3-Ingredient Butternut Squash Soup

This 3-ingredient butternut squash soup is probably the easiest soup recipe you will ever make! As the name reveals, it only requires 3 ingredients and has a prep time of 15 minutes. The best part is that you can roast the ingredients in the oven and simply blend them in your Vitamix! We love minimal-effort recipes like this one!

Why you'll love this recipe

• You won't believe how incredibly tasty a 3-ingredient butternut squash soup can be. The addition of a caramelized onion is what makes all the difference.
• Fewer ingredients also mean a very short preparation time! You can make this soup from start to finish in 1 hour, but the squash will be in the oven most of the time.
• You won't have to do a huge pile of dishes after making this soup.
• This recipe is vegan, gluten-free and nut-free. It's' perfect for anyone on a vegan or vegetarian diet, or someone who has food intolerances.

3 ingredients and substitutions

• Butternut squash. Choose a small or medium-sized butternut squash to be able to blend it in your Vitamix. If the squash is too big, you will have to blend the soup in several rounds. You can use any other type of squash but make sure to adapt the roasting time accordingly.
• Onion. Use a small yellow onion. White onions could be a little too pungent for this recipe. Avoid sweet onions as butternut squash is already relatively sweet on its own. You can replace the onion with shallot or several garlic cloves.
• Vegetable broth. Make sure to choose high-quality vegetable broth as it will highly impact the taste of your soup. We recommend jarred vegetable broth or bouillon powder with clean ingredients (no additives, flavor enhancers or natural flavorings). You might have to adjust the seasoning with a little bit of salt if you're vegetable broth was relatively mild-tasting.
• Optionally, use some of your preferred cooking oil. You can drizzle a little bit of oil onto the squash and the onion if you'd like. Alternatively, simply use water.

Elo's tips

1. Roast the onion in the oven. If you have never roasted an onion, you're definitely missing out. Simply wrap it in aluminum foil or parchment paper as indicated below and roast it in the oven with the squash. The onion will caramelize and make this soup incredibly tasty and slightly sweet.
2. Don't blend everything at once. Start by blending half the squash, with half the caramelized onion and 1 ½ cups of vegetable broth. This leaves enough room in your blender to blend the ingredients properly and make sure the soup is silky smooth. Add more broth if you prefer a thinner consistency and if there's still room in your blender. Pour the soup into clean storage containers and blend the rest.
3. If the butternut squash is still warm when blending, unscrew the top part of the lid of your Vitamix. Start blending on low to avoid splashes. This trick allows steam to escape and prevents pressure from building up in the blender and blowing off the entire lid.
4. Clean your Vitamix in 30 seconds with this trick. Add a little bit of lukewarm water and soap to your blender. Close the lid and blend on high for 20 to 30 seconds. Rinse it off with warm water and your blender is perfectly clean.

Step-by-step instructions

Prepare the butternut squash. Cut the butternut squash lengthwise in half by inserting your knife at the tip and pulling it down towards the base. Rub the cut side of the butternut squash will a little bit of water (or your preferred cooking oil).

STEP 2: Prepare the onion. Cut off the ends of the onion. Peel off the first layer of the skin. Rub it with a little bit of water or drizzle with olive oil. Wrap the onion in aluminum foil or parchment paper and close tightly.

STEP 3: Place the squash cut-side down on a baking sheet that you lined with parchment paper.

STEP 4: Roast the squash and the onion at 400°F (200°C) for 45 minutes or until the thicker parts are tender. The roasting time will depend on the size of your squash and can take up to one hour.

Elo's tip: Although you can eat the skin of butternut squash, you can peel it once it's roasted and slightly cooled for a smoother texture. Simply peel off the skin with a small knife or scoop out the flesh with a spoon.

STEP 5: Cut butternut squash into pieces that fit your blender and the onion in half. Add half of the ingredients to your Vitamix (or high-speed blender).

STEP 6: Blend the soup until smooth. Don't forget to read our tips above on how to blend the soup if your butternut squash is still warm.

If you don't have a high-speed blender: Add all of the butternut squash, onion and vegetable broth to a large mixing bowl and blend it with an immersion blender.

Watch the video!

Frequently asked questions