This easy roasted butternut squash and red pepper soup is the perfect recipe for when the weather is just starting to turn. It's made with minimal ingredients and ready in just under an hour.

Simply, we roast the red peppers, butternut squash, and garlic before adding a few pantry staples such as vegetable stock and a couple of seasonings, then finishing with toasted pine nuts and a drizzle of cream on top. Try my roasted red pepper and tomato soup. The perfect winter home-cooked meal!

If there is one vegetable that is symbolic of colder weather, cozy hot meals, and hearty wholesome winter food, it's the butternut squash. And if there is one meal that perfectly fits that bill, it's soup. Enter, this beautiful red pepper and butternut squash soup.

For more butternut squash goodness, make sure you've also had a look at my viral butternut squash feta pasta creation (I also made another version with Boursin), this super creamy butternut squash pasta, and this alternative to red pepper, squash and sweet potato soup.

What You'll Need To Make This Soup

Make sure you've scrolled down to the recipe card at the bottom of this page for the full ingredient quantities and recipe instructions. Below, I've included a few notes on the ingredients used and potential substitutions if you can't find one of the ingredients!

In terms of equipment, you'll need a roasting tray (I've used this one from Amazon over and over again for years!) and then either a blender like a Nutribullet or - my preference for making a big batch of butternut squash and red pepper soup - a hand blender, also known as an emulsion blender.

Ingredient Notes

Here are all the ingredients you'll need (as noted, the exact quantities are listed at the bottom of this page. After you make this recipe a few times, however, you'll just start to eyeball everything!).

• Butternut squash: The star of the show. You should be able to find butternut squash at most times of the year. You could potentially substitute for a pumpkin (and add pasta for pumpkin mac and cheese!) or any other type of squash. Halve the squash lengthways and scoop out the seeds before roasting.
  
• Red peppers: Red peppers are a must for the vibrant colour of this soup and for achieving the delicious spicy-but-sweet flavour that we all know and love for red pepper dishes.
  
• Garlic: I opt to roast the garlic for this dish for the extra flavour roasted garlic adds to the dish (so good if you haven't tried it!).
  
• Vegetable stock: I use the Kallo vegetable stock cubes mixed with hot water to make my vegetable stock. You could use readymade vegetable broth if you prefer.
  
• Olive oil: I think olive oil adds the best flavour to this recipe, but use whatever oil you have/prefer.
  
• Red chilli or red pepper flakes: For spice!
  
• Seasonings: Salt and pepper is all you really need for this recipe, although if you have fresh rosemary available, adding this to your roasting tray and then blending it with the vegetables (minus the stem) gives the soup a lovely wintery taste.

For toppings, I love the contrast between the mild and creamy soup with toasted pine nuts and a drizzle of cream or even coconut cream.

How To Make This Easy Roasted Butternut Squash and Red Pepper Soup

Step 1) Roast the Butternut Squash and Red Peppers

To start, halve your butternut squash and scoop out the seeds. Then, place the squash and the whole red peppers on a baking tray and drizzle with olive oil, salt, and pepper.

Wrap your bulb of garlic in foil and drizzle with a little more olive oil (the foil prevents it from burning) and add to the tray.

Place the tray in your preheated oven and roast for 45 minutes. At this time, you might need to remove the red peppers (the skins will be blackened) and allow the butternut squash to cook a little longer, especially if it's a large squash.

Step 2) Scoop Out The Butternut Squash Flesh & Blend Everything

Take the tray out of the oven and all the vegetable to cool for 10 minutes.

Then, scoop out the flesh from the skins and de-seed the red peppers, and place in a large saucepan with the roasted garlic (squeezed out of the skins - use as much as you like! I go for 3-4 cloves), the vegetable stock, chilli flakes, salt and pepper, and blend with a hand-held blender.

Step 3) Warm the Soup & Add Toppings

Warm the soup on low heat until it's hot, then add your toppings. Here, I've used a good quality extra virgin olive oil, a drizzle of cream, and toasted pine nuts along with some fresh chopped parsley.

Toasted cumin seeds are also a nice touch!

Top Tip for De-Seeding Your Butternut Squash

A little hack I always recommend is using an ice cream scoop to remove the seeds from your squash - it makes it so much easier than attempting to use a spoon.

No need to peel your butternut squash - just halve the squash length ways (from root to bottom) and scoop out the seeds before roasting.

Toppings for Butternut Squash and Red Pepper Soup

I topped my soup with a swirl of vegan creme fraiche, toasted pine nuts, parsley, and extra virgin olive oil.

You could also add a few spoonfuls of coconut milk while the soup is cooking for an even creamier soup, or add some croutons, parsley, and olive oil on top of your soup for a slightly different texture.

Other variations to make it your own:

• Add red lentils for an extra boost of protein
• Add more vegetables such as carrots or sweet potato (not dissimilar to my sweet potato and butternut squash soup)
• Add pasta - like my butternut squash pasta recipe but with added roasted red peppers!
• Add your choice of white beans, such as cannellini beans or butter beans. You could blend them like this white bean and squash pasta sauce, or keep them whole
• Add fresh ginger for some extra zing
• Give the soup an Asian-twist with turmeric, cumin powder, or garam masala (this pairs perfectly with the toasted cumin seeds and a drizzle of plain yoghurt on top!)
• Use double cream, coconut milk, or cashew cream in addition to the vegetable stock (with less stock) for a thicker, more indulgent soup recipe

Substitutions & Variations

This soup is extremely easy to make and incredibly versatile, so if you don't have all the ingredients listed below to hand, don't worry! Here are a few substitutions that could still work great:

• Squash: I used butternut squash, but any other squash like an acorn squash, or even a pumpkin could work great here. You could even switch the butternut squash for sweet potato for a really tasty soup!
  
• Red pepper: Roasted tomatoes make a great alternative to red peppers, giving the soup is a slightly less 'sweet' taste and adding some real depth. You could use both red peppers and tomatoes, or switch the pepper out completely. You could also try making this soup with jarred roasted red peppers instead of roasting your own.
  
• Spices: Rather than focus too much on spices within the soup, I choose to just use a hint of chilli and then top the soup with toasted pine nuts and cumin seeds for a real kick of flavour. You could add paprika, cumin powder, or even chilli powder to the soup itself if you wanted to add even more flavour, however.
  
• Creaminess: This soup is already beautifully smooth and creamy with just the roasted vegetables and stock, but you could add coconut milk if you want a more indulgently creamy soup (note, this will add more calories to the recipe). Likewise, you could also blend the soup with some cashew nuts for a creamy texture.

Storage

Keep any leftovers in an airtight (leakproof) container in the refrigerator for up to 3-5 days. Just reheat over the hob or in the microwave before serving.

Alternatively, this soup is also perfect for freezing! When I was pregnant, I made a huge batch of this soup alongside my pregnancy date smoothie so I had both ready to grab and go when I needed them! Defrost in the fridge fully before reheating.

Serving

I think there's nothing better than a big bowl of soup served alongside some thick, crusty bread lathered with butter. You could also make these pillowy-soft dairy-free flatbreads and dip them in the soup.