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 a creamy butternut squash soup with smoked paprika, and a really old post about squash soup with sage. But she was looking specifically for a copycat Panera squash soup.
I don’t blame her – it is delicious!
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.
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.
I garnished my Copycat Panera Squash Soup recipe with roasted pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds). Their crunch and color add a nice contrast, don’t you think? You could also garnish it with chopped, fresh herbs like sage or parsley, or homemade croutons.
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.
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!
Copycat Panera Squash Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion, diced (about ¾ 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
Instructions
- In a large pot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onions and saute until translucent, stirring frequently.1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, 1 small yellow onion, diced
- Add squash, carrots, vegetable broth, apple cider, and spices.2 pounds chopped butternut squash , 3 small carrots, chopped, 3-4 cups vegetable broth, 2 cups apple cider or apple juice, 1/2 teaspoon curry powder, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, dash of nutmeg
- Bring to a boil, reduce heat 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.1/2 cup pumpkin puree, 2 tablespoons butter, 2 ounces low-fat (neufchatel) cream cheese, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, more to taste
- 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.salt to taste, heavy cream, optional
- Return to burner over medium-low heat, if needed to heat the soup back up, and then serve immediately.
Notes
- If you want it to be just like Panera squash soup – add more brown sugar and/or honey to taste. Adding more cream will also give it a richer flavor.
- 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.
- To reduce sodium, use low sodium or no salt added vegetable broth.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did You Make This?Share a comment and rating below! I love hearing what you think!
Made this tonight and it was delicious! I had some leftover bread I needed to use up so I made some croutons out of it to serve on top. Perfect meal for a cool night!
I’m so glad you liked it! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment! Good move with the croutons!
I just made this for my 18 month old toddler and it is absolutely amazing. I’ve been obsessed with this soup from Panera for a while, but this recipe takes the cake. It tastes IDENTICAL and is so easy to make. It honestly serves a lot more than I thought, so I put mine in the freezer for later use :)
It freezes well! I’m so glad you liked it, thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment!
This was similar to Panera but I found a different recipe that used chicken broth, coconut milk and maybe a dash more curry. I also substituted a gold Hubbard squash. This was a very good vegetarian option!
I’m so glad you liked it! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment!
I made this soup today! It is awesome! Now I used my store bought cumin (I know that if I used your homemade recipe it would have probably been even more AWESOME)! I did not have any pumpkin seeds on hand so I used a few pecans:) I also added a pinch of garlic powder (I love garlic! I think it may be my second favorite spice after cumin).
So glad you liked it! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment!
I’ve made this soup twice in the last two weeks and it’s a hit. I made it vegan, using the vegan cream cheese for my vegan husband and it’s perfect! Thanks for the recipe.
So glad to hear it, and I’m glad it works well with vegan cream cheese. Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment, it really means so much to me!
What kind of Vegan cream cheese do you use?
It’s been awhile since I’ve had Panera’s, so I can’t really attest to how well it compares, but I LOVE this soup. It’s a go-to for me. It freezes and reheats well.
I’m so glad you liked it! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment!
Great recipe. It gets better and thicker the longer it is around. I use salted pumpkin seeds whick adds just enough salt to bring out great flavor. I make double batch, lasts 10 days and the last serving is the best.
So glad you like this recipe! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment!
Thank you for your much healthier interpretation of Panera’s squash soup. While it is very good, I wouldn’t call it an accurate copycat of Panera’s. I wanted to recreate the delicious decadence of theirs. To be fair, adding “a little” heavy cream is mentioned, but it took me probably 1 1/2 cups to get close to a match. Thank goodness I used 3 rather than 4 cups of vegetable broth; I also added the rest of the pumpkin purée for a total of 15 oz. It’s pretty close, but not perfect. Thank you for providing a great foundation.
Thanks Anne, I’m glad you found a way to make it taste the way you wanted it to! I always try to make things just a little healthier if possible, which is something I was aiming for in this recipe.
I love the Panera soup but this recipe comes so very close. I made it for the first time today. I bought some pepitas & will roast them tomorrow to serve with the soup. I did see that some have had success in freezing the soup which makes me very happy sine I am by myself.
So happy to hear you liked the soup! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment!
Hi! How large is a serving for this recipe? 1 cup? Hoping to make this tomorrow! :)
Yes, about a cup!