This Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup is creamy and flavorful. Loaded with fall flavors and ready in under 30 minutes. Naturally gluten-free and vegan, it is perfect bowl of comfort for cooler days!
Another favorite velvety soup to stay warm and cozy during sweater weather is Thai chicken soup with butternut squash.
Table of contents
This Instant Pot butternut squash soup is the pressure cooker version of my stovetop healthy butternut squash soup. It is creamy from coconut milk, velvety smooth, and loaded with fall flavors.
When summer ends, the only thing that cheers me up is the ability to cook healthy soup recipes again. I absolutely love cooking soups and my boys love eating them!
Pumpkin soup is another favorite ‘transitional’ soup into all things autumn!
Soup cleans out the fridge and pantry, is healthy and pretty much guaranteed to be delicious cause you can always “fix it” at the end.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Flavorful: Delicious warm spices and so creamy, yet contains no cream.
- One pot: Ready to slurp in under 30 minutes with only 10 minutes of prep time.
- Healthy: Naturally gluten free, dairy free and vegan, plus loaded with vitamins A, C and B, and powerful antioxidants.
- Family friendly: Kids will love the smooth texture of this soup!
Ingredients and Notes
To make this pressure cooker butternut squash soup recipe, besides spices that you have in your pantry right now, you will need:
- Butternut squash: You will need 9 cups of diced butternut squash, this is roughly a 3 pound butternut squash. You can also use same amount of leftover cooked Instant Pot butternut squash.
- Coconut milk: Full fat coconut milk for best taste.
- Onion: Adds savory taste.
- Broth: Low sodium vegetable broth, you can substitute chicken broth if that is all you have on hand. I use organic vegetable bouillon cubes and water.
- Seasonings: Curry powder, dried ginger, dried thyme, salt and pepper. A blend of the perfect seasonings that make this soup the best you’ve ever had.
How to Make Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup
Butternut squash in the Instant Pot is so easy! Prep your squash, then add all ingredients to the pressure cooker.
Cube butternut squash: Cut in half crosswise, peel with a peeler and trim the ends. Cut the bottom part in half, scoop out seeds with a tablespoon and cube. Here is a full step-by-step tutorial how to dice butternut squash.
Having a really good, sharp knife will make your life easier right about now.
Cook: Add squash, onion, coconut milk, broth, and spices to Instant Pot. Press manual setting or pressure cook (depending on the model of your pot) and cook on high pressure for 10 minutes.
Release pressure: Once the cooking time is up, move the valve to the vent position to release the pressure using Quick Release.
When you open the lid, the squash will be fork-tender and falling apart. The smell of curried soup will be unbelievably good but not overpowering.
Puree: Puree the soup with an immersion blender into cream consistency and voila. Grab a spoon and cozy up with a bowl of delicious soup!
How to Store and Reheat
You can store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 5 days in an airtight container. It is the best soup for easy lunches!
Freeze soup in portions for easy grab-and-go lunches. Place cooked soup in glass airtight containers leaving some room to expand. Cool and then freeze for up to 3 months.
To thaw, I usually remove soup from the freezer in the morning and by lunchtime, soup is half defrosted.
To reheat, warm up the desired amount of soup in a small pot by simmering on low. Keep it half-covered with a lid as it splatters and stir occasionally until it is warmed through. You can use a microwave too.
Tips and Notes
- Cut recipe in half (3 quart Instant Pot): The great thing is the cook time remains the same.
- Double the recipe: Original recipe is prepared in 6 quart Instant Pot LUX. You can also double the recipe if you have an 8 quart Instant Pot or 10 quart being careful not to overfill past 2/3 max line.
- Coconut milk replacement: You can use 1 cup of plant-based milk and add it in after cooking. The taste will be a bit different. I would blend the soup first and then add milk slowly to bring to the desired consistency. Do not add any other milk besides canned coconut milk to cook in the Instant Pot.
- Don’t mind dairy? Using whole dairy milk will be creamier, as would a cup of heavy cream. Stir in after cooking.
- For a sweeter version: Chop up a granny smith apple or toss in some carrots (or both).
FAQs
Use regular blender. Ladle the soup in batches into a blender and puree, making sure to have an opening in the lid for steam to escape. Be careful as soup will still be very hot.
Swap the curry and ginger for cinnamon and nutmeg.
Yes. You can add chopped squash, onion, and even spices to a large container with a lid and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Then add milk, broth and cook as per recipe.
A drizzle of coconut milk, sour cream, or Greek yogurt with freshly ground black pepper is a favorite. A sprinkle of pepitas, pumpkin seeds, or homemade sourdough croutons also make amazing garnishes.
More Instant Pot Soup Recipes
- Instant Pot black bean soup
- Instant Pot split pea soup
- Instant Pot vegetable soup
- Instant Pot lentil soup
- Instant Pot Thai chicken soup
Browse 45 more healthy Instant Pot recipes for even more dinner ideas.
Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 lbs butternut squash, peeled and cut into 2″ cubes (9 cups)
- 1 large onion, coarsely chopped
- 15 oz can coconut milk, full fat
- 2 cups vegetable broth, low sodium
- 1/2 tsp curry powder
- 1/2 tsp thyme, dried
- 1/4 tsp ginger, dried
- 1 tsp salt
- Ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In Instant Pot, add butternut squash, onion, coconut milk, broth, curry powder, thyme, ginger, salt and pepper.
- Close the lid, set pressure vent to Sealing and press Pressure Cook on High or Manual for 10 minutes.
- After display beeps and says OFF, soup is ready. Do Quick Release by turning pressure valve to Venting position. Open the lid and puree butternut squash soup with an immersion blender.
- Serve hot with whole grain toast and pumpkin seeds.
Notes
- Store: Refrigerate in an airtight container or inner Instant Pot pot with a fitting glass lid for up to 5 days.
- Freeze: Fully cook, cool completely and freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw on a stovetop covered on low.
- You can substitute coconut milk with regular or almond milk but do not add it to Instant Pot to cook. Instead add 1 cup before pureeing.
- Cut recipe in half (3 quart Instant Pot): The great thing is cook time remains the same.
- Double the recipe: Only in 8 quart or 10 quart Instant Pot. Be careful not to fill over 2/3 max fill line.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I’m loving your recipes. We’ve tried 4 so far and every single one has been winner. Great job and keep it up!
We’re not big fans of curry so instead I used one chopped canned chipotle pepper and about a Tbsp of the adobo sauce it was packed in. Wow, so good! The pepper gives the soup just a little heat and a hint of smokiness. Your recipe could not have been easier. This was perfect to warm us up on a chilly fall day.
Thanks for such a wonderful review Kristi. I am so glad that my recipes are a hit with you and your family!
LOVE butternut soup. Just picked the last of my summer crop this morning before tomorrow night’s freeze. Where are you getting the organic vege cubes? Not on Amazon. So hard to get good cubes; have never seen organic before, all usually so expensive and exceedingly salty. Thanks!
Hi Marie!
I use GoBio brand veggie broth cubes that are sold in many grocery stores. Hope you can find them where you live!
So instead of cooking with coconut and using almond milk just put at all the other ingredients with no liquid to the instant pot and after puree with almond milk?
Correct.
Very good soup.
Made this for lunch today. I followed the recipe exactly and it was awesome. I added shredded chicken thighs that I had earlier cooked in the instant pot. It was out of this world good! I called my brother in TX and let him know what to do with his butternut squash he had left over.
I’m so happy to read this! Thanks for your positive feedback, Robert! And thank you for sharing my recipes with your family.
This is my very first Instant Pot recipe and it has not disappointed! It was also the first time I ever cooked (or tasted) any type of squash so this was a real challenge for me. After spending some time on YouTube I read about a tip on microwaving the butternut squash before cutting it (aside from poking it with a fork and cutting off both ends) and especially peeling it. It worked quite well!
And this recipe is just wonderful, it tastes heavenly; I couldn’t stop myself from getting a second big bowl of it. The only thing that makes me sad is that I couldn’t cook a whole lot more of it. Dicing the squash was a lot of work as a fledgling cook but since practice makes perfect and it is so delicious I will totally make this soup again!
Fantastic! Glad you enjoyed the recipe, Stephanie!
Wow! I made this exactly as original recipe says….. it was a hit with everyone
I agree. I could not believe myself the WOW factor with such simple ingredients. That curry powder… So happy everyone enjoyed!
Can’t wait to make it
Please let me know how you like it, Marjorie.:)
Brill recipe
So happy to hear you loved this recipe, Caroline!
This was a hit! Very easy to make and taste good. Proved by my children 🙂
And by the way – we love to cook with Instant Pot!
Yay. So happy to hear people are truly understanding how amazing IP is!