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A completely vegan acorn squash soup that's crazy-easy to make, requires no roasting or fuss, and makes a table full of picky eaters psyched AF that you made it for them. For real, what could be better for a simple, nourishing fall meal?
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Acorn squash is a bit of a red-headed stepchild compared to butternut. Everyone reaches for butternut because it's easy to peel, while acorn squash sits there with its deep ridges and its tougher skin, quietly being a bit more flavorful the whole time. I don't know 'bout you, but it's worth the extra 45 seconds of wrestling with a peeler.
This soup takes that flavor and runs with it straight through a 5-foot concrete wall of herbs, spices, and maple. The squash gets simmered down with onion, celery, carrot, and garlic until everything is fork-tender, then blended into something silky, cozy, and the exact orange color of a good autumn afternoon. This is the very kind of soup that makes your whole house smell like the holidays are coming, and nobody can stop the world from slowing down a little bit.
If you are the type who thinks one measly soup at a holiday meal is enough, well then, you sir need a time-out, mister. Line this up next to my vegan mushroom soup, Thai pumpkin soup, and vegan butternut squash soup and suddenly your Thanksgiving table has a whole soup flight instead of some sad little bowl sitting there alone, wearing a dunce cap in the corner with no friends.
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🥰 Why you'll adore this acorn squash soup
✊ Vegan AF & GF: Like all my vegan soup recipes, this one's made without harming a single kissable, huggable creature. It's also one of the gluten-free vegan recipes you can pull out, so your gluten-avoiding cousin can stop hovering nervously by the snack table.
🤫 Secretly Protein-Packed: Blended white beans make it creamy and give it enough substance to actually be a meal, not just a starter you forget about.
🥣 Make-Ahead Friendly: This reheats great and even tastes better the next day, which makes it clutch for holiday meal prep when your oven is already at war with a dozen other dishes. You can even make it weeks ahead of time and freeze it. It's that rad.
✅ Tested and Approved Worldwide: None of my vegan recipes see the light of day until my army of 1,000+ recipe testers has had a go at them. This one also came back with super-good reviews from my rescue-dog Mildred who stole some off my countertop, because she's bad and I want to snuggle with her. So, here ya go!
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🍲 Acorn Squash Soup Ingredients
The Squash
Nuttier, sweeter, and a bit less orange than most other squashes, acorn squash blends make plain butternut kinda boring by comparison. Those ridges make peeling a bit of a project, so bust out a sharp knife or a vegetable peeler and settle in for a tiny little workout.
If you are a lazy butthead, butternut, kabocha, pumpkin, even the frozen stuff, are all fine in this recipe if you need to swap out the acorn squash.
Poultry Seasoning
No poultry, all flavor, this blend of sage, thyme, rosemary, and warm herbs is the reason this soup stomps other squash soup recipes into oblivion like an angry celestial squash Goddess.
If you buy a jar and only use a spoonful, do not panic, it also goes hard in mushroom risotto, vegan shepherd's pie, and vegan butternut squash macaroni and cheese.
White Beans
White beans blended into the base bring body, creaminess, and a protein bump, all while staying pretty much invisible flavor-wise. This is the move that gets you a rich, velvety texture without a drop of dairy. Cannellini, great northern, navy, butter beans, they are all fair game, so use whichever can you already have on hand.
Vegetable Stock
I write all of my recipes using unsalted homemade vegetable stock, which basically hands you the steering wheel on saltiness as the soup comes together.
If store-bought low-sodium vegetable broth is all you can find, or you're doing the water-plus-bouillon thing, no worries at all, just taste and adjust your added salt accordingly.
Pomegranate Molasses and Seeds
These are just fun garnishes, so don't lose your mind if you can't get them.
Bought a whole bottle of pomegranate molasses and only used a tablespoon for this recipe? Butternut squash crostini and cranberry ezme both use it, and either one will be a killer Thanksgiving menu addition you should seriously consider rocking this year.
*See the recipe card at the bottom of the page for exact quantities, nutritional info, and detailed cooking directions.
📖 How to make this vegan acorn squash soup recipe
This is a one-pot thang, and most of the work is just letting the squash simmer until it's soft enough to blend. Follow the steps and tips below, or scroll to the recipe card if you already know the drill.
Step One
Sautéderday Night Fever:
Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Once hot, about 90 seconds, add the onion, celery, and carrots and sauté for 8 minutes, until the vegetables begin to soften.
Step Two
Bloom Service:
Add the acorn squash, ginger, garlic, sage, poultry seasoning, cinnamon, and black pepper. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently to bloom the seasonings in the hot oil.
Step Three
Sim Simmer, Who's Got the Keys to my Bimmer:
Add the white beans, maple syrup, and vegetable stock. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a simmer over medium-low. Cover and cook for 25 minutes, until the squash is completely tender.
Step Four
Blend it Like Beckham:
Pull the pot off the heat. Using an immersion blender, or working in batches with a high-speed blender, blend the soup until completely smooth.
Step Five
Oshkosh Big Squash:
Season with salt to taste. If the soup is thicker than you like, add more vegetable stock or water until it reaches your preferred consistency.
Step Six
Pom and Circumstance:
Ladle the soup into bowls and drizzle with the coconut milk and pomegranate molasses. Top with pomegranate seeds, sage leaves, and a dusting of nutmeg.
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💡Serving Ideas
This soup told me it wants some good bread for dunking, so a warm skillet of vegan cornbread, or a stack of bazlama torn up alongside is pretty much mandatory.
Maybe just a basket of vegan sausage rolls, cranberry chestnut puff pastries, or a vegan pumpkin puff pastry would make a good complement to your soup course before the main event?
If this is your holiday starter, keep the portions small before the big stuff arrives. This is such a nice way to buy yourself extra time for putting final touches on a human-baby-shaped tofu loaf, or mushroom Wellington or whatever other glorious thing is booking up your oven.
Looking for a whole autumnal soup course for Thanksgiving? Serve this up alongside kabocha squash soup and truffled cauliflower soup too!
👉Top tips
- Take Your Time Peeling the Squash: Acorn squash has deep ridges that make peeling trickier than butternut. A sharp Y-peeler or a sharp paring knife works best, and cutting the squash into halves first gives you flat surfaces to work with more safely.
- Blend It Really Smooth: For that silky, restaurant-quality texture, blend longer than you think you need to. A high-speed blender (my weapon of choice will forever be a Blendtec) gets the smoothest result, but an immersion blender works fine too.
- Adjust the Thickness at the End: Squash varies in water content, so the soup may come out thicker or thinner than expected. Add stock or water gradually until it is exactly the consistency you want.
🤷♀️ Recipe FAQs
Add additional beans and re-blend. Just adjust salt and seasonings when you are done.
🧊 In the Fridge
Store the soup, without garnishes, in an airtight container for up to 5 days. The flavor actually improves after a day as everything settles in.
❄️ In the Freezer
Freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months, leaving a little room at the top for expansion. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
🔥 Reheating
Warm gently on the stovetop over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, and add a splash of stock or water if it has thickened. Add all garnishes fresh right before serving.
✌️You'll also love these squash recipes:
Acorn Squash Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cups onion diced
- 2 cups celery diced
- 1 cup carrots diced
- 3 lbs. acorn squash peeled, seeded & diced
- 1 tablespoon ginger grated
- 5 cloves garlic peeled
- 12 sage leaves
- 2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 15 oz. canned white beans drained and rinsed
- ½ cup maple syrup
- 6 cups unsalted vegetable stock or water
- 2 ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
Option To Garnish:
- 1 cup full-fat coconut milk
- 2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
- ⅓ cups pomegranate seeds
- 12 sage leaves
- ½ teaspoons nutmeg
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. After 90 seconds, when the oil is hot, add the onion, celery, and carrots and sauté for 8 minutes, until the vegetables begin to soften.
- Add the acorn squash, ginger, garlic, sage, poultry seasoning, cinnamon, and black pepper. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently to bloom the seasonings in the hot oil.
- Add the white beans, maple syrup, and vegetable stock. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a simmer over medium-low heat. Cover and cook for 25 minutes, or until the squash is completely tender.
- Remove the pot from the heat. Using an immersion blender, or transferring in batches to a high-speed blender, blend the soup until smooth.
- Season with salt to taste. If the soup is too thick, add additional vegetable stock or water until it reaches your preferred thickness.
- Portion into soup bowls and drizzle with the coconut milk, pomegranate molasses, and top with pomegranate seeds, sage leaves, and a dusting of nutmeg.
Notes
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