Made with roasted butternut and acorn squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, sage, thyme, and more to create a gorgeous, creamy, fall-inspired soup that everyone LOVES! Great as a healthy main dish or a perfect side dish for Thanksgiving or the holidays! Serve it in acorn squash bowls for an even more festive look!
Prep Time20 minutesmins
Cook Time1 hourhr
Total Time1 hourhr20 minutesmins
Course: Soup
Cuisine: American
Keyword: butternut squash and sweet potato soup, butternut squash carrot soup, butternut squash soup toppings, butternut squash soup with coconut milk, creamy butternut squash soup, roasted butternut squash soup, savory butternut squash soup, what to serve with butternut squash soup
Servings: 6cups
Calories: 393kcal
Author: Averie Sunshine
Ingredients
Squash Bowls for Serving (optional but recommended)
2medium acorn squashhalved and seeded
1tablespoonolive oil
1tablespoongranulated sugar
Saltto taste
Freshly ground black pepperto taste
Soup
1poundbutternut squashpeeled and cubed into 1-inch pieces*
4medium to large carrotspeeled and cubed into 1-inch pieces
1large sweet potatopeeled and cubed into 1-inch pieces
4tablespoonsolive oildivided
1small to medium yellow onionfinely diced
3 to 5clovesgarlicfinely minced
4cupsreduced sodium vegetable broth
4fresh sage leavesfinely chopped (or 1 teaspoon dried sage, or to taste)
2bay leaves
1sprig fresh thymeor 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, or to taste
1teaspooncinnamon
1teaspoonsaltor to taste
1teaspoonfreshly ground black pepperor to taste
1cupfull fat coconut milkor as desired for consistency**
Toppings and Serving, optional and as desired
Kale chips
Pomegranate arils
Pumpkin seeds
Toasted or fried sage leaves
Instructions
Acorn Squash Bowls (Optional)
Preheat oven to 400F, line a baking sheet with nonstick foil if desired for easier cleanup, spray with cooking spray; set aside.
Halve the squash, scoop out the seeds, brush the flesh side with olive oil, evenly sprinkle with sugar (to help caramelize it and cut the bitterness), salt, pepper, and place on the prepared baking sheet flesh side facing upwards.
Roast for 20 minutes. Tip - While roasting, start chopping the butternut squash, carrots, and sweet potato, and have them ready and waiting. See step 5.
Remove from the oven, and using hot mitts, flip over the acorn squash, and roast for about 25 minutes more, or until done. It should be fork-tender so that a spoon can easily scoop out the flesh. Make sure not to overcook or the squash will be mushy, collapse, and won't hold the soup.
Soup
At the same time that you are roasting the acorn squash halves the second time around after they've been flipped, to a separate large baking sheet lined with nonstick foil and sprayed with cooking spray for easier clean, add the cubed butternut squash, carrots, sweet potatoes, drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil, and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Roast for about 25 minutes, or until everything is fork-tender; toss once midway through to ensure even cooking. While you're waiting for both the acorn squash and sheet pan of vegetables to roast, move on to the next steps.
To a large Dutch oven or large pot, add 2 tablespoons olive oil, onions, and saute over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, or until onions are beginning to soften; stir frequently.
Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute, or until fragrant; stir nearly constantly. Set pot aside and wait for the roasted vegetables to finish.
Add the roasted butternut squash, carrots, sweet potatoes, broth, sage, bay leaves, thyme, cinnamon, salt, and pepper to the sautéed onions, bring to a boil, and simmer for 15 minutes.
Add the coconut milk and stir to combine.
Remove the bay leaves and thyme sprig if you used fresh in place of dried thyme.
Pour half the soup into the canister of a high-speed electric blender, and using caution making sure to leave a place for steam to escape (I cover the hole of my Vitamix with an old kitchen towel that I hold in place), puree the soup until as smooth as combined. Start on a low speed to make sure it doesn't go flying, just in case.
Pour the blended portion into a separate large pot, and repeat the process with the second half soup and blend it. If you want a chunkier soup or soup with more texture, it's okay to only puree and not all of it; or puree none if you want a really chunky soup. You can also use a handheld immersion blender for the pureeing task, noting they aren't as powerful and your soup won't likely get as smooth.
Make sure to taste the soup and if it needs additional salt or pepper, add it. Additional cinnamon, sage, thyme, or ground nutmeg are also welcome.
Toppings and Serving
Pour the soup into the roasted acorn squash bowls or bowls of your choice and serve with your favorite toppings including kale chips, pomegranate arils, pumpkin seeds, or additional coconut milk,
Notes
*Use pre-chopped butternut squash that you can find in the produce section of most grocery stores or in bags in Trader Joe's or your favorite market. Butternut squash is an incredibly hard squash and this is a time where I strongly recommend going with a convenience produce like previously cleaned and cubed squash rather than putting in the elbow grease yourself.**When selecting coconut milk, it can be a little confusing. You want shelf-stablecanned coconut milk, not in a carton, not anything that’s a refrigerated coconut milk, make sure it’s unsweetened, and don’t confuse cream of coconut or coconut cream (it’s super sweet, and best in a pina colada and not in soup) for the canned coconut milk you want for your roasted squash and carrot soup.I suggest full fat coconut milk for the best deliciously creamy results. As I mentioned already, you can swap it with heavy cream or half-and-half or cashew milk to keep the soup vegan.Storage: Soup will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 4 months. Store or freeze in individually portioned containers for faster reheating or thawing.