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}
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
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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.
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Add onions to pot and saute 45 seconds, then add garlic and stir, cook until soft, then press “cancel”
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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.
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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.)
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Once soup is nice and smooth, you can taste and add any salt or seasonings to suit your taste.
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Serve hot garnished with a crumbled bacon and scallions.
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Swirl in a tbsp or two of coconut milk if desired. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Shop Products and Ingredients:
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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OMG!!!! I was honestly a bit skeptical but this is soooo yummy!!!!!
I made mine on the stove top; just boil on high for five minutes to soften up the squash and apples and then I transferred into a regular blender. Was a bit too thick so I used coconut milk to lighten it up!!
So quick and simple to make; it’s definitely become one for my books!! My mum loved it too!
Can you do this in a crock pot?
So easy and delicious. I added a can of coconut milk when I blended it so I was creamier.
Amazing soup, so tasty. Tastes like Christmas! Delicious
I just made this- so so good. I love the flavor combination of the apple, squash and bacon.
Waiting for stovetop or crockpot directions.
Thank you, Michele, for a wonferful recipe! I was intrigued by the addition of bacon and an apple, so I tried this recipe! My family REALLY enjoyed it and so did I !
What a delightful combination of Savory and Sweet!
They asked me to make this recipe again!
I could eat it everyday!
😋
The only thing I didn’t have was ground sage or ground ginger.
I also did not add the garnish on top.
It still turned out so yummy!!!
Looking forward to checking out your other recipes!
I rarely leave reviews but had to here because this is the best soup recipe I have ever followed!! Tastes SO amazing, so much flavor and it’s the right amount of creamy without actually having any type of cream in it!! I reduced the bacon a bit but next time will probably go the full amount such great flavor! Will definitely be making again!
This soup was delicious 😋 I love the flavor that the bacon gives it & the combination of the herbs & spices made it taste so flavorful! Thanks for sharing this. I will definitely make it again ❤️
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I literally just made this and am enjoying a small serving before dinner. Used about a tablespoon of fresh ginger and left out the sage. WONDERFUL recipe – and I’ve made lots of great butternut squash soup before. The bacon is a master touch.
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