This has been one of my favorite soups for years, and I was so excited to find a recipe that tastes very close to Panera’s squash soup. It is a little labor intensive, but completely worth it. The texture is so creamy, the flavors are amazing, and it is perfect on a cold day. An added bonus are the incredible smells that will fill your house as it is cooking, I couldn’t wait to taste it.
As I was eating this soup I thought how I wished I had a piece of Irish Brown Bread to dip into it, that would be so good. I still need to find a recipe I like for brown bread, stay tuned!
Let’s get cooking!
Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
6 – 7 cups butternut squash, cubed
1 1/2 cups raw carrots, peeled and sliced
4 cups vegetable broth
1 cup unsweetened apple juice
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
2 tbsp butter
2 oz block cream cheese, 1/3 fat works as well
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp maple syrup or 1 tbsp brown sugar
Pumpkin seeds for topping
In a large saucepan cook the onion in the olive oil over medium heat until the onion becomes soft and translucent.
Add the squash, carrots, vegetable broth, and apple juice. Bring the mixture to a boil, and continue a low boil until the vegetables are fork soft. They don’t have to be completely done because the soup is going to continue to cook a little longer after the next step. It should take about 15-20 minutes.
Add the rest of the ingredients, garlic powder through maple syrup, and stir well.
Continue cooking over a low simmer until the cream cheese melts into the soup. It won’t completely melt, but you want it to cook down until there are tiny specks of cream cheese.
I know how awful this photo is, the lighting in my kitchen is terrible, but I just wanted to show what you can expect it to look like.
Remove the soup from the heat. With either an immersion blender or a standard blender, blend the soup until smooth and creamy. If using a standard blender it may take a few batches depending on the size of the blender. Be careful not to fill the blender all the way to the top.
Pour the soup either back into the saucepan, or into serving bowls if you are eating immediately.
Top with a sprinkle of pumpkin seeds if you choose.
So good! Enjoy!
Autumn Squash Soup (Panera Copycat)
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
- 6-7 cups butternut squash, peeled and cubed
- 1 1/2 cups carrots, peeled and sliced
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 1 cup unsweetened apple juice
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 oz block cream cheese
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 2 tbsp maple syrup, or 1 tbsp brown sugar
- pumpkin seeds for garnish
Instructions
- In a large saucepan cook the onion in the olive oil over medium heat until the onion becomes soft and translucent.
- Add the squash, carrots, vegetable broth, and apple juice. Bring the mixture to a boil, and continue a low boil until the vegetables are fork soft. It should take about 15-20 minutes.
- Add the rest of the ingredients, garlic powder through maple syrup, and stir well.
- Continue cooking over a low simmer until the cream cheese melts into the soup. It won't completely melt, but you want it to cook down until there are tiny specks of cream cheese.
- Remove the soup from the heat. With either an immersion blender or a standard blender, blend the soup until smooth and creamy. If using a standard blender it may take a few batches depending on the size of the blender. Be careful not to fill the blender all the way to the top.
- Pour the soup either back into the saucepan, or into serving bowls if you are eating immediately.
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