Butternut squash, apples, curry, and coconut milk are an unbeatable combination in this Thai influenced take on butternut squash soup. And don't be tempted to skip the tablespoon of brown sugar at the end. It makes a big difference to how the flavors come together.
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When October shows up on the calendar, I crave everything butternut squash. One year I was in Italy and searched every menu for butternut in vain. It was awful. It was the first thing I bought when I got home.
And since it's soup season, butternut squash soup is on the family menu.
Butternut squash is amazingly versatile. I make butternut risotto with sage, roast butternut squash dishes, butternut squash steaks, and soup.
This coconut butternut squash soup is an ode to the food bazaars I visited in Thailand a few years ago with their colorful bowls of curry powder, cumin, cinnamon, and cayenne. The coconut milk brings the flavors all together with the squash for a beautiful soup.
โค๏ธ Why you'll love this recipe
- Roasting the butternut squash brings up its natural sweetness.
- This soup is sweetened with apple sauce and finished with a little brown sugar.
- The spices, curry, and coconut milk turn this into a Thai curry flavor version of butternut squash soup.
๐ง Main Ingredients + Notes
This list only covers ingredients that require some notes. Go to the Recipe Card at the bottom of this post for a complete listing of the ingredients, measurements, and directions to make this easy butternut squash soup recipe.
- Butternut squash - This soup also works great with kabocha squash.
- Coconut milk - Use full-fat coconut milk for a richer, more luscious creamy texture.
- Applesauce - Be sure to use unsweetened applesauce.
โฐ Tips to Simplify and Save Time
Purchase squash already cut up into cubes from your market. Many supermarkets have plastic cartons of pre-cubed butternut squash in refrigerated cases in their produce department.
๐ฉโ๐ณ How to Prep Butternut Squash
Breaking down a butternut squash can intimidate with it's thick, tough skin, and odd shape.
- Use a sharp chef's knife to chop off the top stem and bottom. Slice the squash in half across its width, where the thinner top begins to broaden into the bulbous bottom. Slice the top and bottom in half again, this time lengthwise.
- If the skin is too tough to do this, puncture it with a sharp knife a few times, and microwave whole for 2ย - 3 minutes. If you don't have a microwave oven, warm the squash whole in a 350หF oven for 15 minutes. The skin will soften enough to be easily cut through.
- Scrape out the pulp and seeds of the bottom section of the squash using a spoon. A grapefruit spoon works great for this!
- Lay each squash section with the flat side down on a cutting board and peel the skin with a vegetable peeler. Alternatively you can stand each section on a cutting board and slice off the skin using a sharp chef's knife.
- Slice into cubes.
๐โโ๏ธ FAQ
Kabocha squash is another squash that would work well with the spices and coconut milk. It, however, has a more intense squash flavor so you may need to adjust the amounts of spices.
Absolutely. The flavors only get better overnight.
Pour any leftover soup into an airtight container such as a jar. Refrigerate for up to 5 days. I haven't frozen this soup, but it should freeze very well.
Yes, but it will take longer since you want to completely purรฉe the soup until it has a smooth velvety texture.
๐ More Butternut Squash Dishes
These are some of my favorite ways to use butternut squash. Just click on the photos to get the recipes.
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Coconut Curried Butternut Squash Soup
Equipment
- baking sheet
Ingredients
- 2 pounds cubed butternut squash about 2 lbs 3 oz if starting with a whole squash
- 3 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 1 cup chopped yellow onion
- ยพ teaspoon kosher salt divided
- โ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 4 garlic cloves finely chopped or 1 tablespoon garlic paste
- 2 teaspoons curry powder
- ยฝ teaspoon ground cumin
- ยฝ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- โ teaspoon cayenne
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- ยฝ cup applesauce
- ยฝ cup coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
Possible Toppings
- Roasted crunchy chickpeas
- Chopped Cilantro
- Roasted pumpkin seeds
- Dried red pepper flakes
Instructions
- If starting with a whole butternut squash, check out the instructions in the above post with tips for peeling and cubing it.
- Preheat the oven to 425หF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Toss the squash cubes in 1 tablespoon olive oil, ยผ teaspoon kosher salt, and black pepper, and spread on the baking sheet. Roast for 25 minutes, or until tender and slightly caramelized on the edges.Pro tip: The smaller the cubes of butternut squash, the faster they will roast.
- Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a heavy bottomed pot that's suitable for cooking the soup, such as a Dutch oven. Add the onions and sautรฉ over medium heat for 5-7 minutes or until slightly softened. Add the garlic, spices, and remaining salt, and sautรฉ for 2 minutes or until very aromatic.
- Stir in the roasted butternut squash, vegetable stock, and apple sauce, and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 3 - 4 minutes to bring the flavors together and puree in a high-speed blender. Be careful not to exceed the maximum fill line on the blender, especially since this is very hot liquid.Return the pureed soup to the pot and stir in the coconut milk and brown sugar.ย
- Add any preferred toppings just before serving.
Rita
I too, love butternut squash this time of year. Your flavor combo sounds delicious. I make a super simple butternut soup with just leeks sautรฉed in butter, then the cubed squash with chicken broth (or veg broth),http://getcookingsimply.com/butternut-squash-soup-deliciously-simple/ I also just made butternut squash risotto for supper last night. Autumn/winter cooking is my favorite.
The Wimpy Vegetarian
The wonderful thing about butternut is that it goes so well with so many different flavor profiles! Autumn and winter are my favorite times to cook and bake too!!
Eha
Writing from spring-like Down Under I hope you do forgive me for changing 'squash' to 'pumpkin' as that is how we know the beloved butternut here ! Coconut - of course ! Curry: naturally !! Have never used applesauce in the equation: that will be fun ๐ ! Thank you !!!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
It's so interesting to me to hear about butternut squash in other countries. I was stunned when I couldn't find it in Italy, and was interested to read that squash was first cultured by the Americas a bazillion years ago, and was brought back to Spain with the Spaniards in the 1500s. Now I see that butternut is called pumpkin in Australia! Do you have what we call pumpkins there too, and refer to both of them as pumpkins? And I hope you try this recipe - we LOVED it.
Eha
*huge smile* n We are 'simple' people ! If it is large we call it pumpkin, the most famous being the Queensland Blue . . . if you can hold it in your hand, it is probably yellow summer squash . . Oh, the butternut is there all year round - a dependable workhorse !!!!
mjskitchen
What a delicious autumn soup! Love that little bit of applesauce to complement the squash. Lots of great flavors.