Slow Cooker Butternut Squash Soup
28 Comments Oct 21, 2021
Updated Oct 19, 2024
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Make a hearty butternut squash soup right in the slow cooker. This soup has a bright color and plenty of flavor. See what my secret ingredient is that makes this soup pop! The soup is healthy, naturally vegetarian, and dairy-free!
Soup season is officially here! We love to make this soup, split pea soup, or even taco 15-bean soup on a chilly night.
Table of Contents
Why this recipe works
The slow cooker is magic and allows you to leave food for hours without worry or stirring; this soup will simmer away while taking care of other things.
The soup is silky smooth, thanks to an immersion blender (or a regular blender). Pair this soup with a crunchy topping such as crackers or croutons.
How to Make Butternut Squash Soup in the Slow Cooker
Ingredients
- Diced Butternut Squash – For a quick prep meal, I use frozen butternut squash. If you want fresh, you’ll have to peel and dice your butternut squash.
- Diced Sweet Potatoes – I use frozen here too, though you can use fresh. This is the secret ingredient to making this soup flavor unique!
- Sweet Yellow Onion – One sweet yellow onion will be just enough to flavor this dish.
- Flavorings – Minced garlic, paprika, oregano, thyme, salt and pepper.
- Vegetable Stock – For this vegetarian recipe, we’ll use a vegetable-based broth available at most grocery stores. Though you can use chicken broth if you’de like.
Step-by-step instructions
Step One – Add the butternut squash, sweet potatoes, onion, garlic, and seasonings to the slow cooker.
Step Two – Pour over the vegetable broth.
Step Three – Stir the ingredients together.
Step Four – Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours or high for 4 hours without opening the lid during the cooking time.
Step Five – When the cooking time is done, blend the soup. This can be done with an immersion blender. If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can use a regular blender or food processer; you will most likely have to do this in batches.
Step Six – Keep blending until very smooth; this isn’t the type of soup you want to have chunks of vegetables in. If your soup is too thick, add a splash of water or additional broth.
Can I Make Slow Cooker Butternut Squash Soup on the Stove?
Absolutely! Using a crockpot is incredibly convenient during the winter months or when feeling under the weather. Still, you can also make this soup on your stovetop with a few adjustments, like using a stockpot and cooking the veggies for a much shorter period of time. You will need to add additional broth if you are making this on the stovetop.
Recipe FAQs
Yes! Our butternut squash soup is vegan, vegetarian, and dairy-free because it doesn’t contain dairy, meat, or animal products.
Leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days. To freeze, try freezing in an airtight container for up to three months.
Add a slice or two of bread on the side, or have a small salad before enjoying your butternut squash soup for a complete dinner. We love topping this soup with store-bought croutons!
Yes, the skin is not edible, and you’ll want to remove it. I remove the skin with a potato peeler down the length of the butternut squash. Then I cut in half length-wise and dice into large chunks.
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Slow Cooker Butternut Squash Soup
Equipment
- Immersion blender – or a food processer or blender
Ingredients
- 6 cups diced butternut squash, (40 oz. frozen or a 2.5-3lb. butternut squash cubed)
- 2 cups diced sweet potatoes, (10 oz. frozen or 1 sweet potato cubed)
- 1 small sweet yellow onion, diced
- 1 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 Tbsp. paprika
- 1 tsp. dried oregano
- ½ tsp. dried leaf thyme, (not ground)
- 32 oz. carton vegetable stock or broth
- ¾ tsp. salt
- ¼ tsp. black pepper
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in crockpot and stir well. If you are using fresh produce, be sure to peel your squash and sweet potato.
- Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low 5-6 hours.
- Use an immersion blender to puree the soup. If you don’t have an immersion blender you can use a regular blender or a food processor. You may have to do the blending in batches if not blending directly in the crockpot.
- Keep blending until silky smooth. If your soup is too thick add a splash of water or additional broth.
- Serve warm topped with croutons, crackers, feta cheese, or similar desired topping. Enjoy!
Sarah’s Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
I don’t really like this soup… the thyme flavor just grossed me out.
I have made this slow cooker butternut squash soup several times and my family loves it . So easy to put together and leave to cook for several hours. I do not find it too thick once blended but we like a thick homemade soup. Makes a great meal served with a small salad.
I may have missed this, but how many servings does this recipe make? Thanks!
This serves about six.
This was amazing!!! Flavour was amazing.
There was no richness to it. Pretty blah and I followed the recipe to the letter. Canned coconut milk and red curry paste would make this soup come to life.
Sorry, this was a no go for us. The thyme was overpowering and ruined the soup, in our opinion. Too bad.
really ? I haven’t made this yet but looking at it. Half a teaspoon doesn’t seem like much for the volume of the soup.
Hi! I think when people think thyme or oregano is overpowering, I think they have gotten a bottle of ground thyme or oregano. Which is rarely at the stores. Don’t use ground and you’ll be fine.
I agree, thyme was overpowering. Recipe said dried thyme & only dried thyme I know is in the spice rack. Maybe fresh herbs would have been better
Hi there 🙂 do you think chicken broth would be okay in place of vegetable broth? Thanks 🙂
Yes, chicken broth will add even more flavor.
Hi! I can’t wait to try this! Wanted to ask if apples would be good to add as I have plenty of them? Also about when to add heavy cream, which I love as well? Thanks!
Apples would be great. I would add heavy cream at the end of the cooking time.
I absolutely loved this! i used frozen butternut squash abd fresh sweet potato (chopped very small so it wpuldnt cook too much more slowly than the squash). It was just perfect! I had two bowls! Thanks so much. This has been added to my favorites folder!