Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup
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Now you can make butternut squash soup in just half the time in the IP! Quick, easy, and velvety smooth.
Featured Comment
This is hands down one of my favorite feel-good, soul-warming soups during the colder months. Loaded with sweet butternut squash, caramelized onions, carrots, celery, Granny Smith apple, garlic, and fresh herbs – all topped with crispy bacon bits.
why i love this recipe
- Made in just a fraction of the time. By using an Instant Pot®, this butternut squash soup comes together lightning fast. Roasting butternut squash takes 30 minutes to 1 hour in the oven, but the cooking time in the IP is just 12 minutes!
- Flexible recipe. The soup will come together so beautifully with butternut squash, sweet potatoes or sugar pumpkin.
- Freezer-friendly. This recipe yields a generous amount of soup, perfect for freezing for a quick and easy lunch or weeknight dinner down the road.
tips and tricks for success
- Fresh herbs are best. Although you can certainly substitute dried herbs, fresh herbs are ideal here, delivering the best kind of flavor.
- Grab pre-cut squash. To cut down on prep time even more, use pre-cut butternut squash or sweet potatoes.
- 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
Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup: Frequently Asked Questions
You can substitute about 2 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes.
Heavy cream (or heavy whipping cream) has one of the highest fat contents with about 36-40% fat. Half and half or whole milk are suitable substitutes, but will yield a lighter result.
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 without the heavy cream (cream soups tend to separate when frozen) in individual freezer bags, thaw overnight, and reheat on the stovetop, adding heavy cream and garnishes when serving.
No Instant Pot, no problem. Here is our favorite stovetop version!
Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup
Ingredients
- 4 slices bacon, diced
- ½ medium sweet onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 fresh sage leaves, minced
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 ½ pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cubed
- 3 large carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 rib celery, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 Granny Smith apple, cored and chopped
- 4 cups chicken stock
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- ⅓ cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
Instructions
- Set 6-qt Instant Pot® to the high saute setting. Add bacon and cook until brown and crispy, about 6-8 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
- Add onion, and cook, stirring frequently, until translucent, about 2-3 minutes. Stir in garlic, sage and thyme until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Stir in butternut squash, carrots, celery, apple, chicken stock, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Select manual setting; adjust pressure to high, and set time for 12 minutes. When finished cooking, quick-release pressure according to manufacturer’s directions; remove and discard thyme sprigs.
- Stir in heavy cream. Puree with an immersion blender until desired consistency is reached; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve immediately, sprinkled with bacon and chives.
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This is my second time making this wonderful soup! I did a few substitutions – olive oil instead of bacon grease and an entire can of coconut milk. It’s a lot of work cutting everything up but it’s more than worth it!
Made it this evening and adjusted/added some things from the comments here. I used 3 cups of chicken stock which was the perfect amount of thickness/consistency for a butternut squash soup. I also used pancetta instead of bacon, and it was delicious. I substituted the heavy cream with equal parts coconut cream and oat milk (1/2 cup). I added 2 extra of carrots and celery sticks to make it more healthy/hearty and it was great. The soup was absolutely fantastic, thank you for your delicious recipe! Next time I will try the nutmeg like another person suggested on here.
I made this wonderful soup last week with 2 changes, first I added another winter squash from Trader Joe’s, because my butternut squash was on the smaller side. The other squash was listed as having a nutty flavor. The second change was I had some quina in the fridge so I put a 1/3 cup or so in the bowl, then soup, then topped with bacon bits. It was absolutly delious! I think husband went back for 3rd’s and then I shared with 4 of my co-workers at lunch time the next day, and all asked for the recipe after 1 spoonful. The quina added a nice texture and made the soup core filling. This will be on the favorite list forever.
Made this without the bacon and it was really delicious! Whole family enjoyed it. Thank you!
Delicious!
This is the best butternut squash soup ever!! We add scallions and feta as toppings, so good.
Made recipe as is – soup was delicious. When people come back for seconds that’s an unsaid cook paycheck. Thanks for a wonderful fall soup recipe!
One change- husband doesn’t digest onions well so made with leeks. Easy substitute.
I swear the best every recipe !!!
Wow, like the other girls I’ve made plenty of different butternut squash soup‘s because I grilled in my garden. This has to be number one. I was about ready to add some seasoning at the end. Bad mistake. There’s no seasoning needed. This soup is just perfect. The way it is we’ll make it again. Thank you for the recipe. It’s definitely a keeper.
Love the soup! I didn’t have a Granny Smith apple, so I used what I had…. Honey Crisp. It gave the soup a bit of a sweeter flavor. I will definitely make a again.
Delicious! The bacon added a nice touch.
Lovely
The first time I had butternut squash soup it was a French restaurant and it was incredible. Having tried several different recipes over the years in an attempt to create my French dining experience, this one far and away is the best! Rich and delicious with just the slightest touch of sweetness. And quick cooking in the Instant Pot is an added bonus.
I have made this about a dozen times now. It’s delicious and super easy. The whole family asks for it often. Thank you for such a great recipe!
This comes out yummy every time I make it. Thank you for this!
I love this soup and have made several times. Do you have the nutritional info on it?
I don’t have an IP. I saw a suggestion for the stove top version. It has ingredients not listed in this recipe so wondering if those instructions are from a different recipe. What would be the exact stove top instructions to make this come out the same as using an IP? All the reviews are amazing and want to have it perfect! Thanks!!
So yummy and so easy!
Wow, is all I can say. It was really DAMN good! Thank you!
This soup was fantastic! I can’t wait to make it again. Cooking the bacon first really helped add some great flavor to the soup as well. I also found some chicken sausage with Gouda and apple that we cooked and added to our soup.
Ive made a few BN squash soups. THIS is my ultimate fav. Creamy and perfectly thick soup. I cooked the bacon in the soup by accident- but puréed it all. I’ll def remake & add to my fav list! TY 🙂