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I first had Panera’s autumn harvest butternut squash soup a couple years ago. I was immediately hooked. How did I know such a soup existed until recently?! Probably because I rarely go to Panera and when I do go, it’s probably not when they have this soup.
Since this is seasonal, I get so sad when I realize it’s no longer there.
Saddest day ever!
I don’t get any other soup there except this soup so it’s pretty much the end of the world for me when I can no longer get it.
Which is PRECISELY why I have created this Instant Pot version of the autumn harvest butternut squash soup.
YOU CAN HAVE IT YEAR-ROUND!
Whenever you crave it!
What is the texture of this soup?
It’s soooo smooth, creamy, and velvety. It’s kind of weird to describe soup that way but it truly is.
There are no chunks in this, as you blend it to smooth perfection.
Is this soup sweet?
Yes, but it’s naturally sweet. It’s literally as if you’re biting into a sweet fruit.
It’s also a bit spicy because of the curry powder.
What do you need to make this butternut squash soup?
- Instant Pot or pressure cooker
- Immersion blender or blender
- Butternut squash
- Pumpkin puree
- Apple juice
- Cream cheese
Can you freeze this?
Actually, yes! It freezes really well.
I did this recently when we went to Ireland and when we came home, I just put it on the stovetop to warm up and defrost.
To get it out of the container, I’d run it under hot water to loosen it up a bit to pour into the pot.
Can you make this in the slow cooker?
Yep, you could! The Instant Pot just makes it so much quicker.
25 mins vs. 2-3 hours.
I haven’t actually done it in the slow cooker but I imagine it’d take a bit for the butternut squash to break down so my estimate is high for 1-2 hours and low for 2-3 hours.
Then you just do all the rest of the steps the same.
What to serve with butternut squash soup?
We served it with crusty bread and roasted up some seasonal vegetables.
You can even pretend you’re at Panera and go buy a bread bowl somewhere and ladle this soup into it!
If you’re looking for more soup ideas, here are some worth checking out:
- Instant Pot Sausage and Herbed White Bean Soup
- Instant Pot Mushroom and Chicken Wild Rice Soup
- Creamy White Bean and Bacon Soup
- Harvest Corn and Pumpkin Chowder
- Lentil and Spicy Sausage Stew
- Beef Barley Soup
Instant Pot Autumn Harvest Butternut Squash Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 5 cups (700 g) cubed butternut squash, (about 2 inch cubes)
- 2 cups (473 ml) apple juice, (not concentrate)
- 1 cup (237 ml) vegetable stock
- 1 cup (245 g) pumpkin puree
- 1 ½ teaspoons curry powder
- 4 ounces (113 g) plain cream cheese
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Place the butternut squash, apple juice, and vegetable stock into the insert of your pressure cooker.
- Close the lid of the pressure cooker and make sure that the vent is set to sealing. On the front of your Instant Pot, press Manual then if it’s not on high pressure, switch it to high pressure. Then tick up the time to 25 minutes.
- Once it is done cooking, do a quick release. Carefully remove the lid and using an immersion blender, blend the mixture until smooth.
- Add in the pumpkin, curry powder, cream cheese, salt, and pepper. Blend again until smooth.
- Divide into bowls and serve.
I LOVE this soup from Panera and get sad too when it’s gone. If cream cheese is in it really I don’t want to know 🤣 do you think adding heavy cream instead will be ok?
heavy cream should be okay! you might not get the soup as thick and creamy but heavy cream will still work in this recipe.
Sorry, but this tastes nothing like Panera’s squash soup. It doesn’t taste bad, but not at all what I was hoping for. Big disappointment.
I had made my maiden voyage to Panneram While there I tried their Harvest Squash Soup.. It was delicious.
When I got home I started looking for a recipe. This is the one I tried. It is very good. My family said ‘ It isn’t quite the same it is BETTER!!’.
Do you use the immersion blender right in the inner pot or do you pour the soup out of the pot and then put in a bowl? I don’t want to damage the pot. Also, I bought a ceramic inner pot. Is it okay to use the immersion blender in that? Thanks!
i put mine right into the pot..should be fine for ceramic. the blade doesn’t actually scrape the bottom of the pot
I made this soup for a church potluck. It was a hit. My granddaughter did confess that she added a little Splenda, to enhance the sweet flavor.
Overall, I highly recommend this recipe.
I know what you mean about a restaurant not having something that is so good on a menu all the time I go to restaurants for a specific item and only that use to go to applebees for thai shrimp salad and they no longer have that, now what, I don’t eat there any more.
Sorry, but this tastes nothing like Panera’s soup. I have been trying to figure out why, and my first thought is that the main flavor that I get is from the apple juice. Maybe cut the amount in half? Not sure, but if you want Panera, buy the real thing
I just made this and I’m tasting the apple juice and it’s not very sweet. It has a good flavor but how do I fix the apple juice taste for next time?
use less of it next time
Agreed… not even close.
The best soup
Is the 5 cups, cubed butternut squash that the recipe calls for raw or already cooked? I’m just wondering if I cooked a whole squash in my instant pot, and then cut into it, and used the already cooked insides, would I still need to put it through the instant pot again, with the juice and broth? Or is this step just to cook the squash? Just trying to eliminate cutting and cubing raw squash if I don’t have to, lol. Much easier to cut into the squash after it’s already cooked.
Also, I don’t have an immersion blender. What can I use instead of this?
Raw butternut squash! Additionally, I mentioned in the post that if you don’t have an immersion blender, you can use a blender. :)
Just made this, sooooo yummy! This will now be added to my “go to” recipes! Thank you!
Wonderful! Thank you for letting me know!