Perfect for a cozy fall lunch or light dinner, this butternut leek soup makes the most of delicious seasonal veggies and a pinch of spice! It's a dairy free butternut squash soup that's so easy to make in one pot on the stovetop.
Have a peek at my sweet potato and carrot soup and my Hokkaido soup for more fall lunch recipe ideas!
Cozy butternut soups are some of my favorite for a warming fall lunch idea. While I love my hearty butternut and chicken soup and slightly sweet butternut apple soup, I wanted something with all the delicious savory flavors of leeks and herbs for a change.
So I came up with this butternut squash and leek soup as a light fall lunch, and it's so good! Made with fresh veggies, pantry staples of herbs and fall-favorite nutmeg, it's souper (get it . . !) easy to make as a single pot recipe on the stovetop.
Looking for more fall soup ideas? Do check out my cauliflower potato leek soup, ginger parsnip soup, roasted butternut squash carrot soup and my pumpkin and cauliflower soup for a cozy lunch or dinner!
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⭐ Why this recipe is so good
All the cozy fall vibes. Butternut squash is *the* veggie of the season! You can either add straight to the pot, or roast first for extra sweet flavor.
Affordable ingredients. We use all easy to find ingredients and a lot are pantry staples you may already have to hand.
Dairy free and gluten free soup. We use plant milk rather than dairy milk or heavy cream, and olive oil rather than butter for a vegan soup.
🍲 Ingredients
All the ingredients and their quantities are set out in the recipe card below.
Some notes on a few of them:
- Butternut squash - we use a large butternut squash, coming to about six cups of peeled, diced fruit with the seeds removed. Be sure to choose a fresh, unwrinkled squash. This tutorial on how to cut butternut squash by Gimme Some Oven is very helpful!
- Leeks - I often find that dirt and grit likes to hide between the layers, so give your leeks a good wash before slicing into rounds! Use the white and light green parts rather than the dark green parts (but you can use them to make vegetable stock if you like!).
- Thyme and sage - for their fragrant herb flavors.
- Nutmeg - a pinch of this fall favorite spice goes so well with the butternut squash.
- Plant milk - I like to use oat milk, but choose the type that works best for you. You can also swap the plant milk for coconut milk if you prefer.
- Vegetable broth - my low histamine readers may like to check out my homemade low histamine vegetable stock to make this soup!
🔪 Step by step instructions
Let me show you how to make this butternut leek soup in all easy steps! Grab your fresh veggies and pantry staples, plus a Dutch oven or soup pot and we'll make a fun fall lunch.
All the instructions are set out in the recipe card below, but these step by step photos should help guide you.
Step 1: Cook leeks and celery
Drizzle olive oil in your pot and cook diced leeks, celery, garlic and your herbs, until the leeks have slightly softened (image 1).
Step 2: Add cubed butternut squash
Tip in the peeled, cubed butternut squash and nutmeg. Cook for a few minutes (image 2).
Step 3: Pour in vegetable broth
Pour in the vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and cook the soup for 15 minutes or until the squash is fork tender. Pour in the plant milk, and stir through (image 3).
Step 4: Blend the butternut leek soup
Either use an immersion blender to blend the soup right in the pot, or transfer batches to a food processor (image 4). Season with salt and black pepper, then ladle into your bowls.
💭 Recipe tips and notes
- Roast the butternut squash. It's an optional recipe step, but for more flavor you can roast the butternut squash before adding the flesh to the soup pot.
- Peel the butternut squash. While the skin is edible if roasted, I do suggest to peel it to make this soup.
- Dice the leeks. You want to use the softer white and light green parts of the leek rather than the more tough dark green parts.
- Dice the veggies to roughly the same size. This will help with an even cook time.
📋 Frequently asked questions
It's best to peel butternut squash to make soup. While the skin of butternut squash is edible if roasted, it blends better if you peel and use the flesh.
The white and light green parts are soft and tender, and can be used to make soup. The darker green parts are a little too tough and fibrous.
I love to sprinkle some toasted pumpkin seeds on soup. A swirl of extra virgin olive oil or heavy cream is good (but the latter will mean the recipe isn't vegan), or you can top with some leafy greens, fresh herbs or croutons if they work for you. It likely wouldn't be suitable for my low histamine readers, but bacon is also a popular soup topping.
❄️ Freezing advice
It's very easy to freeze this butternut squash soup with leeks. Simply allow to cool completely and then ladle into airtight freezer-safe containers. I like to freeze in portions for an easy meal on a busy day. Reheat the soup in a pot on the stovetop, perhaps adding a touch of water, if needed.
🥣 More soups
Choose from so many cozy soup recipes here, including my butternut squash red pepper soup and cauliflower zucchini soup, as well as these recent recipes:
I'm always in the kitchen, so come join me on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest to be the first to hear of new recipes! And I love to hear from you - so please do leave a star rating ⭐⭐⭐ and comment if you've tried the recipe!
📖 Recipe
Butternut Leek Soup
Equipment
- Dutch oven or large soup pot
- Immersion blender or food processor
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ⅓ cup celery diced
- 2 cups leeks white and light green parts, diced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ teaspoon dried sage
- 1 large butternut squash peeled, diced, about 6 cups
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 3 cups vegetable broth
- ½ cup plant milk
- pinch salt
- pinch black pepper
Instructions
- Optional: peel and dice the butternut squash into half inch pieces. Roast the squash on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper for 30 minutes, drizzled in a little olive oil.
- Drizzle olive oil in your Dutch oven or large soup pot. On a low to medium heat, cook the celery, leek, garlic and dried thyme for 4-5 minutes, until softened.
- Tip in the butternut squash and nutmeg. Stir and cook for 2 minutes.
- Pour in the vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and cook on a very light simmer for 15 minutes. Pour in the plant milk and stir into the soup.
- Blend the soup using an immersion blender or transfer batches to a food processor to blend. Adjust with more vegetable broth for a thinner consistency, to preference. Season with salt and black pepper to taste preference. Ladle into your serving bowls.
Notes
- For extra flavor, you can roast the butternut squash before adding to the soup pot. You may need a little less vegetable broth if using roasted squash.
- For a thinner consistency, use a little more vegetable broth.
- Use the white and light green parts of the leek.
- Nutritional information is auto-generated and should be understood to be an estimate.
- leek, which scores 1 with a ? as a liberator. There is a note, 'In small amounts, usually well tolerated'.
- garlic and nutmeg, which score 1.
- vegetable broth will depend upon ingredients used and cooking method.
- plant milk has various scores.
- black pepper, which scores 2.
Audrey says
I like the flavor, but it’s more the consistency of baby food than soup. Is it supposed to have more vegetable broth? I added extra plant milk and it was still thick!
Claire says
I think we all like different consistencies for soup, so you can always add more vegetable broth to thin if you prefer. Glad you enjoyed the fall flavors!