This Curried Butternut squash soup recipe is beautifully spiced with cumin and cayenne pepper. Creamy with half and half and sour cream, you’ve got a comforting and luxurious bowl of soup. You’ll want to make this one over and over again.
This recipe was first published in February of 2017 and updated October 2020.
About This Recipe and Why It Works
Not high on my list of things to do is peeling a butternut squash. But once you’re done with the laborious task of peeling, seeding and hacking away at that uncooked gourd, this beautifully flavored soup is your reward.
Do you buy already prepped cubed butternut squash at the grocery store? Or are you a purist and risk losing an appendage to cut your own?
Let me say right up front, and even though I’m pretty good at wrestling that squash with my chef’s knife, I’m in full support of that prepped plastic wrapped butternut squash.
There are just too many great butternut squash recipes, that become easy butternut squash recipes, if you purchase it pre-cut and cubed.
Like this creamy butternut squash soup recipe. Not to mention, this is hands down the best butternut squash soup recipe that we’ve ever had. EVER.
Our friend Teri brought this soup to our last wine tasting party. She got the recipe from her brother, who should receive some sort of James Beard award for coming up with the idea to sprinkle the soup with Jimmy Dean Sausage and Feta Cheese before serving.
And sprinkling on some shiny red pomegranate seeds = love.
It’s creamy, it’s full of flavor, savory and just a little bit sweet. The salty toppings chime in so that every bite is heaven.
What Goes Into This Soup – The Ingredients
- Onions and Garlic, would soup be soup without onions and garlic? Use sweet or yellow onions for this recipe. And please chop the garlic with a knife for a more pure garlic flavor. Using a garlic press brings out the oil in garlic and makes it stronger in flavor.
- Cubed Butternut Squash, If you can find peeled and cubed butternut squash soup at the market, go for it. It will save you time and angst. If you want to peel your own butternut squash, I like this article from The Kitchn for tips and safety.
- Dairy, Sour cream and half and half make this soup beautiful and creamy.
- Spices for butternut squash soup, Curry, cumin and cayenne are the backbone to the luscious flavor of this soup.
- Honey, adds a touch of sweetness to the overall flavor.
- Jimmy Dean Sausage, crumbled, browned and used as a topping. The perfect seasoned breakfast sausage adds a salty savory flavor to each bite.
- Feta Cheese, a sprinkling on top of the soup brings even more personality to this recipe. Salty, tangy and somewhat lemony = perfect.
- Pomegranate Seed, the deep beautiful red color of these crunchy seeds, adds a complimentary color, a bit of crunch and a sharp flavor.
Ingredient Swaps
- Dairy, For a more tangy end flavor result, feel free to switch out the sour cream for Greek Yogurt.
- Honey, Use agave syrup instead of honey. I always have some on hand. It’s thinner and easier to manage.
- Sausage, We truly love the classic flavor of Jimmy Dean Breakfast Sausage for this recpe. Use whatever brand you prefer. Also, Italian Sausage would be a fun substitute.
- Feta Cheese, I always have Cotija cheese on hand. It’s crumbly, salty and would work great for this soup. Grated Parmesan cheese would also be nice here.
- Pomegranate Seeds, Substitute pepita seeds. They’re crunchy, salty and would make a festive fall topping for butternut squash soup.
Cooking Instructions – How to Make Butternut Squash Soup
- Start by adding butter to a large (6-quart) Dutch oven.
- When the butter is melted and bubbly, add the onions and saute until tender. About 5 minutes.
- Add the garlic and cook until fragrant. About 1 minute.
- Add in the chicken broth, butternut squash cubes and seasonings.
- Bring mixture to a boil and simmer for about 15 minutes or until squash is tender.
- In the meantime, cook the sausage until browned.
- Stir in the half and half, honey and sour cream. Use an immersion blender to puree until smooth.
- Ladle soup into bowls and add toppings.
Expert Tips and FAQ’s
Absolutely yes! Peeling and cubing a butternut squash can be a big job. Purchasing prepped butternut squash from the produce section turns this into an easy butternut squash soup recipe.
Yes. If you don’t own an immersion blender, just puree the soup in batches in a blender or food processor. Be careful, the soup is hot. If using a blender, don’t secure the lid, as the heat of the soup may pop it off. Simply place the lid slightly ajar on top of the blender and hold it in place with your hand. Only fill the blender or food processor half full before running.
Just use that spice blend curry powder that you find on the spice shelf at the supermarket. If you want to play around with curry pastes, I suggest using Thai Yellow Curry as not to compromise the beautiful color of this soup.
Curried Butternut Squash Soup Recipe
I hope you give this Butternut Squash Soup recipe a try. And if you do, please come back and let me know how you liked it and give the recipe a star rating.
Your feedback is valuable to me for developing future recipes. And if you have a favorite butternut squash recipe, let me know, I’d love to give it a try.
If you like using butternut squash in soups, you might like these recipes:
- Butternut Squash Soup with Apple
- Butternut Squash Marsala Stew
- Chicken Potato Vegetable Soup with Butternut Squash
Curried Butternut Squash Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup finely chopped onion
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 2 pound butternut squash peeled, seeded and cut into 1- pieces
- 2 teaspoons curry powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2 cup half-and-half
- 2 tablespoons honey or agave syrup
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1/2 pound Jimmy Dean Sausage cooked and crumbled
- 1/2 cup Feta Cheese Crumbled
- 1/4 cup Pomegranate Seeds
Instructions
- Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and cook until softened and starting to brown, about 10 minutes. Stirring often. Add garlic and cook until fragrant. About 1 minute.
- Add chicken broth, squash, curry powder, salt, cumin, and cayenne pepper into onion mixture. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer until squash is tender, about 15 minutes.
- Remove from heat. Stir half-and-half, honey and sour cream into squash mixture.
- Using an immersion blender, puree soup until smooth. Or pour squash mixture into a blender no more than half full. Cover and hold lid down. Pulse until smooth. Puree in batches until smooth.
- Ladle soup into serving bowls and top with sausage and feta. Dot with pomegranate seeds (optional). Or pepita seeds work well as garnish.
Notes
Nutrition
Butternut Squash Soup with Curry … It’s what’s for Dinner
Mmm, soup season! My favorite time of the year. And the perfect time of year for squash, too. 🙂
Any soup with butternut squash is a hands down win in my books!
Thanks Jenny, I agree! 🙂
I love butternut squash soup and topping it with some jimmy dean sausage is a great idea
This soup sounds so flavorful and delicious and I’m sure the sausage and feta put it over the top!
I must be the only one thinking it is not that hard to peel a butternut squash…I just use my potato peeler. Anyway, I can certainly see why you would call this soup the best ever. I’m happy that you were able to get the recipe and then share it with us.
Love the addition of sausage and feta!
Looks and sounds yummy!
Really like that last picture. I’ve read about the microwave trick to peel squash, but haven’t tried it. I should — peeling really is such a pain, isn’t it? Anyway, terrific recipe — thanks.
Sweet squash with a touch of spiciness from the curry powder topped off with crumbled sausage?? Sounds incredibly delicious
I just recently found those packages of cubed squash at Sprouts. Makes things so much easier. I usually just roast the squash, scoop it out and puree it for recipes.
Love the sausage in this. Happy Super Bowl!