Slow Cooker or Instant Pot Pumpkin Butternut Squash Bisque

A comforting bowl of fabulously delicious fall flavors! This Pumpkin Butternut Squash Bisque makes a perfect main course, or starter to any fall feast. Perfect for the holidays, too! Best part is that you can set it and forget it in the Instant Pot or Slow Cooker. 

Does anyone else love their trips to Trader Joe’s and look forward to the sample table? I *might* go there just about everyday. It’s one of my happy places. I purposely only buy a small number of groceries so I can visit again the next day. I am one of these weirdos who does love a good grocery store (caveat is that I don’t love ALL grocery stores, but trips to Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s always make me happy). Because really, I go there to taste new foods. The sample table, it’s pretty awesome.

So recently, Pumpkin Butternut Squash Bisque was being sampled. It was just as delicious as I thought it would be. My little Miss Carbivore being the soup lover that she is, also was slightly obsessed with the flavors. She asked me to buy, and I looked at the ingredients, and thought, “nah, let’s make it ourselves.”

So we did. And it was perfect. It took a few tries and tweaking to get it right, but I am super happy with the results! I love this because it’s so easy to throw in the Instant Pot or Slow Cooker. I didn’t even need to roast the vegetables beforehand, just dice everything up! The addition of the apple gives a slight hint of sweetness without being overpowering.

It’s definitely a bowl of fall comfort. It will make the perfect addition to any meal especially during the holidays, is delicious by itself as a main course, or can be made to enjoy for lunches throughout the week. I garnished with some pumpkin seeds and extra herbs, so good!!

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Slow Cooker or Instant Pot Pumpkin Butternut Squash Bisque

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 8 hours

Total Time 8 hours 20 minutes

Servings 6

Author Amy Rains

5 from 1 vote

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Ingredients

• 1 large butternut squash
• 1 2-3 lb pie pumpkin
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 medium sized white onion diced
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 large apple I used honey crisp, but your favorite is fine
• 3-4 cups vegetable or chicken broth*
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 2 tsp dried basil
• 2 tsp dried sage
• 1 tsp salt + more to taste
• 1/2 cup coconut milk or cream optional

Instructions

1. Start by preparing your squash and pumpkin. Peel the skin off your butternut squash. Cut in half vertically to remove the seeds. Then cut into 1 inch chunks. For the pumpkin, cut in half and remove the seeds. Continue cutting to carve out the inside flesh of the pumpkin. Cut into chunks.
2. For your Slow Cooker:
3. Dump all ingredients except for the coconut milk into your slow cooker.
4. Set your slow cooker to low, and cook for 8 hours. Remove lid and add coconut milk (if using)
5. Use an immersion blender to blend the soup into a bisque. You can also use a high powered blender (be sure to vent the top a bit because of the heat).
6. Garnish with pumpkin seeds and fresh herbs.
7. For the Instant Pot:
8. Select the saute function. Add oil to your pot once hot. Now add the onion, and cook for 2-3 minutes, then add the garlic and cook for another 1-2 mins.
9. Add the squash, pumpkin, and apple. Top with broth, vinegar, spices. Secure the lid.
10. Select manual on your instant pot, and cook on high pressure for 14 minutes.
11. Use a natural release for 15 minutes, then release the pressure before opening the lid.
12. Add coconut milk (if using), and blend your soup with an immersion blender or move to a regular blender (venting the top to avoid explosion from the heat).
13. Garnish with pumpkin seeds and fresh herbs.

Recipe Notes

*The amount of broth used will depend on the amount of vegetables you have from the squash and pumpkin. Do a rough estimate when adding to your slow cooker or IP. If you have around 8 cups, only use 3 cups broth for a thicker soup (you can always add more broth in the end if it's too thick). If you have around 10 cups, use 4 cups broth.