Copycat Panera Squash Soup Recipe – Vegetarian
This Copycat Panera Squash Soup tastes just like the original, but I made it a bit healthier!
Remember last week when I was talking about my homemade mild curry powder and I said I really truly made it for this soup? Well, here it is!
We were at a church event not too long ago and my pastor’s wife asked me if I had a squash soup recipe on my site. I said yes, I have three: A shortcut squash soup (ready in twenty minutes!), a creamy butternut squash soup with smoked paprika, and a really old post about squash soup with sage with terrible photos. But she was looking specifically for a copycat Panera squash soup. I don’t blame her – it is delicious! It’s also not the greatest for you, calorie-wise, considering it’s squash soup…which most people may automatically assume is healthy.
I made efforts to reduce the calorie content a bit while still keeping the flavors rich and slightly indulgent. I think I found a good balance, but if you’re looking for an exact replica, feel free to add more butter, cream, and sugar. I won’t judge. Your skinny jeans might but we’re coming up to winter so it’s nothing a big comfy sweater can’t fix, right? RIGHT?
If you read the recipe closely, you’ll see this squash soup also contains carrots and pumpkin. They give it extra sweetness and depth of flavor. If you don’t have pumpkin or don’t want to add pumpkin, just use a little less vegetable broth. Remember you can always add more at the end to make it thinner but it’s more difficult to make it thicker. I’d recommend using carrots with the squash because they really do add great natural sweetness, and they help achieve the beautiful color of the soup. Plus, Panera squash soup also has carrots in it.
Important note: This soup calls for two cups of apple cider, NOT APPLE CIDER VINEGAR. If you can’t find apple cider (sometimes it’s hard to find if it’s not fall), use a natural (100% juice) apple juice. If you use vinegar by accident, your soup will NOT turn out and will definitely NOT taste like Panera’s.
Watch this short video to see step-by-step directions how to make this Panera Squash Soup!
Copycat Panera Squash Soup Recipe
This Copycat Panera Squash Soup tastes just like the original, but I made it a bit healthier!
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion, diced (about 3/4 cup)
- 2 pounds chopped butternut squash (about 6 heaping cups)
- 3 small carrots, chopped (about 1 cup)
- 3-4 cups vegetable broth
- 2 cups apple cider or apple juice (do NOT use apple cider vinegar)
- 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- dash of nutmeg
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 ounces low-fat (neufchatel) cream cheese
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar, more to taste
- salt to taste
- heavy cream, optional
Directions:
- In a large pot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onions and saute until translucent, stirring frequently.
- Add squash, carrots, vegetable broth, apple cider and spices.
- Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until squash and carrots are soft. Remove from heat and add pumpkin puree, butter, cream cheese and brown sugar. Puree with a hand (stick) blender or in batches in a normal blender. Blend until very smooth.
- Taste soup and add salt as desired. You may also add extra brown sugar or honey to achieve a taste closer that of Panera’s. You can also add a little heavy cream if you want a more decadent soup. If desired, add more vegetable broth to thin soup.
- Return to burner over medium-low heat if needed to heat the soup back up and then serve immediately.
Note: If you want it to be just like Panera squash soup – add more brown sugar and/or honey to taste.
Note: This soup calls for two cups of apple cider, NOT APPLE CIDER VINEGAR. If you can’t find apple cider (sometimes it’s hard to find if it’s not fall), use a natural (100% juice) apple juice. If you use vinegar by accident, your soup will NOT turn out and will definitely NOT taste like Panera’s.
Nutrition Information
Yield: 6-8 servings, Serving Size: 1 of 8
- Amount Per Serving:
- Calories: 163 Calories
- Total Fat: 6g
- Saturated Fat: 3g
- Cholesterol: 12mg
- Sodium: 455mg
- Carbohydrates: 27g
- Fiber: 3g
- Sugar: 14g
- Protein: 2g
Verdict: I’m totally obsessed with this copycat Panera squash soup. I love that I can have it all year round now and not just on Panera’s schedule.
Husband’s take: He never tried this. Squash soup isn’t really his thing.
Changes I would make: None are necessary.
Difficulty: Easy.
PS: This isn’t my first rodeo with making a Panera copycat – make sure to check out my Copycat Panera Mac and Cheese! People LOVE it!
Hi, I'm Rachel! This site features a wide variety of recipes with one common thread: easy preparations. I love creating accessible and delicious food that will please the whole family. Hope you enjoy! (
I had the Panera soup a week ago, so this is perfect!
How can you make this dairy free? If i omit the cream cheese would that make or break the recipe? is there a substitute?
It would change the flavor, but it would work! You could try a few pureed white beans to add creaminess without dairy or just omit completely. Let me know how it works out!
I’m thrilled to see this soup recipe! I love love squash soup and you rated it easy on the difficult scale which is great news for me as well. We live in southeast Texas so it is barely cool outdoors yet but i’m lovin all the great soup recipes that signal this awful heat will soon be gone. Thanks a million, will let you know my family’s review.
I am sure your homemade version is so much better than the one at panera, love it and can’t wait to try it!
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Love a good squash soup for this time of year!
Oh goodness, this looks great. It’s finally chilly here and I’m so ready for a big giant bowl of this.
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I got so excited when I saw this! This is my favorite thing at Panera, and I can’t wait to make it at home. Yay!
I just made this recipe to a T and it tastes nothing like the one from Panera….it’s still good, but even with the added sugar and cream it can’t come close.
Just to let anyone who wants to make a copy of Panera’s soup, this isn’t what you’re looking for, but even still it’s delicious
Thank you . That’s good to know .
I felt the same way. I’m eating it now, and while it’s good, it isn’t the same as the Panera Autumn Squash soup.
I reduced the calorie count significantly which does slightly alter the taste (Panera’s has 230 calories per cup and twice as much fat as this recipe). If you added additional cream, butter, and sugar to this recipe it would taste more like Panera’s version. I’m glad you still like it. :)
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This was an amazing recipe!!! Way better than Panera’s in my opinion. The best butternut squash recipe ever. Thank you!!!
I’ve never had Panera’s squash soup, but this is a great recipe. I tweaked the amount of spices to my tastes (used more) and didn’t use the pumpkin, butter or heavy cream. I also just used an apple juice box we happened to have instead of cider so there wasn’t 2 cups worth. All that and still yummy. So, if you are a cook who’s afraid to deviate from a recipe, don’t be! This is a great base to play around with.
So glad you liked the soup — and I love the changes you made. I agree – the best part of cooking is the flexibility to have fun!
Looks delicious! Yum!
I’m going for the optional heavy cream:) Yum!
As you should. ;)
This is great. Love the candor. Haven’t tried it yet, but definitely worth it. Question: What about those seeds Panera puts into the squash soup? What are those? How can we do the same?
They are pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds). You can see them in my photos – I included them in my recipe .
Panera’s soup is way too sweet for me. This recipe is WAY better!
Love how creamy and amazing this looks.
Oh, Rachel, squash soup is one of my weaknesses! I cannot wait to make this! bookmarked, pinned, yummed and tweeted!
Thanks Lynne!
I was so excited about this recipe! I’m glad to report that it was super easy and tasted delicious. If I were to change one thing I would maybe give an option for less apple cider and then add to taste. It was too acidic for the babies and although he had 2 servings the husband says next time I make this he would prefer less vinegar. I on the other hand loved it!
Hi Valerie! I’m glad you tried the recipe. It calls for actual apple cider (the kind you drink), not apple cider vinegar. The apple cider gives a nice sweetness. I’m surprised you could stomach it with 2 cups of apple cider vinegar in it!
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I just had a little bowl of this soup that I bought at my local grocery store. It was the original one from Panera. The ingredients also list ginger, tomato paste, and garlic. What an interesting combination of spices.
I’ve never had butternut squash soup, what does it taste like, is it sweet or savory?? I want to try some but I don’t know if I would like it. I’m not a picky eater, so I’m up for anything
It definitely depends on what you season it with (I have a few different recipes on my site if you google squash soup). This particular recipe has a mix of both savory and of course the natural sweetness of the butternut squash shines through as well. I think you’ll love it!
Had the squash soup at panera bread yesterday.what a great soup! Loved it.will try to make my own.love panera bread menu.they a are top notch place to eat.
Yes, it’s one of my favorite soups there! Hope you love my version. :)
Oh my goodness I’m such a dumb dumb ! I Am sleep deprived with a newborn and three other kiddos to keep up with and I thought I read apple cider vinegar I just finished cooking this and doubled the recipe bc a friend of mine wanted a batch. I’m terrified to taste it now.
Oh no! That’s a hard one to recover from, unfortunately! Did you have to dump it? :( Hang in there…we’ve all been there!
Don’t worry Jessica, I thought I read the same thing. I caught it though AFTER I just got back from he grocery store with my missing ingredients. Had to go BACK for the apple cider! We didn’t eat till late. And of course I loved it, but my picky eaters didn’t. Too bad for them! Sharing with my neighbors ;)
Oh no!!! I clarified it in the recipe, hopefully it helps people in the future!
Just made this tonight, and followed your recipe to a T. I can honestly say that this soup is even better than Panera’s. I cannot wait to have a bowl of this every night this week. I’m so happy I found your recipe!
Oh that makes me SO happy to hear! Thank you for taking the time to comment. Enjoy the soup, and your weekend!
Tried this recipe last night as part of our Octoberfest Dinner Party. It was fantastic! It took much more time to cook the squash to soften. Regardless the soup was excellent.
So glad you liked it!
This soup is amazing!! Absolultely love it! I do have one question…I accidentally added too much salt…what can I do to counteract that?
Oooh that’s a tough one to fix. You could try adding more pureed squash if you have it on hand.
Do you think I can freeze this? I’m a vegetarian so I make different meals than my family but I don’t know if I should make a half of this recipe or not. Thanks!
I have frozen this many times, works splendidly.
Im sorry but this was terrible. Way too much vinegar. It tasted like straight bread and butter pickles
Sorry. Im retarded. I used apple cidar vinegar. Im sure it would have been amazing
Oh no! I don’t think you’re the first one to make this goof, unfortunately.
Ive made several varieties of butternut squash soup. I picked your recipe to try based on the ingredients that are most palatable to me. I varied it slightly. I doubled the recipe, so I could have leftovers. I cut the curry in half, I doubled or more the cinnamon. I used the pumpkin puree, grass-fed butter, light brown sugar, 1/2 the apple cider, added 1 granny smith apple.I added a favorite, fresh ginger, 1/2 approximately 1/2 teaspoon. (I often don’t measure, and I’ll modify to taste). I am dairy free and gluten free. I dI’d not use the heavy cream or cream cheese. I used 1/2 cup full fat (healthy) organic coconut milk. This will be my forever go to butternut squash soup recipe. Everyone complimented it. Thanks for sharing!
So glad you liked it! Thanks for sharing your adaptations!
How many servings does one batch make?
6-8 servings depending on how big your bowls are. ;)
Hello! I just made up a big batch of butternut squash purée. Any idea/suggestions on how much purée to use in place of the fresh cubes? Thank you!
Hi Allison! I haven’t made it with puree but soup is pretty forgiving. I’d start with about 4 cups and see how it tastes.
Just made this recipe exactly as is and it is amazing! I loved it. Super delish!
So glad you like it! Thank you for taking the time to comment!
What is the serving size? I see the nutritional values and I want to figure up the Weight Watchers Points Plus. Sounds sooooo yummmm!
Serving size is about 1/8 of the recipe – I don’t have an exact measurement for that. Hope you love it!
Love this recipe, made it for a fall camping trip and it was a hit!! My friend is a vegetarian and she has just made two batches and froze them in mason jars, I plan on doing the same thing this weekend!!!
So happy to hear that! Love the idea of freezing it in mason jars.
Absolutely delicious — just made it and I think it will be better when it cools and the spices marry up but it’s awesome already!!
So glad you liked it! Thank you for taking the time to comment!
Overall I thought it was pretty good. I think next time I’ll leave the carrots out though, I was unsure about adding them and now I wish I hadn’t. I feel like the carrot flavor overpowers the squash a little.
Thanks for your comment! I love the sweetness that the carrots add but recipes are made to be tweaked. :)
This recipe looks very tasty. I’ve never made butternut squash soup. Will one squash yield the four cups needed for this recipe?
As long as it’s a medium-large squash, it should!
Amazing!! Exactly what I wanted!!
Thank you! So glad you like it. :)
How much heavy cream do use?
I don’t use it, but it will yield a creamier texture. I’d start with 1/4 cup, taste it and add more as desired.
Would chicken broth rather than vegetable broth be an option?
That would be fine — I used vegetable to keep it vegetarian but I actually made squash soup tonight with chicken broth and it was delish.
Absolutely amazing!!! I doubled it, but only used 4 C of the Swanson’s Vege Broth (Gluten Free :)
Used homegrown pumpkins, Yummy! (and it feels good to use the pumpkins we grew)
Thanks!
Sounds great! Thanks for taking the time to come leave a note!
This is a fantastic recipe. I think Panera’s version is too sweet, but I love the texture & flavors. I’ve made your recipe three times so far, to rave reviews from the family. Thanks so much for sharing!
SO happy to hear you like it!
Hi, Rachel. Gonna definitely try this recipe! I was just wondering how many people does this recipe serve? Thanks.
– Sharlene
6-8 servings. Hope you like it!
HI Rachel,
Love this recipe! I will definitely be making this again (and again!) I started with your version and had to use pumpkin pie spice because I didn’t have cinnamon on hand, and it still was great! Thanks for doing the research to copy the Panera version and putting it out there for us.
So glad you liked it! Pumpkin pie spice is a fun addition actually!
Made this for Thanksgiving tomorrow! Delish! I did add 1/4 cup half and half and some pink sea salt. Also added a pinch more nutmeg and cinnamon at the end!! Keeper recipe! Thank you!!!
Love your additions, after all, it’s Thanksgiving! ;) So glad you like it! Happy Thanksgiving!
This came out horrible. All I tasted was the apple cider vibegar. Either scale back or don’t use it at all! It taste nothing like the soup from panera. I am trying tosalvage it so I don’t have to throw it away. Very disappointed with this recipe.
Hi, here’s the thing…this recipe does NOT contain apple cider vinegar, the recipe even states “(NOT vinegar)” after apple cider. I’m sorry you missed that on the recipe and I hope you’ll give it another go!
Give it another go. I used Apple Cider and it was amazing. No vinegar. Just cider. This was actually my favorite butternut squash recipe and I’ve tried several.
I audibly groan when people blame their mistake on Rachel and this recipe… >_>
You’re my new favorite person.
I agree. I wish people would step back and say, maybe I did something wrong. Instead of bashing the recipe, say Hi Rachel, could you help me figure out if I did something wrong? Something just doesn’t taste right.
I appreciate the support and I do love troubleshooting recipes with you guys. :)
I just made this and it is fantastic! Can’t wait to share it with friends. Such a great cold-weather treat. Thanks for the great recipe!
So happy you enjoyed this recipe! Thanks for taking the time to let me know. :)
Excellent recipe. Thank you.
Hi Rachel,
This looks delicious!
I am going to attempt this for dinner tonight. One question, I have never cooked with butternut squash (surprisingly as I am a vegetarian), do I leave the outer peal/skin on?
Thanks!
You actually just peel and chop the squash and it cooks in the soup. Enjoy!
Oh sorry just realized that might not be your question – yes, you want to remove the peeling on a butternut squash. :)
I made this last night and loved it! My hubby did also! It was even better today! I used an acorn squash because that is what I had on hand, omitted the cream cheese and added sliced apple. It was delicious! Thank you so much!
So glad you liked it! Thanks for taking the time to come back and let me know!
The soup is excellent.. I had no apple juice or cider so I chopped up a couple of peeled apples. Left out the pumpkin too. Making it again today. Thanks for the great recipe!
So glad you liked it!
I made and have enjoyed. Freezes well. Any idea how many weigh watcher weight watcherpoints in a serving
So glad you like it! I don’t know about the Weight Watcher’s points, sorry!
5 points per serving on the current (2017) system.
5 points per serving on the current (2017) system.
What can you do if not thick enough
You can add more pumpkin or squash!
Undomestic here with a dumb question….can I make this still be yummy if I use my crock pot? If so…do I just throw it all in?
I haven’t tested it that way but I think it would work great! I would put everything in except the butter, cream cheese, and brown sugar and put those all in right at the end. Also leave out the heavy cream if you plan to add that at the end.
Excellent soup!
Absolutely delicious! This soup is so good. Light and filling at the same time. I served it with country french sourdough and it was AMAZING.
Can’t wait for the left-overs tonight.
I did add about 1/4 cup heavy cream. So good.
I’m so happy to hear you liked it! Thanks for taking the time to come back and let me know. I bet it was great with that bread!
I made this soup Sunday and it was delicious. I topped mine with some crumbled bacon and it was WOW WEE! I totally loved this!!! We have a lot leftover and I don’t want to waste it- can I freeze it do you think?
Thank You!
Hi Christy,
So glad you liked it! It should freeze great!
PS: Everything’s better with bacon, isn’t it?!
My husband surprised me tonight with takeout tonight from Panera! Good man!
Good man is right!
How much Heavy Cream, butter and brown sugar you add to the recipe?
The butter is indicated in the recipe – the cream and brown sugar is up to you. Taste and season with a little at a time until you love the flavor. I don’t add any more than what’s indicated in the recipe, but it’s all about personal preference.
Just made a batch as a trial run for an upcoming catering event. Im actally on vacation so i just bought frozen butternut squash & it came out perfect! Thanks!
So happy you liked it! Thanks for taking the time to come back and let me know!
I used a cashew crumble as a garnish instead of the pepitas and loved the little salty crunch it gave in the mouth around all the smooth creaminess.
Great idea!
This soup turned out amazing! All the flavors are wonderfully balanced. So easy, delicious and comforting!
So happy to hear you like it!
Hi I just made this soup recipe with the same ingredients as the recipe, just not exact proportions. It came out a little too sweet for me. I think it may need an acid flavor to balance it out. Anyone have suggestions on what kind of acid to use? Vinegar, lemon juice, etc.
I always recommend following a recipe exactly the first time before making any changes. It’s hard to determine if it’s a fault in the recipe when you didn’t use exact proportions. With that being said, you could add a small splash of apple cider vinegar if you want some acid flavor.
We just had our Thanksgiving this past weekend and I gave this recipe a try. So yummy. It is now my favorite Butternut Squash recipe. Love how you can adjust the sweetness. I also had a bit of pumpkin spice to the soup.
Thanks for a great recipe!
SO happy to hear you like this recipe! Thank you for taking the time to come back and leave a comment, it means so much to me.
Looks like a hearty and tasty soup!
I am sorry Rachel but this does NOT taste anything like Panera Breads recipe. Too much apple juice, that is all I could taste, won’t be making this again.
Hi Lisa! Sorry that you didn’t see the similarity, so many people love this recipe!
This soup looks so smooth and creamy!! Thanks for sharing!!!
Thank you!
I can’t wait to try this! It looks so comforting!
This looks divine!