Copycat Panera Autumn Squash Soup tastes like your favorite fall soup. This cozy cold weather soup includes butternut squash, carrots, shallots, apple juice, pumpkin puree, and cream cheese.
Autumn Squash Soup is my favorite soup from Panera. While other people are waiting for Starbucks to come out with their PSL, I'm refreshing Panera's website, waiting for this soup to make its appearance.
The toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds) that top the squash soup might be my favorite part. They are super simple to make. The hard part might be finding the raw pepitas. I got them from the "healthy" section at my Kroger’s.
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🔪 How to Make Panera Autumn Squash Soup
- Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add squash, carrots, and shallots, and season with salt. Cook, occasionally stirring, until the vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes.
- Mix in ginger and curry powder, and cook until it becomes fragrant, about 1 minute more.
- Mix in broth, apple juice, and brown sugar. Turn the heat to high and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover. Cook until vegetables are soft, about 20 minutes.
- Add in pumpkin puree and cream cheese.
- If you are using an immersion blender: blend soup until smooth. Season with salt.
- If you are using a blender: Let the soup cool slightly. If your soup is too hot, it will cause the lid to pop off. Add soup to your blender. Only fill it ¾ of the way full. Work in batches if necessary. Blend on high till the soup is smooth. You may want to crack the lid just a little so the steam can escape.
- Serve soup topped with pepitas.
👩🍳Tips
If you need to blend soup, like you do in this recipe, immersion blenders are your friend. With regular blenders you have to wait for the soup to cool before you blend it, with an immersion blender, you don’t.
You can find them pretty cheap. I have a Cuisine art immersion blender that costs around $35. It worked well in blending this soup to a thick and creamy texture, saving time and dishes.
🥗 Sides
- Crusty Bread
- Grilled Cheese Sandwich
- BLT Sandwich
- BLT Salad
How to Toast Pepitas
To make the toasted pepitas preheat the oven to 350°. On a medium baking sheet, toss pepitas with oil and chili powder and season with salt. Bake until pepitas are crunchy and golden, about 10 minutes. Let cool completely.
🙋♀️ FAQ
It’s creamy and tastes like squash. There are warm spices and a hit of sweetness.
About 4-5 days
Want more tasty fall recipes?
Panera Autumn Squash Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 3-lb. butternut squash, peeled, deseeded, and cut into 1" cubes
- 2 medium carrots peeled and chopped
- ½ large shallot chopped
- 2 teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon curry powder
- 2 cup vegetable broth
- 1 ⅓ cup apple juice
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar optional
- ½ cup pumpkin puree
- 2 tablespoons cream cheese softened
- ¼ cup toasted pepitas to top the soup
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add squash, carrots, and shallots, and season with salt. Cook, occasionally stirring, until the vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes.
- Mix in ginger and curry powder, and cook until it becomes fragrant, about 1 minute more.
- Mix in broth, apple juice, and brown sugar. Turn the heat to high and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover. Cook until vegetables are soft, about 20 minutes.
- Add in pumpkin puree and cream cheese.
- If you are using an immersion blender: blend the soup until smooth. Season with salt.
- If you are using a blender: Let the soup cool slightly. If your soup is too hot, it will cause the lid to pop off. Add soup to your blender. Only fill it ¾ of the way full. Work in batches if necessary. Blend on high till the soup is smooth. You may want to crack the lid just a little, so the steam can escape.
- Serve soup topped with pepitas.
Notes
Nutrition
Recipe adapted from Delish's Squash Soup. I adjusted the recipe to make the soup thicker and naturally sweeter, similar to how it taste at Panera.
Food safety
- Cook to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C)
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
- See more guidelines at USDA.gov
Did you make this recipe? Let me know!