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This post is all about how to make a copycat version of the velvety smooth Panera Autumn Squash Soup recipe. This soup is made super easy in a slow cooker or Instant Pot and tastes even better than the one you get at the restaurant, plus, you can make it long after it leaves Panera stores. Rich buttery flavor, hints of sweet brown sugar and warm spices, and smooth and creamy texture from the heavy cream (or coconut milk).
I’ve looked forward to Panera’s autumn squash soup every year. I swear it tastes even better when it’s enjoyed while dining inside the cafe and it’s drizzling outside. The warmth of the subtle spices, smooth-as-velvet texture, and sweet creaminess. This bowl of autumn squash soup is fall personified!
This recipe just calls for a handful of ingredients and is a cinch to pull together, plus it makes several servings (about 6-8 cups).
If you love the flavors of autumn, you will adore this recipe! You can even grab yourself a sourdough bread bowl loaf if you really want to get in the Panera spirit 🙂
This post is all about Panera Autumn Squash Soup Recipe and how to make this delicious recipe taste even better than the restaurant!
Ingredients To Make The Panera Autumn Squash Soup Recipe:
- Just a few different fresh produce items: a large 3-4lb butternut squash, yellow onion, garlic cloves, a few carrots, and a sweet apple like a honeycrisp.
- Pantry items: olive oil, canned pumpkin puree, cayenne, pepper, nutmeg, brown sugar, chicken/veggie stock
- Dairy: cream of your choice, whether it’s half & half or unsweetened canned coconut milk. Or, you can instead use heavy cream for a more luscious decedent creaminess.
How to Make The Panera Autumn Squash Soup Recipe:
You’ll start by first chopping your ingredients:
- Peel and cube your butternut squash, discarding all of the filling/seeds.
- Prep all the veggies by chopping
- Instant Pot Method:
- on the saute mode, add two tablespoons of olive oil, then add the onions to get a little browned. Then add the carrots, apple and squash. Then add all the pantry items (spices, brown sugar, canned pumpkin, stock).
- Mix well then pressure cook for 10 minutes. Natural steam release once finished cooking.
- Slow Cooker Method:
- In a crock pot, add all of the ingredients except the cream. Cook on low for 4-6 hours/ 3 hours on high, or until the squash and carrots are tender and falling apart.
- Instant Pot Method:
- Use an immersion blender or upright blender to puree until velvety smooth. If using a standard blender, allow mixture to cool.
- Add cream to the soup base, taste and adjust salt, pepper, and sugar as needed.
- When serving, add pepitas, a dash more cream, a sprinkle of salt and brown sugar!
My Favorite Helpful Tools For This Recipe:
1.Immersion Blender – this is not necessary, but some type of blender is. Immersion blenders are great tools for cooking soups and sauces. Plus, it comes with attachments for whipping cream and frothing milk.
2. Blender – alternately, if you don’t have a handheld immersion blender, you’ll need an upright blender.
3. Instant Pot – these are my secret weapon for pulling together a delicious meal that would normally need the day to braise or slow cook.
4. Slow Cooker – alternately, you can use a slow cooker for this recipe and set it and forget it while you take care of other tasks.
Looking for Other Copycat Recipes?
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I hope you enjoyed this recipe for Panera’s Autumn Squash Soup. I look forward to your questions and feedback below. Please be sure to tag me @BadBatchBaking using hashtag #badbatchbaking if you made this recipe and I will feature you on my story! Plus, I LOVE to see your baking accomplishments.
Panera Autumn Squash Soup Recipe
Equipment
- Pressure cooker, slow cooker, dutch oven or stock pot
- Blender - immersion or standard
Ingredients
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, smashed
- 1 3-4 lbs. butternut squash, peeled, cubed, filling/seeds removed
- 3 carrots, peeled and chopped into 1" pieces
- 1 apple, peeled and cubed sweet variety like honeycrisp
- 2/3 15 oz. canned pumpkin puree 100% pure pumpkin, NOT pie filling
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- pinch nutmeg
- pinch cayenne or more to taste
- 3 cups chicken stock veggie stock/broth can be subbed
- 1/3 - 1/2 cup cream of choice: heavy cream, unsweetened canned coconut milk, half & half
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Toppings
- pumpkin seeds / pepitas
- brown sugar, splash of cream, pinch of salt
- bread on the side, or sourdough bread bowl to serve in
Instructions
- Prep veggies per the ingredient list above - peeling and chopping and all ingredients.
Instant Pot Cooking Method
- On the saute mode, add two tablespoons of olive oil, then add the onions and cook for 2 minutes to get a little browning. Then add the carrots, apple and squash. Add all the remaining ingredients except the cream.
- Mix well then pressure cook for 10 minutes. Natural steam release once finished cooking.
Slow Cooker / Stove Top Method
- In a crock pot, add all of the ingredients except the cream. Cook on low for 4-6 hours/ 3 hours on high, or until the squash and carrots are tender and falling apart. If using a stock pot or dutch oven on the stove, add all ingredients except cream, bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer, cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours or until the squash and carrots are falling apart.
Puree Soup & Serve
- Use an immersion blender or upright blender to puree until velvety smooth. If using a standard blender, allow mixture to safely cool first so it does not erupt.
- Add cream to the soup base, taste and adjust salt and pepper as needed.
- When serving, to each bowl add pepitas, a small dash more cream, a sprinkle of salt and brown sugar!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Delicious-made in a dutch oven on stove for 6 hours as I don’t have a crockpot nor an instapot. Having leftover soup the next day resulted in very thick soup. Should I add broth or water? I am making a day ahead for luncheon so needed to know. Can I freeze later for leftovers?
Hi Laura, yes absolutely a few tablespoons of broth or milk can be added, starting with one at a time until desired texture is reached. I haven’t froze this one yet but I’ve done so with many soups and assume it’d be a similar process: I allow it to fully cool, add it to a vacuum seal food-saver bag or zip lock bag. Lay it flat in the freezer and freeze (labeling with the date and name helps too). To reheat, let it defrost in the fridge the day before serving. Then reheat in the microwave or in a saucepan, adding a few tablespoons of broth/milk until it returns to the original texture.
The soup sounds great and I will try it because I agree that Panera’s is the bomb! But I’m not sure how it can be copycat recipe if there are so many this-or-that ingredients.
Hi Connie, do you mind clarifying what you mean by this or that ingredients? It’s a delicious recipe that tastes very similar to Panera’s.
Have you looked at panera.com to see the list of ingredients for this soup? This copy has way fewer ingredients! Tried it directly against Panera (used the slow cooker method for mine). Very close to the original!!!
I used the instant pot method and it was amazing!