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Top down view of butternut squash soup in white bowl with piece of crusty bread and cooked bacon pieces.

The Best Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Yield: 5 to 6 servings
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds butternut squash cubes (see note)
  • 2 medium onions, peeled and sliced into thin half moon strips
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • ½ teaspoon coarse salt
  • ⅛ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
  • 2 cups water
  • 2 tablespoons chicken bouillon paste (see note to use chicken broth or bouillon cubes)
  • 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
  • 6 ounces cream cheese
  • ½ cup milk (I use 2%)
  • ½ cup heavy cream (see note)
  • ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper, plus more, to taste
  • Optional garnish: cooked, crumbled bacon

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
  • Scatter butternut squash cubes and onions evenly over half sheet pan. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Lightly toss. Roast in the oven for 1 hour without stirring until the squash and onions are tender and golden.
  • Scrape the squash/onion mixture into a 4-quart pot. Add the water, bouillon, and garlic. Bring to a simmer.
  • Stir the cream cheese cubes into the soup. Turn the heat off and let the cream cheese melt into the soup, 2 to 3 minutes.
  • Add the milk and cream and stir to combine.
  • Using an immersion blender (or ladling the soup into a blender), blend the soup until smooth. *If using a blender, vent the lid so steam can escape.*
  • Return the soup to medium-low heat to heat through. Stir in the cayenne pepper. Add additional salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste.
  • Serve warm with crumbled, cooked bacon on top, if desired. The soup will thicken a bit as it cools.

Notes

Butternut Squash: The pre-packaged squash cubes work brilliantly well in this recipe. Costco and Sam's Club sell 2-pound containers. Walmart and other grocery stores carry them, too (often in 1-pound containers). One large or two small-medium butternut squash, peeled and seeds removed, will yield the 2 pounds/6 cups squash cubes.
Bouillon: I use Better Than Bouillon paste for this recipe. You can sub 2 cups chicken broth in place of the water + bouillon, however, I would still recommend adding a scoop of bouillon paste or 1 to 2 bouillon cubes to deepen the savory flavors (important to balance the sweetness of the squash). You can sub in six bouillon cubes for the 2 tablespoons bouillon paste.
Milk + Heavy Cream: One cup half-and-half can be subbed in for the milk and heavy cream.