Slow Cooker Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato Soup

published Sep 13, 2020
Slow Cooker Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato Soup

A hearty root vegetable soup that's incredibly versatile — and perfect for meal preppers.

Prep45 minutes

Cook6 hours

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Pumpkin and sweet potato soup in vintage bowl with spoon on the side.
Credit: Photo: Joe Lingeman | Food Stylist: Cyd McDowell

There’s something so soul-nourishing about a warm bowl of homemade soup. Whether it’s knowing everything that’s in it, knowing you made it yourself, or just knowing it’s going to fill your belly with warmth and nutrition, it satisfies on every level.

This butternut squash and sweet potato soup is my go-to slow-cooked soup — and the most popular vegetarian recipe on my site, Slow Cooker Central. I cook it regularly every week or two, and either eat it over the course of a few days or portion it into single servings to freeze. It reheats in just a few minutes in the microwave or on the stovetop, and tastes just as good as the day you cooked it, making it the perfect make-ahead soup for meal preppers.

Credit: Photo: Joe Lingeman | Food Stylist: Cyd McDowell

A Versatile Root Vegetable Soup for Fall

Consider this recipe a blueprint for making any type of root vegetable soup you Iike. If you have a little more sweet potato and a little less squash, that’s a-OK. If you need to use up some extra carrots from your crisper on cooking day, pop them in the pot too. Pre-roasting the vegetables adds depth of flavor to the final soup, but it’s entirely optional if you don’t have the time.

Many fans of this soup have also added ground spices, such as nutmeg, cinnamon, curry powder, or ginger. Non-vegans often like to finish the soup with a splash of heavy cream, or even crispy bacon bits. Have some homemade vegetable stock on hand? Absolutely use it here.

You’ll only need to cook this recipe once and I’m 100 percent confident you’ll be hooked — it’s pure vegetable goodness. If you try it, I’d love to hear of any variations you may have made to yours!

Slow Cooker Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato Soup

A hearty root vegetable soup that's incredibly versatile — and perfect for meal preppers.

Prep time 45 minutes

Cook time 6 hours

Nutritional Info

Ingredients

  • 1

    medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and diced large

  • 1

    large sweet potato, peeled and diced large

  • 3

    medium potatoes, peeled and diced medium

  • 2

    medium onions, chopped

  • 2

    large carrots, sliced

  • 2 teaspoons

    minced garlic

  • 4 1/4 to 8 1/2 cups

    vegetable or chicken stock (use 4 1/4 cups for thicker soup, 8 1/2 for thinner soup)

Instructions

  1. Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat the oven to 350ºF. Place the butternut squash and sweet potato in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until partially cooked, about 30 minutes. (You can skip this step and add it to the soup raw if you prefer, but the soup may need a longer slow cook time.)

  2. Transfer the butternut squash and sweet potato to a slow cooker. Add the potatoes, onions, carrots, garlic, and desired amount of stock. Cover and cook on the HIGH setting for 3 hours or on the LOW setting for 8 hours.

  3. Blend the soup directly in the slow cooker with an immersion blender for lovely thick soup (or transfer in batches to a stand blender). Alternatively, blend only half the soup if you'd like to retain some chunks of vegetable through the soup instead.

Recipe Notes

Storage: Leftovers can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 4 days.

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