Butternut Squash Soup with Bacon + Apples {Instant Pot, Whole30}

This Paleo and Whole30 butternut squash soup is creamy, sweet and savory!  It’s made simple and fast in the Instant Pot for a quick healthy comforting meal. Bacon and apples lend sweet and smoky flavor to this fall and winter family favorite. 

It took me quite a long time to warm up to making homemade soup, believe it or not.  After years of canned soups as a kid I just had a bad association with soups.

Salty, flavorless, and all around boring – does this sound familiar to you?!  I obviously realized at some point that homemade soups were another ball game entirely.  Still, I really just didn’t have a strong desire to explore my options.

But, over the past year or so I’ve been working on breaking my bad soup association with some truly delicious clean eating homemade paleo versions.  This butternut squash soup with apples and bacon is one of them!

Packed with lots of my favorite ingredients, this soup is a far cry from the store bought canned variety.

Butternut squash, apples, and bacon.  That combination remains one I just keep coming back to every fall, whether we’re talking a breakfast hash or a soup!

And what makes it even better?  The fact that you make this soup easily all in one pot – the Instant Pot!  I’ve been using my instant pot more and more lately and I’m always impressed by how efficient it is and how tasty the results are.

One of the huge benefits of the Instant Pot, besides cooking things lightening fast, is the saute function. This means you can cook your bacon right in the pot first thing, and then use the bacon fat to saute the onions and garlic.

Cooking everything in one pot makes this soup SO easy.  To puree, I added my cooked bacon back to the pot and used my Immersion blender to get it all nice and creamy smooth.

Instant Pot + Immersion blender is a dream come true combo for creamy soups!

Once the soup is pureed you can simmer it a bit longer or taste and season a bit more to your liking.  Then it’s time to serve and top the soup!

I made sure I had extra cooked bacon to garnish (since most of the bacon actually gets pureed with the soup itself) and also sliced up some scallions for extra flavor.

Lastly, if you’re a coconut milk fan, a bit swirled on top is a pretty addition and adds rich creamy texture.

This butternut squash soup recipe makes about 6 generous servings.  Additionally, the leftovers save well – woohoo!   You can also make it ahead of time and refrigerate or freeze it to serve later on.

It’s sweet, savory, creamy, filling and of course healthy!  I hope you’re ready to forget canned soups forever and make this easy homemade comforting butternut squash soup – let’s go!

Butternut Squash Soup with Bacon and Apples in the Instant Pot {Whole30}

Butternut Squash Soup with Bacon and Apples in the Instant Pot {Whole30}

This Paleo and Whole30 butternut squash soup is creamy, sweet and savory! It’s made simple and fast in the Instant Pot for a quick healthy comforting meal. Bacon and apples lend sweet and smoky flavor to this fall and winter family favorite.

Author: Michele

Servings: 6

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4.68 from 144 votes

Ingredients

For the Soup:

• 5 slices nitrate free bacon cut into pieces
• 4-5 cups butternut squash cubed (1 large)
• 1 large apple peeled and diced
• 1 med onion chopped
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1 tsp fresh minced sage
• 1/2 tsp fresh thyme
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 tsp sea salt fine grain (plus more to taste as desired)
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 2.5 cups chicken bone broth or chicken broth (no sugar added)
• 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast optional

For Garnish:

• 5 slices nitrate free bacon cooked and crumbled
• Coconut milk full fat
• thinly sliced scallions

Instructions

1. Turn Instant pot to “sauté” and wait until it reads “hot”. Cook bacon until crisp, stirring, remove to a plate and drain all but 1 tbsp fat. You will return bacon to pot when it’s time to blend.
2. Add onions to pot and saute 45 seconds, then add garlic and stir, cook until soft, then press “cancel”
3. Add the squash, apples, herbs and spices, salt, pepper and broth. Cover pot and cook on high pressure 5 mins. Once cook time is up, quick release the pressure.
4. Turn off the pot and add the bacon back in, then add nutritional yeast, if using. Place your Immersion blender in the instant pot to puree until very smooth. (If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can transfer everything to a regular blender to purée.)
5. Once soup is nice and smooth, you can taste and add any salt or seasonings to suit your taste.
6. Serve hot garnished with a crumbled bacon and scallions.
7. Swirl in a tbsp or two of coconut milk if desired. Enjoy!

Nutrition

Calories: 244kcal

Carbohydrates: 19g

Protein: 10g

Fat: 14g

Saturated Fat: 4g

Cholesterol: 24mg

Sodium: 385mg

Potassium: 516mg

Fiber: 3g

Sugar: 6g

Vitamin A: 10005IU

Vitamin C: 22.9mg

Calcium: 56mg

Iron: 1.1mg

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Want More Paleo Butternut Squash Recipes?  Try One of These!

Butternut Squash Hash with Apples and Bacon

Roasted Butternut with Tomato Cream and Chicken

Maple Bacon Roasted Butternut Squash 

Butternut Squash Stuffing with Sausage, Apples and Cranberries 

Roasted Butternut Salad with Buttermilk Dressing

Butternut Squash Fries with Rosemary and Bacon

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