Best Butternut Squash Soup You Can Buy, According to Our Taste Test

Butternut squash soup is the best fall soup. Hard stop. It is sweet and savory, cozy and creamy, buttery and squashy. But while the ingredients are simple (squash, butter, salt, pepper, maybe some apple if you’re feeling frisky), prepping and roasting a butternut squash is not an easy task. Enter butternut squash soup from the grocery store. 

I tasted the eight different store bought butternut squash soups I could find at my local grocery stores in order to find the best store bought butternut squash soup. And I was shocked to discover that the majority of them are bad. Not just underwhelming or lackluster—bad. But that just made the three good butternut squash soups I found taste even better. Whether you like butternut squash soup with apple or extra creamy butternut squash soup, one of these butternut squash soups will satisfy you. Wrap yourself up in your plaid-est scarf and grab a spoon. 

Best Brothy

If you prefer your butternut squash soup on the thinner end of the spectrum (the other end being closer to a puree or baby food), then this is the best butternut squash soup for your tastes. It’s quite savory and feels nourishing. You could sip this out of a mug to warm up after a run. Or you could use it as a base for a more substantial soup by adding some noodles or rice or chunked up rotisserie chicken. It’s also the only shelf-stable butternut squash soup on this list, so if you don’t have the fridge space, it’s a no-brainer.

Credit: Merc / Instacart

Rating:

8/10

Sporks

Best with Apple

Butternut squash soup is one of the only soups in which apples belong. This sweet, creamy butternut squash soup with apple from Albertsons’ in-store brand is a delightful bisque. And while the apple chunks were not everyone’s cup of tea, I very much enjoyed the textural variety they provided. In fact, I would add even more fresh chopped apple to really make a fancy bowlful of butternut squash soup—try some tart Granny Smith to contrast against the buttery sweetness.

Credit: Merc / Vons

Rating:

9/10

Sporks

Best of the Best

While the Panera butternut squash soup is technically an autumn squash soup because it also includes pumpkin, it was still the best store bought butternut squash soup we tried. In terms of its thickness, it falls somewhere between the ultra-thick Signature Cafe and brothy Kettle & Fire soups. And it’s much, much more savory than Signature Cafe, though it still leans sweet thanks to the mellow flavor of the squash. A bowlful of this butternut squash soup paired with a grilled cheese sandwich made with nutty gruyere? That’s more autumnal than a PSL and a trip to the apple orchard put together.

Credit: Merc / Target

Rating:

9.5/10

Sporks

Other butternut squash soups we tried: Pacific Foods Organic Creamy Butternut Squash Soup, Zoup Fresh Soup Company Soup Butternut Squash , Imagine Light in Sodium, Campbell’s Well Yes Butternut Squash Apple Bisque, Campbell’s Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato Sipping Soup

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