Silky butternut squash and flavorful roasted red peppers are an incredible combo in this creamy coconut milk butternut squash soup. – fast to throw together and vegan-friendly!
Soup season is in full swing around here! Many, many soup swirls like you see above included.
And a pretty dang good excuse to buy more bread to dip in your soup, you’re welcome.
We’re keeping this soup completely vegan-friendly today too, but I PROMISE you wouldn’t even be able to tell!
We do a lot of cooking with butternut squash around here (can you tell I’m obsessed) but this soup is unlike anything you’ve ever seen before!
With a little help from sweet roasted red peppers and creamy coconut milk, we’re really transforming this soup into something incredible.
This Coconut Milk Butternut Squash Soup features…
- A silky-smooth butternut squash soup base
- A rich, slightly-smoky flavor from roasted red peppers
- Just a hint of creamy coconut flavor from coconut milk
- Vegan-friendly, but doesn’t taste like it!
Making the Coconut Milk Butternut Squash Soup
(scroll down to the bottom of post for the full recipe)
Ingredients You Will Need
- Butternut squash
- Carrot
- Onion
- Garlic
- Olive oil
- Bay leaf
- Vegetable broth
- Roasted red peppers
- Coconut milk
- Parsley
Make Ahead Options
The biggest time-saver you can have up your sleeve for this soup is pretty simple: chop all the vegetables ahead of time.
You can chop the butternut squash, carrot, onion, and garlic up to 4 days in advance and store in refrigerator. Then you can throw the soup together in minutes whenever you’re ready!
Tips for Perfect Butternut Squash Soup
- Cut butternut squash in uniform size – basically, you just want your butternut squash cubes the same size so they cook evenly.
- Simmer vegetables in vegetable broth – all it takes is a quick 20-25 minute simmer to soften the vegetables and you’re ready to blend.
- Use immersion blender or regular blender – blend the simmered soup with roasted red peppers until completely smooth. Do it in batches if necessary, you don’t want to overload your blender with hot liquid.
- Fold coconut milk into blended soup – this final step adds just a touch of richness to this hearty soup. Feel free to add a few extra splashes if you want it creamier!
- Finish soup with fresh herbs – we like just a sprinkle of fresh parsley to add one little kick of flavor to the soup.
Recipe Variations
This soup is a blank canvas for many recipe variations! Check out some of our favorites…
- Use fresh sweet pepper instead of roasted – if you don’t have roasted red peppers on hand, just use a fresh sweet pepper instead! Saute it with the onions and carrots and proceed with recipe per instructions.
- Make it non-vegan/vegetarian – if you’re not following a vegan diet, feel free to replace the veggie broth with chicken broth. You can also swap out the coconut milk for heavy whipping cream.
- Use another squash – another winter squash such as acorn or delicata would be great in place of the butternut!
Storing and Freezing Soup
This soup stores well in the fridge for up to 6 days. We recommend reheating individual servings either in microwave for 1-2 minutes (stirring at 30 second intervals) or in a saucepan on the stovetop.
You can also freeze this soup for up to 1 month. Allow soup to cool completely then package soup in pint containers and transfer to freezer.
To thaw soup from frozen, allow to defrost in fridge. Then reheat following above microwave or stovetop instructions.
The amount of flavors we’re able to build into this soup in such a short amount of time are actually mind-blowing. The butternut squash is silky-smooth, the coconut milk adds a perfect richness, and the roasted red peppers are smoky and sweet.
Highly recommend serving a hot bowl of this soup alongside your favorite sandwich! Or just make sure you have your favorite bread nearby for dipping.
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.
We love soups around here! Try out these winners next time.
Roasted Red Pepper Coconut Milk Butternut Squash Soup
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Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
- 1 medium carrot, peeled and finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 cups butternut squash, cubed into 1/2-in cubes
- 4 cups vegetable broth (or chicken broth if non-vegetarian/vegan)
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 jar (12 oz) roasted red peppers, drained
- 1/2 cup full-fat or light coconut milk
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a Dutch oven or large high-walled saucepan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat until shimmery. Add onion and carrot to pan and saute 3-5 minutes until vegetables are just tender. Add garlic and saute 1 additional minute until fragrant.
- Add butternut squash, vegetable broth, and bay leaf to pan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover pot, and let simmer 20-25 minutes until butternut squash is tender, stirring soup occasionally.
- Remove bay leaf from pan and discard. Add roasted red peppers to soup. Working in batches, transfer soup to a blender and blend on high speed until soup is completely smooth and creamy.
- Pour soup back into pot and fold in coconut milk and parsley. Season soup with salt and pepper to taste. Keep soup warm until ready to serve. Enjoy!
DeeDee says
This recipe is excellent! I used fresh sweet red pepper instead as directed and added an extra splash of coconut milk at the end! Best soup I’ve ever had! For a little texture, I left about a cup of broth with the chunky cooked vegetables along with a healthy helping of black pepper and a dash of salt and it added just a hint of body to the creamy texture.
Sarah says
I’m so so happy to hear that, DeeDee! Thanks for reporting back with your adjustments! 🙂