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!
I’ve been wanting to try this recipe for a while, and unfortunately it just didn’t turn out as I was hoping it would. Followed the recipe to the letter and it came out tasting acidic instead of the buttery squash flavor that the Panera soup has. Not sure if it was too much onion or apple cider, but looking at the Panera ingredients list it says that onion and apple cider only make up 2% or less of the ingredients. Fortunately it’s at least still edible, just didn’t taste as close to the Panera soup as I was imagining it would.
Will likely try again but next time I’ll roast the squash first and use less apple cider and onion.
It sounds like you may have used apple cider vinegar instead of apple cider (which is similar to juice). I made several notes in the post and recipe card to help people avoid making this mistake, but it still seems to be a common mistake.
Apple cider should make the soup sweet if anything, definitely not acidic. Apple cider vinegar, however, will give the soup an extremely acidic taste (especially in that amount!).
I hope this helps and you give it another try!
Is the butternut squash in the soup yo br cooked before making the soup?
No, it cooks in the broth.
For you autumn squash soup can you substitute cream cheese with heavy whipping cream
Yes, that will work :)
This was good, but it was my first time making it and it was a little sour. I think the next time I will use less veg broth. I used 4C. I might use a little more pumpkin, cream cheese and butter. I did add extra brown sugar, but I guess not enough. I will try again. I wish my husband liked butternut squash.
Just to confirm, did you use apple cider or apple juice and NOT apple cider vinegar? The soup should not be sour at all.
This is an excellent recipe thank you, a solid blend in a countertop blender gives a fantastic consistency.
After a couple of attempts, I used 4 cups of stock and 1 cup of apple juice, I found 2 cups of juice made it a little sweet, 1 cup is about right, I seasoned with about 1.5t of salt and finished with 1/8-1/4c cream.
Next time I am going to add stock concentrate to boost the body more and reduce the final salt.
So glad you like it!
Loved this. So comforting. I added a splash of hot sauce. Just loved it.
So glad you like it!
Really loved the recipe! Perfect amount of flavor, added some extra sugar and cream cheese. The cream cheese is also something I never would’ve thought of, just be sure to soften before adding because it clumped a bit. Family enjoyed it and would make again!
So glad you liked it! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review!
I had about 2 pounds of leftover mashed sweet potatoes and decided to swap the squash for the sweet potatoes and give this recipe a try. I made a few minor tweaks to the spices for personal preferences, left out the pumpkin puree and the heavy cream. This soup was delicious with great flavor. It is replacing my autumn squash soup recipe that I’ve used for many years. Thanks for a wonderful, simple, and healthy recipe Rachel.
So glad you enjoyed!
Could I substitute coconut cream instead of the cream cheese here?
That should work fine!
Amazing! So flavorful and tastes like Panera’s. I roasted the butternut squash. And I added powdered onion instead of chopped onion. And added some all spice and added 4 oz cream cheese as well as a splash of heavy cream and some salt and pepper. I took my immersion blender and blended it and crock-potted it on low for 4 hours. I added a bit more chicken stock and gave it a whirl after the 4 hours. So, so good!!
Looks perfect! Thanks for sharing a photo!
I was so excited to find this recipe. After making it, not so excited. I followed the recipe eactly, no cream was added. This did not taste anything like Panera’s Autumn Squash Soup. Very disappointed. Spent lots to get all ingredients, now I have huge pot of soup that is just not very good, I did add more sugar and a little more cinnamon but not a noticeable improvement.
You might want to try adding cream. This is a healthier version of the restaurant’s soup, which is why I made the cream optional. However, if you’re looking for that exact restaurant taste, you’ll find adding the cream adds that richness you might be looking for.
Try adding a bit more nutmeg and brown sugar.