This Creamy butternut squash soup is the same recipe I have been making for years! It really is that good. I never stray from this recipe. The flavours and creaminess are absolutely perfect! I don’t remember a fall where I have not made this soup, at least once!

A white bowl of butternut squash soup , with a swirl of cream on top. A roll off to the side. A gourd and maple leaves in the background.

When the temperatures drop, I love standing over a pot of simmering soup, full of fall flavours and warm spices! A comforting bowl of soup for dinner seems to always be the perfect thing, to warm you back up.

This soup, like most soups, are simple to put together and does not require a lot of complicated ingredients. Plus, it will make enough to last quite a few days, depending on how many people you are feeding.

Pasta alternative

I have recently been experimenting with turning this soup into a fall flavoured pasta sauce. With 2 cups left-over creamy butternut squash soup, I add ¼ cup of cream cheese, a ½ teaspoon of ground sage, and about ¼-½ cup of grated cheese. (I used Swiss). Heat in a sauce pot, on medium heat. Stir until everything is melted together and the sauce is piping hot. Meanwhile, prepare your pasta according to the package directions, enough for 3 servings.

Drain the pasta, and combine it into the pot with the pasta sauce. Serve hot with a good amount of parmesan cheese on top!

I have made this pasta sauce twice now, from the left over soup, and it is a huge hit! Isn’t it great to find ways to reinvent left-overs!

What you need for Creamy Butternut Squash Soup

Butternut squash

I pick up a medium to large butternut squash. (It will be about 3 pounds.) Do you have to use butternut squash for this soup? No! There are plenty of great alternatives. The flavours might be slightly altered but will be similar. My favourite alternatives to butternut squash are:

Acorn Squash It has a very similar taste to butternut squash. It has a very smooth and creamy texture when cooked. Which is why it is a very popular choice for soups in the colder months.
Hubbard Squash is a similar size to butternut squash. You cook this squash exactly the same as you would an butternut squash. This squash has a slightly more earthy taste, but don’t let that deter you. The other vegetables, spices, and cream balances out the flavour perfectly.
Pumpkin. I would use a small pie pumpkin. They are similar in size to butternut squash. They have a slightly different taste to butternut squash, but would be a great substitution, nonetheless. They become sweet and tender when baked in the oven. Probably why they are the classic fall squash. I mean, is it really fall without one pumpkin pie?
Buttercup Squash is very sweet and creamy. It is similar to butternut squash in taste, perhaps a little sweeter and earthier. It is also similar in size to a butternut squash, so using this as a substitution is pretty straightforward.

Spices

I like to use nutmeg and clove in this recipe. They lend that fall holiday spice scent and flavour and give the soup a little added sweet flavour since they are so often paired with fall desserts.

Vegetable

Onion, celery, carrot, and garlic. These are staple vegetables that appear in many soups. Their grounding aromatic flavours pair perfectly with the squash in this recipe.

Stock

I used left-over turkey stock from my thanksgiving turkey. You could also, use a box chicken or vegetable stock from the grocery store.

Brown sugar

This brings out the sweetness of the squash and vegetables in the soup. I love how the brown sugar gives it a slightly caramel flavour. You could substitute honey or maple syrup if you are trying to stay away from sugar, or omit it completely.

Cream

I use heavy cream in the recipe. It makes it so smooth and creamy. If you want to cut down the fat content, you could experiment with a lower fat cream, but the higher fat cream really gives it a full bodied texture. If you are looking for a vegan option, use canned coconut cream.

A butternut squash being cut length-wise by a woman.

Ingredients Creamy Butternut Squash Soup

1 butternut squash

1 tablespoon oil

½ onion, diced (about ½ cup)

1-2 carrots, peeled and diced (about 1 cup)

2 celery, diced (about 1 cup)

3 cloves garlic minced

4-6 cups stock, or 1 box of chicken or vegetable stock

1 teaspoon brown sugar

1 cup heavy cream

½ teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon nutmeg

salt and pepper to taste

A butternut squash half with the seeds scooped out

Two butternut squash halves with oil drizzled on top

Method Creamy Butternut Squash Soup

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C)
Cut a butternut squash in half length-wise. Scoop out the seed area. Drizzle the flesh with oil and bake, skin side up, on a cookie sheet for about 45 mins, or until fork tender. Remove and cool.
Meanwhile, prepare the vegetables and add them to a large stock pot.
Add in the stock and bring to a boil.
Reduce to simmer, and cover.
Now that the squash has cooled slightly, scoop out the flesh and add it to the stock pot with the rest of the vegetables.
Simmer, covered, for 20-30 minutes or until all of the vegetables are quite tender.
With an emersion blender, blend the vegetables and stock to a very smooth texture. Alternatively, if you do not have an emersion blender, cool the soup slightly and run it through a food processor. You can also cool the soup and run it through a blender.
Return the soup to the pot (if you have used anything other than the emersion blender). Add in the brown sugar, nutmeg, and ground cloves. Stir to combine.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Stir in the cream.
I always blend the soup again, at this point. It helps to emulsify everything together and froth up the cream. I find it makes the soup extra silky smooth.
Serve hot, with a thick slice of crusty bread!

Turkey stock inside of a stock pot. Heating up

A woman scooping out cooked butternut squash with a metal spoon