COPYCAT PANERA AUTUMN SQUASH SOUP

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This Copycat Panera Autumn Squash Soup is the ultimate healthy alternative! It tastes like the original Panera autumn squash soup while being lightened up! This soup is made with a  combination of pumpkin and butternut squash mixed with apple, ginger, and spices. There is a small amount of light cream cheese for added creaminess. This Panera copycat autumn squash soup is silky smooth, creamy, luscious, and balanced.

Why You Will Love Autumn Squash Soup

• This soup is vegetarian and gluten-free!
• It has the same delicious flavors as the original while being healthier.
• There is no heavy cream in this recipe.
• This soup is incredibly flavorful and creamy.

What Is Panera Autumn Squash Soup?

Panera autumn squash soup is a popular soup that you can get at the chain restaurant café, Panera Bread. Also, this soup can be found in the refrigerated section of many grocery stores. The soup contains butternut squash, pumpkin, and more autumn flavors. This copycat autumn squash soup recipe is much healthier than the original, while still being incredibly creamy and delicious.

Copycat Panera Autumn Squash Soup Ingredients

• Butternut Squash: Use one pound of peeled and chopped butternut squash.
• Carrots: Peel and chop the carrots.
• Celery: Chop the celery stalks.
• Onion: Slice half of a large sweet onion.
• Olive Oil: A small amount of olive oil is used for roasting.
• Pumpkin Puree: Use pumpkin puree in this recipe, not pumpkin pie filling.
• Applesauce: Unsweetened applesauce adds apple flavor to the soup.
• Sweetener: Sweeten this soup with maple syrup. You can add more to taste if you want a sweeter soup.
• Cream Cheese: Use light or fat-free cream cheese. The cream cheese adds creaminess to the soup.
• Light Cream Cheese: The cream cheese adds creaminess to the soup.
• Seasonings: To add flavor to the soup, use curry powder, nutmeg, cinnamon, ground ginger, salt, onion powder, and garlic powder.
• Vegetable Broth: Helps make the soup a smooth consistency.

How To Make Panera Autumn Squash Soup

First, add the chopped butternut squash, peeled and chopped carrots, and chopped celery to a sheet pan. Then, drizzle olive oil and sprinkle some salt and pepper over these ingredients.

After that, roast the butternut squash, carrots, and celery at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes. Then, carefully add the sliced onions to the sheet pan and continue to roast for another 20-30 minutes.

Next, add the pumpkin puree, unsweetened applesauce, maple syrup, light cream cheese, curry powder, nutmeg, cinnamon, ground ginger, salt, onion powder, and garlic powder to a high-powered blender. After that, add the roasted ingredients and vegetable broth to the blender.

Then, blend the soup until smooth.

After that, heat the soup in a large saucepan on the stove over medium-low heat until warm.

How To Serve

Once the soup is warm, serve it in bowls and enjoy! Some optional toppings are roasted pepitas/pumpkin seeds, red pepper flakes, and Greek yogurt. This soup is delicious on its own or with some crispy toasted bread, our brussels sprout salad, carrot apple salad, or Caesar salad.

Tips For Making Panera Autumn Squash Soup

• How To Chop The Vegetables: Chop the carrots and celery into 1-inch pieces. Don’t chop them too small. The butternut squash takes time to cook, and you don’t want the carrots and celery to cook too fast. So, about 1-inch chops are perfect so they cook at the same rate.
• Add The Onions Later: Let the butternut squash, carrots, and celery roast for 20 minutes before adding the sliced onions. Otherwise, the onions will burn because they take less time to cook than the other ingredients. Make sure to carefully add the onions to the sheet pan.
• Make The Soup Sweeter: The original Panera autumn squash soup is sweet. When making this copycat soup recipe, we liked it less sweet than the original. However, if you want your soup to taste even more like the original, add more maple syrup or sweetener of choice to taste.
• Roast Butternut Squash: If you don’t want to peel and chop the butternut squash into cubes, you can roast it whole instead. Just cut the butternut squash in half, scoop out the seeds, and roast it on a sheet pan at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 45-55 minutes, or until done. Then, scoop out the butternut squash for this recipe.

How To Store And Reheat Soup

To Store: First, let any leftover soup cool. Then, add it to an airtight container and store it in the refrigerator. This autumn squash soup will last 3-5 days in the refrigerator. We don’t recommend freezing it because the cream cheese will alter the consistency of the soup.

To Reheat: When ready to enjoy this soup again, warm it up in a saucepan on the stove over medium-low heat.

Autumn Squash Soup Recipe Variations

• Adjust The Sweetener: We liked this soup less sweet and felt that it was balanced with one tablespoon of maple syrup. If you want your soup to be sweeter, like the original Panera version, you can add more maple syrup to taste.
• What Sweetener To Use: You can sweeten this soup with maple syrup, sugar-free maple syrup, honey, or the sweetener of your choice.
• What Cream Cheese To Use: You can use any cream cheese you like in this recipe. We used light cream cheese. To further lighten up this soup, you can use fat-free cream cheese.
• Chopped Butternut Squash: You can peel the butternut squash and cut it into cubes yourself or buy pre-chopped butternut squash.
• How Many Carrots To Use: For this recipe, you will need 2-3 medium carrots, depending on the size of the carrots. We used 3 carrots because they were small.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Long Does Autumn Squash Soup Last?

This soup will last 3-5 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Is Panera Autumn Squash Soup Healthy?

This copycat Panera autumn squash soup is much healthier than the original Panera version. We have lightened it up while keeping the delicious flavors of the original soup! Our version contains way less sugar, is made with simple ingredients, doesn’t contain any heavy cream or milk, and is lower in calories.

Is Autumn Squash Soup Vegetarian?

This copycat autumn squash soup recipe is vegetarian!

Does Panera Autumn Squash Soup Have Dairy?

Yes, the Panera autumn squash soup contains dairy. The Panera version contains milk, heavy cream, and cream cheese. Our copycat version also contains dairy but is lightened up and does not contain any milk or heavy cream, only a small amount of light cream cheese.

Is Panera Autumn Squash Soup Vegan?

Both the Panera autumn squash soup and this copycat version are not vegan. To make this soup vegan, omit the cream cheese altogether. Or, replace the cream cheese with tofu or unsweetened vegan plain yogurt.

Is Autumn Squash Soup Gluten-Free?

This autumn squash soup is naturally gluten-free!

More Recipes To Try Next!

• Pumpkin Pasta Sauce
• Roasted Carrot Ginger Soup
• Easy French Onion Soup Recipe
• Creamy Potato Soup
• Spicy Black Bean Soup

If you try this recipe please be sure to leave us a comment and star rating ★★★★★ letting us know how it turns out for you. We hope you enjoy this copycat Panera autumn squash soup!