Made completely in the crockpot and perfectly smooth and creamy, this crockpot butternut squash soup is easy to prepare and a soup favorite!
There’s nothing better than a big comforting bowl of butternut squash soup once the weather starts turning chilly! Bonus points if your crockpot takes care of it for you.
And that’s exactly what we’re doing today! This butternut squash soup literally takes about 10 minutes of prep time and then its off to the crockpot for the rest of the day.
We’re keeping things super simple in the ingredients department today with only 9 basic ingredients, but holy cow the amount of flavors in this soup is unbelievable.
And the obligatory toasty croutons + extra cream swirls on top just seal this perfect little soup deal.
This Butternut Squash Soup features…
- A creamy, velvety texture from the butternut squash
- Lots of fresh garlic and thyme
- 10 minute prep time and made entirely in the crockpot
Making the Butternut Squash Soup
(scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe)
Ingredients You Will Need
- Butternut squash
- Yellow onion
- Garlic
- Celery
- Bay leaf
- Nutmeg
- Chicken broth
- Heavy cream
- Thyme
Stovetop Instructions
Don’t have a slow cooker? You can still make this soup on your stovetop!
- In a large pot, heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil over medium heat. Add onion and celery and saute 3-5 minutes until tender.
- Add butternut squash, garlic, bay leaf, nutmeg, and chicken broth to pot and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover pot, and allow to simmer 20-25 minutes until butternut squash is very tender.
- Puree soup and fold in heavy cream and thyme per recipe instructions and serve.
Tips for Perfect Butternut Squash Soup
- Cut butternut squash into uniform cubes – 1-inch cubes is what we’re going for. Try to cut them as uniformly as possible so they cook at the same rate.
- Cook garlic whole – this adds a lot of mellow sweet garlic flavor once its cooked, mashed into a paste, and added back to soup.
- Puree soup in blender or with immersion blender – either tool will work great, just make sure to blend soup in batches to prevent overflow if you decide to go the blender route.
- Add cream and garlic and continue cooking – once the soup is blended and the cream and thyme are added, return the soup to the crockpot to cook on high for an additional 45 minutes to allow the flavors to develop a little more.
Recipe Variations
Try these ideas for a different twist on this soup.
- Make it vegetarian – simply swap out vegetable broth for the chicken broth.
- Try a different squash – delicata, acorn squash, or even sweet potatoes would work in place of the butternut.
- Add cheese – once the soup is finished cooking, fold in about 1 cup shredded cheddar for a cheesy soup.
Storing and Freezing Instructions
This soup can be stored in refrigerator up to 6 days. Reheat soup either on the stovetop or in the microwave until soup reaches 165F.
To freeze soup, allow to cool completely then transfer to a freezer-safe container, leaving 1 inch of open air on top. Freeze soup up to 2 months and reheat either on stovetop or microwave.
The creamy, velvety texture of this soup is just off the charts! The butternut squash adds a slight sweetness and there’s so much incredible flavor from the roasted garlic and fresh thyme.
Best paired with a big slice of your favorite bread or some toasty croutons on top and a chilly fall night!
Save this recipe using the ‘save to recipe box’ button below. If you make it, please let us know! Leave a comment + star rating below, or take a photo and tag it on Instagram with #wholeandheavenlyoven.
More soups that you need in your life!
Crockpot Butternut Squash Soup
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Ingredients
- 1 medium butternut squash, peeled and diced into 1-in cubes (about 6-7 cups)
- 1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
- 2 ribs celery, finely diced
- 6 whole unpeeled cloves garlic
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a 4-qt crockpot, combine squash, onion, celery, garlic, bay leaf, and nutmeg. Pour chicken broth over top. Cover crockpot and cook on low heat 5-6 hours or on high heat 3-4 hours until squash is very tender.
- Remove bay leaf and garlic. Discard bay leaf and peel skin from garlic. Finely mash garlic into a paste and return to soup.
- Working in batches, puree soup in a high-speed blender until completely smooth OR use an immersion blender. Return soup to crockpot and stir in heavy cream and fresh thyme. Season soup with salt and pepper to taste
- Cover crockpot and cook soup an additional 45-60 minutes on high heat. Serve soup warm and enjoy!
For a step-by-step guide to making this recipe, check out the video!
Nutrition
This post was updated with new photos and recipe tips on 5/18/23.
Gayle @ Pumpkin 'N Spice says
Crockpot soup is my absolute favorite! I love how it’s like a set it and forget it type meal. Especially perfect for this busy time of the year. And I’m LOVING the roasted garlic and butternut squash combo, Sarah! That color is so pretty. I wish I could dive right into this for breakfast!
Megan - The Emotional Baker says
This soup looks so creamy and dreamy 😉 I’ve never cooked with a crockpot (what?!?) but I’ll have to get my hands on one for an easy and delicious soup like this one!
Kelly says
I definitely want to take the crockpot and run! Butternut squash soup is one of my favorite falls soups and this one is just gorgeous, Sarah! Love the color!!
marcie says
Butternut Squash soup is the way to my heart and I love all the croutons piled up on this (you can never have enough in my opinion)! Why haven’t I ever made it in the slow cooker? I’m doing this!
Cyndi - My Kitchen Craze says
Oh my gosh this soup looks fantastic and made in the slow cooker. YES! Sign me up! I need to make this asap! And croutons are not an option in my opinion. They are a must! 🙂
Ashley says
Yup, I totally wish this was waiting for me in the crockpot for dinner tonight! But alas, it’s not! haha It sounds delicious!!
Rachel @ Bakerita says
This looks sooooo creamy and delicious Sarah! I go nuts for anything with roasted garlic and have a big jar of it already made in my fridge at all times. I’ve been super into soup recently, despite San Diego’s 90 degree weather the past few days, and I’m totally trying this ASAP!
Jamie says
I plan on making this soup tomorrow, but had a quick question…is the garlic overpowering? I LOVE garlic, but my parents are kinda sensitive to it. My dad said, “6 cloves?!? That’s a lot!”. I don’t want to change the recipe, but if the flavor is strong, I may have to! Please let me know. Thanks!
Sarah says
I personally don’t think the garlic is overwhelming at all, Jamie, but you can definitely reduce the garlic down to three cloves if you’re worried about it!
Stefanie says
Looks so good! I made this tonight but mine came out a bit darker in color, more brown and when I added cream it looks like it slightly curdled:( Not sure what I did wrong. Thx
Gayle says
I wanted this for lunch, but i did not have time to let it cook in the crock pot. I made it in a stock pot on the stove. I cut the squash chunks in 1/2 inch cubes, so they cooked quickly. Then I pureed it. It turned out great. I served it topped with shredded parmesan cheese.
Sarah says
I’m SO glad to hear that this soup was a hit for you, Mrs. Hoefker! Love the sound of topping it with Parmesan cheese. 🙂
Karen Sablan says
I bought a package of pre-cut butternut squash from costco the other day and had no idea what the heck I was going to do with it. After seeing the pictures, I’m definitely going to have to make this! The recipe calls for “roasted garlic” I have those minced garlic from the jar (lol). Can I use that?
Thanks,
Karen
Sarah says
Hey Karen! Yes, you can used jarred garlic, however I would only use 1 tablespoon of that since it is a bit stronger.
Karen Sablan says
Thank you for the fast reply!!! Making this right now 😀
Jen says
So excited that I found your blog-your recipes look great!
I want to make this recipe for a dinner party but have a vegetarian in attendance. Would this still be good with vegetable broth instead of chicken?
Thanks!
Sarah says
Hi Jen! Veggie broth would be a fine sub!
Megan says
WAY too much thyme. 2 tablespoons or did you mean teaspoons? Yummy but would’ve used much less thyme!
Cara says
So just started making this soup and accidnelty put everything (cream and thyme) in the crockpot also 🙁 is this going to ruin my soup??
Shirley says
This soup is delicious! Made it in my InstantPot. Used the pressure cooker mode for 9 minutes. Worked out perfectly.
Vanessa says
Made this yesterday and added 2 good teaspoons of curry powder-that put it over the edge. Amazing and so very easy!
Sarah says
I looooove the sound of adding curry to this soup, Vanessa!