This Panera autumn squash soup is the perfect fall recipe! It has a velvety smooth consistency, is made completely in a slow cooker, and is filled with some of the best fall produce.
If you know me at all at this point, you know I love soup! I could eat it for every meal and be completely happy.
Soup is such a seasonal food and can be made year-round in so many different variations as the produce changes. And this butternut squash soup is perfect for the fall season! It’s filled with some of the best fall produce such as pureed pumpkin, butternut squash, carrots, and onions.
This recipe came about after trying Panera Bread’s classic squash soup. I thought it was too delicious to not try and whip up my own version of it!
The flavors of this recipe are sweet & savory, the consistency is perfectly creamy, and it’s all made easy in a slow cooker. You’ll find it not only delicious but very easy to make! All around a win-win situation.
14 Cozy Winter Soups
Stay warm and try something new. Get my top winter soup recipes right to your inbox.
Ingredients You Need
You’ll need just 10 ingredients to make this slow-cooker soup happen. Here’s everything you need: carrots, pureed pumpkin, vegetable broth, yellow onion, coconut sugar, salt & pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, garlic cloves, coconut milk, and butternut squash.
How to Make Panera Autumn Squash Soup
-
1
First, prepare the vegetables. Then add all of the ingredients (minus milk) to slow cooker.
-
2
Stir ingredients together, cover, and cook in a slow cooker/crockpot for 5 hours on LOW or 3 hours on HIGH.
-
3
When soup is finished cooking, use a hand-immersion blender or high-powered blend and puree soup until a smooth consistency.
-
4
Serve with coconut milk, pumpkin seeds, and additional seasonings.
Extra Soup Tips
Our Favorite Hand-Held Blender
velvety soup in seconds
Save yourself the hassle of having to transfer your hot soup into a blender. This hand-held immersion blender is SO easy to use and safely blends your soup right in the pot within seconds! We use it in soups, sauces, and so much more.
If you click this link and make a purchase, we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.- Use homemade broth: whenever I have it on hand, I love using homemade vegetable broth in this recipe to elevate the flavor even more.
- Use a blender to puree soup: if you don’t have a hand-immersion blender, use a high-powdered blender to puree the soup (you may have to do several batches depending on the size).
- Additional spices you can add: to add a little bit more herbs and spices to your soup we recommend a pinch of curry powder, sage, rosemary, thyme, or ground ginger.
How to Store Leftovers & Freeze
Keep leftovers fresh: store soup in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days for ultimate freshness.
Freeze: store cooled soup in an airtight container or freezer-friendly ziplock bag for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature and reheat.
Serving Suggestions
This soup goes wonderfully with homemade bread – like our no-knead cranberry walnut bread or cinnamon raisin! You can also serve it with a seasonal fall salad like our Apple Pomegranate Harvest Salad or Warm Brussels Sprout Salad – you can’t go wrong with either!
Other Delicious Soups to Try:
- 30-Minute Leek and Potato Soup
- Creamy Roasted Broccoli and Cheese Soup
- Healthy Tomato Basil Soup
- Healthy Vegetarian Tortilla Soup
- Tuscan White Bean Soup
- Creamy Cauliflower Soup
Copycat Panera Autumn Squash Soup
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 cups vegetable broth
- 1 small yellow onion chopped
- 2-3 garlic cloves
- 1 medium-large butternut squash peeled and cubed
- 2-3 carrots peeled and chopped (or a little over 1 cup)
- 1/2 15 oz. can organic pumpkin puree
- 2 Tbsp coconut sugar (or brown sugar)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp cracked pepper
- 1/2 cup canned coconut milk (unsweetened)
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- pinch nutmeg
- pinch of cayenne *optional
- pumpkin seeds for topping *optional
Instructions
- Prepare vegetables: peel squash and cut into 1-2 inch cubes. Cut heads of carrots off and slice into 1/2-inch thick pieces. Peel onion and slice into pieces.
- Cook: Add all of the ingredients (except coconut milk) to slow cooker/crockpot – vegetable broth, onion, garlic, squash, carrots, pumpkin puree, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, pinch of cayenne, and salt & pepper. Mix ingredients together. Set slow cooker time for 5 hours on LOW or 3 hours on HIGH.
- Puree soup: after soup has cooked, use a hand-immersion blender or high-powered blender to blend soup until creamy and smooth.
- Season to taste and serve: before serving soup, taste it and adjust with salt & back pepper or additional spice if desired. Stir in 1/2 cup coconut milk and then serve with pumpkin seeds, cracked black pepper, and a sprinkle of coconut sugar if desired.
This is absolutely wonderful! Made pretty much as written. Used brown sugar. Omitted the nutmeg. It was fantastic. Even better the next day!
Thanks so much, Stephanie! When leftovers are better it is always a win. 🙂
Sooooo good!
yay!
I was hoping my kids and I would like this as were trying to go more vegetarian but it did not go over well at all:( Not the OPs fault at all!
I’m so sorry to hear that! But I completely understand – I personally think this soup can be an acquired taste. I’m obsessed with soup and can say that 🙂 I have many other vegetarian soups that are kid friendly that are linked in this post. Feel free to check them out!
The ingredients are in my slow cooker as I type for dinner. But I just read the nutritional facts. I’m using low sodium broth – what else am I missing that makes this so high in sodium so I can adjust next time? Thank you!
Hi Terri! I’m bummed to say the nutrition label platform I use does not have the option for low sodium broth – which is what I always recommend. So ignore the sodium levels if you are using “low sodium broth” – it is significantly lower than what is shown! Hope that helps.
This soup is delicious! Tastes so similar to Panera’s!
So glad to hear 🙂
Great fall soup! Used delicata squash from my garden.
so happy you like it!
Do you think it’d also work if I used a stand mixer?
While this is a VERY good soup, I would not say exactly like Panera. Its missing…..something….I added a pinch of curry, but I am not sure that’s it. Thank you for posting.
Glad you liked it! While this isn’t the EXACT soup – it’s my interpretation of it. Thank you, Dee! 🙂
How much cinnamon and nutmeg? Thanks!
Ahhh – so sorry about that. Just added the measurements!
What is the serving size ?
Can you use heavy cream instead of Coconut Milk?
yes! Works just the same. 🙂
What size of the can for pumpkin purée?:)
15 oz. can of pumpkin puree! 🙂
Eating this while writing this review. Literally tastes EXACTLY like panera’s!!! ❤️❤️❤️ thank you so much for this!
Thank you so much, Denise! I’m so so happy to hear that. 🙂
Bethany this was so delicious!! The perfect soup for fall too!
Right?! Perfect for fall. Thank you!