Vegan Butternut Squash Soup is creamy, sweet, flavorful, and nutritious! Bursting with butternut squash, sweet potatoes, apples, and carrots, this healthy butternut squash soup is a fall favorite! Naturally vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free!
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Make the most of the fall squash season with this vegan and dairy-free butternut squash soup recipe! Bursting with fresh produce and seasoned with savory fall spices, this soup satisfies in a big way while being 100% plant-based.
Best of all, with a 45 minute start-to-finish cook time (only 15 of which are active cooking time) and simple cooking steps, this beginner-friendly recipe leaves you plenty of time to relax and enjoy all the rest that autumn has to offer. For more delicious vegan soup recipes, check out my Instant Pot Bean Soup, Asparagus Soup without Cream, and Italian Lentil Soup.
Why You'll Love Vegan Butternut Squash Soup
- Quick & Easy: Ready in less than 45 minutes with just 4 simple steps, this really is an easy vegan butternut squash soup recipe!
- Allergen-Friendly: You won't find any dairy, gluten or nuts in this soup, making it a fantastic option for anyone with food allergies.
- Simple Ingredients: No exotic or hard-to-find ingredients needed! Just common vegetables, broth, and common pantry staples.
- Nutritious: Soups are a fantastic way to get your veggies without feeling like you're eating your veggies. Serve this soup to your family, knowing that it's as good for them as it is delicious!
Ingredients
You can find all of the ingredients you need for this vegan butternut squash soup recipe at your local grocery store or supermarket:
- Butternut Squash: Choose a squash with smooth skin that has a deep buttery orange color. Peel and seed the squash before cubing it for the soup.
- Sweet Potato: Adds naturally sweet flavor and purées up beautifully to enhance the rich and velvety texture of the soup.
- Carrots: Peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks.
- Apple: Choose a sweet but slightly tart apple, such as Honeycrisp, Fuji, Granny Smith, or Envy.
- Onion: Either a white or yellow onion.
- Coconut Milk: Choose full-fat coconut milk for ultra-creamy butternut squash soup. Light coconut milk has too much water added to it to achieve this result.
- Seasonings: In particular, bay leaf, dried rosemary, and rubbed sage add savory fall flavor notes to the vegan squash soup.
- Olive Oil: For sautéing the vegetables. Also adds richness to the vegan soup recipe.
- Vegetable Broth: Or, vegetable stock. Veggie broth or stock adds dimensional vegetal flavor to the soup, making it extra savory and tasty. Alternatively, chicken stock or broth works if you are not vegan.
Substitutions
- Coconut Milk: If you are not vegan, the same amount of heavy cream or half and half can substitute for the coconut milk. If you are vegan, coconut cream can substitute for the milk.
- Vinegar: Apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar can work in place of white wine vinegar.
- Sweet Potatoes: A yam or Japanese sweet potato can substitute for the sweet potato.
How to Make Vegan Butternut Squash Soup
For the complete recipe and measurements, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Step 1: Heat a Dutch oven or large pot over medium-high or medium heat. Add the olive oil, bring to heat and add the onions, carrots, apples, dried rosemary, and rubbed sage. Sauté for 5-6 minutes, or until the onions are translucent.
Step 2: Add the sweet potatoes, butternut squash, ½ teaspoon of salt, bay leaf, and vegetable broth or stock. Turn the heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer covered for 24-26 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes and carrots are fork-tender.
Step 3: Remove the pot from the heat. Remove the bay leaf. Stir in the coconut milk and tablespoon of the white wine vinegar. Blend with an immersion blender (or carefully add the hot liquids to a high-speed blender and blend with the vent removed) until smooth.
Step 4: Season the hot soup with additional salt if needed. Serve hot with a drizzle of coconut milk or olive oil and sprinkle flaky salt and pumpkin seeds if desired.
Recipe Pro-Tips
- Cut the Veggies into Similar Sizes: They don't have to be identical, but cutting them all into about 1-inch cubes will help them to cook uniformly.
- Make It in the Slow Cooker: Sauté the onions, carrots, sweet potatoes, and spices on the stovetop as directed before adding them to the slow cooker with the rest of the soup ingredients. Cook on low heat for 7-8 hours before adding the coconut milk and vinegar and puréeing.
Recipe Variations
- Thick Soup: For a thicker soup, use only cups of vegetable broth or simmer for an additional 5 minutes before blending.
- Curry Spiced: Substitute 1 ½ tablespoons of red curry paste for the dried rosemary and rubbed sage to add a Thai-inspired kick to the soup.
- Warm Spices: For a sweetly spiced soup, add 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon and ½ teaspoon of ginger powder to the sauteeing vegetables instead of the dried herbs. Finish the soup off by stirring in 1-2 tablespoons of maple syrup and drizzle with coconut milk instead of olive oil.
- Fresh Herbs: This recipe can also be made with fresh rosemary and sage. Substitute 1 tablespoon each of fresh chopped rosemary and fresh chopped sage and follow the recipe directions as listed.
Serving Suggestions
Serve this easy butternut squash soup recipe as a meatless main course with warm crusty bread. Drizzle large bowls drizzled with coconut milk or olive oil and sprinkled with sea salt or pumpkin seeds. If you are not vegan, the soup can also be drizzled with heavy cream.
This butternut squash and sweet potato soup also makes for a fantastic side dish or appetizer. Serve it as a first course for Thanksgiving dinner, enjoy it along with sandwiches and salad for a light lunch, or with any of your other favorite fall dinner main dishes.
Storage Directions
- Refrigeration: Leftover butternut squash and carrot soup keeps covered in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- Freezing: The soup can also be frozen in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Defrost in the refrigerator for 8-12 hours or on low heat in the microwave.
- Reheating: Warm up the soup over medium-low heat on the stovetop or at medium heat in the microwave, stirring as it warms, or until heated through.
FAQs
Yes, you can make butternut squash soup with a variety of other liquids. You can substitute a mixture of 1 teaspoon of olive oil, a large pinch of salt, and 1 cup of water for every cup of broth, or you can substitute chicken stock or chicken broth if you are not vegan or vegetarian.
No, you do not leave the skin on for butternut squash soup. If simmering the squash for the soup, you will need to peel it with a vegetable peeler before cubing and adding to the soup. If you are making roasted butternut squash, you will need to scoop the flesh out of the skin after roasting and before adding to the soup.
Tools Needed to Make This Recipe
- Cutting Board
- Chef Knife
- Measuring Cups & Spoons
- Immersion Blender
- Dutch Oven or Stock Pot
- Silicone Spatula (Optional)
More Butternut Squash Recipes
- Air Fyer Butternut Squash
- Easy Mashed Butternut Squash
- Butternut Squash Farro
- Savory Bread Pudding with Roasted Butternut Squash
- Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup
If you made and liked this recipe, don't forget to rate the recipe and let me know how it went for you in the comments! It always makes my day to hear from you!
Recipe Card
Vegan Butternut Squash Soup
Email FacebookIngredients
- 2 tablespoon olive oil + dditional to garnish
- 1 large apple fuji, rave, etc.; peeled, cored, and cut into 1-inch cubes
- 3 medium-large carrots peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
- 1 medium yellow or white onion chopped
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- ¾ teaspoon rubbed sage
- 1 large sweet potato peeled and cubed into 1-inch chunks
- 1 medium butternut squash about 2.5 lbs; peeled, seeded & cut into 1 inch chunks
- 1 ½ quart (6 cups) vegetable broth or stock (or chicken broth/stock if not vegan)
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon salt + additional to taste
- ¾ cup coconut milk or heavy cream if not vegan
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
Instructions
- Heat a Dutch oven or stock pot over medium-high or medium heat. Add the olive oil, bring to heat and add the onions, carrots, apples, dried rosemary, and rubbed sage. Sauté for 5-6 minutes, or until the onions are translucent.
- Add the sweet potatoes, butternut squash, ½ teaspoon of salt, bay leaf, and vegetable broth or stock. Turn the heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer covered for 24-26 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes and carrots are fork tender.
- Remove the pot from the heat. Remove the bay leaf. Stir in the coconut milk and tablespoon of the white wine vinegar. Blend with an immersion blender (or carefully add the hot liquids to a high-speed blender and blend with the vent removed) until smooth.
- Season the hot soup with additional salt if needed. Serve hot with a drizzle of coconut milk (or heavy cream) and olive oil and sprinkle flaky salt or pumpkin seeds if desired.
Notes
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- Refrigeration: Leftover soup keeps covered in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- Freezing: The soup can also be frozen in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Defrost in the refrigerator for 8-12 hours or on low-heat in the microwave.
- Reheating: Warm up the soup over medium-low heat on the stovetop over on medium heat in the microwave, stirring as it warms, or until heated through.
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