Nothing screams fall more than a great soup like this Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup. And making it in the pressure cooker, it will be done in no time flat. Deep rich flavors from not only the butternut squash but also from onions, garlic, carrot, and red pepper too. This soup is healthy, gluten-free, and delicious and a gorgeous fall color also.
Serve this soup up for Halloween in black bowls, as you see here, but you can also make it an appreciative first course for your Thanksgiving table too.
Try our other delightful soups like our Instant Pot Tortellini Soup with Sausage, Pumpkin Curry Soup, Instant Pot Beef Stew, German Potato Soup, Beer Cheese Soup, or 30-Minute Beef Coconut Curry Soup.
This soup is naturally gluten-free but also can be made vegetarian by changing the chicken stock to vegetable stock and taken one step further with the omission of the sour cream it would be vegan too. If you like the creaminess adding in a splash of coconut milk keeps it vegan also.
We love a quick and easy soup in this house, and homemade is always best. You can cook this soup in a slow cooker, but you don’t always have 6-8 hours to wait for dinner. Using the Instant Pot will give you soup in no time at all.
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Instant Pot Duo 7-in-1 Electric Pressure Cooker
Dunk that spoon in and enjoy this soup! I know you will love this soup as much as we do with its velvety texture and just the right little bite from a piece of pepper or two that you have initially added into your bowl.
The peppers add so much more to the soup and make it feel just that little bit heartier. We will easily have a soup like this as a main with a big crusty bun or slices of great brioche bread. A side salad would be great with this too, try our amazing Fall Harvest Salad; it would go perfectly with this soup.
Make a double batch of this soup and tuck some in the freezer for really busy nights when you are on the run.
What Goes into Butternut Squash Soup?
Simple fall ingredients make an outstanding soup that has flavors developed quickly using the Instant Pot. Sometimes people use a granny smith apple or celery in a butternut squash soup, but we opted for lovely peppers to give this soup a more unique flair.
To lighten the soup up in calories, you can add light sour cream. I actually never use full-fat sour cream; I don’t think it is really necessary for any of the recipes that I have used it in. If you do want to be decadent, you can add in heavy cream too.
Always use the finest and freshest of ingredients as that will give you the best-tasting soup.
Ingredients
Olive oil
Small onion
Garlic cloves
Ginger
Carrot
Chicken or vegetable broth
Medium to large butternut squash (about 2.2 pounds) OR two small to medium giving you the same weight
Salt and pepper to taste
Green, Yellow, and Red Pepper
Sour cream
Cilantro
For garnish: Cilantro, sour cream, green, yellow and red peppers
Equipment Needed
Instant Pot
Blender
Pan
Knife
Cutting board
How to Make Butternut Squash Soup in an Instant Pot
Follow our easy steps to make this an amazing soup. You will want to make it more than once in the fall, for sure.
Turn on sauté mode on your Instant Pot and add the olive oil. When the pot is hot, add the onion, garlic, and ginger and sauté until the onion begins to soften for about 2 minutes.
Pour in broth, sour cream, squash, and carrots. Close lid, seal and cook on high pressure for 10 minutes. Keep in mind that it will take approximately 10-15 minutes to reach pressure before the Instant Pot will begin counting down.
When the timer is complete, allow the steam to naturally release for 5 minutes, then quick release the remaining pressure.
Unplug and turn off the Instant pot and carefully open the lid. Using an immersion blender or a regular blender, blend the squash soup until smooth and creamy. Season with salt and pepper.
Give the instant pot a quick wipe and add in an extra teaspoon of olive oil. Sauté the bell peppers and cook stirring until just tender.
Place a tablespoon or two of the cooked bell peppers, depending on your taste, in each bowl. Add the soup and garnish with a bit of chopped cilantro and a few extra bell peppers.
Optional: You can also serve with a drizzle of sour cream.
Is Butternut Squash Soup Bad for You?
If butternut squash soup is laden with cream and butter, then it is not as healthy as this delicious version we have for your today.
The soup makes six servings and is under 300 calories per serving with plenty of vitamins and minerals from all the veggies. Butternut squash, in particular, is very high in potassium! But it also has calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, vitamin C, and vitamin A.
The nutritional content of squash has benefits in digestion, heart health and is healthy for your skin and hair.
Who doesn’t love a bowl of soup when the weather starts to turn cold? Although it is very healthy, it is also pure comfort food too.
Additional Toppings for Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup
We have toppings of cilantro, sour cream, green, yellow and red peppers, and freshly cracked black pepper, but you can also try these toppings for the butternut squash soup too.
Any of these will change up the profile of the soup to a unique flavor and bring out different flavors from the vegetables too. Make the soup your own.
- crisp bacon
- pumpkin seeds
- chives
- green onions
- heavy cream
- coconut milk
- cayenne
- smoked paprika
- seasoning salt
- flaked sea salt
- ancho chili powder
- chili powder
- cinnamon
- nutmeg
- cloves
- drizzle of hot spiced oil
- hot sauce
- crisped fried sage or thyme
- seasoned bread crumbs
- croutons
- fresh herbs like sage, tarragon, oregano, basil, or thyme
Try this soup today if you feel the cool autumn winds coming and need a quick fix of comfort.
Pin it HERE!!
Pin it HERE!!
Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small onion minced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 teaspoon of ginger minced
- 1 carrot chopped
- 4 cups of chicken or vegetable broth
- 1 medium to large butternut squash about 2.2 pounds peeled and cubed (You can also use two small to medium)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 large Bell pepper diced or 3 small ones
- 3 tablespoons of sour cream
- 1 Tablespoon of minced Cilantro
- For Bell peppers consider an extra teaspoon of olive oil.
- For garnish: Cilantro sour cream and peppers
Instructions
- Turn on sauté mode on your Instant Pot and add the olive oil. When the pot is hot, add the onion, garlic, and ginger and sauté until the onion begins to soften for about 2 minutes.
- Pour in broth, sour cream, squash, and carrots. Close lid, seal and cook on high pressure for 10 minutes. Keep in mind that it will take approximately 10-15 minutes to reach pressure before the Instant Pot will begin counting down.
- When the timer is complete, allow the steam to naturally release for 5 minutes, then quick release the remaining pressure.
- Unplug and turn off the Instant pot and carefully open the lid. Using an immersion blender or a regular blender, blend the squash soup until smooth and creamy. Season with salt and pepper.
- Give the instant pot a quick wipe and add in an extra teaspoon of olive oil. Sauté the bell peppers and cook stirring until just tender.
- Place a tablespoon or two of the cooked bell peppers, depending on your taste, in each bowl. Add the soup and garnish with a bit of chopped cilantro and a few extra bell peppers.
- Optional: You can also serve with a drizzle of sour cream.
Equipment
Notes
Blender
Pan
Knife
Cutting board
Comments & Reviews
Michael Pringle says
I don’t have a. Instant pot or pressure cooker but I do have crock pots or slow cookers. How do I modify this recipe for a crock potplease? Thank you in anvance.
Tara Noland says
Just cook it in the crockpot on low for 4-6 hours making sure the squash is very tender.
Kaylan says
I made this and it tastes amazing! It is so easy to make too 😊
Tara Noland says
So glad you liked. I loved the added texture of the sauteed peppers for something different.
Ana Pinheiro says
I love pumpkin soup this one looks really delicious!
Tara Noland says
Thank you, we love the sauteed peppers with it, so good.