Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup with Apples

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A super simple Instant Pot soup recipe for when you want some comfort food but don’t want to derail your healthy eating goals. This Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup recipe is super healthy yet tastes indulgent. It’s the perfect Instant Pot recipe to warm you up on a cool day.

A super simple recipe for an Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup. The butternut squash can be roasted or steamed, resulting in a velvety smooth and delicious soup that the whole family will love - includes directions for steaming squash in the Instant Pot

Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup Recipe

My daughter and daycare kids love butternut squash soup. Even the super picky ones.

Butternut squash soup has a sweet, nutty, rich flavor that a lot of kids enjoy and find more palatable than other (equally) nutrient-rich vegetables. If your kids like pumpkin or sweet potato, they are going to love this recipe! I don’t even think my kids realize that this soup has any vegetables in it because it’s just smooth, creamy and delicious.

My favourite way to prepare butternut squash soup is to roast it, but I don’t always have time to do that when I have a houseful of kids. Steaming the squash in the instant pot is a great, easy alternative, but if you want to really amp up the flavor, follow the directions in this post to roast your butternut squash before proceeding with the rest of the recipe.

This recipe makes a ton of soup – you can even stretch it out further by adding more broth. I find one and a half cups to be the perfect serving size for me as this soup is super filling, especially if it’s paired with a sandwich or another side.

You can also use the seeds from your butternut squash in place of pumpkin seeds to make our Roasted Maple Pumpkin Seeds or our Roasted Cinnamon Pumpkin Seeds.

What to Serve with this Instant Pot Butternut Squash soup:

Is this butternut squash soup vegan? You can absolutely make this soup recipe vegan by using a vegetable broth. This recipe is smooth and velvety without the use of any creams.

Can this instant pot soup recipe be made in a crockpot? Absolutely! The cook time is all that will change – you will need to cook or soften the squash (it takes about 3 hours on high) and then when you place all of the ingredients in the slow cooker, the cooking time will be 3 hours on high or 5-6 hours on low.

Can you freeze this butternut squash soup? Yes! Let the soup cool completely and freeze in your favorite freezer-safe containers and use within 3 months. (This set of freezer containers is a crazy bargain.)

How to pick the perfect butternut squash: The ideal butternut squash is dense and heavy, with no visible bruises or cuts to the flesh. The skin will become thicker over time.

How to store butternut squash until ready to cook: Leave your squash whole and store in a dry, cool place (like the pantry, a cool room or even underneath the kitchen sink) for up to 3 months.

What are the health benefits of butternut squash? Butternut squash is a great source of vitamin A – just one cup provides 300% of your recommended daily intake (so having some twice a week fills your quota), and also vitamin C at 50% of your daily recommended intake. It’s also a great source of fiber, potassium, and magnesium – and many of us are magnesium deficient, causing sleep issues and stopping us from properly absorbing calcium.

Looking for more Instant Pot Recipes? Check out our full collection here!

How to make butternut squash soup in the instant pot

Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup Ingredients

  • Butternut squash – an average butternut squash is approximately 3-4lb. You can save a bit of time by purchasing pre-cut, cubed butternut squash but our method of steaming the squash in this recipe is super quick and easy
  • Coconut oil – I prefer this for flavor and health benefits, but you can swap with any other cooking oil or butter
  • Onion, minced
  • Apples, sliced – these add sweetness and tartness, helping round out the flavors of this recipe
  • Garlic, sliced – while I tend to opt for fresh garlic, jarred minced garlic works just as well in this recipe
  • Broth of choice – I prefer chicken or vegetable broth in this recipe
  • Nutmeg – this adds a nice earthy, warm flavor to the soup that brings out the squash’s natural sweetness
  • Paprika – sweet or smoked, paprika adds a bit more flavor dimension
  • Cayenne pepper – great for adding some heat, feel free to leave out, if desired
  • Salt

Scroll down to the printable recipe card for full measurements.

Tip: increase the amount of broth to make your soup extend even further. It will still be filling and creamy, just less dense/rich.

Kitchen Tools You May Find Helpful

Tip: I used my new Hurom Hexa Power High Speed Blender to make this soup – it blends up the soup easily, resulting in a creamy texture with no “bits” of carrots ruining the texture. It’s also really quiet, so I can make this soup or my favorite smoothie recipes at nap time without worrying that I’ll wake up the children. If you’re in the market for a new blender, or find that your blender isn’t doing a great job of creating smooth soups, I highly recommend it!

How to Make Butternut Squash Soup

To soften your butternut squash, cut the squash into quarters.

Place 1 cup of water in the Instant Pot and place the trivet overtop of the water.

Set the squash on the trivet (try to avoid touching the flesh of the squash to the metal pot).

Secure the lid on your Instant Pot and select Manual setting for 7 minutes.

Natural release.

Carefully remove the squash and empty out the water. Place the insert back into the Instant Pot.


Place the oil in the Instant Pot on the Saute setting.

Add the onion once the oil is hot and saute two minutes, then add the garlic for one minute.


Turn off the saute setting and add in all other ingredients.

Secure the lid and select the stew/soup setting for 10 minutes.


Natural release.

Makes 8-10 cups of soup.

Pin this Delicious Instant Pot Soup recipe:

Make a rich, velvety butternut squash soup that the whole family will love - in the Instant Pot! This simple Instant Pot recipe helps you sneak in those vegetables in a delicious way

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Yield: 10 cups

Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup with Apples

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Additional Time 15 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 butternut squash
  • 1 Tablespoon coconut oil
  • 1 onion, minced
  • 2 apples, sliced
  • 3 cloves garlic, sliced
  • 4 cups broth of choice
  • Nutmeg, to taste
  • Paprika, to taste
  • Cayenne pepper, to taste
  • Salt, to taste

Instructions

  1. To soften your butternut squash, cut the squash into quarters.
  2. Place 1 cup of water in the Instant Pot and place the trivet overtop of the water.
  3. Set the squash on the trivet (try to avoid touching the flesh of the squash to the metal pot).
  4. Secure the lid on your Instant Pot and select Manual setting for 7 minutes.
  5. Natural release.     
  6. Carefully remove the squash and empty out the water. Place the insert back into the Instant Pot.
  7. Place the oil in the Instant Pot on the Saute setting.
  8. Add the onion once the oil is hot and saute two minutes, then add the garlic for one minute.
  9. Turn off the saute setting and add in all other ingredients.
  10. Secure the lid and select the stew/soup setting for 10 minutes.
  11. Natural release.
  12. Makes 8-10 cups of soup.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

10

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 82Total Fat: 3gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 3mgSodium: 197mgCarbohydrates: 12gFiber: 2gSugar: 6gProtein: 3g

Sugar, Spice and Glitter uses an auto-generate nutrition calculator. Nutrition information isn’t always accurate unless analyzed in a scientific lab, so these should be considered more of a guideline than medical information.

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This instant pot butternut squash soup recipe is super simple to make and always a hit with the kids!

For more delicious Instant Pot recipes the whole family will love, check out our Instant Pot Taco Pasta or our Instant Pot Mississippi Pot Roast.

Check out our other Vegetable Recipes here:

Vegetable Recipes

Craving comfort food but want something healthy? This quick and easy Instant Pot Butternut Squash soup has you covered - creamy, rich and velvety smooth butternut squash soup with less than 10 minutes active prep time  Creamy, rich and velvety smooth butternut squash soup with less than 10 minutes active prep time thanks to the Instant Pot! Make using roasted or steamed butternut squash - includes directions for steaming squash in the Instant Pot

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2 Comments

  1. LOVE butternut squash soup! i don’t have a an instant pot but i’ve heard so many great things about them! This would be so good for winter.

  2. What a great idea to make this in the instant pot! Count to serve it up to all my friends this fall…

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