This 6-ingredient butternut squash soup for your Vitamix is magnificent
Pumpkins, squash, gourds, wherever you look it’s fall.
Don’t get us wrong, we love decorating with produce. But we like eating seasonal ingredients even better.
This soup features a fall favorite, butternut squash. But instead of the basic recipe, we’ve kicked it up a notch with a unique flavor profile and extra protein (while still keeping it vegan)!
It’s simple, it’s filling, and it’s an impressive dish to serve your guests.
Butternut squash... boring
People asked why we didn’t have a butternut squash soup. We answered.
But we didn’t want to make just any butternut squash soup. We wanted to make one that made your mouth water. We wanted to make one that makes you look like you’re a classically trained chef. We wanted to make one that was Instagram ready.
So we made this simple but complex balsamic butternut squash bisque recipe with our Vitamix.
We googled it, you can call it a bisque if it’s a puree of vegetables and if you want to sound like an elitist (extra points if you listen to NPR while you make it).
Watch the video
Recipe
Balsamic Butternut Squash Soup
This fall soup is creamy, filling, and vegan.
Balsamic Vinegar, Butternut Squash, Garlic, Shallots, Tofu, Vegetable Broth,Ingredients:
- butternut squash - 1 whole seeded
- tofu - 14 oz. package (397 g)
- vegetable broth - 1.5 cups (339 g)
- balsamic vinegar - 2 tsp (10 g)
- shallot - thumb sized piece
- garlic - 1-2 cloves
- salt - 2 tsp (11 g)
- garnish (rosemary, parsley, etc) - 4 sprigs
Instructions:
PREP
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
- Cut the butternut squash in half (bake for 1 hour) or in 1-2 inch cubes (bake for 30 min)
- Cube 2/3 of your tofu package
- Take the squash out of the oven and let cool until you can safely scoop from skin
- Bake cubed tofu while your squash is cooling (15 min)
BLEND
- Add vegetable broth, scooped squash, remaining 1/3 package of raw tofu, balsamic, shallot, garlic, and salt to container
- If you have a preprogrammed setting on your Vitamix, choose the ‘Soup’ setting
– If not, ramp from variable speed 1 to high and blend for 5-6 minutes - Check consistency, add more vegetable broth depending on your texture preference
SERVE
- Garnish with something green and your baked tofu
- Snap a picture and tag #lifeisNOYOKE
- Enjoy!
Useful tips for Balsamic Butternut Squash Soup
This recipe is incredibly simple to make, but here are a few tips that will help make it perfect.
You'll have most of the ingredients on-hand already. Lots of substitutions available:
- sub pumpkin or acorn squash for butternut
- sub other broth for vegetable broth
- sub onion for shallot
If you're lazy, cut your butternut squash in half and roast for a full hour. If you are in a hurry, cut into 1-2 inch cubes and roast for 30 minutes.
Keep your oven on and bake the rest of your tofu while you wait for the squash to cool.
This soup is an absolutely stunning color on its own. But your Instagram pic will look even better if you garnish it with something green.
We used baked tofu as a garnish but it is also serving as some texture variance and extra protein.
Need we say more? Go make it!
(And when you do, tag @lifeisnoyoke or hashtag #lifeisnoyoke.)
Hello! I just made this soup for lunch today. It was very creamy and tasty! I love the addition of the tofu, never would have thought of that. After my lunch I realized that I have always added a Granny Smith apple to my squash soups. So, I put the soup back into the Vitamix and added a cored apple. It added a slightly sweet/tart flavor along with boosting the nutrients and fiber. I also toasted up some plain shelled pumpkin seeds to sprinkle on top. I will definitely be making again! Thanks for the great recipe!! 🙂
Do you have the nutrition details? So delicious!
We don’t post nutritional info because people’s ingredients vary so widely by region. Your best bet is to plug what you used into an online nutritional calculator.
Holy Guacamole, this soup is phenomenal.I can’t believe I’m the one that made it. And it was so easy. I can’t wait for an opportunity to impress guests with this. This is the first recipe of yours I’ve tried, my first soup in the Vitamix, and the first time I’ve used a shallot. I’m looking forward to trying more of your recipes. Thanks.
Love all of the firsts! It’s the best feeling knowing that YOU made something absolutely delicious (and no one needs to know how easy it was).
I’ve never been impressed with butternut squash soup, so didn’t expect much. This is the first recipe I used with my new Vitamix, and I am hooked!!! Best soup of any kind that I’ve ever had, and now that I’ve been a vegan for several years, this goes way over the top of what I expected. I’ve already shared it with several friends. Thank you so much!!!
PS My husband bought me some industrial ear muffs and I highly recommend them, after reading about the hearing damage these appliances can do.
Same! Butternut squash soup has always been in the “blah” category for me. That’s why I developed this one, I wanted to be wow-ed. Good call of the hearing protection, we blend so often that we use them too.
Wowza! Made this today, the day before Thanksgiving, so we could have it as a first course for our Tiny Thanksgiving Feast with my husband. I hope I have enough to serve him some tomorrow.
Love it when our recipes make it to the holiday table 🙂
Holy cats! This is possibly the best soup I’ve ever had! I just got my 1st vitamix and decided to try this abd I’m in love! I added roasted Brussels sprouts and shallots on top too. Yum!
Whoa! Those sound like excellent toppings, gonna have to try that. Welcome to the Vitamix Family 🙂
Can beans be substituted for the tofu? If so, one can?
I have no idea, that’s not a substitute I would have considered. Perhaps try to match the weight, 400g?
How many cups of cooked squash would you say this recipe uses?
We are a soup loving couple and I’ll definitely make this come fall. We often will buy a BIG blue Hubbard or similar, do a roasting, mashing and freezing marathon for lots of go-to packages available as we want them. Please let me know so I can package appropriately!
Thank you!
Great idea! This recipe uses about 4 cups of cubed squash.
Well Shazaam Sargeant Carter, this one is a keeper, Fall, comforting, not heavy, perfect. I skipped salt, figured low sodium veggie broth and balsamic were enough and I was right, plenty of umami, easy enough to add later should you wish. I also added fresh ground pepper to my squash before roasting.
Delightful dish!
Haha, thanks, Jason 🙂
How much would I use if I was buying pre-cubed butternut squash?
Hi Lyn,
It’s about 32-48oz of cubed squash. The average butternut squash (at least in our neck of the woods) is about 2-3lbs.
Hey guys! Big Lifeisnoyoke fans 🙂 Making this now and see Prep says 2/3 of tofu package and Blend says 1/3…will probably do something in the middle but can you let us know?
Thanks, Mindy! A little confusing… the 2/3 of the tofu package is to be cubed and baked for texture once the soup is completed (like little bites of chicken). The 1/3 of the tofu package is to blend into the soup for thickness/creaminess. Hope you love it!
How many pounds did your squash weigh. I bought a huge one the other day to use for lasagna noodles. There is still a lot left.
If I had to guess, I’d say about 2-3lbs. It been an average sized one each time we’ve made it.
What type off tofu?
Since you blend it you really can use any kind (texture not an issue), but we use extra firm tofu for this recipe.
I am so going to make this. I have vegan family members and this will be just awesome.
It’s surprisingly creamy and so flavorful! Your vegan family members will love it (bonus: the non-vegans will too)!
I was reluctant to measure the balsamic during the taping/creation of this recipe.
But I’m glad I did. Just a small amount makes a big difference.
I’ve had this soup twice in the last 24 hours and I can say I feel warm, satisfied, and seasonal. And happy.
Go make it.
Great recipe, Shalva.