Coconut Curry Butternut Squash Soup

This coconut curry twist on traditional butternut squash soup is spiced up by red curry paste, coconut, lime, and cilantro. It might sound like an unlikely combination but it’s so surprisingly GOOD! It’s light and full of good-for-you ingredients. The coconut and butternut squash make the soup deliciously creamy and the fact the squash has been roasted gives it depth and dimension. It’s also vegan (if you use veggie stock) and makes a great light meal, side dish, or easy frozen and reheated lunch.

Ingredient Notes

• Butternut squash – The squash is the star of the show here. Make your life a whole lot easier and buy prepackaged cubed butternut squash. If you’re committed to prepping your squash from scratch, go for it. A 2.5 pound squash should leave you with just about the right amount of cubed squash for this recipe.
  
• Coconut milk – Light or full fat coconut milk work well in this recipe. Make sure you use coconut milk from a can, and not a carton near the almond milk. You’ll generally find this in the Asian foods aisle of the grocery store.
  
• Red Curry Paste – You’ll find curry paste near the Asian foods in your grocery store. Make sure you grab red curry paste, not green. I use this one by Thai kitchen because it’s widely available in grocery stores. Note that curry paste can be quite spicy, though it varies. The brand I buy sometimes varies by bottle. Generally it is extremely mild, but readers have reported that sometimes it’s spicy, and that some other brands of red curry paste are extremely spicy. You might want to look for one that is labeled more mild, and if you are sensitive to heat, try starting with just half the amount called for in the soup and adding more to taste. If you want to avoid spice all together, you could change the flavor profile of this soup a bit and add 2-3 teaspoons of curry powder instead.
  
• Broth – Chicken or Vegetable broth work great in this recipe.
  
• Shredded Coconut – this might seem like a really strange thing to sprinkle on top of soup. I find I actually like the crunch and it goes so well with the flavor profile! I’m using my favorite coconut chips, but feel free to use whatever you like, including regular sweetened, shredded coconut.

Instructions

1. This soup starts off with roasted butternut squash. Line a baking sheet with foil, pop your cubed squash on there, and drizzle some olive oil. Sprinkle with kosher salt, give it a quick toss, and pop it into the oven.
   
2. When the squash is done, heat some olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. When hot, add some diced onion and cook, stirring frequently, until tender. Next add some stock, the roasted squash, and curry paste and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat. Simmer for 15 minutes.
   
3. Remove from heat and add some lite coconut milk and lime juice.
   
4. Next, it just needs to be blended until smooth. Use an immersion blender, or carefully transfer your soup in batches to a countertop blender.
   
5. Ladle into bowls and season with a sprinkling of kosher salt, chopped cilantro, shredded coconut, lime wedges, and a squirt of Sriracha sauce (if desired).

Frequently Asked Questions

• Can this soup be frozen? This coconut curry butternut squash soup freezes great! I like putting it into my favorite silicone molds for easy storage. You can feel free to add additional liquid after reheating to get the consistency you prefer.
  
• Can I skip the roasting step? Roasting the squash really adds flavor to the soup, but if you didn’t have access to the oven, you could always simmer the squash in the broth until it was soft. You would probably need to add a little extra broth than the recipe calls for to make sure there was enough liquid for that.

Serving Suggestions

• Since this soup is mostly vegetables and broth, it’s very light! To make it a meal you could serve it with grilled cheese sandwiches, a loaf of bread, a side salad and fruit, naan bread, or a more hearty turkey sandwich.

Coconut Curry Butternut Squash Soup

5 from 8 votes

This twist on traditional butternut squash soup is spiced up by red curry paste, coconut, and lime. Roasted squash gives it a nice depth of flavor.

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes minutes

Total Time 50 minutes minutes

ServingsServings6 servings

Print Rate SaveSaved!

Ingredients

• 36 ounces butternut squash, peeled peeled, cubed to 1/2"
• 4 teaspoons olive oil extra-virgin,divided
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt plus more for seasoning
• 1 cup onion chopped
• 3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
• 3 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon red curry paste
• 1 ½ tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1 13.5-ounce can coconut milk lite
• ¼ cup cilantro leaves chopped
• ¼ cup shredded coconut
• Sriracha sauce to taste

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 450 ℉. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment. Place the cubed butternut squash onto the lined baking sheet. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt and toss to combine.
• Roast for 35 minutes or until tender and starting to brown. Note: the smaller your chop, the faster it will roast.  I find the pre-chopped bags of squash are fairly small so if using, you may want to set your timer for about 20 minutes and keep an eye on it after that.
• While the squash is roasting heat the remaining teaspoon of oil in a large pot over medium heat. Free free to add a bit more oil if you need to, to cover the bottom of your pan. When hot, add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until tender about 5 minutes. Add the stock, roasted squash (when it's done roasting), and curry paste and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat. Simmer for 15 minutes.
• Remove from heat. Add the coconut milk and lime juice. Blend until smooth, either by using an immersible stick blender or in batches in a countertop blender. If using a blender, make sure to remove stopper in lid and cover with a paper towel to let steam escape.  Be very careful when blending hot liquids.
• Ladle into bowls and season with a sprinkling of salt, chopped cilantro, shredded coconut, additional lime wedges, and a squirt of Sriracha sauce (if desired). Serve immediately.

Notes

• Buy pre-packaged butternut squash to make your life easier!

Nutrition

Calories: 184kcal, Carbohydrates: 29g, Protein: 5g, Fat: 6g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 3g, Cholesterol: 4mg, Sodium: 384mg, Potassium: 785mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 9g, Vitamin A: 19426IU, Vitamin C: 40mg, Calcium: 105mg, Iron: 2mg

Course: Main Courses, Soups

Cuisine: Asian

Keyword: butternut squash, soup, vegan, vegetarian

Calories: 184kcal

Author: Our Best Bites, adapted from Cooking Light

Cost: $8

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