This High Protein Vegan Butternut Squash Soup is creamy, comforting and silky-smooth — the perfect blend of roasted veggies and plant protein. It’s wholesome yet luxurious and ideal for meal-prep or cosy nights in.
Love soup? Me too! Nothing like a bowl of warm soup and crusty garlic bread, no matter the season for me. I love this Broccoli & Potato Soup perfect for fights winter colds and bringing the nutrients.
This soup tastes like a hug in a bowl. The roasted veggies develop a deep sweetness while the lentils and hemp hearts add creaminess and protein without using cream or cheese. This is a fantastic way to add extra protein without compromising on taste or changing the flavour profile too much.
It’s nourishing and gut-friendly — filling but never heavy. The red wine vinegar at the end brightens everything and makes the flavours pop. It’s one of those recipes you’ll want to make in a big batch and keep on rotation. It’s also great for freezing and works as a soup or if you water it down, its makes for a fab sauce over tofu or ravioli. Because it’s naturally vegan, gluten-free and low FODMAP, it fits so many diets while still feeling indulgent. Truly, it’s a bowl of balance — sweet, smoky, savoury and silky.
Note: One of my favourite things about this soup is that it’s easy. You just pop it all in the oven, take it out and blend. That said, you might want to invest in an immersion blender for this. I don’t have one and blending up around 3kgs of soup in my Nutribullet was time consuming and painful (which this soup shouldn’t be!).
Main Ingredients & Why We Use Them
- Butternut Squash – Sweet and creamy base for the soup; full of vitamin A and antioxidants.
- Carrots & Capsicum – Add natural sweetness and depth of flavour.
- Red Onion & Garlic – Roasted for caramelised flavour and richness.
- Cherry Tomatoes – Brighten the flavour and add natural acidity.
- Olive Oil & Maple Syrup – Help the veggies caramelise beautifully.
- Smoked Paprika, Cumin & Thyme – Warm spices that add smokiness and earthy notes.
- Split Red Lentils – Thicken the soup while boosting protein and fibre.
- Hemp Hearts – Create a luxuriously creamy texture and add omega-3s plus loads of protein.
- Vegetable Stock & Lentil Cream – Blend everything together into a silky finish.
- Red Wine Vinegar or Lemon Juice – Adds that final touch of brightness and balance.
Butternut Squash Soup Ingredients
Protein Liquid Base Soup Ingredients
How to Make It
Roast the pumpkin, carrots, onions, capsicum and tomatoes on a lined tray with olive oil, maple syrup and spices at 200 °C for 45–60 minutes until soft and golden. Meanwhile, cook the lentils until tender and drain any extra liquid. Scoop the roasted squash flesh and squeeze out the garlic cloves. Add all the roasted veg, lentils, hemp hearts and stock to a blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Pour the soup into a pot to warm through, stir in the lentil cream and finish with vinegar or lemon juice. Adjust salt and pepper to taste and serve hot.
Variations and Substitutes
Swap butternut squash for pumpkin or sweet potato — both work beautifully. Use coconut milk instead of lentil cream for extra richness, or add a pinch of chilli flakes for heat. For extra protein, blend in white beans or silken tofu. You can also turn this into a pasta sauce by thinning with a bit of stock and tossing it through ravioli or penne. If you’re meal-prepping, store portions in the freezer for quick weekday meals.
Equipment
An immersion blender is key for this recipe, which I didn’t have! So if you don’t have one, stress-less, a NutriBullet works well too — just blend in batches and note that it will take loner. Also make sure the veggies aren’t too hot as they can overwork the blender and be dangerous.
How to Serve It
Serve with a cheese toastie for the ultimate comfort combo, or thin it out with extra water or veggie stock and use it as a velvety sauce over vegan ravioli. Drizzle with chilli oil or extra lentil cream and sprinkle with fresh coriander or hemp hearts for a restaurant-worthy finish.
How to Store It
Store in the fridge for up to 4 days in an airtight container, or freeze for up to 3 months. Reheat gently on the stove with a splash of water or stock to loosen it back up. It keeps its silky texture even after freezing, so make a big batch – future you will thank you.
How to Make It
High Protein Butternut Squash Soup
Ingredients
Roasted Veg
- 1 large butternut pumpkin halved (~2kg)
- 2 carrots chopped
- 1 red onion halved
- 2 heads garlic top trimmed
- 1 capsicum
- 400 g cherry tomatoes
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- salt & pepper to taste
Protein Creamy Base
- ½ cup split red lentils rinsed
- ½ cup hemp hearts
- 500 ml vegetable stock
- 250 ml water plus more as needed
- 100 ml lentil cream or coconut milk can adjust up to 200 ml for richer texture
Finishing
- 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar or lemon juiced to taste — start small
- fresh coriander or basil to serve
- Optional drizzle of chilli oil or extra lentil milk or coconut milk
Instructions
Heat oven
- Preheat oven to 200 °C (390 °F). Line a large tray with baking paper.
Prepare the vegetables
- Slice the pumpkin with a criss-cross design to ensure it roasts well. Spread pumpkin, carrot, onion, garlic, capsicum, and tomatoes on the tray. Drizzle with olive oil and maple syrup, then sprinkle with smoked paprika, cumin, thyme, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Toss well to coat. Turn the butternut pumpkin skin side down on the baking paper. Cover in foil.
Roast veggies
- Roast veggies with for 45 minutes. Remove veggies from tray, remove the foil and keep roasting the butternut pumpkin until soft, usually another 15 minutes. Note 1.
Cook lentils
- While veggies roast, simmer lentils in a small saucepan with 1 cup water for about 12 minutes, until soft and creamy. Drain any excess.
Blend
- Scoop out the roasted squash flesh and squeeze out the roasted garlic cloves. Using an immersion blender (ideal) or blender, add theses and the roasted veggies, cooked lentils, hemp hearts, vegetable stock and water. Blend until completely smooth and creamy. Add extra or less water depending on how thick you want it.
Warm through
- Pour the blended soup into a pot over medium heat. Stir in the lentil cream and simmer gently for 3–5 minutes. Taste, then brighten with 1–2 teaspoon vinegar to lift the flavour. Add salt and pepper as needed.
Serve
- Ladle into bowls, drizzle with vegan cream, and top with fresh basil. Serve with some garlic bread of course!
