Vegan Butternut Squash Soup with Cashew Cream

This vegan butternut squash soup with cashew cream will be one of your go-to Autumn recipes! Pair with a salad for a lovely dinner. 

Every year I like to make butternut squash soup, but this year I had more reason than usual to make it.

This year I didn’t spend much time planning or planting my garden. It was just one of those spring/summer times that found me doing other things. I planted a few tomato plants and an eggplant and there were some mean little bugs that ate most of them to the ground. At some point, I sort of gave up and decided to just bury my compost in the garden this year and not plant much else.

Well, surprise! I had this lovely volunteer butternut squash pop up under my artichoke (the artichoke comes back every year) and I just let it grow. Look at this thing!

I think I counted 17 squash so far. And there are more coming! Luckily these will store nicely in the garage so there will be soup and gratin and just plain old roasted squash for some time to come.

This recipe is very adaptable, so feel free to change the spices to suit your tastes. The apple can be omitted if you like. If you are like me, you will make this according to the recipe the first time and then change it up each time you make it. Some like a more savory flavor and some like it sweeter. I lean toward the savory.

Gather the ingredients.

Begin by cooking the squash. I cut mine in half and scooped out the seeds and cooked it in the Instant Pot. Quick and easy. You can also roast it, or cut it up into cubes and cook it in broth or water on the stovetop. If you are using an apple, you can add it to the squash while cooking. See the recipe notes for cooking options.

In a medium soup pot sauté the onions over a medium-high heat, adding a splash of broth if necessary to keep them from sticking. Reduce the heat and let them cook until they are very soft. Add the garlic and sauté until it is aromatic…about a minute.

I used my VitaMix blender at this point. *See Recipe Notes for avoiding the blender* Add the onions and garlic to the blender. Add about 1/2 cup of broth. Add the cooked squash. Blend until smooth. Add more broth if it is too thick to blend.

Transfer the contents of the blender back to your soup pot. Add the seasonings, starting with the smaller amount. Add the rest of the broth until you have the consistency that you like. Simmer for about 10 minutes and adjust seasonings to taste. I used the larger amounts listed, but do start with the smaller amounts so you can decide for yourself if you like more or less of something.

Just before serving, add the cashew cream and stir in thoroughly. Swirl with hot sauce or smoked paprika, if desired.

5 from 1 vote

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Vegan Butternut Squash Soup

This vegan butternut squash soup with cashew cream will be one of your go-to Autumn recipes! Pair with a salad for a lovely dinner. 

Course: Main Course, Soup

Keyword: Vegan Butternut Squash Soup with Cashew Cream

Ingredients

• 4 cups butternut squash about 2 lbs
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 3-4 cloves garlic minced
• 1 cup red or yellow onion finely chopped
• 1 cup apple optional
• 1 tsp salt optional
• 1/2 tsp black pepper, ground optional
• 1/8-1/2 tsp cinnamon optional
• pinch-1/4 tsp nutmeg optional
• 1/4-1 tsp ground sage optional
• 1/4-1 tsp smoked paprika optional

Cashew Cream

• 1 cup cashews Soak them if you don't have a high powered blender
• 1/2-1 cup water Use more or less depending on the consistency you like

Instructions

1. Cook the squash. See notes for a variety of ways to cook it. 

2. Heat a medium-sized soup pot and add the chopped onion. Sauté over medium-high heat, splashing with broth or water as necessary if the onions stick to the pan. Sauté slowly until they are translucent and soft. 

3. Add minced garlic and stir and cook for about 1 minute or until garlic is aromatic. Don't brown the garlic. 

4. Transfer garlic and onions to the blender. Add about 1/2 cup of the broth and the cooked squash (and apple if using). Blend slowly to start and increase the speed until all is blended smoothly. Add more broth a little at a time if you need to get things moving. 

5. Transfer the contents of the blender back to the pot and add the seasonings. Use the smaller amounts first. You can add more later if you like. 

6. Add in the broth until you get the consistency that you like. I used about 3 cups total. 

7. Simmer for about 10 minutes and taste and adjust seasonings. 

8. Before serving, add cashew cream and stir to incorporate. Swirl with a dash of hot sauce or smoked paprika for a little color contrast and zing!

Cashew Cream

1. Add the cashews to the blender. Add about 1/2 cup of water for a thick spoonable cream or more water for a pourable cream. I used the full cup of water. This cream will thicken in the refrigerator. 

Recipe Notes

Ways to cook the squash: 

• Cut in half, scoop out seeds. Roast in oven at 400 degrees for about 25-30 minutes. Scoop out the cooked flesh with a large spoon. 
• Cut in half, scoop out seeds. Place on the rack in the Instant Pot with about 1 cup of water underneath. Manual/Pressure Cook for 8 minutes, natural pressure release for about 10 minutes. Scoop out the cooked flesh with a large spoon. 
• Peel and halve and scoop out seeds. Cut into 1" cubes. Add to a pot of broth or water and bring to a boil, reduce to simmer for about 30-40 minutes until fork tender. 

If using an apple, peel and cube it and you can add it to the squash in any of the above methods. 

You can omit the blender if you have a stick blender. It won't be quite as smooth. Just add the squash and broth to the onion/garlic in the soup pot. Blend with the stick blender until it is as smooth as you can get it. Follow the rest of the recipe as written.