This recipe for Butternut Squash and Red Pepper Soup is creamy, cozy, and weeknight-easy. It's vegan, made with simple wholesome ingredients, and only takes about 30 minutes to prepare. Roasting the squash, peppers, onion, and garlic concentrates flavor and a quick blend delivers silky texture. Keep it vegan as-is, or add red lentils for extra protein and body.
We make a lot of soup in my household. That's because soups are healthy, easy to make, store well for leftovers, plus most of the cook time is hands-off, meaning I can do other things while it cooks! Some of our favorite soups are this Lentil and Red Pepper Soup and this Easy Cherry Tomato Soup, both incredibly simple and vegan!
When fall rolls around here in Vermont, we love to make soup with seasonal ingredients like winter squash. My daughters actually love squash, so I play around with different flavorings to keep them interested! It makes for a delicious side like my Roasted Honeynut Squash with Maple Pecans or in healthy salads like this Butternut Squash and Feta Salad recipe. While I love a basic creamy butternut squash soup, I feel like they always need a different element. That's where red pepper and warm spices come into play in this butternut squash and red pepper soup.
Why You'll Love this Recipe
- Mostly hands-free cooking, ready in 30-40 minutes
- Creamy texture
- Freezer-friendly
- Vegan with simple ingredients
- Easily customizable, with lots of add-ons
Jump to:
Ingredients that Matter
This recipe uses a handful of pantry staples and fresh produce. Here are the ingredients you'll need to make this roasted butternut squash and red pepper soup:
- Butternut Squash. This recipe calls for a 2 pound butternut squash (about medium size) or 1 ½ pounds of prechopped butternut squash. You can certainly use a bigger squash, you'll just want to add more vegetable stock to adjust the consistency. Feel free to use frozen or prechopped squash.
- Red Peppers. I played around with using jarred roasted red peppers, and while they work fine in a pinch, I recommend using fresh and roasting your own in the oven. Jarred peppers tend to have a bit of a brine flavor, plus fresh it's typically cheaper.
- Aromatics. Use a medium onion and some garlic cloves to provide a backbone of flavor. I simply add both to the baking sheet to roast with the peppers and squash.
- Seasoning. The spices for this recipe include paprika and cumin, which are warm spices that tame the sweetness of the squash. And for fresh herbs, I like to use thyme for it's lemony, vegetal flavor.
- Oil. A couple tablespoons of olive oil adds a bit of richness and encourages the squash and peppers to caramelize slightly.
- Vegetable Broth. I recommend using a salt-free or low-salt vegetable broth so you can control how much sodium is in your soup.
See recipe card for quantities.
How to Make Butternut Squash and Red Pepper Soup
This soup recipe is super simple. It's one of those set-it-and-forget-it kind of recipes where the oven does most of the heavy lifting. Here is how the recipe comes together:
Peel, seed and chop the squash (if not using pre-chopped) into cubes and quarter (and seed) the red peppers. Add the a baking sheet, along with the onion and garlic. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with cumin, paprika, thyme and salt.
Roast the sheet pan in a 425F oven until the vegetables are very tender and slightly charred, 25-30 minutes, stirring halfway through.
Add all the vegetables from the baking sheet to the base of a high-speed blender along with the vegetable broth and puree to desired consistency. Alternatively, you can use an immersion blender or a regular blender. Simply transfer the vegetables to a large saucepan, add the broth and blend (be careful when blending hot ingredients to avoid getting burned).
Pour mixture into a large saucepan and bring to a simmer. Adjust consistency with more vegetable broth and add more salt, as desired. Garnish the soup with pepitas, yogurt or sour cream (or plant-based alternatives) and a big pinch of paprika.
Hint: The soup will thicken the longer it sits so be sure to hold onto that container of vegetable broth and use it to thin out the sauce just before serving or when reheating leftovers.
Variations & Substitutions
This recipe is very easy to adjust based on your dietary needs or flavor preferences. Here are some tweaks to consider:
- Spicy - This soup loves a little heat! I tend to keep things spice free as my little ones won't eat anything spicy, but for my taste preference, I like a big pinch of red pepper flakes added to the vegetables before roasting. You can also spoon on some Calabrian chilies.
- Spiced Pepitas - While the ingredients for the soup roast, try making our Chili Lime Pepitas for a tasty topping.
- Chunky Soup - Want a chunky, stew-like soup? Instead of pureeing the mixture after roasting, try mashing a bit of the vegetables with a potato masher. This will create a heartier, more rustic soup.
- Creamy Soup - I specifically left out any milk or cream from the soup to keep it vegan, plus I didn't really want a cream-based soup. But, if you'd like a creamier texture, try adding a cup of heavy cream, whole milk, plant-based alternative or even coconut milk.
- Added Protein - Stir in ½ cup of red lentils or a can of chickpeas (drained and rinsed) and cook until very tender. Blend the soup and you'll have a protein-packed vegan soup.
- Jarred Peppers - You can certainly use jarred peppers instead of roasting your own. Be sure to rinse them very well to wash away any brine flavor. Simply add them to the pot with the other vegetables to simmer (no need to roast them again). The flavor of roasting your own red bell peppers is far superior, however.
Adam's Pro Tip
Roasting butternut squash concentrates the flavor and creates a more complex, sweeter soup. In a pinch, you can simply add all ingredients to a pot and simmer until very tender before mashing in a blender, but roasting squash and whole red peppers is easy and definitely worth the effort.
Health Benefits
This butternut squash soup is naturally gluten-free and dairy-free and packed with lots of healthy vegetables, making it virtually guilt-free (OK, I hope you don't actually feel guilty for eating anything! It's just a saying, after all). Butternut squash, in particular, is packed with fiber, some protein, and lots of vitamins and minerals like Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Folate, Magnesium, Potassium and Manganese.
And what about the red peppers? Besides lots of water, bell peppers have some fiber, a bit of protein and a good amount of Vitamin C, Vitamin B6, Potassium Folate, and Vitamins A and E.
Equipment
This recipe calls for a baking sheet like this Nordic Ware Natural Aluminum Commercial Baker's Half Sheet Tray. You'll also need a blender or an immersion blender. We use a Vitamix, like this Vitamix 5200 Blender. It is expensive, but it's lasted many, many years and gets a lot of use in our household. You could also use an immersion blender, like this KitchenAid Variable Speed Corded Hand Blender.
Storage
This soup is great for meal-prep! You can make it Sunday and enjoy it for lunch throughout the week. Note that it makes about 5 cups, so if you want this recipe to have more leftovers, I recommend doubling the recipe!
Store the soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or up to 2 months in the freezer. Consider splitting the soup up into 1-cup portions and refrigerating or freezing separately. Bring to a full boil before serving, and be sure to thin out the soup before reheating with more vegetable broth, water, or coconut milk.
Serving Suggestions
Consider serving this squash and pepper soup with:
- Crusty bread
- Crispy Quinoa for a garnish
- Arugula and Pear Salad
- Crispy Air Fryer Red Potatoes
- Crispy Roasted Black Beans
- Red Lentil Patties
FAQ
A medium squash, about 2 pounds, will provide about 1 ¾ pound squash once peeled and seeded. That's about 5-6 cups of chopped squash.
Yes! Look for about 1 ½ to 2 pounds of prechopped butternut squash. You can even use frozen squash. Just be sure to thaw it or roast it a touch longer.
More Appetizers
Looking for more appetizers like this? Try these:
Dinner Ideas
Need some inspiration for dinner? Give these recipes a try:
Print
Recipe
Butternut Squash and Red Pepper Soup
- Total Time: 40 min.
- Yield: 5 cups 1x
Description
This recipe for Butternut Squash and Red Pepper Soup is a savory take on a classic creamy winter squash soup. It's vegan, packed with flavor and ready in about 30 minutes.
Ingredients
- 1 medium butternut squash (about 2 pounds), peeled, seeded and chopped (see note)
- 2 medium red bell peppers, stem and seeds removed, quartered
- 1 medium yellow onion, peeled and roughly chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 tsp. paprika, plus more for serving
- 1 tsp. ground cumin
- 1 tsp. fresh thyme leaves, plus more for garnish
- ¾ tsp. table salt, plus more as desired
- 2-3 cups no-salt added vegetable broth
- pepitas, sour cream, yogurt or plant-based yogurt, for garnished, if desired
- Optional Add-Ins
- ½ cup red lentils (rinsed) or 1 (15-oz.) can chickpeas (drained, rinsed)
- 1 cup coconut milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425F. Place squash, peppers, onion and garlic on a baking sheet. Drizzle with oil then sprinkle with paprika, cumin, thyme and salt and toss to coat.
- Roast in the oven until the vegetables are very tender and start to caramelize, about 30 minutes, stirring halfway through. Remove from oven and carefully transfer to the base of a blender. Add 2 cups of vegetable broth and carefully blend until slightly chunky, or desired consistency.
- Transfer mixture to a large saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently. Add lentils or chickpeas, if using, along with coconut milk and simmer until tender, 8-10 minutes. This will create a creamy soup with added protein. Blend if desired. Adjust consistency with more vegetable broth and add more salt, to taste. Serve garnished with pepitas, sour cream or plant-based yogurt, paprika and thyme, if desired.
Notes
- Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- To reheat, add a bit more vegetable broth or water and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently.
- You can use prechopped or even frozen butternut squash for this recipe. Just be sure to use at least 1 ½ pounds of prechopped or frozen squash.
- If using a larger squash, simply add more vegetable broth to adjust consistency.
- You can also mash the vegetables with a potato masher instead of blending.
- Prep Time: 10 min.
- Cook Time: 30 min.
- Category: Soup
- Method: Roasting
- Cuisine: American
Leave a Reply