Cozy up with Panera’s Autumn Squash Soup at home! This easy copycat recipe brings the fall flavors of butternut squash, pumpkin, and warm spices to your table. This rich blend of butternut squash soup is perfect for the cooler months. Don’t miss out on this easy soup recipe. I know you will love this copycat version.
This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Table of Contents
What makes this copycat Panera soup so good?
When the leaves change colors, and the crisp air carries the scent of the first fires of the season, there is nothing more satisfying than coming home to a warm bowl of Butternut Squash Soup. The fall season is a beautiful time to try out new butternut squash soup recipes.
This creamy soup has just the right amount of spice to help balance the slight sweetness from the honey and apple juice. Enjoy the soup as a first course or a light lunch.
My copycat Panera Autumn squash soup recipe is a gluten-free, vegetarian soup. Making it from scratch means you will enjoy a soup with no artificial preservatives or sweeteners.
Why you should try this copycat recipe
Other copycat Panera Butternut Squash Soup versions contain ingredients like cream cheese, shallots, ginger, garlic, and carrots. This recipe lets the taste of the slowly roasted butternut squash and pumpkin puree play a more prominent role in the soup’s flavor profile. This recipe has a hint of curry to give it a richness and depth of flavor, which makes it the perfect fall soup.
Panera Squash Soup Ingredients
For this butternut squash soup, you’ll need:
- Butternut squash
- Vegetable oil
- White onion, chopped
- Pumpkin puree, canned
- Vegetable stock
- Curry powder
- Cinnamon
- Apple juice
- Honey
- Heavy cream
- Pepitas
Many stores sell peeled and cubed butternut squash if you want to skip the hassle of doing it yourself. Breaking down fresh squash with a sharp knife isn’t too difficult.
Pepitas are pumpkin seeds without their hulls. You can find pepitas in many supermarkets.
Ingredient and recipe notes
I use fresh butternut squash and canned pumpkin for this recipe.
Canned pumpkin is my choice for soups because it tastes good and can be used easily and quickly for recipes.
Try not to let it get too brown when roasting butternut squash for soup. You don’t want the soup to be brown.
This soup uses two warm spices: curry powder and cinnamon. The curry powder adds just the right amount of heat, and the cinnamon adds the familiar fall flavor that we all love.
For this recipe, you will use pumpkin seed kernels, the inner portion of the seeds. Pumpkin seeds have a white outer shell. The meat of the seed is green and also called pepitas. I like to toast them in the oven or a pan because it adds just the right flavor.
How to Make CopyKat Panera Autumn Squash Soup
To roast the squash for this recipe:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Use a sharp knife to cut off the skin of the butternut squash.
- Dice the flesh of the squash into 1-inch pieces.
- Toss the squash pieces with vegetable oil and spread them on a baking tray.
- Roast the squash until it is fork-tender but not browned, about 30 minutes.
To finish preparing the copycat Panera squash soup recipe:
- Heat a large stockpot over medium-high heat.
- Pour a splash of vegetable oil into the pot and add the diced white onions.
- Season the onions lightly with salt and saute until they become translucent.
- Add the pumpkin puree, roasted butternut squash, vegetable stock, curry powder, cinnamon, apple juice, and honey.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low and stir until the soup is hot.
- Puree the soup right in the pot with an immersion blender. If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can use a traditional blender, but be careful, as blending hot food can cause a mess.
- Stir the heavy cream into the soup.
- Toast the pepitas in a pan over medium heat or in the oven at 350°F.
- Ladle the hot soup into bowls, garnish with pepitas and a drizzle of heavy cream, and serve warm.
Recipe variations
Make this recipe your own by changing the ingredients to suit your tastes. You may want to try the following suggestions:
- Replace the vegetable stock with chicken broth or stock for more flavor.
- Use croutons and a swirl of sour cream as garnishes instead of pepitas.
- Replace the heavy cream with coconut cream for a dairy-free and vegan version of this recipe.
What to serve with butternut squash soup?
Panera Autumn Squash Soup pairs wonderfully with many main dishes including chicken and turkey. Or you can enjoy the soup as the main course with a hunk of bread smothered with butter or garlic bread on the side for a satisfying light meal.
How do you store your delicious soup?
Cool the soup down as quickly as possible by chilling it in a cold-water bath.
- Fill a large mixing bowl a third of the way with ice cubes and cold water.
- Place a slightly smaller mixing bowl inside the larger bowl.
- Pour the squash soup into the smaller bowl and stir.
After the soup is cold, you can keep the leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days or freeze it for up to three months. It is helpful to freeze the soup in individual portion sizes, so you won’t have to defrost more soup than you want to eat.
If you want to make a batch of soup to freeze, leave out the heavy cream in the initial recipe and add it when you reheat it later. Doing this gives the soup a smoother texture.
What is the best way to reheat squash soup?
The ideal method of reheating squash soup is slowly in a heavy-bottom pot on the stove top over medium-low heat. Stir continuously and watch the heat carefully because this soup can scorch easily.
I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do!
More Panera Bread Copycat Recipes
- Green Goddess Salad
- Panera Bread Muffins
- Panera Broccoli Soup
- Panera Creamy Tomato Soup
- Panera French Onion Soup
- Panera Mac and Cheese
- Panera Steak Sandwich
- Warm Grain Bowl
Popular Soup Recipes
Be sure to check out more of my easy soup recipes and the best Panera Bread copycat recipes here on CopyKat.com!
Panera Autumn Squash Soup
Ingredients
- 2 pounds butternut squash peeled and chopped into 1-inch cubes
- 2 tablespoon vegetable oil divided use
- 1 cup chopped white onion
- salt to taste
- 2 teaspoons curry powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 15 ounces pumpkin
- 1 cup apple juice
- 2 cups vegetable stock
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin seed kernels (pepitas) to garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Drizzle 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil over the butternut squash and stir to coat it well. Bake until the squash is fork tender, about 30 minutes. Do not let the squash brown.
- Place 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions and a bit of salt and sauté until the onions are translucent. Then add the curry powder, cinnamon, honey, pumpkin, butternut squash, apple juice, and vegetable stock and cook until heated through.
- Use an immersion blender or a regular blender to puree the soup until smooth. Add the heavy cream and stir.
- Toast the pumpkin seeds in a small skillet until they become fragrant. Immediately remove from heat.
- Serve the soup with pumpkin seeds sprinkled on top.
I followed the recipe exactly as printed. The soup was good, but a bit too sweet, which is odd considering the only sweet ingredient is the apple juice (and perhaps some cinnamon, which would accentuate any sweet ingredient. ) It tasted more like a dessert soup. So, I modified it to make it savory by adding a bit of tarragon and a TB of peanut butter. Not a copycat of Panera, but really good now!
When you say two pounds of squash is that the weight of the whole squash or is it two pounds of cubed pieces
It is the weight of the cubed pieces.
Is it necessary to bake the squash? Could it be brought to a boil instead using the vegetable broth and simmer until tender?
You could do it that way, I like the flavor better of squash when it bakes. In my mind you get some roasted flavor when you do it this way, I think that is better.
I kept it vegan and used full fat canned coconut milk in place of Dairy and apple honey. It was excellent.
Can I freeze this soup?
Yes, you can.
I think Melanie meationed leaving out the cream if you plan on freezing it. Thus adding the cream as you use it. Cheers
I had a hard time getting it as smooth as Panera, and it was very thick (my squash might have been more than 2 lbs…), so I added a little extra vegetable broth. I also added a little salt at the end and it really punched up the flavor. I’m sure Panera uses tons of salt! Thanks for the recipe! Yummy.
Your recipe sounds interesting and I will give it a try. I would appreciate knowing how many ounces you consider to be in one serving? I saw the recipe stated a quantity of 10 servings which can vary widely between a cup or a bowl. This info will help in my calorie count. Thank you!
This recipe makes 10 portions or 10 equal servings.
Have made this several times. Delicious! Can I use 2% milk or half and half?
It will reheat better with half and half.
It was good, not quite Panera but delicious
Good morning
I wanted to re create this but noticed that it has apple juice in it.. I’m allergic to apple and was wondering if there is a substitute I can use or can I just disregard the ingredient all together
Thanks!
I would leave it out, you could try some white grape juice for apple juice.
JoAnn, the white grape idea is a good one. Be sure you taste for sweetness, like Panera’, add brown sugar if needed. Salt is another important addition.
Can I can this soup?
I think you could can this soup.