Let’s cozy up with a bowl of warm, creamy butternut squash soup. Butternut squash and cool weather go together like they were made for each other—which, really, they were.

I was so happy to find butternut in stock again, and knew exactly what I’d make with it. My favorite butternut squash soup is ultra creamy and full of complex roasted butternut squash flavor.

This traditional butternut squash soup will go great with grilled cheese sandwiches and salads through the end of winter. Keep it in mind for the holidays, too. I designed this soup to complement typical Thanksgiving fare, like green beans and mashed potatoes.

This easy butternut squash soup recipe is a great make-ahead option. In fact, it tastes even better the next day. Let’s get to it!

The Best Butternut Squash Soup

This soup has an average of 4.8 out of 5 stars from over 400 reviews! Here’s why readers love it:

Simple Ingredients

I kept the ingredients list simple so the squash flavor can shine through, but the end result offers exceptionally rich flavor. All you’ll need is butternut squash, olive oil, shallot, garlic, vegetable broth, maple syrup and nutmeg.

Butter is Better than Cream

A little bit of butter rounds out the flavor and makes it truly irresistible, without weighing down the soup like heavy cream tends to do. (You can substitute olive oil for vegan/dairy-free soup. It’s already vegetarian.) That’s a little trick that I used in my tomato soup in my cookbook, too. It’s by far the best butternut squash soup I’ve ever tasted, and infinitely better than any canned or boxed option.

Roasted Butternut Yields Major Flavor

Most of this soup’s flavor comes from the cooking method, which starts with roasting the butternut squash to bring out its caramelized best. Bonus! That means you don’t have to peel and chop the squash. Once the squash is out of the oven, you can start sautéing some shallot and garlic.

Serve It Now or Later

If you’re planning to make this soup for company, you can serve the soup straight from your blender. Or, make it the day before and reheat it in your blender or in a pot on the stove. Thanksgiving table real estate is always limited, so you might want to serve this soup in matching mugs or tea cups to leave room for the salad plates.

Garnishes Are Optional

This soup really doesn’t need a garnish, but feel free to add a sprinkle of freshly ground black pepper or some toasted pepitas (green pumpkin seeds) for extra visual appeal.

How to Blend Butternut Soup

This is when the soup deviates from other butternut squash soups. You usually have two options, and I don’t recommend either of them:

You can add the remaining ingredients to the pot and then try to blend it with an immersion blender, which inevitably leaves the soup disappointingly gritty. You can very carefully transfer hot soup to a blender in batches, which is always a little harrowing but yields creamier results.

I found a better way with this soup. We’re going to use a stand blender, since it yields creamier soup (see recipe notes if you’re determined to use an immersion blender).

Here’s the gist: Instead of warming all of the ingredients in the pot, simply transfer scoops of roasted butternut squash and sautéed shallot and garlic to the blender. Then, pour in the vegetable broth and remaining ingredients. Blend it until it’s ultra creamy.

If you have a regular stand blender:

Any stand blender will do! Once you’ve blended the ingredients into creamy oblivion, pour the soup back into your soup pot. Warm it up on the stove over medium heat, stirring occasionally. That’s it.

If you have a fancy blender with a soup preset:

Use the soup preset, and you can serve your hot soup straight from the blender. I used my Vitamix (affiliate link/provided by Vitamix) and it worked great. The container is 64 ounces, which allowed me to fit all of the ingredients for this soup without surpassing the maximum fill line.

If you have a fancy blender without a soup preset:

(By fancy, I mean a high-end performance Vitamic, Blendtec, KitchenAid or similar.) Oftentimes, blending your soup for 4 to 6 minutes will heat it up sufficiently to serve directly from the blender. Consult your manufacturer’s directions for details.

Or, simply pour the mixture back into your soup pot and reheat on the stove. That will certainly work.

Please let me know how this butternut soup turns out for you in the comments! Your feedback is so important to me, and I hope you love this soup as much as I do. It’s my absolute favorite.

Extra butternut squash? Here are some fun recipes to use it up:

Watch How to Make Butternut Squash Soup