Perfect for fall and winter, this Instant Pot butternut squash soup only takes 20-25 minutes from start to finish. It's gluten-free, paleo, vegetarian and vegan-friendly. This soup is also great for make-ahead batch cooking and freezing.
Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup
With fall comes the season for winter squash and we couldn't be happier. Cooking soups is one of the easiest things with Instant Pot and it's a great way to use up all that gorgeous autumnal produce.
Root vegetables, such as butternut squash and other types of pumpkin, lend themselves beautifully to soups as they add starch and body to the dish without having to use too many other thickeners.
Cooking with butternut squash is also very nutritious as this starchy root vegetable is full of vitamins, antioxidants and fibre. It's a healthy source of carbohydrates but is relatively low in calories.
This is a vegetarian and gluten-free soup and we recommend to serve it with a topping of seeds, nuts or cooked chickpeas or lentils for more plant-based protein or some diced cooked chicken or turkey for an omnivore version.
Serve this soup as a main with some crusty bread or as a starter. It's also great to take to work for lunch in a portable container.
What's In The Soup
For this soup recipe, we are using butternut squash but you can also cut up kabocha squash, sweet potatoes, carrots and other root vegetables of choice. With the Instant Pot, cooking a butternut squash soup only takes 5 minutes (plus pressure build-up), so you can have a nutritious meal ready in less than half an hour. We used some seeds and fried shallots to top the soup for added crunch and texture.
We've added some thickened cream at the end but for a vegan and dairy-free version, you can use thickened coconut milk instead.
This soup will keep for 4-5 days in the fridge and even longer in the freezer, making it a perfect meal prep and batch cooking recipe. We hope you enjoy our Instant Pot butternut squash soup as much as we did!
MORE INSTANT POT SOUP RECIPES TO TRY
- Detox Instant Pot Vegetable Soup
- Carrot Soup With Lemongrass & Ginger
- Creamy Mushroom Soup
- Potato Soup With Poblano Peppers
- Corn, Sweet Potato & Chipotle Soup
- Creamy Potato & Corn Chowder With Dill Pickle
Rate This Recipe
Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion peeled and diced
- 1 large celery stick sliced roughly
- 3 cloves of garlic peeled
- ½ large butternut squash 5 cups of peeled and diced squash or about 2 lbs. / 1kg
- 2 large white potatoes peeled and diced into cubes
- 3 cups of vegetable stock (700 ml)
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons double thick cream or mascarpone cream, coconut cream for dairy-free
- Parsley pumpkin seeds and fried shallots to serve
Instructions
- Turn the Instant Pot on and press the Sauté function key. Add the olive oil, onions, celery and garlic to the inner pot and cook for a minute or two. Add the squash and potato and stir through. Add the rest of the ingredients besides the lemon juice and cream and stir. Press Cancel to stop the sauté function.
- Pop the lid on top and lock in place. Set the Instant Pot to Manual, HIGH and adjust to 5 minutes. After 3 beeps the Instant Pot will start to build up the pressure and begin the cooking process. Once the timer goes off, use the quick release to let off the steam and pressure (be careful to stand back when you do this). Open the lid and let the soup cool off for a few minutes.
- In batches, transfer the soup to a food processor or a blender and puree until smooth. You can also use an immersion blender to puree the soup directly in the Instant Pot. Return the pureed soup to the pot and stir in the lemon juice and cream. Taste for salt and add more if needed.
- Serve topped with seeds, deep-fried shallots, and parsley or cilantro.
Lorrae
Thanks for the great recipe.
If I used the soup/broth setting on the instant pot, how long would the cook time be please?
Many thanks for your help:)
Instant Pot Eats
Hey Lorrae, The Soup/Broth setting is quite long and you don't need that much time for the butternut squash soup. You can simply adjust the timer using + and - buttons. 5 minutes should be sufficient.
Sara
Thank you for replying!
Sara
Do you mean russet potatoes or yellow potatoes?
instantpoteats
You can use any type of white potato in this recipe 🙂