Swirled Beet and Butternut Squash Soup

Pureed roasted beets are swirled into a luscious butternut squash base to create a visually stunning and delicious fall soup!

I absolutely love classic butternut squash soup. There are few soups that capture the essence of fall quite like it. But sometimes, you just want to shake things up a bit, you know? That’s how this stunning Swirled Beet and Butternut Squash Soup came to life!

When I was brainstorming unique ingredients to pair with butternut squash – beyond the usual suspects like apple – I thought of beets. They’re another quintessential fall ingredient, yet I rarely see them combined with butternut squash in soup form, especially the vibrant red variety.

As soon as the idea struck, I felt a surge of inspiration: I had to create a swirled soup! After all, you eat with your eyes, and a vibrant golden yellow and red swirled soup is truly a work of art.

What’s more, this Beet and Butternut Squash Soup is incredibly easy to make – no stovetop required, just an oven and a blender. It’s actually like having two soups in one recipe: a rich butternut squash soup infused with sage, nutmeg, and shallots, and a tangy beet soup with shallots, garlic, and balsamic.

When swirled together, they create the most bold and vibrant fall soup you’ve ever tasted. Perfect for impressing guests at your next dinner party, this Swirled Beet and Butternut Squash Soup is not only luscious but also a feast for the eyes. And yes, it’s absolutely delicious!

The ingredients for swirled beet and butternut squash soup. There is half of a butternut squash, some fresh beets, vegetable stock, shallots, garlic, sage, balsamic, olive oil, salt pepper and nutmeg.

Beet and Butternut Squash Soup Ingredients

Here is everything you need to make this beautiful Swirled Beet and Butternut Squash Soup:

Butternut Squash: Roasted butternut squash serves as the foundation of the soup, imparting natural sweetness and a velvety texture. While I prefer to peel and dice my own squash, you can easily use pre-cut options for convenience.

Beets: Just a little bit of roasted beets are blended with a splash of balsamic vinegar to create the unmistakable vibrant ruby red swirl and give the soup an earthy tangy flavor. The best part? You don’t need to peel the beets beforehand – just chop, roast and blend!

Shallots: Milder and sweeter than onions, with a subtle hint of garlic, shallots are roasted alongside the butternut squash and beets and are blended with both to help create the base of the soup. You can find shallots alongside onions at the grocery store.

Garlic: Just one roasted garlic clove adds a layer of warmth and complexity to the soup. It’s the perfect touch to elevate the dish without overpowering the other flavors.

Sage: A classic pairing with butternut squash, fresh sage leaves are roasted alongside the squash and blended into the soup. They bring an earthy, aromatic quality that complements the sweetness of the squash beautifully.

Vegetable Stock: I prefer using vegetable stock to keep the soup 100% vegetarian (and vegan!). Opting for high-quality vegetable stock instead of broth ensures a rich, umami flavor that enhances the overall taste of the soup.

A baking sheet with butternut squash topped with sage, shallots, garlic and beets before roasting.

A baking sheet with roasted butternut squash topped with sage leaves, shallots, garlic, and beets.

How to Make Swirled Beet and Butternut Squash Soup

At a high level here are the steps you need to take to make this soup:

ROAST VEGETABLES
Arrange beets, butternut squash sprinkled with sage, garlic clove and shallots on a parchment lined baking sheet. Drizzle the veggies with olive oil, salt and pepper and then roast for 30 minutes.
BLEND BUTTERNUT
Transfer butternut squash and sage, half of the shallots, nutmeg, 2 cups of the vegetable stock to a high speed blender. Blend until smooth and set aside until ready to serve.
BLEND THE BEETS
Add the beets, the remaining half of the shallot and garlic as well as the remaining ½ cup of vegetable stock and balsamic vinegar to it. Blend until smooth.
SWIRL AND SERVE
Pour some butternut squash soup into a bowl. Add 1-2 tablespoons of the beet soup on top in a swirl pattern (see tips below on how to do this!). Serve and enjoy!

A small clear bowl with purred beets. A spoon with some beets on it sits to the right. In the top left corner of the image there is a corner of a white bowl with some butternut squash and beet soup.

Tips to get that PERFECT SWIRL

Here are my top tips for getting that beautiful swirled soup:

Make sure that the blended beets are not too thick. The beets should be easily pourable so feel free to add some more vegetable stock if you feel it’s needed.
Use less beets than you think at first. You can always add more!
Use a spoon. First use the spoon to drizzle the beets in a circular pattern into the butternut squash soup. Then use that same spoon to gently drag the drizzled beets through the butternut squash soup to create the swirl.

If you want a better visual on exactly how I create my perfect soup swirl, check out this video:

Recipe FAQs

Don’t I need to peel the beet before roasting it?

Nope! There’s no need to peel the beets – just give them a thorough scrub to remove any dirt before chopping and roasting. This saves time and retains all the nutrients!

Is the soup vegan?

Yes, this recipe is 100% vegan as written, making it a great choice for plant-based diets.

Can I use an immersion blender for this recipe?

Absolutely! An immersion blender works well for this soup. Just be sure to transfer the butternut squash ingredients to the pot where you’ll keep the soup warm before blending. Also, be cautious when blending the beets, as they can splatter and stain easily.

I have leftover blended beets. What can I do with them?

As noted in the recipe, you may have some leftover blended beets after creating the swirls. I like to serve this at the table, allowing diners to add more beet swirls to their soup as they eat. Alternatively, the blended beets are delicious on their own and can be enjoyed as a separate soup!

The recipe calls for optional Pumpernickel Croutons, do I need them?

I love adding croutons to smooth blended soups like this just to add a little more texture, but yes the croutons are entirely optional. The soup is delicious even without them.

A bowl of beet and butternut squash soup. Some beets sit nearby, as does a spoon and a small bowl of roasted squash and some fresh sage leaves. There is another bowl with some plain butternut squash soup in the top right corner of the image.

Related Recipes

Looking for some other luscious and delicious vegetable soups to try? Check out my Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Bisque or my Creamy Asparagus Leek Soup with Thyme.