Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup
Try this Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup recipe, or contribute your own.
Try this Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup recipe, or contribute your own.
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 medium brown onion peeled and diced
- 1 large celery stick sliced roughly
- 3 cloves of garlic peeled
- 1/2 large butternut winter squash peeled and diced into lar
- 2 large white potatoes peeled and diced into cubes
- 3 cups of vegetable stock (700 ml)
- 2 tablespoons double /thick cream or mascarpone cream (coconut
- parsley pumpkin seeds and fried shallots to serve
- Carbohydrate 31.9233644841038 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 1.90155709206982 g
- Fiber 4.92747194414401 g
- Protein 3.42349705532944 g
- Saturated Fat 0.291303389523001 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (222g)
- Sodium 230.283389423199 mg
- Sugar 26.9958925399598 g
- Trans Fat 0.112525841365751 g
- Calories 154 calories
Step-by-step
- Turn the Instant Pot on and press the Sauté function key. Add the olive oil, onions, celery and garlic to the inner pot and cook for a minute or two. Add the squash and potato and stir through. Add the rest of the ingredients besides the lemon juice and cream and stir. Press Cancel to stop the sauté function.
- Pop the lid on top and lock in place. Set the Instant Pot to Manual, HIGH and adjust to 5 minutes. After 3 beeps the Instant Pot will start to build up the pressure and begin the cooking process. Once the timer goes off, use the quick release to let off the steam and pressure (be careful to stand back when you do this). Open the lid and let the soup cool off for a few minutes.
- In batches, transfer the soup to a food processor or a blender and puree until smooth. You can also use an immersion blender to puree the soup directly in the Instant Pot. Return the pureed soup to the pot and stir in the lemon juice and cream. Taste for salt and add more if needed.
- Serve topped with seeds, deep-fried shallots and parsley or cilantro.
Butternut squash shoulders the structural weight of this dish, yet cooks consistently underestimate how unevenly dense winter squash chunks cook under high pressure. If the squash pieces vary wildly in size, the smaller cubes disintegrate into mush while larger chunks remain stubbornly firm, creating pockets of grainy pulp that resist smooth blending. Dice the squash uniformly to roughly one-inch cubes so everything softens at an identical rate during the five-minute pressure cycle.
Pureeing hot liquids in a sealed standard countertop blender demands caution because steam expansion blows lids off and coats kitchens in orange puree. Vent the feed cap slightly with a folded towel or switch entirely to an immersion blender held straight down into the pot. Blending directly in the stainless steel insert eliminates transfer accidents and lets the motor run until no fibrous strings remain.
Acidity and dairy balance the natural cloying sweetness of winter squash and potatoes, but timing matters immensely for both additions. Stirring lemon juice and cream into boiling soup causes dairy proteins to curdle immediately and strips the citrus of its bright aromatic compounds. Fold the lemon juice and mascarpone or double cream in only after the purée cools slightly below a simmer.
Swapping vegetable stock for water results in a watery, flat flavor profile that heavy cream cannot rescue. For strict dietary adjustments, replace heavy cream with full-fat coconut milk at a one-to-one ratio, keeping in mind that coconut introduces a distinct tropical note that permanently alters the savory profile.
