This freezer butternut squash soup will quickly become a fall favorite! There are plenty of ways to make butternut squash soup, but this recipe has a special tasty kick, and it’s the perfect make-ahead soup!
What ingredients do I need for this butternut squash soup?
- Onion and garlic cloves – both are used in a great start to a soup and give it great flavor base.
- Cinnamon – cinnamon provides an extra touch of fall flavor to this soup. It pairs perfectly with butternut squash. I like using this cinnamon.
- Cayenne pepper (more for garnish, optional) – this is my favorite ingredient in the soup! It adds an extra kick of heat that cuts through the sweetness. It’s a gentle heat.
- Butternut squash – obviously the base of this delicious soup! You can use a fresh butternut squash, peeled and cubed into 1″ squares or take a time-saving route and use fresh peeled/cubed butternut squash from the produce section, or even from the freezer section!
- Chicken broth (or vegetarian broth) – I use chicken stock, but you could certainly use a vegetarian broth in an effort to keep this recipe completely vegetarian.
- Half-and-half – the half and half brings the creaminess to this soup, if you wanted a thick bisque butternut squash soup, you could use heavy cream in place of half and half
- Fresh lemon juice – a hint of acid to cut the cream and sweetness
- Sour cream – this is optional and really only needed for serving. The sourness can help cut any sweetness in the soup. My husband likes having sour cream or Greek yogurt as a topping to this soup.
Before making this soup, my favorite way to enjoy butternut squash was simply roasted, like in this recipe. Squash come in a variety of sizes, so knowing how much to use is always a little tricky to me. One medium – large butternut squash, with the peel and innards is usually around 3-4 lbs. For this freezer butternut squash soup, you’ll need a total of 2 lbs. of butternut squash cubes.
So, how do you make this soup?
- In a large saucepan, heat butter over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, thyme, cinnamon, and cayenne. Season with salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened. This will take 5 to 7 minutes.
- Add butternut squash, broth, half and half and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer, and cook until squash is tender, about 20 minutes.
- Working in batches, puree in a blender or with an immersion blender until smooth.
- Stir in lemon juice and season with additional salt if desired. Garnish with sour cream and cayenne if desired.
- To freeze, ladle cooled soup (without sour cream) into airtight containers. Leave 1-inch of space at the top. Freeze up to 3 months.
- To reheat, run container from freezer under hot water to release the soup. Transfer soup to a pot or large microwave safe container. Heat with a bit of water, stirring occasionally.
As you cooking this recipe, it seriously smells so great!
A few tips/notes for this butternut squash soup:
- There is one major time saving trick to this recipe! Buy already chopped butternut squash – it comes already cubed and peeled.
- If you want to play with the flavors a bit, you can add a touch (½ teaspoon) of nutmeg/cloves instead of cinnamon or use chili powder to give it a more smokey flavor.
- Depending on the size of your blender, you may need to blend in batches.
Sure, there are plenty of butternut squash soup recipes out there, but one of the things I love most about this recipe is that it is meant to be made ahead for the freezer. Make it, freeze it and thaw it! So on those nights you don’t feel like cooking, you have a delicious soup all ready to go.
It is an amazing recipe to make-ahead for Thanksgiving dinner since it’s one less thing you need to cook on the day-of.
This freezer butternut squash soup is a fall menu must-have. And don’t forget to add it to your Thanksgiving day menu too (it pairs really well with Thanksgiving salad-as pictured above.) I also serve this soup to my kids alongside a grilled cheese and they love dunking the grilled cheese in the soup!
Freezer Butternut Squash Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 Tbs butter
- 1 onion medium, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves pressed
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper more for garnish, optional
- 1 butternut squash large, (about 4 lbs., peeled, seeded and cut into 1 inch cubes)
- 1 can (14.5 oz.) chicken broth
- 1 cup half and half
- 2 cups water
- 1 Tbs fresh lemon juice
- Sour cream for serving (optional)
Instructions
- In a large saucepan, heat butter over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, thyme, cinnamon, and cayenne. Season with salt, and cook, stirring occasionally until onion is softened, 5 to 7 minutes.
- Add butternut squash, broth, half and half and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer, and cook until squash is tender, about 20 minutes.
- Working in batches, puree in a blender or with an immersion blender until smooth.
- Stir in lemon juice and season with additional salt if desired. Garnish with sour cream and cayenne if desired.
To Freeze
- Ladle cooled soup (without sour cream) into airtight containers, leaving 1 inch of space at the top. Freeze up to 3 months.
To Reheat
- Run container from freezer under hot water to release the soup. Transfer soup into a pot or large microwave safe container. Heat with a bit of water, stirring occasionally.
Notes
- Notes-if you want to change it up, you can add a touch (½ teaspoon) of nutmeg/cloves instead of cinnamon or use chili powder to give it a more smokey flavor.
- *Big timesaver hint! Buy pre-chopped, fresh butternut squash.
Kim Henrichs says
This looks so good! I honestly just want a giant bowl of stuffing this year…
Sweetphi says
Haha, agreed, me too. It’s just comforting and homey, forget the rest lol.
Leann G says
I am looking forward to making the traditional turkey meal for just the 2 of us. My husband doesn’t like dressing, so I’m thinking of either skipping that or ordering a small pan from Cracker Barrel as I’ve never made dressing that I absolutely love. Mac & cheese, green beans and sweet potatoes are definitely on the menu! We all have so much to be thankful for this year, especially our continued health!
Sweetphi says
Thank you so much for sharing. We definitely have so much to be thankful this year, I love how you pointed that out! I never liked dressing either until I made my sourdough stuffing recipe. Your idea of getting a small pan is really great. Wishing you a happy holiday season.
Amy Cooley says
I’m looking forward to making all the traditional side dishes…mashed potatoes, stuffing, green bean casserole and corn casserole. Actually, I look more forward to eating them!
Sweetphi says
YUM, I’m drooling just reading those dishes. I love the classics (and eating them) too.
Linda Bick says
I always look forward to making my Szechuan Turkey!
Sweetphi says
Ohhh sounds amazing!
Aysel says
Ooh, this looks delicious! 🙂
I’m not making much for Thanksgiving this year, since we won’t be able to invite many people over and social distance at the same time. Probably just a roast chicken and some cookies. And you?
Sweetphi says
Thank you so much.
The roasted chicken sounds wonderful. This year we are doing a small thanksgiving (I just did a post about it https://sweetphi.com/thanksgiving-meal-planner-small-family/). We’re going to keep it small with a turkey breast!
Vickie says
I have a recipe called Francie’s English Broccoli that I have had for many years. It was actually in a small newspaper that a lady had food articles in all of the time. This was before food blogs were really popular. I don’t know who Francie was since this wasn’t the lady who had the column but this is a traditional holiday recipe that I always make and everyone loves it !! Obviously, it can be made at any time of the year……:)
Sweetphi says
Oh I love hearing stories like that! And, I love broccoli dishes- I’d love to hear what’s in Francie’s English Broccoli. I make an old fashioned kind of broccoli my mom used to make called broccoli divine, and it’s always a family favorite! https://sweetphi.com/5-ingredient-broccoli-divine-recipe/
Susan Craig says
I love it! Cramy soups that are low in calories & high in nutrients are perfect for cold weather. Thanks for the recipe.
Sweetphi says
I agree – I love delicious soups in the winter!!
Catherine Pasquinucci says
This year I’m focusing on turkey that I can get into my air fryer. RV is small but I can make turkey last a long time in other dishes later. Like SOUP! LOVE this soup!
Sweetphi says
Hi!! I just read your comment – and perfect timing – I JUST shared an air fryer turkey breast recipe (https://sweetphi.com/air-fryer-turkey-breast-recipe/). It is SO good done in the air fryer, that is how we’re going to do it for Thanksgiving this year (and forever after). It’s so flavorful and so much easier than sitting there basting the turkey, etc.
Jennifer Shafer says
I make butternut squash soup every year to go with the salad course of the meal – I started making it because I have a few non-turkey eaters in the gathering and I wanted to make sure they had a meal of more than just sides.
I don’t have a recipe- but I roast the squash with shallots, a knob of ginger and a couple of pears. When everything is roasted I transfer to a pot with stock and blend with an emulsion stick blender, adding more stock to adjust the thickness. Then I simmer with a couple star anise, cinnamon stick, 5 or six cloves and a few allspice pods tied in a muslin cloth. To serve I top each bowl with a cinnamon, salt and pepper roasted squash seeds and dots of pumpkin seed oil. It a true holiday favorite. One year I didn’t make it and I will never live it down!
Kristy says
My mom (who passed away) had a good friend Betty (who also passed away) who had an amazing recipe for Cranberry Chutney. (Like, I was a die-hard Ocean-Spray-Cranberry-Sauce-from-a-can-with-the-ridges fan until I met this recipe.) Now I make it every year for Thanksgiving – the house smells amazing, and I think of my mom and her dear friend Betty.
Sweetphi says
I love when recipes evoke memories like that, thank you for sharing, it definitely sounds like an amazing cranberry chutney
Laura McCravens says
This soup looks delicious! I love making soup in the winter. For thanksgiving, I’m looking forward to all of the side dishes!
Sweetphi says
I love the side dishes too (almost better than the main event, turkey!)
Kathryn Lambert says
This soup is amazing! I wish I could find packaged peeled and chopped squash where I live. As I can’t, I carefully do it myself and your soup is so so delicious!!
Sweetphi says
So glad you loved this soup!! Sometimes I can’t find it either so I just (as you said – carefully) do it myself.
A tip I recently learned is to cook butternut squash in a slow cooker. Just put the whole butternut squash (skin and all, just put the whole thing) in a slow cooker, turn on high and cook for 3-4 hrs until skin is easily poked with a fork. Then when it cooled enough to handle you can super easily cut it and scoop out the insides and turn it into soup 🙂
Monica says
I make your butternut squash soup with one change. I roast the butternut and onion. Never makes it to the freezer though. It’s so good, it’s gone within a couple days ?. I also like making crust less pumpkin pie during the holidays ( I’m gluten free so it works for whole family)
Sweetphi says
I love that change, thank you for sharing!! I also love that this soup works for the whole family.
Lyn Solomon-Linville says
One of my favorite things to do is make homemade cranberry sauce. Follow the directions on the bag of cranberries and just before it is done fold in raspberries. Make sure to be gentle, you don’t want to smash the berries very much. Yummy!
Sweetphi says
Oooooh I love the sound of folding in raspberries, so unique and I can see that being so good together!
Melissa M. says
This soup sounds delicious and is perfect for fall. My favorite goat Thanksgiving is mashed potatoes with gravy and I also love dressing.
Sweetphi says
This soup is so yummy – hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Betsy Larsen says
Sounds amazing! I love butternut squash soup and can’t wait to make this!
Sweetphi says
I think you’ll love this recipe 🙂
Nina Kelnhofer says
I am looking forward t the desserts! I love all the different pie…pecan, pumpkin, apple and your surprise every year!
Sweetphi says
Yum, I love all the Thanksgiving desserts too!! I have to see if the grand master allows for a dessert addition lol.
Kelly Heslip says
I’m most looking forward to my mom’s Sweet Potato Casserole!
Sweetphi says
Sounds delicious! We didn’t grow up with sweet potato casserole, but it’s become something I enjoy as an adult!
Lisa Jean says
Just made this Monday. It was delicious. I serve with a dollop of sour cream and roasted pumpkin seeds. Yum
Looking forward to making my sweet potatoe soufflé. Always a big hit
Sweetphi says
Oh yum, I love that you served it with roasted pumpkin seeds and sour cream!
Jessica Fout says
This looks yummy! I can’t wait to try it!
I love cooking for Thanksgiving! We make turkey (of course) & I actually love using the carcass to make homemade stock overnight between Thanksgiving & black Friday. Then I make cream of turkey soup on Black Friday – it’s so yummy & also freezes really well!
Sweetphi says
Oh my goodness, what an absolutely amazing idea to use the carcass, thank you for sharing.