A smooth and creamy butternut squash soup is one of best things you can make in your Instant Pot in only 15 minutes.
The soup is sunny, welcoming, and nourishing without being too heavy. It can be vegan or vegetarian Instant Pot recipe, depending on the "dairy" you add for serving.
With the help of Instant Pot, this butternut squash soup comes together quickly and makes enough to stay fresh in the freezer for a quick lunch.
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Can I use something else instead of butternut squash?
The butternut squash is easy to find, but if you want to experiment with other types here is what you can use:
Hokkaido pumpkin - This pumpkin is rich in vitamins, minerals, and it is a real vitamin bomb. This pumpkin is yellow-orange and has a nutty flavor.
Acorn squash - This is a type of winter squash. The acorn squash is milder in taste and more fibrous than the butternut squash.
If you use it, check out What To Serve With Acorn Squash for a complete and healthy meal.
Sugar pumpkin - This is a type of pumpkin used for pumpkin pie, but it is also great for soup. These have a sweet taste but work amazingly in savory dishes, like soups. It pairs great with hot spices like red pepper flakes and chili.
Classic pumpkin - This is another great option. The classic pumpkin earthy-sweet flavor, and is great baked or cooked.
Is this soup vegan?
Yes! This soup is suitable for both vegans and vegetarians. It does not use animal-based products, like beef or chicken stock, and not even butter.
For a vegan-friendly soup, add coconut cream or vegan sour cream instead.
How to serve?
While this soup can be served as it is, I would recommend you to add a drizzle of heavy cream or plant based cooking cream.
To make this soup even smoother, finish it with some coconut or cashew cream.
For a complete meal. add a piece of bread or even Air Fryer Butternut Squash on side.
Looking for more ideas? Check out What To Serve With Butternut Squash Soup for 15 delicious side dishes.
Can I use garlic powder?
Yes. Instead of 2 minced garlic cloves you can use 1 teaspoon of garlic powder.
How to freeze the soup?
This Instant Pot butternut squash soup is great because you can freeze it.
Pack cold soup in freezer-friendly zip lock bags and freeze up to 3 months. When freezing, do not include any dairy. To serve soup, just reheat it in a microwave and serve warm.
How to make
Gather your ingredients:
Select saute on Instant Pot. Heat olive oil. Add onion and cook for 5 minutes.
Add squash and spices. Cook for 1 minute.
Add stock and cider vinegar.
Lock the lid into place. Select Manual and set to High pressure. Set the timer for 15 minutes.
Once the cooking cycle is done, perform a natural pressure release. Puree or blend the soup until smooth.
Reheat soup on Saute for 3 minutes and serve warm.
More delicious Instant Pot soups
Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup
Ingredients
- ½ tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small onion minced
- 1 large butternut squash peeled and cubed
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 2 tablespoon apple cider
- 5 cups vegetable stock
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon curry powder optional
- ½ teaspoon grated ginger root optional
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Turn on the Instant Pot, add olive oil and select saute.
- Add onions and saute for 5 minutes.
- Add squash, garlic, cinnamon, curry, ginger, and saute for for 1 more minute.
- Add stock, cider vinegar, salt and pepper and stir well.
- Close the lid and cook on high pressure for 15 minutes.
- When cooking time ends, wait for a natural pressure release.
- Once done, open the lid and puree the soup using an immersion blend.
- Take an immersion blender and puree the soup.
- Press saute and reheat the soup for 3 minutes.
- Serve and enjoy 🙂
Loved the original! I like to fiddle with recipes, so I substituted leeks for onions, added cardamom and a pinch of ground cayenne pepper. I heated it a bit longer to thicken, then stirred in warmed coconut milk. I wanted a little more from the texture so I tried it with chick peas and spring onion tops=good, hominy and cilantro=better, corn and sweet red pepper=best.
With a few added and deleted ingredients, this could become West Indies pumpkin soup, which is made all over the Caribbean. I had it while visiting St. Lucia and it's incredible.
Oh that sounds excellent! Please let us know if you make adjustments to make it in that way.
The ingredients specify "2 tbsp apple cider", but the instructions say "cider vinegar" (step 4). Which is it?
Oh, good catch! To be honest, I have used both and they both add delicious flavor to this soup. So either will work!
Hello, is the squash cooked before putting it into the pressure cooker?
Do you still need to put into a pressure cooker if the butternut squash been bake already?
I would yes, because it adds flavor to the liquid while cooking and it gets pureed anyway so it doesn't matter if it gets too soft.
This had a beautiful color and perfect light texture. Delicious. My husband doesn't like squash but tried it and loved it. I can't wait to make this for a pot luck. It was the easiest soup recipe I have ever made and has so few ingredients. I did cut the squash in half and bake in 1/2 inch of water for 30 minutes because I think peeling and dicing the squash is difficult. It is easy to scoop out the pulp after its been baked and add to pressure cooker.
Paisley, I'm so glad you enjoyed this soup recipe! I completely agree that peeling the squash is a pain, so I love that tip. Thanks for sharing!
So what is the white swirl on the top?
It is a garnish or crema, heavy cream or sour cream 🙂
What about the sweet potatoes, you forgot about them...
There aren't any sweet potatoes in this soup, it's butternut squash.
It would be helpful is you said about how much squash is used in cups or grams. The store sells butternut squash is packages already cubed.
Ok yes! Around 2 lbs. or 1 kg. of peeled and cubed squash will work well for this recipe :]