Jennifer Hanes MS, RDN, LD
Are you in need of a quick and delicious veggie soup recipe? Look no further than this 3-Ingredient Butternut Squash Soup.
With just three simple ingredients, you can whip up a creamy and flavorful soup that is perfect for cozy evenings at home or as an impressive starter for a dinner party.
This recipe is not only easy to make but also packed with nutrients from the butternut squash, making it a healthy and satisfying option. So grab your pot, and let’s get cooking!
Benefits of Butternut Squash
Butternut squash is a starchy vegetable that is in season during the winter. It has a slightly sweet flavor that complements herby flavors, particularly rosemary and sage.
Just like any other fruit or vegetable, butternut squash is full of various phytochemicals, particularly phenols and carotenoids.
Butternut squash is a particularly good source of fiber, beta-carotene (a vitamin A precursor), Vitamin C, potassium, magnesium, and manganese.
Including butternut squash in your diet can give you a greater variety of fiber sources that can improve your gut health. Additionally, magnesium and fiber are nutrients that are very important to your mental health.
The Simplicity of a 3-Ingredient Recipe
3-Ingredient recipes are great for their convenience as well as the potential for time and money savings.
Because there are so few ingredients, prep time is usually minimal, which is perfect for busy schedules and lower cooking skills.
Additionally, they are usually highly customizable, giving you lots of room to experiment!
Consider this 3-Ingredient Butternut Squash Soup as a base recipe. You can add fresh or dried herbs, protein, other vegetables, and more!
Ingredients
I tried to use minimal “non-ingredient” ingredients, things that are likely already in your pantry. In this case, salt, pepper, and a spray oil. I used more pepper than I would usually, since this recipe is so light on other seasonings.
The three ingredients are:
Fresh Butternut squash – I used a large-ish whole butternut squash. For even more convenience, you can usually buy butternut squash that has been washed, peeled, and cubed for you. You’ll want approximately 1.5-2 lbs.
Red onion – any onion would work, but I like the bit of tang you get from the red onion.
Broth – this is the easiest place to customize without adding a bunch of ingredients. I used vegetable broth in the recipe to keep it as simple and customizable as possible.
However, consider using bouillon cubes or paste to create a broth with a flavor profile that you love.
To keep this as low on ingredients as possible, I even utilized the seeds from the squash as a garnish for your soup! Of course, there are other options, and I’ve given you some more ideas below.
Preparation
Preheat your onion to 425°F.
Rinse the squash and the red onion well. Cut butternut squash and onion in half. Remove the outer skin of the onion and cut off the root end. Use a spoon to scoop out the seeds from the squash. Set aside.
Arrange the butternut squash, cut side up, on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Spray the cut side of the squash with cooking oil and sprinkle with salt and cracked black pepper. Roast for 40 minutes.
Remove from the oven and add the red onion, cut side up. Spray with the oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add the sheet back to the oven, and roast for an additional 5-10 minutes until the red onion is just caramelized.
Remove from oven and allow to cool.
I chose one of the largest butternut squashes they had at the store. You could alternatively buy butternut squash bagged and cubed. If you do this, get about 2 lbs. Drizzle with olive oil, add salt and pepper, and mix well.
You’ll spend a bit more, but you won’t have to prep your squash, and it will roast faster, probably in about 30 minutes, but keep an eye on it.
After the veggies are roasted, set them aside to cool, and reduce your oven temperature to 400°F.
Rinse your seeds so that all the pulp is removed. Place in a small bowl along with a bit of olive oil, salt, and pepper. Mix well, then roast on a small baking sheet for about 10 minutes until they resemble roasted pumpkin seeds.
Put your onion in a blender. Scoop out the flesh of the butternut squash and add that to the blender as well. Finally, add 2 cups of broth and puree. The amount of broth you use depends on your blender.
2 cups worked well for me, but you may be able to use up to 3 cups or only 1 cup, depending on the size of your butternut squash and the size of your blender.
Pour the pureed vegetables into a medium-sized pot. Here, I added 1 more cup of broth. Bring to a boil and allow to simmer until warmed throughout.
Adjust the consistency of the soup by adding more broth or cooking it longer to thicken it. I ended up using the entire 4 cups the first time I made it, and only 3 cups the second time.
To serve, ladle the creamy butternut squash soup into a bowl, then top with the roasted seeds.
3-Ingredient Butternut Squash Soup
Equipment
- 1 Baking sheet
- 1 soup pot or Dutch oven
- 1 Blender Traditional or immersion
Ingredients
- 1 Butternut Squash medium-large
- ½ Red Onion
- 3-4 cups Vegetarian Broth
- salt and pepper to taste
Optional Roasted Butternut Squash Seeds
- seeds reserved from your squash
- 1 tsp olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F
- Rinse your butternut squash, cut it in half and place, cut side up, on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and place in pre-heated oven. Roast for 35 minutes.1 Butternut Squash
- Add 1/2 red onion to baking sheet. Continue roasting for 10 more minutes.1/2 Red Onion
- When the vegetables are caramelized remove from oven and allow to cool for ~10 minutes.
- Place roasted vegetables, 3 cups of broth, and salt and pepper into a blender. Puree until smooth.3-4 cups Vegetarian Broth, salt and pepper
- Add into a soup pot and simmer for 5-10 minutes, until heated through.
- Serve immediately, with toppings, if wanted.
Optional Roasted Butternut Squash Seeds
- Reduce oven temp to 400°F.
- Rinse the reserved seeds from the butternut squash well, making sure all of the pulp is removed.seeds
- Place the seeds in a small bowl, along with the olive oil, salt, and pepper.1 tsp olive oil, salt and pepper
- Spread evenly on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and roast for about 10 minutes.
*We may earn commissions from qualifying purchases made through links on our site. These commissions help support our work in providing valuable content to our readers. Thank you for your support!
Additional Family-Friendly Serving Ideas
Serve this dish as a side dish, topped with something crunchy, some herbs or cracked pepper, and some sour cream or Greek yogurt. Here are some garnish ideas:
- Crunchy – roasted pepitas or walnuts, toasted pine nuts, croutons, Bacos Bits (good for color), parmesan “chips”
- Herby – green onions, chives, or rosemary, lightly fried sage. Cracked pepper or red pepper flakes would be good
- Creamy – add a dollop of sour cream or Greek yogurt or a drizzle of coconut milk
- Other – your omnivorous family members might like real bacon bits or Italian sausage
Tips for Customization
Here’s where this recipe gets really fun. You can add so much to this recipe to really make it your own. For me personally, butternut squash absolutely screams for some spice.
- More veggies – You can also roast sweet potatoes, carrots, or red bell peppers with the squash to add in extra vegetables and more flavors. Maybe roast a jalapeno and throw it in there, too. Consider roasting garlic along with the butternut squash and caramelizing a sweet onion instead of roasting a red onion.
- Fresh herbs – Sage, rosemary, parsley, chives, and thyme all go well with butternut squash. You could also mix in 2-3 Tbsp of pesto.
- Make it creamy – Stir in heavy cream or coconut milk for a creamier soup. Really, I don’t think this dish needs cream, but you may like it! You could also try to add a can of white beans to the blender when you puree the squash to give it some more protein and creaminess.
- Make it cheesy – Add a parmesan rind to the soup while it simmers for extra flavor. You can also top with grated vegetarian parmesan or pecorino cheese or stir in some goat cheese.
- Add spices – These spices all go great with the flavor of butternut squash: allspice, ginger, cinnamon, curry powder, nutmeg, red pepper flakes, cumin, cayenne pepper, and coriander.
- Make it spicy – add red pepper flakes, diced jalapeno, or a bit of the sauce from a chili in Adobe sauce
- Change up your broth – If you want to keep the recipe as simple as possible, without adding your own spices, try using a flavored broth instead of plain vegetable broth. Bouillon pastes have come in a lot of vegetarian flavors that can be mixed into water to amp up the flavor without having to use a bunch of spices.
- Make it meaty – For your omnivorous family members, brown Italian sausage, andouille, or chorizo in a separate pan, then set aside. After the soup is made, separate out the vegetarian from the omni portions. Add the meat to their portion and mix throughout (rather than using it as a garnish).
Allergies and other dietary needs
This recipe is free of all of the major 8 allergens and is gluten-free. If you personalize the recipe, make sure that anything you add is okay for everyone you’re feeding!
This recipe is friendly to most nutrition needs. Make sure you’re accounting for the potassium in the butternut squash if needed, and the carbs in the squash if you need to carb count to manage your blood glucose.
Storage and Reheating
Let the soup cool completely before storing it in the fridge in an air-tight container, for up to 3 days. Reheat on the stove over medium heat or in the microwave.
Soups like this tend to thicken as they sit, so you may have to add some more broth while you’re reheating it.
You can also freeze it for up to 3 months. Try putting a single serving in a freezer bag, squeezing out all the air, and then laying flat in the freezer. Make sure to label it with the name and date.
When ready to eat, you can thaw it in the refrigerator and then reheat it on the stovetop or microwave.
3-ingredient butternut squash soup is a simple yet delicious dish that can be enjoyed by anyone, whether they are experienced in the kitchen or not.
With just butternut squash, vegetable broth, and onion, this soup offers a comforting and nourishing meal that is perfect for those chilly days.
Its creamy texture and rich flavor make it an ideal choice for vegetarians or anyone looking to incorporate more vegetables into their diet.
And it’s such a customizable base recipe!
So why not give this easy recipe a try and savor the warm goodness of homemade butternut squash soup? Let me know in the comments how it went!
Jennifer Hanes MS, RDN, LD is a registered dietitian, mom, wife, and vegetarian in North Texas. She has dedicated Dietitian Jenn to be a source of information, ideas, and inspiration for people like her, vegetarians that live with people with different dietary beliefs and/or needs in a multivore household.