The moment the temperature starts to drop I crave a warm, comforting bowl of soup. This creamy butternut squash soup with crispy sage garnish checks all the boxes. Simple to cook yet impressive to serve. It is delicious on a lazy Sunday afternoon or as the starter for a dinner party. The rich sweetness of the butternut squash, combined with the subtle spice of sage tastes like fall! Did I mention it freezes well, too?
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This soup is in the veloutรฉ style that the French absolutely love. There was always a big pot of veloutรฉ in Mamie's (my French Grand-mother in law) fridge and it is such an enjoyable way to start a meal. On those busy weeknights when I am racing home from work and need a quick meal on the table, I love taking a portion of this soup out of the freezer. The subtle taste of butternut squash is also super kid friendly!
Ingredients for butternut squash soup with sage
Ingredients
This soup recipe uses the best of Fall ingredients. Butternut squash with a subtle taste of sage is so velvety and comforting.
Creamy Butternut Soup with Sage
2 large butternut squash (yields about 8 cups of meat)
2 large potatoes
1 shallot
3 cloves of garlic
4 tbsps of butter
1 bunch of sage (for the cooking)
1 cup of heavy cream
6 cups of chicken stock (or 6 cups of water and 1 chicken bouillon cube)
For the Crispy Sage Garnish
8 sage leaves
2 tbsps of olive oil
4 tbsps heavy cream
Frequently asked questions:
How to cook Butternut squash?
Butternut squash can be intimidating but, with a little elbow grease, the rewards are worth it. First, slice the top off of the squash and then quarter it by slicing first in half across the middle (the narrow part above the bulge that is easiest to cut) and then slicing each half lengthwise. Peel the skin off of the squash using a vegetable peeler.
What does Butternut squash taste like?
Butternut squash is one of my favorite Fall squashes. It has a subtle taste of pumpkin but also the sweetness of sweet potatoes. The meat is dense and rich tasting , perfect for roasting or adding to soup. The skin is edible once cooked, but I chose to leave it out of this soup recipe for a creamy consistency.
How to make Crispy Sage?
Want to make your meal look like it comes from a fancy restaurant? Crispy sage immediately elevates your dish and is super easy to make! Step one: Coverย ย a large microwave safe bowl tightly with plastic wrapย (nothing should be in the bowl) Dip each sage leaf in olive oil on both sides. Set the individual leaves on top of the tight plastic wrap, spaced apart. Place the bowl with the sage leaves on top in the microwave for 30 seconds and then flip the leaves over. Repeat 4-5 times until the leaves are perfectly crisp, crackly and dark green. If they have gone black you have left them too long. This was a major lightbulb moment for me! I had no idea I could make crispy sage like this without a fryer!
What is a Veloutรฉ
Veloutรฉ means velvety in French. It is used to describe creamy sauces and soups. It can be made by blending vegetable soup with an immersion blender or in a blender until it is perfectly smooth.
Immersion blender - I have had this Kitchen Aid Immersion blender for almost 10 years now. It is a workhorse in my kitchen!
** This post is not sponsored. All items listed are indeed my own. However, this post includes affiliate links which means I receive a small commission from qualifying purchases, at no cost to you. I hope you find the information I compiled useful and I thank you for supporting my small business**
Soup Storage Instructions
Always let your soup cool before putting in the fridge or freezer.
I like to transfer my soup to airtight containers and I always put half my leftovers in the fridge to eat later in the week and the other half in the freezer to enjoy at another time.
You can keep the soup in the fridge for 3-4 days and up to 3 months in the freezer.
Veloutรฉ and Potage soups keep beautifully in the freezer! They taste just as good once defrosted and reheated as they did on the first day.
Butternut Squash Soup Variations
I love butternut squash but you can also make this soup with the same quantity of pumpkin meat, honey nut squash or acorn squash.
Instead of the crispy sage topping you can also use crushed walnuts or simply a drizzle of fresh cream or olive oil.
Here are some other French inspired soup recipes on Le Chef's Wife:
Of course, Soup is always best with freshly baked baguettes. If you haven't tried my Baking Baguettes for Beginners Recipe, I highly recommend you do!
French Fall Dinner Party
This Butternut Squash with Crispy Sage soup is one of my favorite dishes to serve at a Fall Dinner Party. It can be made ahead and is always a family favorite. Check out How to host a French Dinner Party and French Fall Dinner Party Menu for inspiration.
Did you make this Creamy butternut squash soup with crispy sage garnish? Please let me know if you did ! A rating and a comment help to grow my business, plus I LOVE hearing from you!
Au plaisr mes amis,
Anina Belle
Le Chef's Wife
ABOUT LE CHEF'S WIFE
Bonjour! I am Anina Belle. I translate the fancy cooking of my Michelin-star trained French Chef Husband, Le Chef, into easy to make dishes that busy people with no culinary training (like me!) can make at home. We have two young kids (7 and 5) and I run a marketing company in addition to this blog. I strongly believe that even busy people deserve to eat well at home.
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This creamy butternut squash soup with crispy sage garnish is warm & comforting. Simple to cook yet impressive to serve, just as I love! The crispy sage garnish and subtle taste of sage in the soup elevates the dish so that it is fancy enough to serve for a dinner party.
Ingredients
Scale
Creamy Butternut Soup with Sage
2 Butternut squash (yields about 8 cups of meat)
2 Large Potatoes
1 Shallot
3 cloves of garlic
4 tbsps of butter
1 bunch of sage (for the cooking)
1 cup of heavy cream
6 cups of chicken stock (or 6 cups of water and 1 chicken bouillon cube)
For the Crispy Sage Garnish
8 Sage leaves
3 tbsps of olive oil
4 tbsps heavy cream
Instructions
First Step is to slice and roast the butternut squash.
Roasting the butternut squash before making the soup brings out a richer, more pronounced butternut squash taste.
Slice the top off of the squash and then quarter it by slicing first in half across the middle (the narrow part that is easiest to cut) and then slicing each half lengthwise. Peel the skin off of the squash using a vegetable peeler.
Set the squash pieces on a roasting panย and drizzle with olive oil. Cover with aluminum foil and cook in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour.
Remove the squash from the oven and let cool on the counter.
Peel and chop the potatoes, the shallot and the garlic. (you can chop the ingredients into big chunks - they will be purรฉed afterwards,ย easy peasy!)
Le Chef's Tip: To release the flavors of the sage in the soup, take the bunch of sage and make little incisions in the back of each leaf. No need to cut all the way through, you just want to make tiny little cuts to let the flavors of the sage seep out.
Now that all of your ingredients are preppedย it is time to turn the heat on under your soup pot.
On medium heat melt the butter. Add in the sage bunch, the garlic and the shallot. Sautรฉe until the shallots become translucent being careful not to let the butter get too hot. If the butter starts to brown, bring the temperature down.
Remove the bunch of sage using a pair of tongs.
Now, add the potatoes and the chicken bouillon. Stir.
While the soup comes to a simmer, chop the roasted butternut squash into smaller pieces and add them to the soup pot. Stir.
Let the soup simmer for 30 minutes.
Once the potatoes and squash are cooked through (you should be able to smash them easily with a fork), turn off the heat.
Using an immersion blender, blend the soup into a fine purรฉe. There should be no chunks left. (If you only have a stand blender this works too, it is just a little messier transferring the soup into the blender)
Add in the cup of cream. Blend again.
Taste the soup (always taste your cooking!), add a pinch of salt if needed and stir.
Let sit while you finish the garnish.
For the crispy sage garnish:
Le Chef taught me the most incredible trick for making perfect crispy sage - in the microwave!!
Step one: Cover ย a large microwave safe bowl tightly with plastic wrapย (nothing should be in the bowl)
Dip each sage leaf in olive oil on both sides. Set the individual leaves on top of the plastic wrap, spaced apart.
Microwave for 30 seconds and then flip the leaves over. Repeat 4-5 times until the leaves are perfectly crisp, crackly and bright green. If they have gone black you have left them too long.
This was a major lightbulb moment for me! I had no idea I could make crispy sage like this without a fryer!
To serve:
Ladle the butternut squash soup into individual bowls. Drizzle a tablespoon of heavy cream over every bowl in a swirl motion. Gently set the crispy sage leaves in the middle of the swirl.
Notes
Le Chef's Tip:ย To release the flavors of the sage in the soup, take the bunch of sage and make little incisions in the back of each leaf. No need to cut all the way through, you just want to make tiny little cuts to let the flavors of the sage seep out.
For the crispy sage garnish:
Le Chef taught me the most incredible trick for making perfect crispy sage - in the microwave!!
Step one: Coverย ย a large microwave safe bowl tightly with plastic wrapย (nothing should be in the bowl)
Dip each sage leaf in olive oil on both sides. Set the individual leaves on top of the plastic wrap, spaced apart.
Microwave for 30 seconds and then flip the leaves over. Repeat 4-5 times until the leaves are perfectly crisp, crackly and bright green. If they have gone black you have left them too long.
This was a major lightbulb moment for me! I had no idea I could make crispy sage like this without a fryer!
** This post is not sponsored. All items listed are indeed my own. However, this post includes affiliate links which means I receive a small commission from qualifying purchases, at no cost to you. I hope you find the information I compiled useful and I thank you for supporting my business**
Hands-down the best soup recipe I've ever had. I have made it twice this week and given it to family members and they have been absolutely floored. I am allergic to garlic, so I don't include that, but it means that you can taste the butternut squash and delicacy of the shallots that much more. Truly magnificent
Puhh Watt says
"So delicious!" Fall in a bowl with this creamy butternut squash soup and crunchy sage.
Layla says
Yum! Perfect autumn soup. Thanks
Alicia Vega says
Hands-down the best soup recipe I've ever had. I have made it twice this week and given it to family members and they have been absolutely floored. I am allergic to garlic, so I don't include that, but it means that you can taste the butternut squash and delicacy of the shallots that much more. Truly magnificent
lechefswife says
Dear Alicia, Thank you so much for your kind comment! I appreciate that you took the time to let me know. I love this soup so much too. Bon appรฉtit!