Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup
Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup is smooth, creamy, and oh so satisfying on a chilly fall day! This classic fall soup is easy to make in the pressure cooker in just 30 minutes.
This fall, cozy up with more of the very best comforting soup recipes like Potato Leek Soup and Sweet Potato Soup.
Table of Contents
This butternut squash soup recipe has become such a staple in my house. It’s my son’s favorite soup, so I tend to make it year-round. Whether it’s cold outside or the middle of July, this is a wonderful and easy soup recipe to whip up!
Luckily, butternut squash is available in most grocery stores all year long. Even if you know that there are some months that your local stores may not stock this squash, this soup is easily frozen. More info on that below!
This soup is easy and fast to make in an Instant Pot or on stove-top. Of course, if you are making it in a slow cooker, it will take much longer but it will still take only a few minutes to put together.
Instant Pot is my preferred method for this soup because texture is so smooth and creamy (even if you’re not adding heavy whipping cream). Pressure cooking the veggies gives it that special texture.
Ingredient Notes
Onion – A yellow onion is preferred for its natural sweetness. A white onion will also work in a pinch.
Celery – Always be sure to give your celery a rinse before using it!
Garlic – For the very best flavor and aroma, I recommend using fresh garlic cloves instead of the pre-minced alternative if possible.
Butternut Squash – The star of the show! It’ll need to be peeled, seeded, and chopped prior to cooking.
Golden Potatoes – These are the very best potatoes to use for this soup recipe. They’re tender and buttery and blend into the most delightful consistency.
Sage – This is what really seals the deal, sage is a great herb to go with butternut squash and give it a nice autumn flavor.
Chicken Stock – I always like to use Homemade Chicken Stock when I can.
Heavy Whipping Cream – For the richest, creamiest consistency, don’t swap this dairy product with anything else.
See the recipe card below for the full list of ingredients and instructions.
How to Make Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup
Prepare. Chop veggies into about 1/2-inch cubes and set them aside.
Sauté the onions, celery and garlic. Set the Instant Pot to sauté and let it heat up. Add oil. Sauté the onion and celery until starts to golden. Smash garlic and add it to the pot. Sauté until fragrant. (1, 2)
Add the bigger veggies. Add squash and potatoes, stir, and sauté for a few minutes. (3)
Make it flavorful. Add sage, salt, and chicken stock. (4)
Pressure cook it. Stir and close the lid and make sure it’s latched. Turn the valve to “seal” and set the Instant Pot to pressure cook on high pressure cook mode for 15 minutes. (5)
Release the pressure. Let it do a natural release for about 10 minutes. Be careful opening the lid. (6)
Blend the ingredients. Transfer everything into a blender but don’t add all of the broth or soup might be too runny. Set aside about 1/2 cup of broth and blend everything until smooth. Check and see if you like the consistency and if you need to add the broth that was set aside. (7)
Make it creamy. Add heavy cream and blend just until it’s mixed in. (8)
Tips for the Best Butternut Squash Soup
- I absolutely love adding a few potatoes to squash soup. The texture becomes heartier, thicker, and more filling.
- Cutting veggies into smaller cubes makes it cook faster.
- Don’t skip the sauté step because it adds to the overall delicious flavor of this soup. Sauté veggies until they start to get some golden caramelization and that great taste will spread throughout the soup.
- Make sure to smash the garlic before adding it. Smashing garlic releases its oils and it adds to flavor and aroma of the soup.
Recipe FAQs
Making this soup on stove-top is not that much different and it only takes about 10-15 minutes longer. Chop veggies into about 1/2-inch cubes and set them aside. Preheat a cooking pot over medium heat, add oil and sauté vegetables as directed in this recipes.
Once chicken stock is added, cover the pot with a lid, leaving a small crack for steam to escape, and cook until all veggies are tender. Transfer soup into a blender or use an immersion blender to blend veggies completely smooth. You may not need to use all of the broth so soup is not too thin.
Add heavy whipping cream and stir it in until completely mixed.
Chop veggies into about 1/2-inch cubes and add them to the slow cooker. Add seasoning and chicken stock. Stir to mix everything well. Cover and cook on high for 2-3 hours. Or, cook on low for about 4-5 hours.
Transfer soup into a blender or use an immersion blender to blend veggies completely smooth. You may not need to use all of the broth so soup is not too thin. Add heavy whipping cream and stir it in until completely mixed.
Yes, absolutely! When moving the soup into the heat-resistant blender (or before using an immersion blender), take some of the liquid out. Blend and check if you are happy with the thickness, if you would like your soup a little thinner, add some cooking liquid.
Remember, you can always make it thinner by adding back more liquid but you can’t take out liquid after blending.
The bitter taste of the soup actually comes from the butternut squash itself. Unfortunately, this means you’ve gotten unlucky with the quash. Growing conditions and care can affect the taste of the squash.
You can try to balance the butter taste of the soup by adding a little more salt, sugar. or maple syrup. You can also try adding a little more spices like paprika or even a bit of chili powder. If nothing is working to adjust the taste, unfortunately, you will have to try the soup with another butternut squash.
Storing and Freezing
Storing: Make sure to cool cooked soup completely to room temperature before storing. Store it in an air-tight food storage container, in the refrigerator. Properly stored, it will last up to 3-4 days. Always use a clean ladle to scoop out individual portions to extend the shelf life.
Freezing: When freezing butternut squash soup, make sure to not add heavy whipping cream until you’re ready to reheat it. Cook soup according to the recipe up to the step of adding heavy whipping cream. Blend soup without the cream and let it cool to room temperature. Once the soup cools, portion it into smaller freezer bags or one large freezer bag. Fill each bag about 3/4 full and release the air before sealing. Remember to label the content and date it was prepared. Place flat on a cutting board and freeze. Freezing them flat will save storage space. Pull frozen soup and thaw in the refrigerator.
PRO TIP: Before freezing, cool soup as fast as possible. The best way to cool it is to place the pot into a larger container filled with ice. To help soup cool faster and evenly, make sure to stir it often as it cools.
More Squash Recipes To Try
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Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion
- 3 oz celery
- 3 large garlic cloves smashed
- 24 oz butternut squash peeled, seeded, and chopped
- 10 oz golden potatoes
- 1 tsp sage
- salt
- 3 cups chicken stock just enough to barely cover the veggies
- 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
Instructions
- Chop veggies into about 1/2-inch cubes and set them aside.
- Set Instant Pot to saute and let it heat up. Add oil.
- Saute onion and celery until starts to golden.
- Smash garlic and add it to the pot. Saute until fragrant.
- Add squash and potatoes, stir, and saute for a few minutes.
- Add sage, salt, and chicken stock.
- Stir and close the lid and make sure it’s latched. Turn the valve to “seal” and set the Instant Pot to pressure cook on high pressure cook mode for 15 minutes.
- Let it do a natural release for about 10 minutes. Be careful opening the lid.
- Transfer everything into a blender but don’t add all of the broth or soup might be too runny. Set aside about 1/2 cup of broth and blend everything until smooth. Check and see if you like the consistency and if you need to add the broth that was set aside.
- Add heavy cream and blend just until it’s mixed in.
- Serve with crackers, grilled cheese, chick peas, or croutons.
Notes
Nutrition
Originally published on Will Cook For Smiles in October, 2019.
Categories:
30 Minute Meals, Fall Recipes, Gluten Free Recipes, Instant Pot Recipes, Instant Pot Soups, Lunch Recipe Ideas, Most Popular Recipes, Soup Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes,All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe.
Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.
