Soup is one of my favorite meals when the weather turns chilly. There’s nothing like a bowl of warm comfort to shake off the cold. Did you know you can make your soup even easier with the help of an air fryer? Today I’m making air fryer roasted butternut squash soup and it’s so good.
Your air fryer is great at caramelizing and browning veggies, which makes it ideal for squash. You’ll get that nutty flavor, creamy texture, and perfectly roasted squash for your soup with very little effort.
Then, it’s just a quick blending with liquids and your soup is ready to enjoy in under 30 minutes! It’s perfect for a weeknight dinner when paired with a sandwich or salad. I love to make a batch and then reheat it for lunch throughout the week because it’s so good!
If you want to see what else your air fryer can do for squash, make sure to check out my compilation of the Best Air Fryer Butternut Squash Recipes for more options!
Ingredients You’ll Need
1 pound butternut squash (approximately ½ a medium sized squash)
½ onion (white or yellow), cut into quarters
1 bulb garlic (top sliced off)
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp curry powder
¼ tsp black pepper
¼ tsp cumin
Pinch of cayenne pepper (or to taste)
1 Tbsp honey
2 cups stock (chicken or vegetable)
¼ cup heavy cream or half and half
Additional toppings as desired
Ingredient Tips and Swaps
This air fryer roasted butternut squash soup recipe easily doubles (or more) if you want to use up the whole squash at once. Alternatively, you could use the other half for these tasty air fryer butternut squash fries!
If you don’t like curry powder, substitute paprika instead
Honey may be substituted by a peeled, cubed pear or apple for sweetness
This recipe works well with non-dairy milk such as coconut milk if you want to keep it vegetarian or vegan friendly
Add additional cream and/or stock if you would like a thinner consistency, reduce stock to 1 ½ cups if you’d like a thicker consistency
How to Make Air Fryer Roasted Butternut Squash Soup:
Preheat your air fryer to 375°F
Peel, de-seed, and cube 1 pound of butternut squash (approximately ½ a medium-sized squash) into around 1” cubes
Add squash cubes, ½ a white or sweet onion (cut into quarters), and a garlic bulb (top sliced off) to the preheated air fryer basket
Drizzle vegetables with 2 Tbsp olive oil, making sure to oil the garlic bulb well
Season with 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp curry powder, ¼ tsp black pepper, ¼ tsp cumin, and a pinch of cayenne pepper
Air fry for 20-30 minutes at 375°F, stopping to shake the basket halfway through, or until vegetables are browned on the edges and soft (a fork should pierce the squash easily)
Squeeze half the garlic (approx 4-5 cloves) out. You can use the rest for another recipe, or add it all if you really love garlic.
Then, transfer vegetables to a blender, food processor, or bowl for use with a stick (immersion) blender
Add 1 Tbsp honey to the squash mix
Pulse mixture until smooth
To the butternut squash puree, add 2 cups stock (chicken or vegetable) and ¼ cup heavy cream or half and half (or non-dairy alternative) and blend
Taste and add additional salt or pepper if desired
For a warmer soup, you may heat it again on the stovetop or in the microwave
Top with sour cream, creme fraiche, yogurt and/or your favorite crunchy toppings
What to Serve With Butternut Squash Soup
Green salad
Roasted vegetables
Dinner rolls
Sourdough
Other breads
Soft pretzels
Sandwiches
Pepitas
Croutons
Cubed apples
Pomegranate seeds
Pecans
Cooked bacon
Parmesan cheese
Fried shallots
Roasted pork
Turkey
Whether a topping or a side, there are a lot of great options for what to serve with butternut squash soup!
How Long Does it Take to Cook Butternut Squash in the Air Fryer?
In cubed form, it takes about 20-25 minutes to cook butternut squash in the air fryer.
Compared to an average of 45+ minutes to roast squash in the oven, this is a significant time saving option.
Can You Eat Butternut Squash Skin?
You can eat butternut squash skin.
However, it can be rather tough, so many opt to remove it. It doesn’t always get caught up in the blender either, so you’ll end up with patches of squash skin in your soup.
If you’re just cubing it and roasting it to put on a salad or in with other cubed veggies, though, it’s fine to leave the skin on to cut down on prep.
Expert Recipe Tips
The stick blender method will give you a more chunky consistency, while the full size blender and food processor will make a smoother soup. Make sure to not fill the blender more than ⅔ full to prevent a soup eruption! Do it in batches if needed.
You may not need to reheat the soup again, depending how quick you are to add the liquid ingredients, but if you like a really warm-to-hot cup, then I recommend heating it again. This soup also reheats well for lunches throughout the week!
Actual cooking time largely depends on the actual size of your cubes, how much you pack your air fryer basket, and the power of your air fryer. My Ninja Foodi Dual Zone air fryer took about 25 minutes to get my squash cubes browned
This air fryer roasted butternut squash soup is so easy to make and gives you that perfectly caramelized flavor and texture you want from your squash. I love that it’s easily adaptable to be a lunch or dinner with the addition of some bread, a salad, or panini to go with it.
Scale it up to feed your whole crew, or pack the leftovers in the fridge. I love to make a big batch and then heat it up for quick and easy work lunches. Since butternut squash is relatively healthy, too, it’s something I can feel good about enjoying!
Air fry for 20 minutes at 375°F, stopping to shake the basket halfway through, or until vegetables are browned on the edges and soft (add additional time as needed)
Squeeze half the garlic (approx 4-5 cloves) out. Save the rest for another recipe or add all of it if you really love garlic
Then, transfer vegetables to a blender, food processor, or bowl for use with a stick (immersion) blender
Add honey to the squash mix
1 Tbsp honey
Pulse mixture with blender or appliance of choice until smooth
To the butternut squash puree, add your stock and heavy cream or half and half and blend again
2 Cups stock, ¼ Cup heavy cream or half and half
Taste and add additional salt, pepper, or cayenne if desired
For a warmer soup, you may heat it again on the stovetop or in the microwave
Top with sour cream, creme fraiche, yogurt and/or your favorite crunchy toppings
Toppings as desired
Notes
This recipe easily doubles if you want to use the entire squash, onion, and garlic bulb up at once (but it will make a lot of soup!) – it does reheat well
Cook time largely depends on the actual size of your cubes, how much you pack your air fryer basket, and the power of your air fryer. My Ninja Foodi Dual Zone took about 25 minutes to get my squash cubes browned
If you don’t like curry powder, substitute paprika in place of it
The honey may be substituted by half of a pear or apple that’s been peeled and diced, and coconut milk is a great replacement for the cream if you want to make this recipe vegan-friendly
Add additional cream and/or stock if you would like a thinner consistency, reduce stock to 1 ½ cups if you’d like a thicker consistency
I enjoy trying new recipes, creating my own, and dabbling with new techniques all the time. My husband loves to protest when I make him my guinea pig, but it’s all for the love of food!
