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Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Celebrate the return of the Autumn season with this easy spin on roasted butternut squash soup that can be made in an air fryer to save time or in the tried and true oven for the classical home cooks. It’s rich, creamy, packed with tons of filling fiber, and surprisingly dairy free. But don’t worry, I made sure to include some ideas for adding a bit more protein. Because we all know the leaves falling symbolize the beginning of bulking season.

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup Ingredients

At first glance, the ingredient list might look long. But don’t let that deter you, especially if you can get your hands on pre-cut butternut squash like I used. Here’s everything you’ll need for the base of your butternut squash soup:

  • diced butternut squash (how to dice butternut squash)
  • peeled and roughly chopped carrots (I used carrot sticks)
  • Granny smith apple
  • shallot
  • garlic cloves

And that’s it. You don’t have to worry about precision dicing or chopping as everything will just get roasted and blended together in the end.

diced butternut squash, carrot sticks, shallot, granny smith apple, and garlic cloves on a cutting board

For another fun way to use this pre-diced squash, check out my BBQ chicken butternut squash nachos.

The rest of the ingredient list will be olive oil and seasoning for roasting, and the broth and milk for blending the roasted veggies into creamy butternut squash soup.

butternut squash, carrots, shallot, granny smith apple, olive oil, and seasoning in a mixing bowl

Just get (nearly) everything into a mixing bowl and toss together. Once mixed, you’re ready to roast.

Roasting the Butternut Squash Soup Ingredients in an Air Fryer

There’s no denying the time saving capabilities of the air fryer when it comes to roasting vegetables. Even with a giant batch of veggies in a smaller (6.5-quart) air fryer, this roasting job takes about 40 minutes from start to finish. You’re looking for all the vegetables, especially the carrots and butternut squash, to be fork tender.

roasted butternut squash, carrots, apple, shallots, and garlic in an air fryer basket

The recipe calls for stirring halfway through and adding the garlic cloves in the back half of the cook so they don’t burn. You don’t want too much browning on any of the veggies, so if anything looks to brown at the 20-minute mark, you may reduce the heat. Every air fryer is different so minor adjustments may need to be made for larger/smaller air fryers.

Roasting in an Oven

If you don’t have an air fryer, you can easily roast the veggies for this butternut squash soup in an oven. After mixing everything together, transfer to a half sheet pan or large baking sheet and bake for about an hour at 400ºF. You’ll probably want to stir everything about halfway through to avoid too much browning on any one side.

roasted butternut squash, carrots, red onion, apple, and garlic cloves on a half sheet pan before blending into soup

I tested roasting the garlic cloves peeled and unpeeled and didn’t experience any burned garlic with the peeled cloves. So I would do the peeling on the front end instead of peeling hot garlic cloves after roasting.

You won’t have enough time to get properly roasted, caramelized garlic in the oven. So if you wanted to do it ahead of time, you could use my air fryer roasted garlic recipe to get it done in about 45 minutes.

Blending the Roasted Veggies

roasted vegetables in a blender

You should be able to fit the entire batch of roasted vegetables and broth in a 72 oz blender. Anything smaller, like an 8-quart food processor, and you may need to blend in batches. You can also add the roasted veggies and remaining ingredients to a soup pot and use an immersion blender.

While the recipe calls for vegetable broth and lite coconut milk, you can use any broth and milk or cream. The Kettle & Fire bone broth I used for my Instant Pot chicken birria would be a great, albeit a little expensive, way to add some protein to your soup.

butternut squash in the Ninja Foodi pot after blending

Once blended, you can transfer everything to a soup pot over low heat to keep warm. I like to let the butternut squash soup hang out so all the flavors have ample time to get to know one another.

If you’re using an air fryer/pressure cooker combo like the Ninja Foodi or Instant Pot Duo Crisp I use, you can conveniently use the keep warm function for your soup instead of a separate soup pot. You should also bookmark my Ninja Foodi Recipes and Instant Pot Air Fryer recipes posts if you fall into this camp.

Adjusting the consistency of your fall vegetable soup is as simple as adding more broth and/or coconut milk. The soup may thicken as it rests, so adding some liquid before serving might be a good idea.

What to Serve with Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

I recommend topping your soup with pepitas or some form of roasted, salted nuts or seeds and a drizzle of maple syrup or extra cream. You could also go with a salty topping like crispy bacon and chopped chives or fresh herbs. Some of the grilled bread from my whipped feta dip would be a great pairing as well.

two bowls of butternut squash soup topped with a coconut milk drizzle, pepitas, and cracked black pepper

For pairings, I think sandwiches are a no brainer. To keep the Fall theme going, check out this Sweet Autumn Turkey Sandwich or Apple Butter Turkey Grilled Cheese. Or if you have leftover proteins, you could turn them into a melt or something like our leftover pulled pork grilled cheese.

What about lighter options? How about this Fall spinach salad or Fall Harvest salad?

You can also find more main dish and protein pairing ideas in the serving recommendations for my air fryer butternut squash and brussels sprouts recipe.

And that should cover it! I hope you enjoy your roasted butternut squash soup. If you do, I always appreciate recipe reviews.

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Yield: 8 Servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes

Air fryer roasted butternut squash, carrots, apples, and shallots come together to make a rich and creamy soup in less than an hour.

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds Diced Butternut Squash
  • 12 oz Peeled Carrots, cut into sticks or roughly chopped
  • 1 (6 oz) Granny Smith Apple, cored and roughly chopped
  • 1 Shallot, peeled and quartered
  • 2 tablespoon (32g) Olive Oil
  • 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
  • 1 teaspoon Dried Rosemary
  • 1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
  • 1/4 teaspoon Ground Sage
  • 5 cloves Garlic, peeled

Add After Roasting

  • 4 cups (32 oz) Vegetable Broth (or your choice of broth)
  • 1/2 cup (120g) Lite Coconut Milk (or your choice of cream/milk)
  • 2 teaspoons Kosher Salt, to taste

Instructions

  1. Mix everything up to the fresh garlic in a large bowl and add to an air fryer basket. Air fry for 40 minutes at 400ºF, stirring and adding the garlic cloves halfway through for the final 20 minutes to avoid burning the garlic. (Oven instructions below.)
  2. Once all the veggies are fork tender, transfer to a food processor or blender and gradually blend with about 2 cups of broth. You may have to work in batches. Stir in the remaining broth, coconut milk, and salt once the soup is completely smooth.
  3. If you're using an Instant Pot Duo Crisp or Ninja Foodi, you can turn on the "Keep Warm" function and add the soup to the pot. You can also add to a soup pot over a low heat or slow cooker to keep warm. I recommend letting the soup simmer for 10-15 minutes before serving to let flavors develop.
  4. Salt and pepper to taste and serve with pepitas (roasted/salted pumpkin seeds) and a drizzle of maple syrup, honey, or cream.

Notes

For Oven Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Add all the veggies, seasoning, and olive oil to a half sheet pan or large rimmed baking sheet. Toss everything together to evenly coat and bake for about an hour at 400ºF until the carrots and squash are tender. Follow the recipe as written from step 2 forward, using a pot

Nutrition Info Notes

Each serving has 1 WW SmartPoint (blue).

Nutrition facts are for soup only, no roasted pumpkin seeds, nuts, maple syrup, or additional toppings.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1 Cup (about 8 oz)
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 125Total Fat: 4gCarbohydrates: 23gFiber: 4.5gProtein: 2g

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Dulce

Thursday 28th of October 2021

I wasn't sure about this one but I love to be proved wrong. Literally one of the best soups that I've made and it isn't that hard to make. Thanks so much!

Mason Woodruff

Tuesday 2nd of November 2021

Thanks for taking a leap of faith!

Brieanne

Thursday 28th of October 2021

Best soup and easy to make! I bought the pre cut and cubed butternut squash from Trader Joe’s. Used half n half instead of coconut milk and topped with honey. So good!

Mason Woodruff

Tuesday 2nd of November 2021

Convenience for the win! I bet half n half was great.

Jessica

Wednesday 29th of September 2021

Alright, I made this tonight and I am currently eating seconds. Job well done. I used fresh butternut squash with the air fryer method and then used my sauté function and an immersion blender to blend it all together. Added a roteisserie chicken and it was the bomb for com. Well done, friends!

Mason Woodruff

Friday 1st of October 2021

Thanks, Jessica! Happy to hear the rotisserie chicken suggestion worked well.

Caitlin Ciralsky

Sunday 26th of September 2021

I was very mad at myself for buying two butternut squash at trader Joe's lol. And making this whole soup I was very mad at myself. Once I finished it though I was happy because it was so good! The only thing that I added was some brown sugar to the soup because I prefer a little bit of a sweeter butternut squash soup! Loved this though and will be making it again!

Mason Woodruff

Monday 27th of September 2021

Happy to hear I could help squash that problem!

Jessica

Friday 24th of September 2021

Trying this week! Going to change to six serving and add rotisserie chicken to up the protein! Thank for coming in clutch with some fall recipes!

Jessica

Tuesday 28th of September 2021

@Mason Woodruff, will do! This is tomorrow nights dinner. I was planning on using frozen butternut squash, will that suffice?

Mason Woodruff

Monday 27th of September 2021

Let me know what you think about it with the chicken. Vanessa wasn't sold on that idea, and I'd love to prove her wrong!

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