Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup

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This chipotle butternut squash soup combines butternut squash, celery, carrots and onion roasted and blended with homemade chicken stock for a hearty and absolutely delicious soup.

About This Butternut Squash Soup

Soup is a Mexican version of a well-loved Costa Rican sopa de ayote– which has become increasingly famous as a super healthy Blue Zones recipe

This soup uses butternut squash (an ingredient not found in Costa Rica but very common in the United States) and can be made in an Instant Pot or on the stovetop. 

You start by roasting the butternut squash, boiling the celery, carrots and onion, and blending all of the ingredients until smooth. Add the stock and garlic and then bring to a boil. Delish, gluten free, vegetarian or vegan and a crowd pleaser. 

In short- this soup is a very easy way to get your kids to eat their vegetables. 

It’s gluten-free, vegetarian and super super healthy. butternut squash soup is a vegetarian soup in the Instant Pot- a hint of chipotle spice and creamy Mexican flavors with fresh butternut squash for a delicious soup. As a plus, this recipe is also gluten-free.

Perfect to make ahead for weekday lunches or for a warm soup dish on a chilly Fall night- this recipe will become a vegetarian staple in your house!

Related post: 10 Best Weight Loss Recipes From Around The World


Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup Recipe

Ingredients: 

  • 1 large butternut squash
  • 1 white onion
  • 4 stalks of celery
  • 4 carrots
  • 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
  • 6-8 C  stock (chicken or vegetable)
  • 1/2 C water
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 3 TB olive oil
  • 1 tsp chipotle chiles OR red pepper flakes
  • Blender or immersion blender
  • A big secret: Trader Joe’s and Costco sell cubed butternut squash, and it’s cheaper by the pound than buying one. So I just keep them in the freezer and make the soup from frozen- then I don’t even have to deal with cutting the squash! Quick AND easy.

Instant Pot Instructions:

Wash your butternut squash and halve it. Clean out seeds. Place trivet in the instant pot and add 1 cup of water.

Place the butternut squash halves on top of the trivet and close the pot. In manual mode, cook the squash on high for 12 -15 minutes.  (Will take about 25 minutes total)

In the meantime roughly chop your onion, celery, and carrots. When the squash is cooked, remove it and allow to cool. Place the Instant Pot on sautĂ© and heat up 1 TB of oil. 

Once the oil is heated, add the onion, celery, carrots, and garlic. SautĂ© until just tender. 

While the vegetables are cooking, remove the skin from the butternut squash. Place the meat of the squash in the pot with the vegetables and cover with the chicken broth. I add about 1 tbsp of salt here.  In manual mode, the soup is cooked on high pressure for about 8 minutes.  I use the quick release and just pull the veggies out when they are done.

While the soup is cooking you can prepare your chipotle cream. Combine 1/2 cup of Mexican crema with 2 tsp chipotle (or more to taste) and 1/4 tsp salt. 

From instant pot add soup to a blender or into a new bowl and use your immersion blender. Reheat to the desired temperature using the sautee function and serve with Mexican crema and fresh bread! Drop a dollop of the spicy Mexican crema in each bowl before serving. 

More Popular Soup Recipes From Pura Vida Moms:

Substitutions

You can make this a vegan dish by using vegetable stock instead of chicken stock.

If I am out of chicken stock I will often use beef stock, but it doesn’t taste quite the same. 

If you don’t have Mexican crema you can substitute with either heavy cream or traditional American sour cream. If you are making the recipe in Costa Rica you can use natilla.

I haven’t done it, but you could substitute the squash for sweet potato. Some people add Granny Smith apples to that version.

Variations

When I am in Costa Rica I make this soup exactly the same except I use acorn squash (ayote). You can get the chipotle in a can at most grocery stores since it is a main ingredient in the Sopa Azteca (Costa Rican Tortilla Soup).

Some recipes call for adding a tablespoon of curry powder to the recipe- YUM.

Also- I generally add the chipotle to the table instead of the soup since my kids don’t really eat spicy food. 

Serving Suggestions

Drop a dollop of the spicy Mexican crema in each bowl before serving. Thrown some croutons on top if you want!

I make this soup in a large batch and eat it throughout the week for lunch- I serve it with a fresh salad (and extra chipotle cream as dressing). It also goes amazingly well with this New York Times Simple Crusty Bread recipe that I am currently obsessed with.

I also love to make this soup for new parents or anyone else who needs a meal. It’s because everyone loves it!

FAQ

Printable Recipe

Yield: 8 bowls

Butternut Squash Soup Recipe

This chipotle butternut squash soup combines butternut squash, celery, carrots and onion roasted and blended with homemade chicken stock for a hearty and absolutely delicious soup.

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Additional Time 10 minutes
Total Time 1 hour

Ingredients

  • 1 large butternut squash
  • 1 white onion
  • 4 stalks of celery
  • 4 carrots
  • 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
  • 6-8 C vegetable stock
  • 1/2 C water
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 3 TB olive oil
  • 1 tsp chipotle chiles OR red pepper flakes
  • Blender or Immersion blender
  • A big secret: Trader Joe's and Costco sell cubed butternut squash, and it's cheaper by the pound than buying one. So I just keep them in the freezer and make the soup from frozen- then I don't even have to deal with cutting the squash!

Instructions

Instant Pot:

Wash your butternut squash and halve it. Clean out seeds. Place trivet in the instant pot and add 1 cup of water.

Place the butternut squash halves on top of the trivet and close the pot. In manual mode, cook the squash on high for 12 -15 minutes.  (Will take about 25 minutes total)

In the meantime roughly chop your onion, celery, and carrots. When the squash is cooked, remove it and allow to cool. Place the Instant Pot on sauté and heat up 1 TB of oil. 

Once the oil is heated, add the onion, celery, carrots, and garlic. Sauté until just tender. 

While the vegetables are cooking, remove the skin from the butternut squash. Place the meat of the squash in the pot with the vegetables and cover with the chicken broth. I add about 1 tbsp of salt here.  In manual mode, the soup is cooked on high pressure for about 8 minutes.  I use the quick release and just pull the veggies out when they are done.

While the soup is cooking you can prepare your chipotle cream. Combine 1/2 cup of Mexican crema with 2 tsp chipotle (or more to taste) and 1/4 tsp salt. 

From instant pot add soup to a blender or into a new bowl and use your immersion blender. Reheat to the desired temperature using the sautee function and serve with Mexican crema and fresh bread!

Stovetop:


Preheat over to 450° F. Line a jelly roll pan with aluminum foil. Halve the butternut squash and scoop out the seeds. Use 2 TB olive oil and spread on the open halves of the squash. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, bake until tender, rotating or flipping as necessary.

In a large stockpot, heat the remaining 1 TB of olive oil in the pot over medium heat. Roughly chop the onion, place in stockpot and cook until just tender. In the meantime, wash and roughly chop the celery and carrots. Add about 1/2 cup of water to the pot, and allow to cook until tender.

When the butternut squash has been cooked and cooled a bit, scoop out the flesh and place it in the pot with the onions, carrots and celery. Add about 3 cups of the vegetable stock and cover. Cook until everything is very tender, and allow to cool slightly.

Process soup until smooth in either the blender or emulsifier and return to the stockpot. Add the garlic and chipotle chile  and the remaining vegetable stock and bring to a simmer. Serve warm.

Wash your butternut squash and halve it. Clean out seeds. Place trivet in instant pot and add 1 cup of water. Place the butternut squash halves on top of the trivet and close the pot. In manual mode, cook the squash on high for 12 minutes.  (Will take about 25 minutes total)

In the meantime roughly chop your onion, celery and carrots. When the squash is cooked, remove it and allow to cool. Place the Instant Pot on sauté and heat up 1 tb of oil. 

Once the oil is heated, add the celery, carrots, onions, and garlic. Sauté until just tender. 

While the vegetables are cooking, remove the skin from the butternut squash. Place the meat of the squash in the pot with the vegetables and cover with the chicken stock. I add about 1 tbsp of salt here.  In manual mode, cook the soup on high pressure for about 8 minutes. 

While the soup is cooking you can prepare your chilpotle cream. Combine 1/2 cup of Mexican crema with 2 tsp chilpotle (or more to taste) and 1/4 tsp salt. 

Remove soup from the instant pot and blend with either an immersion blender or regular one. Reheat to desired temperature using the sautee function and serve with Mexican crema and fresh bread!

Notes

I don't add the chipotle chiles to the soup- I keep it out because my young children don't like to eat spicy foods. I serve the soup with red pepper flakes on the side for added heat. I personally will just add the chipotle chile to my soup and eat it, but it is pretty spicy.

Regarding the vegetable broth- it depends on how thick you want your soup, but I like it fairly brothy so I add quite a bit of the stock.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 183Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 3mgSodium: 4270mgCarbohydrates: 26gFiber: 3gSugar: 11gProtein: 5g

Please double-check this information with your favorite nutrition calculator.

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Christa Jimenez

Welcome! I’m Christa, a Spanish teacher married to a handsome Costa Rican and mother of two bilingual daughters. We’ve spent over 25 years living in and traveling to Costa Rica with our daughters, and this website is my love letter to all things Costa Rica- and to bilingual parenting too. You can read my full story here. Thanks for stopping by!

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3 Comments

  1. I used my squash sitting outside for fall decoration microwaved to soften then cut up for IP. Turned out beautifully and soup done for lunch. Can you imagine how much easier if using a package of cubed squash. I used beef broth and a few red pepper flakes also. Definitely a keeper.

    1. Hi Nayeli- I have used fresh squash too but never thought to soften it in the microwave before cutting! So much easier. But I will say that the frozen cubed squash is worth every penny. đŸ˜‰ Thanks so much for visiting and commenting! ~Christa

  2. I used beef broth because that’s what I had on hand. I also added a few small red potatoes which made it creamy especially since I omitted the whipping cream. My family loved it!