Soups
Panera Autumn Squash Soup
This At-home Panera Squash Soup tastes just like the original, but we made it a bit healthier!
This At-home Panera Squash Soup tastes just like the original, but we made it a bit healthier!
Remember last week when we were talking about our from-scratch mild curry powder and we said we truly made it for this soup? Well, here it is!
We were at a church event not too long ago and our pastor’s wife asked us if we had a squash soup recipe on our site. We said yes we have a creamy butternut squash soup with smoked paprika, and a old post about squash soup with sage. But she was looking specifically for a at-home Panera squash soup.
We don’t blame her – it is rich!
We made efforts to reduce the calorie content a bit while still keeping the flavors rich and slightly indulgent. We think we 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.
We'd recommend using carrots with the squash because they do add great natural sweetness, and they help achieve the beautiful color of the soup. Plus, Panera squash soup also has carrots in it.
We garnished our At-home 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 from-scratch 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 our first rodeo with making a Panera at-home – make sure to check out our At-home Panera Mac and Cheese! People LOVE it!
- Yield: 8 servings
- Prep: 10 minutes
- Cook: 20 minutes
- Total: 30 minutes
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
Method
- 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 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.
- 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.
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.
