Emily Weeks, RDN, LD
This Autumn Squash Soup is a copycat recipe of Panera’s delicious Fall inspired soup. Made with pumpkin puree, lots of herbs and spices, and a creamy both, this Autumn Squash Soup is warming and filling.
It’s Fall, y’all! Celebrate the first week of fall with me by making a big batch of this amazing soup. If you’ve been to Panera Bread lately, you’ll notice that their Autumn Squash Soup is back on the menu! My mom texted me the other day and told me I just had to go get a bowl. When my mom says that something is so delicious she could eat a gallon of it every day, you know that you have to go try it! Well, I went and got me some and man. It is delicious. Like I want to dive headfirst into a giant bowl of autumn squash soup.
I was so inspired by the wonderful flavors of their soup, I just had to try to re-create it at home. So began the quest of a copycat recipe– and I think this one nails it.
I went to Panera’s website to look up the ingredient list and began to take it apart and make a list of the components to include. The description on Panera’s website says “A rich blend of butternut squash and pumpkin simmered in vegetable broth with select ingredients including: honey, apple juice, cinnamon and a hint of curry, then finished with sweet cream and topped with roasted and salted pumpkin seeds.”.
That’s basically what I did. Carrot, onion, and celery were cooked in olive oil and curry powder, then I added vegetable broth and apple juice, and then the butternut squash. This simmered for a while until everything was soft enough to puree with my immersion blender
Here’s a short video to show you how to make it!
Link is my little photography assistant. His job duties include stealing bites of food off my set and running around with the dish towels hanging out of his mouth. He kept trying to grab the baguette off the plate.
Making this richly flavored fall soup inspired me to decorate this weekend– pretty flowers, mini pumpkins, and cinnamon-scented pine cones. I just love those things. Smells like Christmas. Woah, Christmas?! We’re only 3 months away, ack!
If you’re lucky enough to be experiencing “real” fall weather, make a batch of this soup (one batch makes almost 10 cups) and cozy up in a sweater and go sit on your porch or something. We’re still experiencing 93 degree weather here in Texas, so it won’t feel like fall soon. But I totally will be pretending it feels like fall outside by sipping on this soup all week.
This soup turned out amazing– it tastes almost exactly like Panera’s. The only difference I can tell is the salt– You can tell that Panera’s is just loaded with sodium. My version still has a slight salty and sweet flavor, but it’s not a salt overload like Panera’s is. The curry powder is what really makes this dish pop– it’s just a hint, and when combined with the cinnamon, garlic, onion, ginger and all the other spices, this soup is a winner.
If you’re a fan of Fall flavored soups, try my Cauliflower Potato or my Roasted Butternut Squash soup.
Here’s the recipe for Autumn Squash Soup:
Autumn Squash Soup
This Autumn Squash Soup is a copycat recipe of Panera's delicious Fall inspired soup. Made with pumpkin puree, lots of herbs and spices, and a creamy both, this Autumn Squash Soup is warming and filling.
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 1 large carrot, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp curry powder
- 1 Tbsp tomato paste
- 1 large butternut squash, diced
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 5 oz apple juice
- 15 oz canned pumpkin puree
- 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powwder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 3 Tbsp honey
- 1/2 tsp crushed dried rosemary
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1 cup milk
- 8 oz cream cheese
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar
- roasted pumpkin seeds for garnish
Instructions
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Heat the olive oil in a large soup/stock pot. Add the onion, carrots, celery, salt, curry powder and tomato paste. Stir to combine and cook until the veggies begin to soften slightly.
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Add the butternut squash, vegetable broth, and apple juice. Bring to a boil them simmer for 8-10 minutes, or until the squash and veggies are fork tender.
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Using an immersion blender, puree the soup. Stir in the pumpkin, garlic powder, onion powder, white pepper, cinnamon, honey, salt, rosemary, and ginger. Remove from heat.
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In a small saucepan, heat the milk and cream cheese until the cheese is melted. Whisk in the brown sugar. Slowly whisk the milk/cream cheese mixture into the soup pot. Mix well.
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Garnish with roasted pumpkin seeds.
Sounds and looks delicious. It’s totally soup weather here- rain rain and more rain. And your assistant is precious. ;)
Haha yes rain is definitely soup weather! I just want it to be less than 90 degrees!
Ah I LOVE that soup!! I had it a couple years ago I remember. So good. I love that you’ve created a homemade version! Pinning for later :)
Thanks for pinning!
I’ve never tried Panera’s version but this looks and sounds amazing. Perfect for Fall!
Thanks! :) Now if we could just have some fall weather here in TX!
Yum! I love squash soup. I”ve heard amazing things about Panera’s but haven’t tried it myself. I might just make this instead :)
Yes, this version tastes almost exactly like it, except lower in sodium and much cheaper :)
I adore copycat recipes…especially when it’s of Panera! :D! Can’t wait to try this one out! <3
Let me know if you try it!
Wow. Just amazing. We made this the other nigh and turned out supper delicious Thank you for sharing.
Yay I’m glad you liked it! :)
Great photos, Emily! Your photography assistant is too cute for words!
I usually avoid soups in casual dining spots because they are almost always too salty or sometimes goopy with all of the fillers. I can’t wait to try your version of the soup.
Thank you! :) He is cute and mischievous :) This version is very creamy but doesn’t have the “goopiness” factor that most restaurants have, and has much less salt. If you compared them side by side, Panera’s would be the obviously saltier one!
love soups! just made my butternut squash sweet potato soup for the first time this year. Many more months to try all different squash soup varieties including yours!
Oo, I’ll have to go check out your soup! Sounds great!
This looks SO good!!! I love squash soup… I’ve never had Panera’s but I’m definitely trying this :)
You have no idea how happy I was when I saw the title of this recipe! I am obsessed with Panera’s soup and could eat it almost every day. YUM!! Can’t wait to try this ASAP.
[…] Autumn Squash Soup via Zen & Spice. (A Panera Bread copy cat recipe with less sodium but just as much flavor! Definitely adding to my menu list for fall!) […]
I love this soup!! I can’t wait to make this!! It sounds delicious!
Could you make this soup ahead of time, and then reheat it the next day?
Yes, definitely! You could also freeze it in individual bags.
I followed this recipe to a T and found that the flavor of the apple cider overpowered all the flavors. I tried to add more salt to balance it out but nothing. I bought the apple cider straight from the orchard near my house so I’m wondering if it’s more concentrated than the store bought. I will try this again next time, but add apple juice instead of apple cider and will try with one cup first. It’s a good base to tweak and make it your own, as it did not taste like the Panera soup. Good reciper and easy instructions though!!
How much did your large butternut squash weight? Or how many cups did it end up with? Someone’s large could easily be someone else’s medium or x-large. I’m excited to try your recipe as you seem to use what PB has in their soup ingredients and you’ve not put in a bunch of personal extras.