Pressure Cooker Butternut Squash Soup with Chicken and Orzo
Smooth, creamy and delicious! The black and red pepper give this Pressure Cooker Butternut Squash Soup a little bit of heat and the half and half gives it great body and beautiful color.
My sweet friend Bonnie, City Home/Country Home, posted this Butternut Squash Soup recipe last fall, but I didn’t get around to making it until recently. I was at the Indoor Farmers Market and the farmer talked me into buying butternut squash for the first time. Since I’d been wanting to try this soup, it wasn’t a tough sale.
I was a bit concerned about how my kids would like the soup, but I didn’t need to worry, the whole family loved it. The black pepper and red pepper flakes give it a little bit of heat and the squash just gives it great body and beautiful color.
Their one complaint about the soup was that it didn’t have anything in it. Since it’s pureed smooth, they didn’t think it was filling enough for dinner. My youngest suggested adding orzo, which I thought was a brillant idea.
So I decided to make it again and this time I added orzo and diced chicken. Now it was hearty, but still smooth, creamy and delicious. My oldest son said it reminded him of a chowder.
Making Butternut Squash Soup in an Instant Pot
Making it in the pressure cooker didn’t save tons of time, but it’s so nice not to have to stir it or worry about it while it’s on the stove. I based my cooking time on the Cuisinart tomato soup recipe which uses a natural release. One day I’ll try a quick release which would really speed up the process.
This is a great soup recipe. I hope you’ll give it a try. Visit Bonnie for the stove top cooking directions and to check out all her other fabulous recipes. Thanks for sharing this one Bonnie!
Butternut Squash Soup with Chicken and Orzo
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs. of fresh baked butternut squash (peeled, and cubed)*
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 cup green onions, diced
- 1/2 cup celery, diced
- 1/2 cup carrots, diced
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 2 14.5 oz. cans chicken broth
- 1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes with juice
- 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/8 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 cup orzo, cooked
- 1 cup chicken, cooked and diced (I used rotisserie chicken)
- 1 to 1/2 cup half and half
- Green onion tops, sliced very thin (save for garnish)
Instructions
Melt butter in pressure cooker pot. Sauté onions, celery, and carrots. Add garlic, stir briefly and add chicken stock, tomatoes and squash. Add Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, pepper and nutmeg.
Select high pressure and 10 minutes cook time. When beep sounds turn pressure cooker off, wait 10 minutes and then use a Quick Pressure Release to release pressure.
When valve drops carefully remove lid, tilting away from you to allow steam to disperse.
Puree until mixture is very smooth. (I used my immersion blender and pureed it in the pressure cooker pot.)
Select Simmer and add chicken, orzo, and half and half and heat until chicken is heated.
Serve garnished with thinly sliced green tops of onions and a swirl of half and half.
Notes
*You can also peel and cube the squash and brown it in the pressure cooker instead of baking it.
Update: Since posting this recipe, this soup has become one of my family’s favorites. I make it often. Sometimes I roast the butternut squash in the oven, and sometimes when I’m in a hurry or just don’t want to turn on the oven, I do what a reader suggested and cube the squash, brown it in the pressure cooker with a little butter or oil, until it gets a nice caramelized coating on it. Taking the time to roast or brown the squash really does make a richer flavored soup.
Did you know that Costco sells cubed, ready to use butternut squash now that would be perfect for this recipe.
My friend whom I badgered to get an Instant Pot introduced me to the easiest way to cook/peel a whole butternut squash (or pumpkin): Pressure cook it! Wash the squash then put it in the PC with 1-2 cups water for 10-11 minutes. Use a quick release & when it’s cool enough to handle, simply cut off the softened rind & dice into squares.
Thanks for sharing Jennifer!
Hi
Are all your pressure cooker recipes freezable?
Cheers
Hi Lynda – most of them freeze very well. I like to freeze in individual servings for quick lunches. I’ve frozen this should often.
Yum! I doubled the recipe, and also added sauteed mushrooms, celery, and carrots after the soup was done cooking. My non-butternut squash-looking family really enjoyed it!
I’m new to pressure cooking, got mine with the masses on Amazon Prime Day 🙂
I will admit I was skeptical about this recipe, as I have never added tomatoes to my b-nut squash soup before – it was amazing! I made it for my son who just had teeth pulled, and left out all the additions since he can’t chew anything – the base recipe itself is absolutely delicious, and I can’t wait to try more! Thanks for being such a great resource for my new addiction 🙂
Thanks Jen! My husband was a little skeptical when I made it the first time, but now it’s one of his favorites too. Hope your son is feeling better soon.
Tasty AND healthy!
This is how I (novice pressure cooker who was busy/lazy today) made it in one pot with no advance prep (raw squash and chicken and uncooked orzo):
Cut squash in half and scoop out seeds. Cook on high pressure with 1 c water for 5-6 min. Remove and peel.
Melt butter in pressure cooker pot. Sauté onions, celery, and carrots. Add garlic, stir briefly and add chicken breast, chicken stock, tomatoes and squash. Add Italian seasoning, pepper and nutmeg.
Select high pressure and 10 minutes cook time, then use a Quick Pressure Release to release pressure. Remove chicken and shred.
Puree the rest until mixture is very smooth.
Select Simmer and add orzo, boil 8-9 min. Add chicken and milk and heat through
Thanks for sharing your tips Alyssa. Glad you enjoyed it!
Just made this today and it is delicious! I had leftover chicken and some Greek yogurt that I used (as I didn’t have any 1/2 and 1/2). I pureed mine in the food processer which was a bit time consuming – I will have to look for an immersion blender!
Can you freeze some of the leftover soup?
Thanks again Barbara for another great recipe.
P.S. I also made yogurt for the first time and it came out great as well (followed Laura P’s method)
Thanks Sharon! Glad you enjoyed it. So great that you used what you had on hand. An immersion blender really is the perfect companion for the pressure cooker. Yes, I often freeze this soup in individual portions for lunches. I’m looking forward to making yogurt soon.
Is there a way to cook the orzo in the soup so that it doesn’t have to be cooked separately? Yeah, I’m that lazy since getting a PC. THANKS!
Hi Susan – no, you don’t want to cook the orzo in the soup because you puree it so it’s silky smooth and thick and creamy.
You know what? With your son’s suggestions added, I just might get Bob to eat this….he claims he doesn’t like butternut squash because it’s “too sweet”….with the chicken and orzo along with all the other seasonings, I bet I could get him to give it a try. If not? All the more for me! I’ll share with my daughter or my neighbor-or both.
When I see butternut squash in recipes, I think back to the years I’d head to NH after my Dad pulled in his harvest of them from the garden. We’d peel and peel and peel until our hands were yellow and stiff from the sugar in the squash. Batch after batch would get cooked-in 2 stove top pressure cookers at a time, then Mom and I would run it through a ricer to purée it for freezing. What a treat-especially with Thanksgiving dinner. I adore butternut squash, so I know this soup is gonna be a treat.
Hi Carol – what a fun story. Definitely a special treat for Thanksgiving. My husband was skeptical, but he loves it. I think Bob will too.
Delish! I also browned the raw squash for a bit, then added the veggies and spices, then a splash of wine before the rest of the ingredients. What a yummy soup, thanks! 2 great recipes in a row, Barbara!
Thanks Robin! We love this soup. So glad you loved it too. I’ve made it twice in the last month. Another favorite my husband has been asking for is my Chunky Potato soup http://www.pressurecookingtoday.com/2012/10/chucky-potato-cheese-soup/
Cutting butternut squash can be difficult. I poke holes in it and stick it in the microwave for maybe 10 minutes, turning over periodically, til it softens. The bowl will cook quicker than the neck, so when that part is done, cut off the neck and put it back in for a few more minutes while you are cooling and cleaning out the seeds.
It’s much, much easier to work with this way. Can be done ahead of time and then trim it when it is cooled.
Hi Robin – luckily my husband usually cuts the squash for me. You’re right it is difficult to cut. Thanks for sharing your technique.
Robin, I do the same! so many squash can be softened this way to make for easier cutting. I tried it with pumpkin and spaghetti squash too.
PS- love that there is someone posting recipes using an electric PC. Thanks so much!
I tried this recipe (mostly) and it was awesome! I set my Cuisinart to “brown” and started with the raw diced butternut squash (in batches) to get some color on it. Removed and set aside. Threw in my onion, then celery and carrots for a little bit. Didn’t have Italian seasoning so improvised with basil and oregano. Added minced garlic, fresh grated nutmeg and red pepper flakes. And because I’m always looking for an excuse to open a bottle of wine I added some Sauvignon Blanc and reduced it before adding the tomatoes, putting the browned squash back in, tomatoes and chicken stock. High pressure for 10 minutes then took it off “keep warm” and let it natural release for 10 minutes. Quick opened after that. Didn’t have any half and half on hand so I used plain Greek yogurt (put in separate bowl and used some of the now pureed soup to temper it before adding it to the soup). Had leftover turkey and rice to get it some texture (otherwise the hubby wouldn’t approve). He and I both LOVED the outcome! Thanks for posting this soup. Will definitely be making again and again!
Thanks for the update Andrea. I love that you just improvised with what you had. So glad you loved the soup as much as we do. There really are a lack of recipes on the net for electric PC. If you have a recipe you’d like to share on PCT, I’d love to have you share it.
Here’s a tip on how to easily cut and peel winter squash: http://www.kaltura.com/index.php/extwidget/openGraph/wid/1_adyebrry
Sooo perfect for fall!! I can’t wait to start making soups. I’m going to try this one! :>)
I remember having this and it was SOOO yummy! saving this one to make soon.
One thing I learned about my CPC-600, for natural release you have to shut the unit off. Otherwise the “keep warm” feature will cause it to take forever to release its pressure. Also, most stovetop PCs release their pressure after about ten minutes, so I allow ten minutes on my electric then I release the rest of the pressure. I consider this the electric verion of a natural release. 🙂
Question, if after sauteeing your aromatics you added the squash and allowed it to saute for a little while, maybe that would add some nice color/flavor without having to bake it first?
I’m going to try this next week. Sounds delicious!
Thanks for the recipe.
Andrea
Hi Andrea – thanks for sharing your tips! I may start using your “electronic version of a natural release” on many of my recipes. Sauteing the squash is a great idea too.
This recipe looks great but it calls for baked squash. I would rather not have that extra step. Doesn’t the cubed squash cook enough in the 10 minutes plus release time without having the added step of baking it? Seems like it should. Does the baking add flavor or what is that step for?
I will be making this soup. I love soup!
Hi Gayle – I’ve made it without baking the squash and I think it’s a little less flavorful, but it’s delicious either way. Please let me know how you like it.