Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup With Bacon
This Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup is thick, creamy and full of fall flavor. It’s made entirely from scratch in 30 minutes, and with the optional bacon included, it’s hearty enough to serve as a meal.
The soup goes perfectly with some crusty bread, warm slices of baguette, or slices of this Chickpea Flatbread.
Recipe Overview: Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup
Naturopath’s Notes
Butternut squash is at its best in fall and early winter. When buying, look for one with a matte, creamy beige skin free of soft spots, cuts or bruises. A shiny skin is a sign it was picked too early. Pick it up and check the weight too, it should feel heavy for its size. If you’re choosing between a few, go for the one where the neck is longer relative to the bulbous part at the bottom. The seeds are housed in the bulb end, so a smaller bulb means more flesh to work with.
The optional bacon adds smoky, savory flavors to the soup and also makes it a more substantial meal.
Key Ingredients
This butternut squash instant pot soup uses fresh squash, leek and a handful of herbs and spices. It comes together quickly and if adding the bacon makes it an even heartier meal that you’ll want to keep on high rotation throughout the fall and winter.
- Butternut squash – Sweet, delicious and readily available. Look for one that feels heavy for its size with a matte, creamy skin.
- Leek – Adds a gentle sweetness to balance the earthiness of the spices.
- Bacon (optional) – Adds a smoky depth of flavor and helps thicken the soup once blended.
- Chicken stock – provides a richer foundation for the soup than plain water. Vegetable stock works just as well if you prefer. For a full-flavored stock try this Instant Pot Chicken Stock recipe.
- Cumin and sage – The cumin brings warmth and the sage adds earthy notes that pairs well with the squash.
- Garlic – Two small cloves are all that’s needed to ensure it doesn’t overpower the other flavors. Adding some cloves from leftover Garlic Confit also works well in this recipe. If doing this add them at the blending stage, as they’re already cooked.
- Pumpkin seeds, chives and coconut cream or milk – Optional toppings, but worth using. They make the soup look beautiful for serving. Or for something completely different but equally delicious, crumble over some Air Fryer Kale Chips.
Canned pumpkin is often used in butternut squash soup recipes with many recipes suggesting fresh varieties go watery. This hasn’t been my experience when the ratio of pumpkin to stock is right.
Substitutions And Variations
For a vegan or vegetarian version, leave out the bacon and replace the chicken stock with vegetable broth or stock.
When truffle season arrives, I love replacing the olive oil with Truffle Butter. It adds a whole new layer of flavor to this soup.
To create a creamier butternut squash soup – leave out half a cup of stock from the recipe. Once the soup is cooked, add in half a can of coconut cream, full-fat coconut milk or heavy cream when blending. If this cools the soup too much, use the sauté function for 2-3 minutes to warm it through.
For something a little different, replace half the butternut squash with carrot and proceed with the rest of the recipe for a butternut squash and carrot soup.
How To Make Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup
This recipe requires very little hands-on time. The initial sauté at the beginning and blending at the end are all that’s required. The instant pot does the rest. While this is an Instant Pot recipe, it can easily be made on the stovetop too, just ensure you’re using a large pot. See the stovetop instructions straight after the instant pot version below.
- Step 1: Turn on the sauté function of the instant pot and set the timer to 6 minutes. Pour in the olive oil and sauté the bacon pieces until browned. Remove from the pot and set aside.
- Step 2: Add remaining olive oil to the pot, then add the leek and sauté until softened. Next add the garlic, cumin, chopped sage and butternut squash and stir well to combine.
- Step 3: Add the chicken or vegetable stock along with the reserved bacon and give it all a quick stir. Place lid on the pot and select pressure cook, then set the timer for 10 minutes.
- Step 4: Once cooked, hit cancel and release the pressure. Blend the soup until completely smooth using an immersion blender or add to a high-speed blender if preferred.
Serve with warm crusty bread and garnish with chopped chives, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, or sesame seeds. A drizzle of coconut milk or cream or just before serving makes it extra delicious too.
To make this on the stove top:
Follow the instructions in the recipe card to step 5 then bring the soup to the boil, drop the heat to low, cover and leave to simmer with the lid on for 30 to 45 minutes or until the pumpkin is tender. Once cooked, continue from step 7 then serve.
Expert Tips
- Cut the butternut squash into evenly sized pieces so it cooks at the same rate. Larger chunks can stay firm in the middle while the rest has cooked through.
- For the smoothest result, use a high-powered blender rather than an immersion blender. Blend in batches and take care with the hot liquid. If the soup cools too much in the process, the sauté function will warm it back up in a minute or two.
- Taste before serving and adjust the seasoning. Butternut squash varies in sweetness depending on the season and how ripe it is, so the soup may need a little more salt than the recipe calls for.
Storing And Freezing
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4 to 5 days. For longer storage, transfer the soup to a freezer-safe container or use silicone souper cubes to freeze single servings you can defrost as needed.
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Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup
Equipment
- Instant pot
- Immersion blender / Stick blender
Ingredients
- 3 lb butternut pumpkin, chopped into 1-inch/2.5cm chunks (1.4kg)
- 1 leek, thinly sliced
- 7 oz smoky bacon, diced (200g)
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 Tbsp fresh sage, finely chopped
- 1.5 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp salt (see note 1)
- Pepper to taste
- Toppings of choice (chopped chives, pumpkin seeds and a drizzle of coconut cream is delicious)
Instructions
- Press the sauté button on the instant pot and set the timer to 6 minutes. Add in one tablespoon of olive oil and once warm, add in the chopped bacon pieces. Cook for a few minutes until just starting to brown. Remove from the instant pot and set aside.
- Press the sauté button on the instant pot again and set to 4 minutes. Add remaining olive oil to the pot then add the leek and sauté until softened. If the bottom of your instant pot is very browned from cooking the bacon, the leek will help lift this.
- Stir in the garlic, cumin, chopped sage plus salt and pepper. Sauté for 1 minute while the pot is still hot. This lets the spices release their aroma.
- Add in the chopped pumpkin, and toss it through the leek and spices to coat. Now add chicken stock and reserved bacon, and give it all a quick stir.
- Put the lid on the instant pot and select pressure cook. Set the timer for 10 minutes.
- Once the timer goes off, hit cancel and release the pressure. Remove the lid and blend the soup with an immersion blender until smooth (see note 2).
- Ladle the soup into bowls then top with chopped pumpkin seeds and chives, and drizzle with some coconut milk. Serve with a piece of crusty sourdough bread.
This is such a hearty and warming soup to enjoy all winter long. It makes a nice big batch too, so leftovers make for easy weeknight dinners.