19 Ingredients To Upgrade Butternut Squash Soup

When the weather finally starts to get a bit chilly, and that crisp coolness hits the air after a long, hot summer, it's time to switch up your meal routine. All those light, fresh salads can take a backseat, while fall produce can make an appearance in a variety of hearty soups that will have you feeling warm and cozy all season long. One of our absolute favorite soups for fall is butternut squash soup. This friendly, accessible squash makes for a relatively neutral, albeit still interesting, base that can be enhanced by a surprisingly wide array of different ingredients.

If you're tired of making the same old butternut squash soup recipe over and over again, it may be time to switch things up by stirring in a new ingredient or two. Some of these ingredients are no-brainers, while others are a bit more unexpected — but all of them are undeniably delicious. Your next soup night is about to get a lot more interesting with these flavorful additions.

One of the main problems we have with butternut squash soup is the fact that once you blend it up, you're working with one uniform texture, generally without any chunks. Sure, this makes for a lovely, velvety finish, but it can also get kind of boring after you've had a few spoonfuls. That's why including a crunchy topping, like roasted pumpkin seeds, can upgrade your butternut squash soup in such a tasty way. They add just the right bit of crunch without overpowering the otherwise smooth texture of the soup.

And the best part? Pumpkins are in season around the same time as butternut squash, so it's a great way to use up different kinds of fall produce concurrently to reduce waste and take advantage of the season's bounty.

If you want a creamy, rich bowl of butternut squash soup, you may assume that you have to include some sort of dairy in the recipe. After all, how are you going to achieve that rich texture without heavy cream or butter? But we're here to tell you that you actually don't have to include any dairy in your soup at all, so long as you incorporate some coconut milk into the mix.

Coconut milk adds a similar richness to your soup as does heavy cream, but in a lighter and slightly fruitier fashion. Just make sure you're using canned coconut milk here — the refrigerated stuff you find at the grocery store in a carton is not going to provide the same level of creaminess you're aiming for.

For a lot of people, butternut squash soup feels more like an appetizer than anything else. Sure, it's a great way to get your veggies in, but is it really substantial enough to constitute an entree? Luckily, there are ways to bulk up your butternut squash soup to make it a bit more satisfying and filling, and adding some pulled pork to the bowl is a great way to do so. This gives you some needed protein in the dish and provides a different, interesting texture that instantly elevates your bowl of soup.

Why pork specifically? Well, we like the fattiness that pork provides, although you could also use shredded beef or chicken if you prefer a less-rich flavor profile or choose not to consume pork.

You may have had one version of butternut squash soup, but that doesn't mean that's how it tastes in every part of the world. If you're looking for a recipe that highlights butternut squash in a different way, a Thai-style butternut squash soup may be the way to go. This dish plays up the savory qualities of butternut squash more than slightly sweeter, more American-style recipes.

One of the essential ingredients you'll need for Thai-style butternut squash soup is soy sauce or tamari, which have similar flavor profiles. They'll add an element of saltiness to your bowl, of course, along with an umami touch that's impossible to achieve with salt alone. Just be sure to taste your soup as you go to ensure that soy sauce doesn't make the dish too salty.

Your first instinct may not be to add fruit to a bowl of butternut squash soup, but it might just yield the best bowl of the stuff you've ever had — especially if you add some pomegranate seeds to the mix! Does it sound unconventional? Sure. But it's a combo that really, really works, thanks to the acidity and slight sweetness of the pomegranate. It offers a brightness to the dish that contrasts especially well with the earthy intensity of the butternut squash itself.

Plus, as a bonus, pomegranate seeds offer just the right amount of subtle crunch to the soup, preventing it from being too one-note on the texture front. You'll want to be sparing with the pomegranate, though — too much, and your soup might start to seem more like a fruit salad.

If there's one powerhouse ingredient that can add maximum richness to your butternut squash soup, it has to be brown butter. This simple, easy ingredient may not seem like anything special, but its warm flavor and intense richness make it the perfect pairing for this type of soup. All you have to do is cook your butternut squash soup, then prepare the brown butter in a separate pan. Make sure not to burn the butter, which can happen if you leave it on the heat too long.

When you're ready to assemble your bowl, ladle in some of the soup, then drizzle a generous amount of brown butter on top. The results are undeniably delicious, and you'll never want to eat butternut squash soup without brown butter again.

Making soup is a great way to get more produce into your diet, which is just one of the reasons we love butternut squash soup. But why stop at squash when you could add even more healthy ingredients into the mix? That's where roasted cauliflower comes into play. On its own, roasted cauliflower doesn't have too strong a flavor, which means that it can easily be blended and incorporated into the soup right alongside the squash.

However, you can also use roasted cauliflower as a texturally interesting topping by keeping it whole instead of blending it with the squash. The result is a veggie-forward dish that's filling, satisfying, and that feels oh-so-healthy. Feel free to add any other roasted veg you have on hand for an even more intense flavor boost.

Sage is one of those ingredients that just seems like it was made for butternut squash soup. To us, this powerful herb smells like the colder months of the year, thanks to its earthy warmth interspersed with lemony notes. It can instantly upgrade your butternut squash soup without basically any extra work on your part, and it'll make your kitchen smell amazing in the process.

Perhaps the best way to incorporate sage into the recipe is by cooking some of the leaves in your brown butter. That way, the butter will be infused with the flavor of sage in a really beautiful way. Alternatively, you can roast a bit of sage for a short amount of time along with the squash and other soup ingredients so it's really infused into every bite. Either way, the addition of sage makes for an unforgettable butternut squash soup.

Think that Greek yogurt is just for breakfast? Think again, because it can also make an appearance as a special guest in your butternut squash soup. First of all, it adds some weight to the soup, so it doesn't become too thin and brothy. That extra bit of texture really can make all the difference. Additionally, it provides the dish with a bold pop of acidity that's a bit milder than, say, lemon or lime juice. Plus, many consider it to be a healthier alternative to other types of dairy-based add-ins.

Make sure to temper the yogurt, or warm it up slowly, before adding it to your pot of soup. Otherwise, the yogurt might curdle, leaving you with a mess. And if it makes the soup too thick, just add some extra water to thin it all out again.

Although butternut squash soup is mostly regarded as a savory dish, that doesn't mean you can't add ingredients that are generally associated with sweetness. In fact, various baking spices can highlight the squash's interesting, earthy qualities without actually adding any sweetness to the recipe. Cinnamon might just be our favorite baking spice to include because of how beautifully it pairs with butternut squash.

When you add cinnamon to butternut squash soup, though, you have to be extra careful not to mix in too much of it. Otherwise, your soup may start to taste like dessert, or worse, the cinnamon could clash with savory ingredients like garlic. Your best bet is to add the cinnamon to the pot slowly and taste as you go to ensure you get just the right level of complexity.

Many people don't think of adding meat to their butternut squash soup. However, some types of meat can really add a depth of flavor (not to mention texture) that can make this kind of soup taste way better than any average recipe. Because of their fattiness and, often, crunchiness, bacon crumbles are an especially fun addition. They have that meaty richness to them, plus an intense saltiness that makes every bite so much more exciting.

For the most delicious butternut squash soup, make sure to use fresh bacon crumbles. The stuff that comes in the plastic shaker just isn't going to have that same crunchy texture, and the fattiness likely won't meld with the soup like you'd want it to.

Butternut squash is a bit sweet all on its own, which is part of what gives a good butternut squash soup its bold complexity. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't add some more sweetness to your soup recipe. Although there are many different ingredients you could use to give butternut squash soup a touch of sweetness, roasted red peppers might just be one of our favorites. They're sweet, yes, but not overwhelmingly so, so it's difficult to add too much. Roasting the peppers adds even more sweetness while also providing a depth of flavor that can instantly make your soup more interesting.

Make sure you're using red bell pepper, though, rather than green, yellow, or orange. These varieties don't contain as much sugar, and they might make your soup taste more vegetal rather than sweet.

A glass of bourbon on the side of your butternut squash soup sounds pretty delicious, right? These are both treats that especially shine during the colder months of the year, thanks to their rich and complex flavor profiles. But why leave the bourbon on the side when you could actually mix some into your soup? It's probably not the first ingredient you'd think to add, but it's one that can contribute an unexpected depth to the dish that you might want to try.

You won't want to use a lot of it — just about ¼ to ½ cup of bourbon to a soup that contains 4 pounds of butternut squash. Add it with your aromatics right before you put the squash and cooking liquid into the pot, and prepare your soup as you normally would.

Italian sausage, packed with various herbs and spices, makes for a quick and easy addition to butternut squash soup that can take it from a simple appetizer to the main course. The best part is the fact that you don't really have to cook the sausage along with the other ingredients (unless you want its flavors to be more well-incorporated into the dish). Instead, just roast, grill, or saute the sausage on the side, then add it to your soup once you've already put it in the bowl you plan on serving it in.

You can either slice your sausage or make it into crumbles for a more even texture. Either way, though, you're in for a serious treat when you try this meaty butternut squash soup.

Don't have enough butternut squash on hand to make a decent pot of soup? Or just want to enhance the flavor of the soup recipe you keep going back to time and time again? It's surprisingly easy to do as long as you have some carrots on hand. Carrots have an earthiness and sweetness similar to that of butternut squash, so they work especially well in this kind of soup.

To keep things easy, simply simmer the carrots alongside the butternut squash to create the base of your soup. Alternatively, if you want to add more flavor to the equation, roast the carrots ahead of time to draw out their sweetness and complexity. Either way, your basic butternut squash soup just got a bit more interesting.

Lentils are one of our favorite ingredients to have in the pantry for all kinds of uses. They're super affordable, super filling, and super healthy all at the same time, which means that you should work them into as many recipes as you possibly can. Luckily, they're especially easy to sneak into butternut squash soup. We like cooking them separately, frying them to give them a little bit of a crisp texture, and then adding them as a fun topping to the soup.

However, you can also incorporate them into the body of the soup by blending them up alongside the squash and other soup base ingredients to really capture their nutty flavor. Once you try your butternut squash soup with lentils, you may never want to eat it without them again.

Butternut squash soup tends to be on the heavier end of the spectrum, which is why it's so perfect for cool fall days. But that doesn't mean you don't need something to lighten up those strong, earthy flavors. Feta is perhaps one of the best ways to do just that. First of all, its light, fresh, slightly acidic note gives the dish the perfect pop of flavor. It's subtle, but feta provides just enough contrast to keep things interesting in the soup.

But unlike many other acidic ingredients, feta has some weight and body, which can add an extra element of texture to the soup. Yes, it's light, but ultimately, it's still cheese, which makes for a more decadent soup dish.

Although many people consider squash to be a vegetable, it's actually technically a fruit. So who says you can't add other types of fruit to the mix when you're making your own butternut squash soup at home? Apple makes for an unexpected but really lovely addition to this type of soup, and since it's generally widely available at the same time of year, you can feel good about the fact that you're prioritizing produce that's in season.

Blending the apples in with the squash itself gives the soup a touch of sweetness it wouldn't otherwise have, paired with a subtle, fresh acidity that makes this an ideal transitional dish between seasons. Give it a try the next time you're trying to figure out how to use up those extra apples.

Let's be honest: Butternut squash soup can sometimes be a bit bland, particularly if you're not heavy-handed with your seasonings. That's why it's so important to add super bold spices to your soup to up the flavor ante just the right amount. If you're a fan of heat, you might want to consider shaking in some cayenne pepper. Cayenne is spicy, yes, but it's so much more than that, offering a smokiness and savory flavor profile that you won't get from all types of spices.

Blend some cayenne pepper into the soup to give it that pop of spiciness and smoke that will transform an average soup dish into something truly spectacular. Don't be afraid to get creative with other types of dried spices as well.