This Easy Roasted Acorn Squash Soup Recipe is made with roasted acorn squash, carrots, celery, and cauliflower and blended with fresh garlic, ginger, and a touch of ground cinnamon for a cozy and delicious soup perfect for cold weather.
Acorn Squash Soup Recipe
This is probably my favorite acorn squash recipe.
Similar in taste and preparation to my all-time favorite butternut squash soup, this acorn squash soup is creamy, cozy, and made with a handful of super simple, healthy, and fresh ingredients.
Packed with veggies like carrots, celery, cauliflower, sweet potato, and acorn squash, it’s not only really delicious but also incredibly good for you. It’s also completely vegetarian and gluten-free, so a great option for entertaining a large group of friends with different dietary restrictions.
You’ll often find me making this soup throughout the year – not just during the cool winter months. If you’re not a fan of eating the same dinner three nights in a row (yes, this does make a large pot of soup), this is one soup recipe that is easily frozen and reheated.
If this is your first time cooking acorn squash, you may want to check out how to cook acorn squash for loads of information including how to pick, cut, and cook them.
How to make Acorn Squash Soup
To make this acorn squash soup,
First, roast your acorn squash
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Use a sharp, sturdy chef’s knife to cut the acorn squash in half from stem to tip. Scoop out the seeds and stringy bits from the inside of the squash.
- Place the squash halves cut-side-up on the prepared baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Use a pastry brush to evenly coat the entire surface. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Bake for approximately 45-60 minutes or until tops are nice and golden brown and the squash flesh is soft and cooked through. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool before handling.
As the acorn squash cooks, start the soup
Heat one tablespoon olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven set over medium heat. Add the onions and cook for 4-5 minutes or until the onions soften and turn translucent. Add the carrots, celery, and sweet potatoes and mix well to combine with the onion. Cover and continue to cook over medium heat for 10-15 minutes, stirring often.
Mix in the garlic and ginger and cook for approximately 1 minute, then add the cauliflower florets and mix well to combine. Add the fresh sage, salt, pepper, and cinnamon.
Add the water (or vegetable broth) and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low. Allow the vegetables to simmer for approximately 15 minutes. In the meantime, scoop the soft flesh from the roasted acorn squash and transfer to the pot. Continue to simmer for an additional 15 minutes.
- Can you add the squash skin? Yes. The skin is completely edible. In most cases, however, I will separate the skin from the flesh as I like my soup to be super smooth and creamy.
Once all the vegetables have softened, remove from heat and grab a blender, food processor, or immersion blender. Working in batches, fill your blender or food processor approximately half full with the soup and blend until completely pureed. Pour your pureed soup into a new pot. Repeat until all the vegetables have been pureed.
Over low heat, stir in the 1/2 cup of half-and-half (if using) and season with salt, pepper, and additional cream to taste. Stir often to prevent the soup from burning.
Serve warm with all your favorite toppings!
Some of my favorite toppings include,
- homemade croutons
- crackers,
- pumpkin or sunflower seeds
- fresh herbs
- shredded cheese
- pomegranate arils
It sounds like a lot of work, but I promise it’s not as much as it seems. A lot of the time is spent chopping and waiting for vegetables to soften.
Do I Have to Peel Acorn Squash for Soup?
Acorn squash skin is totally edible, so feel free to peel your squash or leave it on.
For me personally, I like to roast my squash with the skin on and then scoop out the soft, roasted flesh.
How to Freeze Squash Soup?
This soup freezes amazingly well (and tastes even better the next day).
You may store this leftover acorn squash soup in the refrigerator for up to 7 days. Typically, the soup will thicken slightly as it cools, so you may need to add a little water when reheating.
To freeze acorn squash soup, allow the soup to cool before transferring to freezer-safe ziplock bags or storage containers. Remove as much air as possible. Lay flat on a baking sheet and transfer to the freezer (stacking multiple bags, one on top of the other, if necessary).
To thaw, transfer soup to the refrigerator overnight or transfer to a bowl filled with warm water for faster thawing. Best enjoyed within 4 months.
Tips and Tricks
- Keep this soup vegan and dairy-free by skipping the half-and-half or cream. Use coconut milk instead (or no cream at all).
- This recipe makes a lot of soup – enough to feed my husband and me for at least 3-4 nights. Refer to the section above on how to properly store and freeze leftovers should you wish to save it for later.
- Always take care when blending hot soup – no matter the blending method – as it can be hot.
- Add a little spice with a pinch of cayenne pepper.
- Roast your seeds for a yummy snack.
- For extra protein top your soup with ground Italian sausage or roasted chickpeas.
More Acorn Squash Recipes –
Vegetarian Stuffed Acorn Squash Recipe with Quinoa
Turmeric Salad with Apples and Acorn Squash
Sweet Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal Stuffed Acorn Squash with Almond Butter
Potato Hash Stuffed Acorn Squash with Sausage
If you make this acorn squash soup recipe, please leave me a comment and let me know! I always love to hear your thoughts.
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Easy Acorn Squash Soup Recipe
Ingredients
For the Roasted Acorn Squash
- 3 whole acorn squash (halved and seeded)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- salt and pepper (to season)
For the Acorn Squash Soup
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion (roughly chopped)
- 6 large carrots (chopped)
- 6 stalks celery (chopped)
- 2 small sweet potatoes (
scrubbed and chopped into cubes
) - 5 cloves garlic (peeled and smashed)
- 1 (2-inch) piece fresh ginger (peeled, sliced, and smashed)
- 12 ounces cauliflower florets ((approximately 3-4 cups))
- 8-12 fresh sage leaves (roughly chopped)
- 1.5 tsp salt
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 6 cups vegetable broth (or water (plus more as needed))
- 1/2 cup half-and-half (or cream (optional))
- Optional Toppings (Homemade Croutons, crackers, cheese, fresh herbs, nuts, seeds, everything-but-the-bagel seasoning, bacon, etc.)
Instructions
For the Roasted Acorn Squash
- Preheat the oven - Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Prepare the acorn squash for roasting - Using a sharp, sturdy chef's knife, cut the acorn squash in half from stem to tip. Don't try to cut the stem in half, cut around it. Use a metal spoon to scoop and scrape out the seeds and stringy bits from the inside of the squash until it is smooth. Place the squash halves cut-side-up on the prepared baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Use a pastry brush to evenly coat the entire surface. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Bake - Bake for approximately 45-60 minutes or until tops are nice and golden brown and the squash flesh is soft and cooked through. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool before handling.
For the Acorn Squash Soup
- Cook the root vegetables - Heat one tablespoon olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring often, for 4-5 minutes or until the onions soften and turn translucent. Add the carrots, celery, and sweet potatoes and mix well to combine with the onion. Cover and continue to cook over medium heat for 10-15 minutes, stirring often.
- Add the cauliflower- After approximately 10 minutes or so, once the vegetables have had a chance to start softening, stir in the garlic and ginger and sautè for approximately 1 minute. Add the cauliflower florets and mix well to combine. Add the fresh sage, salt, pepper, and cinnamon.
- Add the broth, roasted acorn squash, and simmer - Add the water or vegetable broth to the pot and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to a simmer. Allow vegetables to simmer for approximately 15 minutes. In the meantime, scoop the soft flesh from the roasted acorn squash and transfer to the pot. Continue to simmer for an additional 15 minutes.
- Blend soup - Once all the vegetables have softened, remove from heat and grab a blender, food processor, or immersion blender. Working in batches, fill your blender approximately half full with the acorn squash and broth mixture and blend until completely pureed. Pour your pureed soup into a new pot. Repeat until all the vegetables have been pureed into soup.
- Season to taste - Over low heat, stir in the 1/2 cup of half-and-half and season with salt, pepper, and additional cream to taste. Stir often to prevent soup from burning.
- Serve - Serve with all your favorite toppings including homemade croutons, pumpkin or sunflower seeds, fresh herbs, shredded cheese, bacon bits, or pomegranate arils, if desired.
Jessica's Notes
- Acorn squash - You will need three medium or two large acorn squash to make this recipe. Exact weight or amount isn’t super important, however, I always buy extra rather than less since the leftovers of this soup are so good. Unfortunately, I have yet to find pre-chopped or canned acorn squash puree, so feel free to substitute acorn squash with butternut squash or pumpkin if needed.
- Carrot, celery, onion - Also known as a mirepoix, these vegetables are first sauteed before being boiled and pureed. They contribute loads of sweet and savory notes to the soup.
- Sweet potatoes - I usually add only a couple of small sweet potatoes to a large pot of soup. Sweet potatoes strengthen the sweet undertones and contribute to the overall creaminess of the soup.
- Cauliflower - Cauliflower is crazy healthy, blends into silky smooth creaminess, and takes on any flavor.
- Ginger and Garlic - Don't worry about chopping or mincing either of these super small before cooking since they'll be pureed with the rest of the soup. I do, however, recommend smashing them with the side of a knife to start the breaking-down process.
- Fresh sage - Sage and acorn squash go hand-in-hand. Feel free to add it, or leave it out.
- Ground cinnamon - Not too much. After all, we don't want to overpower things, but a little ground cinnamon adds a nice warming touch.
- Vegetable broth or water - I’ve used water, vegetable broth, and chicken broth. All make a wonderful soup.
- Cream - Creamer of any kind (half-and-half, heavy whipping cream, etc) is completely optional. You can add it to the whole pot, to individual serving bowls, or add none at all. Coconut milk is a great vegan substitute for cream.
- The broth or water should reach just below the top of the chopped vegetables - in other words enough for all the vegetables to cook in the broth.
- For soups like this you can't really overcook your vegetables, so no need to set a timer for 30 minutes exactly. As long as all the vegetables are nice and mushy, you're good to start blending.
- You may want to let your vegetables and broth cool slightly before blending. If you're in a hurry, make sure to only fill half way and pulse before blending. If your mixture is too thick or you're having trouble blending, don't hesitate to add more vegetable broth until you reach your desired consistency.
- The soup will thicken after cooling. Add additional vegetable broth or water as needed to reach desired thickness when reheating.
- Nutrition information does not include suggested toppings.
Nutritional Information
(Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and specific brands of ingredients used.)
How much would you say 1 serving is?
The serving size is about 1 standard sized soup bowl 🙂
Do you know how we could do this recipe in an instant pot?
Great question Jamie! But alas I have not tried to make this recipe in an Instant Pot as of yet 🙂
What measurements for everything?
Hi Aw,
The measurements and complete instructions can be found in the recipe at the bottom, 🙂 here: https://theforkedspoon.com/acorn-squash-soup/#wprm-recipe-container-48551
I had the best butternut soup at Letchworth State Park restaurant. I emailed the place to complement the chef on the dinner and asked about the soup. Adding apple juice. Not sure measurements , some broth could be substituted for apple juice.