Copycat Panera Autumn Squash Soup Recipe
on Sep 22, 2014, Updated Oct 21, 2020
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If you are needing a perfect fall soup recipe, this Copycat Panera Autumn Squash Soup is going to be perfect. Soup during the fall is a staple in our household. I purchase cans of soup for the kiddos to make a quick lunch with and also make some soups for the family to enjoy. I shared quite a few soups with you last fall like our Slow Cooker Bean Soup and also our Copycat Panera Broccoli Soup too! This CopyCat Panera Autumn Squash Soup was “Over the Top” delicious! I think I told all of my friends and extended family how tasty it was and how they would NEED to make this soup this fall. I have enjoyed Panera Autumn Squash Soup at Panera a few times in the past with a side salad. I just never thought to make it on my own at home. My hubby is great with copycat recipes so I had him make this one for us. He took a trip to Panera and immediately decided to make his copycat version after tasting all the flavor profiles. I will now be enjoying Autumn Squash Sup at home and saving some $$’s.
Copycat Panera Autumn Squash Soup Recipe
The ingredients you will need to make your Autumn Squash Soup are quite simple. I grabbed a small Butternut squash while shopping at Kroger and I had everything else on hand in my pantry. So this soup was quite inexpensive.
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INGREDIENTS
1 Butternut Squash
1 small Onion
2 tbsp Olive Oil
15 oz Pumpkin Puree
2 cup Vegetable Broth
1 1/2 cup Apple Cider
1 1/2 cup Heavy Cream
2 tbsp Honey
1/4 tsp Curry Powder
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Black Pepper
Pumpkin Seeds (for garnish)
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 450.
Peel and seed squash and cut into chunks.
Peel and quarter onion
Toss squash and onion in olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.
Cook for 20 minutes.
Allow to cool at least 10 minutes.
Puree in blender or food processor.
In a large sauce pan, combine squash puree, pumpkin puree, vegetable broth, apple cider and cream.
Bring to a low boil over medium heat.
Add honey and spices and simmer for 10 minutes.
Garnish with pumpkin seeds.
Copycat Panera Autumn Squash Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 Butternut Squash
- 1 small Onion
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
- 15 oz Pumpkin Puree
- 2 cup Vegetable Broth
- 1 1/2 cup Apple Cider
- 1 1/2 cup Heavy Cream
- 2 tbsp Honey
- 1/4 tsp Curry Powder
- 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
- 2 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
- Pumpkin Seeds, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450.
- Peel and seed squash and cut into chunks.
- Peel and quarter onion
- Toss squash and onion in olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.
- Cook for 20 minutes.
- Allow to cool at least 10 minutes.
- Puree in blender or food processor.
- In a large sauce pan, combine squash puree, pumpkin puree, vegetable broth, apple cider and cream.
- Bring to a low boil over medium heat.
- Add honey and spices and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Garnish with pumpkin seeds.
Just made it. Love it!
Favorite soup from Panera. So happy to have tried the recipe. Will be making it often.
I’ve made this soup the last few years and it is fantastic. I have made a couple of my own changes for taste ie…eliminated the curry powder (which we dislike) and added brown sugar and less honey. I have also added ground chorizo sausage as a garnish which is fantastic.
Love this soup…it is highly popular and now served at every thanksgiving celebration.
When I created a copycat recipe of Panera’s Autumn Squash Soup for a LARGE tea party, before I found this one, I bought one small container of the name brand from the store, read the label, and gathered ingredients.
As I cooked, I kept my spice cabinet open. lol I kept tasting the original and adding ingredients until my tastebuds found a match. I didn’t have this recipe at the time and didn’t think about using cider, so I added apple juice plus and a couple tablespoons “Whole Earth” brand sweetener (my absolute favorite no-sugar sweetener!) Everyone raved. Unfortunately, I failed to write the recipe down! I’m so glad I found this copycat recipe! (Note: I don’t add the salt until the end and don’t measure, just sprinkle. I only salt to taste.) To this recipe, I add:
4 oz. cream cheese or Neufchâtel
1 tsp. Gourmet Garden ginger paste
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
4 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
Milk—to thin as necessary
Whole Earth brand sweetener—to taste
The Panera label on the soup shares these ingredients:
Pumpkin, Vegetable Stock (Water, Vegetable Base [Carrots, Celery, Onions, Tomato Paste, Corn Oil, Yeast Extract, Potato Flour, Salt, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Natural Flavor]), Milk, Cream Cheese (Pasteurized Milk and Cream, Cheese Culture, Salt, Carob Bean Gum), Brown Sugar, Butternut Squash, Heavy Cream, Contains 2% or less of: Carrots, Onions, Butter (Cream, Salt), Apple Juice Concentrate, Sugar, Corn Starch, Salt, Ginger Puree (Ginger, Citric Acid), Honey, Lemon Juice Concentrate, Curry Powder (Spices, Turmeric, Onions), Spices and Nisin Preparation.
Some people didn’t read carefully, I believe, and added “apple cider vinegar” instead of “apple cider” the beverage, which, of course, is added for sweetness. Oops.
To my tastebuds, this recipe isn’t quite as sweet as Panera. This is going to vary based on the apple cider purchased. Some are naturally more sweet than others. Once you add the cream cheese, ginger, and the additional spices, I think the flavors will come together and you will taste the difference.
Every recipe on earth offers a base for you to create. Some might be timid to change anything because you don’t want to mess up and waste a whole pot/dish/bowl of ingredients. The best way to introduce new flavor ideas is to take just a spoonful of your “almost done“ recipes (meaning if your recipe contains meat, the meat is fully cooked,) and add just a tiny bit of the new ingredient to the spoon. If the new flavor compliments the recipe in the spoonful, it will be even better when it marries all the other flavors in the dish/pot/bowl. Remember, you can always add, but you can’t take it back out. lol And, please, use a clean spoon every time you “taste, add, taste.” Happy cooking!
Can spaghetti squash be used instead of butternut?
I’ve acquired a couple of these and not sure how to use them.
TIA
You should make a note in the recipe that it is Apple Cider and not Apple Cider Vinegar.
I just had this soup at Panera for the first time and knew I had to find the recipe. This one was spot on.
Just made this! I didn’t have apple cider or cream in hand. I substituted 2 green apples and roasted them with the squash and onions. I am dairy free so I substituted unsweetened almond milk for the cream. I added about 2 cups of milk and about a half cup of broth to account for the loss of apple cider liquid. I added a touch more spices along with a 1/4 tap dried ginger to add some brightness. Honey and salt to taste. It was delicious! Family loved it!
This recipe has way to much apple cider vinegar. I would recommend either roasting some apples and putting more veggie broth or when the soup is done put some baking soda in it and mix until there are no more bubbles. The baking soda gets rid of that vinegar taste. Just put in a little at a time and the end result is very yummy.
The recipe calls for apple cider, not apple cider vinegar.
There is no vinegar in this recipe. Why would you use vinegar?
Great recipe, almost identical to Panera. Not sure why so many found the cider overwhelming, I coulnt even detect it. I think Panera’s is MUCH SWEETER. Save yourself some time and forget peeling the squash. Cut into manageable sizes and just cut the skin off with sharp knife as you’re cubing pieces. The processor I used didn’t quite purée it enough so I ordered an immersion blender JUST for this recipe. Turned out excellent though, great taste, pumpkin seeds add a bonus!
I bought an immersion blender JUST for this recipe, as well. Worth it! The soup isn’t as dark of a golden color as the original but the flavor and texture are spot-on.
I love Panara’s Butternut Squash soup. I am sad to say, I was made this after dreaming about it since I found this recipe. I felt the soup was way too thick. I may be able to salvage it and give it a second try if I added perhaps another 2 cups of vegetable broth.
Hi Phyllis! I am sorry to hear the soup was not something your cared for. Additional vegetable broth will work to thin your soup down.
Is there any nutritional information? (LOVED the soup as did my family)
Try adding milk until you gain your desired consistency. This recipe as a base adding the following is AMAZING:
4 oz. cream cheese or Neufchâtel
1 tsp. Gourmet Garden ginger paste
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
4 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
Milk—to thin as necessary
Whole Earth brand sweetener or more brown sugar—to taste
Just made this soup exactly as written. Oh my goodness, it is divine! I wouldn’t change a thing!
#1 Great recipe! Couple of notes/modifications. Apple CIDER. NOT Apple Cider VINEGAR.
#2 Add 1/2 tsp of ginger (Panera’s describes ginger as an ingredient)
#3 Add honey TO TASTE, I ended up using more I think because of the size of my squash
#4 Use a sweet onion, mine was more small to medium sized and you could taste the onion more than I would have liked.
#5 I used the same measurement of Coconut Cream so I could make it dairy free (yum!)
#6 I used Bone Broth (more nutritious) and I didn’t notice any difference in flavor, but I did sort of forget and ruined my vegan recipe
#7 If you can’t get a bread bowl, definitely just read up a piece of sour dough – SOOOOO GOOOD!!!