If you’re craving a fall-inspired soup that’s hearty, healthy and full of flavor, this Butternut Squash Chicken Soup deserves a spot in your meal rotation. This warming soup is perfect for cozy nights.
Why This Soup Works
This Butternut Squash Chicken Soup is everything you want in a cozy, comforting bowl-light yet hearty, brothy and full of flavor.
What really sets this soup apart is the broth-rich, layered, and brought to life with a dash of my secret weapon: Pickapeppa sauce. (Trust me, once you try it, you'll never make a brothy soup without it.)
- What Is It? Think of it as a chicken minestrone with a seasonal twist: sweet butternut squash, Greens, and chickpeas come together to make it feel like a warm blanket in a bowl.
- Who Is It For? A recipe easy enough for a beginner cook, and interesting enough for an experienced chef. The hardest part is peeling and cubing the butternut squash. It’s a great recipe for meal prep. Make this on a Sunday and have leftovers for lunches or dinners.
- How To Make It: A seasoned broth is prepared, then sauteed chicken and cubed butternut squash added. Canned tomatoes and chickpeas bring more flavor and texture. Served over pasta, this is a flavorful and hearty soup.
This soup proves you can have your comfort food and eat your vegetables too.
This Butternut Squash Chicken Soup is a beautiful bowl of soup. Full of color, full of flavor and one that will give you plenty of leftovers.
Table of contents
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Spices: We’ll use Thyme, Oregano, Rosemary and Basil. I like using dried herbs when cooking soups. Dried herbs are always added at the beginning of any recipe and with the long cooking time will infuse better than fresh herbs, that may become flat with flavor.
- Onion: Sweet or Yellow onions are mild and perfect for savory soups. Save those red onions for Mexican style dishes.
- Tomato Paste: My kitchen MVP. It adds a rich color and deep flavor.
- Pickapeppa Sauce: Pickapeppa Sauce is a Jamaican sauce where the flavor reminds me of a mix between Worcestershire Sauce and Steak Sauce. I love using in soups. It brings a unique layer of flavor. Disclaimer: I am an Amazon Affiliate Member. If you purchase this sauce using the link above, I receive a small commission at no extra charge to you.
- Chicken: Use either boneless skinless chicken thighs or breasts. I prefer thighs for the extra flavor the fattier meat gives this soup.
- Greens: I use a clam shell of Baby Spinach for this recipe. It’s always available and easy. You can also use chard, or kale, or any of your favorite greens.
- Pasta: What’s the best pasta for Butternut Squash Soup? I use bow ties, for no other reason than they’re charming, comforting and cute. Use any shape of pasta, rigatoni works well here.
- Canned Tomatoes: Red Gold Brand offers petite diced tomatoes. I always use them in soups because the small size breaks down easier bringing a better texture.
- Chickpeas: I like adding chickpeas to soups and even salads. Considered a “superfood”, I like this article from Healthline explaining the health benefits of chickepeas.
Chef’s Secret: Tomato paste is an MVP in the kitchen. The long cooking time used to make tomato paste gives it a concentrated sweet rich flavor. Just a dollop can add a subtle burst of robust flavor and body into just about any soup or tomato based pasta sauce. Add tomato paste at the beginning of the cooking process to add another layer of flavor. It’s a brilliant little trick.
Step by Step Instructions
- Step 1: In a large heavy soup pot, bring the chicken stock to a boil. Turn down the heat to medium low and simmer. Whisk in the tomato paste, Pickapeppa sauce and dried herbs.
- Step 2: Drop in the butternut squash pieces and tomatoes into simmering stock and let cook until the squash starts to soften, about 15-20 minutes.
- Step 3: Meanwhile, in an 8 – 9 inch non-stick skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add the cubed chicken and cook until about half cooked. Add the onions and saute until translucent, 3-4 minutes
- Step 4: Add the chicken, salt, pepper, greens and chickpeas to the soup pot. Continue to simmer the soup covered for a few minutes.
- Step 6: In the meantime, cook the pasta in a separate saucepan according to package directions for a la dente. To serve, ladle a handful of pasta into a soup bowl. Add a ladle of soup over the pasta.
Tips For Success
- Parmesan Cheese: Purchase a wedge of Parmesan cheese and grate it yourself. The plastic tubs of pre-grated Parmesan is a dryer product with less flavor. You’ll be happier with cheese you’ve grated yourself.
- Pre-Cubed Butternut Squash Soup: I’m am not against purchasing pre-cubed Butternut Squash in the produce section at the market. If peeling, cutting and cubing this tough vegetable intimidates you and keeps you from using it in recipes, by all means, let someone else do the work.
Variations
- Wine: Got some leftover white wine? Add a cup to the chicken broth. White wine brings acidity and brightens flavors.
- Greens: Use Swiss chard, romaine, collard greens. Remove the tough stems and slice greens into thin ribbons
- Gluten Free: Use Gluten Free pasta and you’ve got a gluten free soup recipe.
What Are Some Good Side Dishes For Butternut Squash Soup?
The beauty of this soup is that it’s pretty much a meal in one pot. However, there’s nothing better than a perfect little tossed salad and some rustic crusty bread to accompany any soup. Take a look at this recipe for Rosemary Olive Bread. A bread recipe we made practically everyday in Culinary School.
Make Ahead, Storage, Freezing
- Make Ahead: As with any soup, it always tastes better the next day. Make this soup up to 2 days in advance. Store in the refrigerator, then reheat stove top on low until simmering. It’s best to cook the pasta the day of serving. This is what makes soups so great for entertaining.
- Pasta: Store leftover soup separately from the pasta. The pasta will keep its texture if it’s not swimming in the broth. Place pasta in a sealed container and refrigerate until ready to reheat soup leftovers. Pasta will keep for up to 4 days.
- Soup Storage: Store any leftover soup in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. I usually store it in the Dutch Oven.
- To Reheat: Add a hand full of pasta to the bottom of a soup bowl. Ladle in some cold soup and microwave it until steamy. The 50% power feature on your microwave is your best friend. Heat in 30 second increments until hot enough to eat. This gentle reheating will keep ingredients from splattering.
- Freezing: This soup will freeze well. Just ladle into freezer safe containers and label. It will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight, then reheat stove top or microwave. Pasta will also freeze well, however, keep it in a separate container from the soup.
FAQ’s
I’m not sure the pasta shape matters. However, the cooking technique does. Make sure to follow the instructions on the package for a la dente. If you overcook the pasta, it will become mushy once added to the soup. A la dente pasta will also store better and not become gummy.
I don’t recommend this. When it comes time for storage, you’ll need to store the soup in a separate container from the pasta. This will keep the pasta from becoming mushy or gummy.
Recipe for Butternut Squash Chicken Soup
This Butternut Squash Chicken Soup brings cozy Fall comfort to your table in the most satisfying way. It’s the kind of simple, flavorful recipe you’ll come back to all season long. I hope you give it a try.
More Popular Chicken Soup Recipes
And if you love soup recipes as much as we do here in Colorado, don’t miss my Soup Category. You’ll find lots of cozy recipes, including the most popular chicken soup recipe on my site for Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup with Rotel.
If you liked this recipe, please leave a star ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating in the recipe card below and leave a comment. I always appreciate your feedback and hearing how everything went.
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Butternut Squash Chicken Soup with Pasta
Ingredients
- 2 quarts Chicken Broth
- 1 cup Water or white wine
- 3 Tablespoon Tomato Paste
- 2 teaspoons Pickapeppa Sauce
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 small Butternut squash peeled, seeded and cubed. About 6 Cups.
- 1 15 ounce can Chopped Tomatoes not drained
- 2 Tablespoon Neutral Oil Canola, vegetable or avocado oil work well here.
- 1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into bite size pieces. Or boneless, skinless chicken breast.
- 1 large Sweet or yellow onion diced, about 1 ½ cups
- 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
- ½ teaspoon Freshly Ground Pepper
- 5 ounces Baby spinach
- 1 15 ounce can Chickpeas drained
- 6 ounces Bowtie Noodles or ziti cooked
- Grated Parmesan cheese for garnish
Instructions
- In a large heavy soup pot, bring the chicken stock to a boil. Turn down the heat to medium low and simmer. Whisk in the tomato paste, Pickapeppa sauce and dried herbs.
- Drop in the butternut squash pieces and tomatoes into simmering stock and let cook until the squash starts to soften, about 15-20 minutes, depending on how large you chopped the squash.
- Meanwhile, in an 8 – 9 inch non-stick skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add the cubed chicken and cook until about half cooked. Add the onions and saute until translucent, 3-4 minutes. Add this mixture to the soup pot along with the salt and pepper.
- Add the greens and chickpeas. Continue to simmer the soup covered for a few minutes.
- In the meantime, cook the pasta in a separate saucepan according to package directions. Drain.
- To serve, ladle a handful of pasta into a soup bowl. Ad a ladle of steaming soup over the pasta. Serve hot and immediately. Pass Parmesan cheese at the table.
Notes
Nutrition
Butternut Squash Chicken Soup … It’s Whats for Dinner
Why Trust My Recipes? I am a Culinary School Graduate and a lifelong student of home cooking. I hope to inspire you try to cook as often as you can. I’ve been cooking for 50 years, and my recipes are tried and true tested and tested and then tested again before published. To read more take a look at my About Page.
LeAnn, really, I won’t even bother making this soup. The calories, fat, saturated fat, and sodium are all off the charts. I would really love if you would follow your MD’s advice, and cook and offer recipes that are healthy.
Susan
Hi Susan
I really appreciate your note.
There was an error in the serving size in the recipe. I actually had it as 1 serving instead of 10. Thanks to you, I’ve corrected the recipe.
Aside from the carbs in the pasta, it’s actually a very healthy soup.
Make it a delicious day.
I often make a big batch of soup and eat it for lunch all week long. So happy that soup season is back!
Yup, definitely soup weather. That’s what we’re having tonight, as a matter of fact. And tomorrow? Well, maybe this! It looks wonderful — thanks.
I am so into soup right now. And, I believe you have had some snow by this point (or according the the BiL in Erie, he has).
Happy New Year!
Lea Ann, I want a big bowl of that right now. And don’t skimp on the bow-ties, one of my favorite pastas for soup. I’m glad you talked about not keeping the noodles in the leftover soup – it’s so sad when someone doesn’t know that and they heat up their soup and all the pasta disintegrates.
Good to hear from you Jean. Happy New Year to you!
Your soup does sound good. I smiled when I saw Pickapeppa Sauce…I bet many people have no idea what it is. We always have a bottle in the fridge.
I love that sauce. LOVE it. I’m glad to hear I have a kindred soul. Happy New Year Karen.
Great looking and sounding soup Chef but I have to ask – did you place all of the pasta on one side for presentation purposes? I’d like to have a snow like that after we get home.
I sure did. The first bowl just didn’t showcase it well enough.