Roasted Butternut Squash and Bacon Soup
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THE BEST and easiest butternut squash soup ever! Silky smooth and so so creamy. Perfect for Fall!
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This is by far the dreamiest butternut squash soup there ever was. With its silky smooth texture, this is the only recipe you will need this Fall (and winter) season for years to come.
The secret here is the roasting of the butternut squash alongside some bacon, onion, bell pepper and garlic. That way, you have that smoky, garlicky-bacon goodness built right into the soup, leaving no stone unturned.
Just be sure to save some extra bacon for later (for those garnishes), taking this soup to the next level with the crumbled goat cheese and chives. It’s truly just so much coziness in a single bowl.
tips and tricks for success
- 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.
- 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.
- Blend, baby, blend. 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.
what to serve with butternut squash soup
Roasted Butternut Squash and Bacon Soup: Frequently Asked Questions
You can substitute about 3 pounds sweet potatoes.
You can omit the bacon and substitute vegetable stock for the chicken stock.
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.
Toasted pumpkin seeds, fried sage leaves, sour cream (or Greek yogurt), heavy cream, or blue cheese crumbles are all great options!
Yes! You can freeze the leftovers in individual freezer bags, thaw overnight, and reheat on the stovetop, adding garnishes when serving.
Absolutely! Here is our favorited Instant Pot version.
Roasted Butternut Squash and Bacon Soup
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.*
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Notes
Did you make this recipe?
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Do I need a 3 lb butternut squash or 3 lbs of the cut up chunks?
The recipe calls for one 3-pound butternut squash to be peeled, seeded and then cut into 1-inch chunks.
I used 3 lbs of already-cut-up squash chunks. The soup came out very well, but it needed a total of 4 cups chicken broth because the squash soup was too thick to puree well. Delicious, too.
I have made this twice. My 1 year old son is obsessed, as am I. I actually didn’t have the goat cheese or the chives either time. This soup is amazing and tasty on its own. Thank you SO much for sharing. Delicious!
I made this for the first time a week before Thanksgiving. My husband insisted that we make it again for Thanksgiving! THEN we decided to have it every holiday! and have since dubbed it holiday soup. I am making our Christmas batch of holiday soup right now. Thank you so much for such a wonderful recipe ^_^
I made this soup exactly according to your recipe. This is by far the best butternut squash soup i have ever tried.!!!
better than a restaurant style ! i will be making this again and again!
Just made this. Came out delicious. I don’t tend to like thyme, so I went with a tiny bit of cilantro, oregano and parsley instead. Loved it. The goat cheese made it extra awesome. Am thinking of experimenting with pumpkin and with sweet potatoes in the future so I can have a whole repertoire of variations. Your recipes never disappoint! It came out delicious and the instructions are always spot on, making the process seamless and pointless!
Oops, not “pointless” … “painless!” 🙂
I want to make this for Christmas Eve lunch, but want to do most of the cooking for the day ahead of time. How well do you think the prepared soup will freeze (for 2 days)?
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.
Possible to ‘convert’ this into a slow cooker version? Love the idea, suppose could do the ‘roasting part’ in the slow cooker and go from there after it softens?
Unfortunately, it is very difficult to give exact conversion information to translate a traditional stovetop recipe to be used in a slow cooker without further recipe testing. However, here is an article worth checking out on a possible conversion guide. Hope that helps!
Can you reheat this?
Yes, absolutely.
I made this today! Absolutely delicious! I omitted the red bell pepper as I didn’t have any. I browned up some ground sausage and added to the soup. My husband loved it!
I thought of doing this as well, adding sausage. Wonder if it would overwhelm the squash flavor though?
I actually think it’s a great idea but it may be best to use “mild” flavored sausage.
I have made this soup several times and it is always a hit! I decided to comment this time (veggies roasting now) to add a quick tip:
I clean the seeds from the squash and boil them in salted water for a few minutes, drain, dry and then roast on parchment with a drizzle of olive oil/ salt/pepper/garlic powder/ a sprinkle of curry and a dash on cayenne until they “pop”. I serve them on top of the soup with goat cheese and chives (Sans the extra bacon…I know I know) . It just feels “right”.
I also remove the red pepper pieces before blending (personal preference.)
Thanks for the amazing recipe!
can u prepares oup day before and reheat and cook bacon for top day of serving?
Yes, absolutely.
Does goat cheese have to be used? I don’t know where to buy.
Feta would be a great substitute!
What if you don’t like goat or feta? Just omit the cheese altogether? I would be ok with that…just asking! 🙂
Yes, please feel free to omit as needed.
I do not have an immersion blender, and alternate options?
A blender should work just fine.
This was the BEST soup I’ve ever had! Mixed in goat cheese when I served. Sooooo delicious! I’m making again this week!
So very yummy. I baked mine about 10 minutes longer and needed to add about 4-5 cups of stock(I must of had a bigger butternut squash) I will make this again and am happy how healthy this is. I did not add cheese but the family did all different kinds as they all love different cheese. Thank you for sharing a soup good anytime of year
Made the soup and loved it. The only minor change I made was to use Pumpkin Goat cheese that accentuated this lovely Fall soup.
I made this tonight, following the recipe exactly, but was underwhelmed. The red pepper overpowered everything else. I like the roasted vegetables and absence of cream, but would make some substantial changes if I ever made it again.
Sarah, perhaps the red pepper used was an abnormally large one? The red pepper taste should not be very strong.
Made this for dinner tonight — yummy! I made my own chicken broth and I roasted a sad sweet potato and a few baby carrots along with the bacon and butternut squash and bell pepper. Hubby loves it! Great for a dreary day!
I made this soup this morning with kabocha squash. I used coconut oil instead of olive oil which isn’t supposed to be heated due to the low smoking point. I also added more garlic (Hey, I’m Italian!!), some marjoram leaves, a pinch of cumin, a dash of cardamom and a touch of cinnamon. I also added about a tablespoon of brown sugar, 1/3 cup of heavy cream and about a tablespoon of Better Than Boullion Chicken Base because it adds a rich flavor that makes everything more savory and delicious! Sorry I’m embellished upon your recipe, and yet I have to say, it was just what I was craving. Magnificent!
Do I need to cook the bacon first that is going in the oven with the squash or is the purpose for it to cook along with the squash?
Nichole, the bacon is used twice here – (#1) 4 slices of bacon are used as an optional garnish and (#2) another 4 slices are roasted with the butternut squash. The latter is eventually pureed with an immersion blender.
Hi there…Recipe looks great but Im a little confused. Do you roast the bacon and then pull it off the pan and finish it in the skillet?
Thanks!
Jeremy, the bacon is used twice here – (#1) 4 slices of bacon are used as an optional garnish and (#2) another 4 slices are roasted with the butternut squash. The latter is eventually pureed with an immersion blender. Does that make sense?