This hearty and comforting butternut squash sausage soup combines sweet butternut squash, savory Italian sausage, and earthy mushrooms. It’s the perfect cozy meal for a chilly fall or winter day!
Jessica’s Recipe Science
- Covering the pot traps the squash’s natural moisture as steam, softening the cell structure and cooking the flesh until tender.
- Pureeing breaks down the squash into tiny particles and releases its starches, creating a smooth, velvety texture.
- Browning the sausage adds savory depth to the naturally sweet squash. Sautéed mushrooms boost the soup’s umami flavor.
Featured Comment 33
“Made this today and is now my favorite butternut squash soup recipe! So many levels of flavor. Thank you for sharing the recipe!”—Kathie
Why It Works
I’m feeling a little nostalgic today. About 20 years ago, I graduated with my Master’s degree from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, defended my thesis on my birthday, accepted my first career job, and moved to Southern California all in the same weekend. It was a whirlwind and a huge life change, but before starting that next chapter, I packed my bags and took my first international trip, traveling solo to Italy.
I still think about my time in Tuscany, where I stayed at a beautiful agriturismo called Fattoria Santa Vittoria. While I was there, I had the chance to spend two days learning to cook with Chef Carlo, the owner of the nearby bed and breakfast, Osteria della Lodola.
Chef Carlo taught me how to shop for fresh ingredients and prepare everything from pasta and sauces to soups and desserts like cantucci (almond biscotti). More than the recipes, I learned an approach to cooking that has stayed with me: use simple, fresh, seasonal ingredients and let them speak for themselves.
Years later, as I looked through my old travel journal, I found a butternut squash soup recipe from that trip that I couldn’t wait to share with you. This Zuppa di Zucca, or Italian butternut squash soup, captures that philosophy beautifully. It’s a simple, comforting recipe with a little piece of my Tuscany story in every bowl. Let’s make it together!
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Ingredients You’ll Need
- Squash: Butternut squash is a naturally starchy winter squash. When cooked and blended, its starches and softened cell structure create a thick, velvety texture, making it an ideal base for a creamy soup without relying on heavy cream.
- Sausage: Use sweet, mild, or spicy Italian sausage, depending on your desired flavor profile.
- Mushrooms: Sautéing sliced white mushrooms drives off excess moisture and concentrates their savory umami flavor, adding depth and a meaty texture to the naturally sweet, creamy squash soup.
- Alliums: Sauté diced onions and minced garlic in olive oil to soften their cell structure and mellow their pungent sulfur compounds, creating a sweeter, more rounded flavor.
- Oil: Olive oil helps transfer heat evenly, prevents sticking, and adds richness to the vegetables. You can even add butter when sautéing the mushrooms.
- Liquid: Chicken stock or chicken broth helps to thin the soup without diluting the flavors.
- Herbs: Adding whole rosemary sprigs while cooking infuses the squash with aromatic oils, adding a woodsy flavor without overpowering its natural sweetness.
- Garnish: Fresh chives and parsley add bright, herbaceous flavor and color, balancing the rich, sweet squash and savory sausage.
See the recipe card below for all ingredients and measurements (US and metric).
Ingredient Substitutions
This butternut squash sausage soup is easy to customize! Try these tasty options:
- Sausage Swaps: Add ground pork, ground turkey, turkey sausage, chicken sausage, or crumbled tofu.
- Mushroom Options: Try other types of mushrooms like cremini, brown, portobello (with the gills removed), or porcini.
- Liquid: Use water, vegetable stock or broth, or beef stock or broth for a stronger meaty flavor.
- Seasoning Options: Add concentrated garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, coriander, smoked paprika, or curry powder. For a sweeter taste, add spices like ginger, cardamom, allspice, cloves, or I add my homemade pumpkin pie spice; it’s delicious!
- Herbs: Try sprigs of oregano or thyme. Garnish with chervil, tarragon, basil, or dill.
- Toppings: Add homemade croutons, grated parmesan cheese, pecorino romano, pecans, walnuts, pepitas, or sunflower seeds.
How to Make Butternut Squash Sausage Soup
Step 1: Sauté the Onions
Heating the onions in olive oil softens their cell structure and mellows their pungent sulfur compounds. Lightly cooking them brings out their natural sweetness.
Step 2: Cook the Butternut Squash
Cover the pot to trap the squash’s natural moisture as steam, creating a moist environment that softens it faster. A pinch of salt helps draw moisture from the vegetable’s cells, while medium-low heat allows the squash to become tender without excessive browning or burning. Stir every 10 minutes to prevent sticking.
Pro Tip: The rosemary sprigs infuse the squash with aromatic oils, adding a subtle woodsy flavor. Learn how to cook butternut squash five ways.
Step 3: Purée the Butternut Squash
Blending the cooked vegetables breaks down the cooked squash cells, releasing starches and creating a naturally thick, smooth, and creamy texture. Removing the rosemary first prevents the tough stems from being blended into the soup.
Step 4: Incorporate the Stock
Adding the stock gradually lets you control the soup’s thickness. Butternut squash is naturally starchy, so it can create a thick purée that you can loosen with just enough liquid to reach your desired consistency.
Step 5: Sauté the Garlic
Garlic contains pungent sulfur compounds that mellow and become more aromatic when gently heated in oil. A short cooking time prevents the garlic from browning, which can make it taste bitter.
Step 6: Cook the Mushrooms
Mushrooms contain a lot of water, so sautéing them helps evaporate moisture and concentrates their savory umami flavor. Cooking them in olive oil also encourages browning and adds richness to the soup.
Step 7: Cook the Sausage
Breaking the sausage into small pieces increases the surface area exposed to the pan, promoting more browning and savory flavor. Cooking it in the same pan also picks up the flavorful browned bits left behind by the mushrooms and garlic.
Step 8: To Serve
Fresh chives and parsley add bright, herbaceous flavor and color that balance the rich sausage and naturally sweet squash. Adding them at the end preserves their fresh aroma and flavor. I like to pair the soup with a crisp Caesar salad topped with homemade croutons. Add a delicious Tuscan red wine, and you have a truly soul-satisfying meal.
As I was looking through my travel journal, I stumbled across a passage I wrote while eating breakfast outside our farm stay in Tuscany:
“Peace, solace, appreciation. I love Toscana. It is the purest, most beautiful, and inviting place you could ever imagine. Everything here is delicate and purposeful. It is a perfect and simple life. I’m sitting here eating focaccia, ham, egg, and pecorino cheese with a glass of white wine and sweet grapes. It’s lovely.”
I can’t help but smile thinking of Tuscany’s rolling hills, vineyards, and charming towns. Twenty years later, I had the chance to return with my husband and our kids, James and Olivia, and share this special place with them. The experience changed their lives, too, and created memories we’ll cherish forever. It’s always special when a meal brings back a cherished memory. Cin cin!
Frequently Asked Questions
Butternut squash soup is a pureed soup that relies on the squash’s natural starches for thickening. Cook the squash in a flavorful liquid, then puree it until smooth using a food processor, blender, or hand-held immersion blender. Never strain a pureed soup; the suspended particles provide a thick, creamy texture without added milk or cream.
The skin may feel tough and fibrous when raw, but it softens significantly during cooking. Once tender, it becomes thin and easy to purée along with the flesh, adding extra fiber and nutrients to the soup.
You can add bell peppers, corn kernels, canned or fresh tomatoes, zucchini, or eggplant. Stir in chopped kale or baby spinach right before serving to wilt the leafy greens.
Serve This With
If you tried this Butternut Squash Sausage Soup Recipe, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below!
Italian Butternut Squash Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 cup yellow onions, ¼" dice
- 4 cups butternut squash, 1" cubes
- 2 sprigs rosemary
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt, divided
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 3 cups unsalted chicken stock, or broth
- 8 ounces white mushrooms, ¼" thick slices
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- ½ pound fresh Italian sausage, removed from casing, about 2 sausages
- 1 tablespoon sliced chives
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
Instructions
- Sauté the Onions – Heat a large pot over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and the onions; sauté until translucent, about 4 minutes.
- Cook the Butternut Squash – Add the butternut squash, rosemary sprigs, and ½ teaspoon salt. Stir to combine, then cover and cook over medium-low heat until the squash is tender, about 25-30 minutes. Check and stir every 10 minutes to prevent sticking or burning.
- Purée the Butternut Squash – Remove the rosemary sprigs. Transfer the squash mixture to a blender, or use an immersion blender, and purée until smooth. Return the purée to the pot if needed.
- Incorporate the Stock – Gradually stir in the chicken stock or broth, adding ½ cup at a time until the soup reaches your desired consistency, about 2 ½ to 3 cups total. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and keep warm over low heat.
- Sauté the Garlic — Heat a medium sauté pan over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and garlic, then sauté for about 30 seconds, until fragrant but not browned.
- Cook the Mushrooms – Add the mushrooms and sauté until tender, about 5-6 minutes. Season with ¼ teaspoon salt and black pepper, then add to the pureed soup.
- Cook the Sausage – In the same pan over medium heat, add the sausage. Break it into small pieces and cook until browned and cooked through, about 7-8 minutes. Add to the pureed soup.
- To Serve – Reheat the soup if needed. Taste and adjust the seasoning as desired, then garnish with sliced chives and chopped parsley.
Notes
- Make It Vegetarian: Substitute the chicken stock with vegetable stock or water. Remove the sausage and add a variety of heartier mushrooms, roasted corn, or your other favorite winter vegetables.
- Storing: Cool and refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 7 days. Freeze in resealable bags for up to 3 months.
- Reheating: Warm on the stovetop over medium heat until hot. Defrost if frozen. Alternatively, place in a bowl, cover, and microwave on high heat in 30-second intervals until hot, stirring in between.
Nutrition Facts
Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000-calorie diet. All nutritional information is based on estimated third-party calculations. Each recipe and nutritional value will vary depending on the brands you use, measuring methods, and portion sizes per household.
Jane says
Quite delicious. Made it vegetarian using bean broth w chix boullion. I browned Impossible sausage and just put it and the garlic mushrooms on top. I mashed it like chunky potatoes while in the pan b4 adding broth.
The cooking technique for the squash was interesting.I would have normally either roasted it or cooked it with the broth. I like this method.
Jessica Gavin says
Thank you for sharing your experience! I love the modifications you used to make the butternut squash soup vegetarian.
Pat Kelley says
I just made this soup and it is delicious, but I added a dash of red pepper flakes which gave it a little kick!
Jessica Gavin says
I love that you added some heat to the butternut squash soup!
Kerry Schnorf says
This soup was delicious. Definitely going into the rotation.
I added a few handfuls of chopped spinach and a some cheese tortellini.
Aimee says
I LOVE this recipe! It’s so versatile to begin with. I made it exactly as you recommended the first time I made it and it was amazing! The second time my girlfriend said she would like it a little more chunky so I only pureed half of it and added chopped chicken that I had leftover, and used some sage as well, and then added a few dashes if nutmeg…Wow! Every year I seem to have butternut squash volunteering in my compost pile, so I end up with a lot of squash every winter. What a great way to use it! Thanks!
Jessica Gavin says
I love how you made the butternut squash soup more chunky in texture and added extra protein!
Bridget says
How does this soup do making it a day ahead?
Jessica Gavin says
It still takes great! I just add more chicken stock to loosen it up a bit when I’m reheating on the stove top.
Lisa says
I really enjoyed this soup! I was looking for something a bit different than a traditional butternut squash soup and this sounded delicious. I used True Story organic sweet Italian chicken sausage (precooked) and added about 4 cups of spinach and 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes to give it a bit more kick.
Jessica Gavin says
Hi Lisa- I LOVE your spinach and pepper addition to the soup. I’m sure it was lovely!
Kathie says
Made this today and is now my favorite butternut squash soup recipe! So many levels of flavor. Thank you for sharing the recipe!
Jessica Gavin says
Yay Kathie! It’s a family favorite too 🙂
Lisa says
Delicious! I had a blue hubbard squash already baked and skinned frozen. I sautéed the onions, added squash and then used stick blender to puree together. I also added spinach to the soup before adding the mushrooms. I think I would maybe sautée the spinach with the mushrooms next time. Wonderful recipe!
Jessica Gavin says
Wow, the addition of the hubbard squash sounds amazing! Spinach sounds yummy too 🙂 Thank you for your lovely comment Lisa!
Melissa Knudsen says
This is kind of funny … here I am Italy (23 years now!) and have never made this recipe. No excuses, needless to say I have all the right, fresh ingredient. I’ll hit the stove with this as soon as I can. 🙂
Jessica Gavin says
I am so jealous that you live in Italy! I would take that over a bowl of soup any day 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think! If you have any recipe requests let me know!
Katie Kruse says
Jessica,
My sister raved about the butternut squash soup so I had to try it! It is as good as she says!!! Made two of your recipes today. Jim loved them both and is in hog heaven! I love how you can change it around?
Jessica Gavin says
yay Katie! Thrilled to hear that your family is cooking together from a distance, how great 🙂 My goal is to keep Jim happy!
Michelle Aragon says
Can’t wait to try this! I have a kabocha squash, do you think that’s an ok substitute? Thanks for sharing your Tuscan story!
Jessica Gavin says
Yes I think it will really delicious with the Kano ha squash Michelle! It will probably taste a little sweeter and even more creamy!
Nikki says
Wow this soup is excellent. Nice job Jessica. Made it vegetarian with veggie broth, roasted corn -and yellow bell pepper. Very savory flavor. Thank you
Jessica Gavin says
Wow that sounds amazing Nikki! I’m so glad that you enjoyed the recipe, one of my favs 🙂
Maggie morris says
Jessica,
I was so excited when this soup recipe hit my email this morning. The weather has just turned cold in St. Louis and we have had a very rainy day so this is perfect. I used store bought cubes and they just cooked a bit quicker because they were smaller than an inch. I was worried that a blender would now work well (that’s all I have) but it worked great. I did drain my sausage before adding to the soup. I even made homemade croutons for the soup!
Thanks for your wonderful recipes!
My best,
Maggie (Katie’s sister in stlou)
Jessica Gavin says
Hi Maggie! So glad you enjoyed the recipe, one of my favorites 🙂 Hope to see you in CA again soon!
Maria says
Any thoughts on substituting acorn squash for butternut? I love them both, but I have two acorn squashes on my counter that need to be used up!
Jessica Gavin says
I think you good Maria! Perhaps just peel it before. If you think the skin is really thin you can leave it on and cut into cubes. Let me know how it turns out!
Maria says
Made it with acorn squash a few days ago – it was delicious! I halved the recipe and used one medium-sized acorn squash. To prep the squash, I cut it in half and roasted it in the oven with salt, pepper and olive oil, then peeled off the skin, diced it, then followed the rest of the recipe! I would definitely recommend pre-roasting for anyone using acorn squash in this recipe 🙂
Jessica Gavin says
Roasted acorn squash sounds amazing Maria! What a great substitution, I’ll have to try it!
Barbara says
Hi – can’t wait to try this version. I typically buy my squash pre-diced at store. Would you be able to give me a number of cups on “one butternut squash”?
Thanks!
Jessica Gavin says
Hi Barbara- Great question! I would use between 4 to 5 cups of diced squash. Just adjust the soup consistency with more or less broth as needed. Thanks!
Ms. Shawn Mazon says
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!!!! So much flavor! I added turkey sausage and sautéed Diced turkey bacon with it……so deliCious!!!!
Jessica Gavin says
Thank you so much for trying the recipe, the turkey sausage and turkey bacon sound like amazing adds!