This recipe for roastedย vegan butternut squash soup is creamy, full of savory flavor, and has no coconut milk! Toasted pecans are blended with vegetable stock and a mix of roasted squash, apples, and onions, resulting in a richly textured soup that is so satisfying. The oven does most of the work with this recipe, leaving you to just blend everything until smooth at the end. Itโs truly amazing how roughly 10 simple ingredients can result in such a silky and enticing vegan soup recipe.
The First Mess Cookbook
For more seasonal inspiration, my cookbook features an incredible butternut squash lasagna as well as a squash parcel supper with quinoa!
We were lacking my version of classic vegan roasted butternut squash soup on here, so I just had to get this one up for you! I always like to give my soup recipes a little something extra, so I blend toasted pecans in this dairy-free squash soup, and it really brings a toasty richness. Also, cooked butternut squash gets super creamy on its own when blended with liquid.
Complimentary flavors like ginger, garlic, apple, and onions all mingle on one tray in a hot oven. The dry heat helps to concentrate the flavors of the vegetables and apples, and itโs a little more hands-off, which is nice sometimes. Your house will smell so good.
Blending with vegetable stock adds another layer of flavor that you wonโt get with water alone. I used a stock that was heavy on sage and thyme, which worked out nice! I finish this easy vegan butternut squash soup with umami-rich Tamari and bright apple cider vinegar. This step helps to simultaneously add depth and lift up the entire flavor profile. In my experience, squash is mellow and slightly sweet, so it needs a little extra help to sparkle.
I recommend serving this with some nice bread and a green salad on the side.
Roasted Vegan Butternut Squash Soup with Apples & Pecans
Ingredients
- ยพ cup pecan halves divided
- 5 lbs (2.26 kg) butternut squash (about 2 large)
- 1 lb (454 grams) apples (about 2 large)
- 2 large yellow onions
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled
- 2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
- ยฝ teaspoon chili flakes or ground chilies
- ยผ cup olive oil
- sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
- 4 cups vegetable stock
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Tamari
Equipment
Notes
- I used 2 medium butternut squashes and one small honey nut squash in these photos. Using purely one of either type or a mix like I did is great! As long as you have about 5 lbs total.
- Once toasted, ยฝ cup of the pecans goes into the blended soup while the remaining ยผ cup is saved for garnish.
- I love to also garnish this with a mixture of: chili crisp, drizzles of maple syrup, extra black pepper, and little sage leaves from the plant in my garden. Of course itโs delicious with just the pecans too!
- My Vitamix blender pitcher holds 8 cups, so I can blend this soup in 2 batches. Adjust accordingly for your blender. Because of the pecans, I do not recommend a stick blender here.
- I used Macintosh apples that were slightly tart. The level of sweetness and acidity worked perfectly here. Granny Smith or Paula Red are also good choices.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ยฐF. Scatter the pecans on a small baking sheet and let them toast while the oven heats up, for about 6-7 minutes. Set a scant ยผ cup of the pecans aside for garnishing your soup and chop them up roughly. You'll be blending the remaining ยฝ cup with the soup.
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper (or 2 medium).
- Peel the squash and remove the seeds before dicing into 2-inch chunks. Place the diced squash on the parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Peel and core the apples and then dice them into chunks as well. Add them to the baking sheet. Peel the onions and chop them roughly. Add them to the baking sheet.
- Add the peeled garlic, sliced ginger, chili flakes, and olive oil to the baking sheet. Season generously with salt and pepper. Toss to coat everything evenly and then spread out into an even layer. Slide the tray into the oven.
- Roast the squash, apples, and onions until soft and browning a bit on the edges, about 40-45 minutes. Remove and let cool slightly.
- Transfer half of the roasted squash mixture to an upright blender. Add half of the toasted pecans to the blender and 2 cups of the vegetable stock. Blend this mixture on high until smooth, about 1-2 full minutes. Pour the blended soup into a large pot. Repeat this process with the remaining roasted squash, pecans, and stock.
- Once you have all the blended soup in the pot, stir in the apple cider vinegar and Tamari. Give it a stir and check the seasoning. Adjust if necessary (more salt, vinegar, chili etc). Bring the soup to a boil over medium heat. If the soup is too thick for your liking, add some water to thin it out. Serve the soup hot with toasted pecans on top.
Hello! I am very excited to try this recipe! I have all the ingredients and am going to make it tmrw. This might be a silly question, but is there a reason that you donโt add the ACV and Tamari during the blending stage..? It would only save the step of stirring those last two ingredients into the pot at the end, so no biggie lol, but just thought Iโd ask if maybe there was a secret chef reason as to why you donโt blend them in ;)
Thank you so much for sharing your creative recipes, I have made a few from your site so far, and the flavour combos are ALWAYS a hit!
Hi Pam!
You can definitely add it to the blending stage! Not a secret chef reason at all haha. I just like to add these ingredients to the finished product because sometimes I like to stir them in, taste, and then maybe add a bit more.
-L
De-licious!
Laura is a genius at selecting ingredients that blend to such amazing flavours!!
Delicious! My new favourite squash soup! Thank you!
Extremely flavorful! It was a hit for Thanksgiving. My only comments are:
1) this needs twice the broth the recipe called for in order to avoid being too thick (unless you want to treat it as a puree and serve it on the plate), and
2) the ginger should be grated. It wonโt puree too well even after roasting, so my mother got a solid piece which was a bit overwhelming in flavor
This has become my favorite soup. Wholesome and so flavorful and full of nutrition. I added a shallot to the roasting of veggies, .. yes, with the garlic, & onion too. Thank you, Laura for your creativity in the kitchen and your sharing!
Just made this DELICIOUS soup. I didnโt have tamari, so used coconut aminos (and dialed it back by a 1/3 as itโs sweet.) I did have to use twice the liquid and itโs still thick. Despite the increased liquid, the flavor remains so good.
Laura, you have become a trusted friend in my kitchen over years of making your recipes and never once finding myself disappointed. Thank you for your artistic skill and nourishing sense of what bodies and palates need.
Instant winner of recipe! I had never roasted ginger for a butternut squash soup before, it really evolves the flavor vs grating in fresh. So simple to make and so lovely, and infinitely tweakable (though it needs no tweaks).
We enjoyed it with your apple fennel salad and a cranberry seed baguette, total celebration of fall foods.
Cooking note: I was a little stressed trying to fit everything onto one tray and get the oil distributed through so much veg without knocking stuff off of the tray. For me it was easier to toss everything in a really big bowl with the oil and spices to coat, then distribute onto two baking sheets.
Nut free note: I blended some of veggies pre-pecan for a nut-free taste comparison, its also absolutely delicious without them if you or someone youโre feeding canโt have nuts.
Josephine,
Thank you for this super helpful feedback and kind review. So glad that the recipe worked for you :)
-L
this was so good. used only 1 apple so a but less sweet but that addition of tamari and vinegar is a game changer. totally elevates the taste. did a before and after. used Aleppo pepper as its milder and that worked. also used a few cashews to thicken but it didnโt really need it. Iโll put some pecans on top though. thanks for this. yum!
I did change this recipe a bit, I didnโt have pecans and I donโt like chili flakes. All that to say, this soup is so yummy! Both the apple and ginger are exciting additions to your run of the mill pumpkin soup.
This was delicious. Next time I would like to use up some of my fujis, do you think they would work here? My family is not a fan of sweet soups so I wonder if more vinegar or some lemon would fix it? Thank you.
Fuji apples would be great! And yes, I recommend tasting the finished soup and adding lemon/any vinegar really to taste at the end to balance things out to your familyโs liking. I also love adding a few shakes of hot sauce to the blended soup to balance that sweetness even further.
-L
Very easy by virtue of everything roasting at once and just getting popped in the blender. I didnโt necessarily make out the taste of pecan in the soup, so in future will try with walnut simply because Iโm more likely to have those on hand.Simple, but big flavor!
It is hard to put into words how delicious this soup is. I have been thinking about it ever since making it a few weeks ago. The flavor is insane, and the pecans add an irresistible texture. YUM!!
Absolutely amazing!!! This soup is sweet with a complex taste, and it is to easy to make! Perfect for the holidays!
iโm so excited to make this! do you think it would be good with some chickpeas blended in?
I think it would be fine! The earthy flavour should work. It may dilute some of the other flavours a bit, so just be aware of this going into the process :)
-L
I made this soup today and the flavor profile is amazing. Im not a fan of blended soups but this one is , wow, good!! Ill be using the leftover โsoupโ as a sauce for pasta
Laura โ this soup is just exceptionally good. Itโs honestly one of the best dishes Iโve made from your website, and Iโve cooked a lot of them! I didnโt have enough butternut squash so I threw in two sweet potatoes in the mix. It turned out absolutely fantastic. I seriously canโt wait to make it again, so worth all the chopping! Thanks so so much for this beautiful recipe! โค๏ธ
Hi Samira!
I bet the sweet potato flavour was so nice in this soup! Iโm really glad that you enjoyed it, and am grateful for your review :)
-L
Hi Laura โย looking forward to making this butternut squash soup! Can you sub red pepper flakes for the chili flakes? I know there are differences, but Iโm having trouble locating chili flakes at my local grocery store. Thanks!
Hi Alyssa,
Red pepper flakes are great! Even a dab of hot sauce at the end would work. You just want something with a teeny bit of heat in the mix ;)
-L
Thanks so much, Laura! This recipe is amazing and was so easy to follow. My partner and I have been enjoying it all week <3
This soup is a filling belly warmer. So easy to place the majority of the ingredients on a baking pan and let the oven do its magic melding and enhancing the flavors. Triple stars on my recipe notes. Thank you, Laura. Iโm never lost following your recipes and the outcome is always fantabulous!
Sunday afternoon soup. Was incredibly easy to make, made the house smell good and was soooo flavourful! I did add more water as my batch was thick but that just means I get more Loved the addition of pecans and tahini. Would never have thought of either of those. Thank you!!!
Had the time and ingredients to make this for lunch today. Super delicious, and loved the addition of pecans. It was creamy, super flavourful, and complex. Not just another butternut squash soup. Will definitely make again. Thanks!!