Thai Curried Butternut Squash Soup
Light and creamy, vegan butternut squash soup recipe. This simple butternut bisque is seasoned with Thai red curry paste and swirled with coconut milk.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on July 17, 2024
Have you ever gotten to the airport only to find that your pilot has gone missing? Apparently that happens. I finally got out of Kansas City and caught a red-eye from Chicago to London (hello from Heathrow!). I only wish I’d been smart enough to pack basic toiletries and a change of clothes in my carry on. Here’s to hoping that my luggage meets me in Tel Aviv eventually.
I love how cultures collide in airports. Right now, I’m listening to a guy speak French into his iPhone while wearing a shirt that says “Brooklyn” across the front. I just accepted German chocolate from a friendly Jordanian and earlier walked by a group of chic Europeans (maybe Italians?) drinking Stella before noon. Then there’s the pink-faced stranger of unknown origin who’s snoring loudly a few seats over. Snoring is a universal language, n’est-ce pas?
This soup is a blend of origins, too. I don’t think butternut grows in Thailand but the sweet squash pairs so nicely with Thai flavors. Curried butternut soup has been on my list of recipes to conquer for a while and I just couldn’t resist seasoning it with red Thai curry paste like I did for my sweet potato soup. I added some other Thai flavors to round it out, like cilantro and toasted coconut flakes. The soup is really creamy yet very light since it’s almost all butternut with just a swirl of coconut milk on top.
This soup isn’t so spicy that it won’t pair well with other foods. In fact, I think its colors and flavors would liven up a traditional Thanksgiving meal.
Watch How to Make Thai Curried Butternut Squash Soup
Thai Curried Butternut Squash Soup
Light and creamy, vegan butternut squash soup recipe. This simple butternut bisque is seasoned with Thai red curry paste and swirled with coconut milk. Recipe yields about 6 cups (48 ounces) soup.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil or olive oil
- 2 pound butternut or kabocha squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into small ½-inch pieces (about 3 cups)
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, pressed or chopped
- 2 to 3 tablespoons Thai red curry paste*
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon fine salt
- ⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes (up to ¼ teaspoon for spicier soup)
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 4 cups (32 ounces) vegetable broth
- ½ cup full fat coconut milk for drizzling on top
- ½ cup large, unsweetened coconut flakes**
- Handful fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Once the oil is shimmering, add squash, onion, garlic, curry paste, coriander, cumin, salt and red pepper flakes to skillet. Stir to combine.
- Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is translucent, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add broth. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until squash is soft, about 15 to 20 minutes.
- While the soup is cooking, toast the coconut flakes in a medium skillet over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until fragrant and golden on the edges. Keep an eye on them so they don’t burn. Transfer coconut flakes to a bowl to cool.
- Once the squash mixture is done cooking, taste and add a little more Thai red curry paste if it’s not quite flavorful enough for you. Remove the soup from heat and let it cool slightly. Working in batches, transfer the contents to a blender (do not fill your blender past the maximum fill line and be careful with the hot soup!). Securely fasten the lid and use a kitchen towel to protect your hand from steam escaping from the top of the blender as you purée the mixture until smooth. Transfer puréed soup to a serving bowl and repeat with remaining batches.
- Stir the lime juice into the blended soup. Taste and season with additional salt if necessary. Ladle soup into individual bowls. Use a spoon to drizzle coconut milk over each bowl, then lightly swirl the spoon through the topmost layer for a pretty design. Top the soup with toasted coconut flakes and a sprinkle of chopped fresh cilantro.
Notes
Recipe adapted from my creamy (vegan!) butternut squash linguine, How Sweet Eats’ similar soup and Simply Recipes.
*Where to buy Thai red curry paste: Look for it in the Asian section of the grocery store. I like Thai Kitchen brand, which is vegan (many others are not).
**Where to buy coconut flakes: Look for them in the baking section at Whole Foods, health food stores or well-stocked grocery stores. The brands I see most often are “Let’s Do Organic” (green package) and Bob’s Red Mill.
Make it vegetarian/vegan: Choose your curry paste carefully to avoid animal products. Thai Kitchen is vegan.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
I made this soup for a lighter dinner last evening and it was absolutely delicious. I did add a can of coconut milk at the same time as the vegetable broth. The soup has a lot of flavor from the seasonings and a little bit of a kick from the Thai red curry paste and red pepper flakes. So good and tasty. This is by far my new favorite butternut squash soup recipe and I’m looking forward to having the leftovers. Even my husband who is not a fan of anything vegetarian absolutely loved it!
Leftovers are so great, especially for soup. The flavors become more vibrant :) Thank you for sharing, Annika! If you would want to leave a star review, I would really appreciate it!
As the weather has cooled, well as much as it will here in the low country this time of year, I felt it was time to bring out the soups. I have always loved traditional Butternut Squash soup, and when I came across this interesting twist, I had to try it. Let me just say, this soup is amazing. So much so, my wife said that I have to make it for her mom when they come Thanksgiving week. That says it all. Her mother is one of the best Cajun cooks I have ever met. If my wife thinks highly enough to grace my mother in law with it, you KNOW it has to be good. Thank you so much for sharing. This has now found it’s place in my favorites recipe box. I cannot wait to try your Butternut Squash Chili. That will be my next endeavour!
Hooray! Thanks for the comment and review, Joshua. I think that is a great sign! Let me know what your mother-in-law thinks of it. Enjoy!
I had problems with the star review last week when I wrote my comment but hopefully it’ll work better today. I marked the five stars but somehow “it didn’t take” It’s definitely a five star recipe!
Thank you, Annika! I really appreciate it. Sorry you had trouble originally, but happy you came back to leave it!
I just made your soup and my husband and I LOVED it! It had the perfect amount of spice and delicious blend of flavors. I happened to have on hand a bag of Dang brand toasted coconut chips- what a great addition of crunch and flavor. I pureed the soup with an immersion blender which made cleanup very easy and was also a time saver because I didn’t have to wait for the boiling pot of squash and broth to cool. Also, I did not add the coconut milk because I felt the soup was great without and why mess with perfection? I will definitely make this again and often.
Thank you so much for your review! I am happy it turned out so well for you, Penny :)
the soup looks so creamy and tasty
It is delicious! Thanks for the review :)
I made this with two changes: I roasted the squash and I skipped the cumin since that (and coriander really) don’t strike me as flavors typical in Thai food. My brand of red curry paste is quite spicy so I didn’t add more red pepper. Thanks for the jumping off point. I’d definitely make this again.
Thanks for sharing your variation, Al! I appreciate the review.
Hi – my daughter lives in Bangkok and on our return from our hot break in December to cold, grey UK in January I found your recipe for this soup – it is fabulous……a hit with hubby and it has warmed us up no end. Thank you – it is going in the family favourites…
jill
Wonderful! Thank you, Jill for the review.
This dish is amazingly good! I served with Forbidden Black Rice, adding a rich, nutty taste to the curry. Made it twice since the holidays! If too spicy, simply add Greek yogurt to tone it down.
Thank you, Ellen for sharing!
My mother-in-law handed me a squash she had grown and told me to make curried Thai soup with it. I chose your recipe – boy was it good!! I will def make this again.
Great to hear! Thank you, Carol for taking the time to comment and provide a review.
This soup was delicious!! It came together easily, and is on our menu rotation now. Thank you!
Wonderful! Thank you, Holly.
I rarely remake recipes or at least don’t remake them often, but I’ve made this soup 3 times in the past month. It’s THAT good. The curried sweet potato-carrot soup is fabulous too and I also love your Buddha bowls with carrot-ginger dressing. My husband and I both eat some meat but have been moving towards a more plant-based diet. Your recipes are so flavorful and delicious that it’s been much easier than we expected!
I’m glad this one has been on repeat, Brianne! It’s great for sure. Thanks for sharing. If you would want to leave a star review on this one, and the others, I would really appreciate it!
Amazing! I used a whole butternut squash, it was about 8 cups of large 2” cubes,and I added 1Tb of fish sauce at the end.
Thanks for sharing, Kelsey!
I just returned this recipe in an effort to clear out a bag of frozen butternut squash before spring produce hits. I found that it needed a bit of sweetness to finish and added in some coconut sugar, loved it.
Sounds like a great way to make it your own, Denise! Thanks for the review.
So delicious and easy to make. LOVE this soup.
PS: Oh, and the butternut squash I used was from last October’s harvest from the one plant I’d seeded. I was so inspired by this recipe that the next day I went out and planted 6 butternut squash plants. I’m hoping for a bumper crop just for this recipe.
I’m glad you love it, Joan! Thanks for your review.
Absolutely loved this recipe! The lime juice and toasted coconut flakes brought the flavors out so wonderfully. Excited to try more of your recipes!
Let me know what you think as you try other recipes!
My most favorite soup I have made to date! Only reason I gave it 4 stars was because I made changes to it to suit my taste…but the soup itself is AMAZING!!!
Alterations from original recipe: I baked the squash ahead of time with olive oil, salt and pepper. I used a whole can of coconut milk. I also added grated ginger. I was heavy handed with the red curry sauce! I also add in raw shrimp about 10 minutes prior to serving so it can cook through. We also spooned the soup over brown jasmine rice. YUUUUMMMMMMMYY
Thank you for sharing, Christy!
Way too spicy, even with just the 2 T red curry paste.
I’m sorry you felt that way, Lia.
I made the soup. Way to Runny Not as creamy as I thought it would be. I followed the recipe exactly. Could it be my blender does that make a difference?
I’m sorry to hear that! That could be. Or you might need to blend it longer.
Hi Kate! This is an old recipe and I’m not sure if you check the comments on these, but I wanted to tell you that I made it tonight, and it was SO GOOD! I have your cookbook and have made many recipes from your site, and I can honestly say that I’ve never made anything that isn’t absolutely delicious. I became (mostly) vegetarian 8 months ago (I still eat fish/shrimp once or twice a week), and you were a large part of making that transition extremely easy for me. Thank you!!
Thank you for sharing, Janice! I’m glad you love this one!
Thank you so much. Such a great recipe. I. Found it and made it for my vegetarian friend when I was visiting San Diego to settle my daughter from London. I live in Spain. It was such a hit, her husband requested it above their thanksgiving traditional soup. Now I’m home, my husband is trying out his cooking skills as I shout your recipe from the bedroom……. What a special experience
That sounds like a great time! Thanks so much for sharing, Melanie.
This is my favorite butternut squash recipe of all time. I drizzle balsamic glaze on top of mine, it’s incredible!
Oops! I meant to post this on your classic Butternt Squash soup recipe. I bet this one’s incredible, too! ☺️
I’m really happy to hear! Thanks for sharing!
I made it today for dinner, it was delicious. I skipped the coconut milk and flakes, still yummy. ❤
I’m glad you still liked it without the coconut milk. Thanks for the review!
My favorite soup! It’s seriously delicious! I’m taking for lunches so I just went ahead and blended the coconut milk into the soup instead of adding it after. So delicious! Thank you!
I’m so glad it’s your favorite, Maggie!
Love this soup! Has anyone tried to freeze it?
I’m glad you loved it! I would recommend searching the comments to see what readers recommend. It should freeze ok, although I haven’t tried it.
This is so delicious. It’s full of flavor and easy to make— a favorite in our house.
I often use frozen squash that I add with the broth (after sautéing onions) to save the time and effort of peeling and dicing.
Thanks for sharing your tip, Brianne! I’m glad you love it.
Excellent recipe I have made many times and always great. I did make a few tweaks. I roast the squash with some extra spices and add some pumpkin pie spice. Removed the actual coconut from the soup and substituted a can of coconut milk in its place.( did not care for the chewy coconut)
Thank you for sharing your version, Randy! I appreciate the review.
Modifications I made: I used a large shallot, 1/2 a med. sized sweet yellow onion, fresh ginger- about 1 tsp., a full can of lowfat Trader Joes coconut milk, I roasted butternut squash after drizzing EVOO and ground salt/parsley, shallot and cooking at 425 for 30 minutes, and 4 cups better than bouillion/organic/vegetarian with filtered h20; 1 TSP turmeric.
Mine has a lot of kick from the fresh ginger and 4 ginormous garlic cloves. It feels super rich and healthy… which is why I added the extra aromatics, etc. I’ll eat it with a cherry/almond/blue mediterranean Costco salad… super satisfying, healthy and on my fav recipes list now!! I plan to try several recipes from your website…. so glad I searched for a butternut squash soup recipe online and found yours and the website… will share with friends …. great find!!
Thank you for sharing, Brenda!
At this very moment, I’m making the carrot sweet potato thai soupI Tomorrow it is the broccoli salad and the red curried vegetables!! Love the awesome recipes on this site!!!
This soup is just so perfect. The lime really brings it to life, and I love the addition of the coconut milk at the end. I know I am late to the party, but I am so happy to have found your site, so many great recipes!
Never late to the party for me! :) Thanks for your feedback, Taylor. I’m happy to hear you are enjoying the recipes.
My family and I love, love, love this recipe! Thank you so much for sharing! :)
You’re welcome, Chelsea! Thanks for your review!
This is my favourite soup recipe ever!!!!
Love to hear that! Thanks for your review, Kavita!
Absolutely loved this! So flavorful and healthy. I added a couple carrots because I had them. The only difficult part for me was cutting the butternut squash. :) otherwise this is a super simple recipe bursting with flavor!!! Thanks
Cutting squash can be challenging! Thanks for your review, Shanti.
Costco sells 2lbs already cut up organic Butternut squash
I have made this dozens of times. It is by far one of my favorite recipes; I never get sick of it!! I love the creamy soup with the kick of spice. I didn’t get to make it last fall/winter due to a kitchen remodel and I just made it for the first time again this week. I am so happy to have it back, it was even better than I remembered.
Hi I’m going to make this but need to know if I can freeze it and reheat when I serve it? It looks delicious!
Thank you,
Anne
Yes, it freezes very nicely. But leave out the last minute additions of lime juice & coconut milk and the garnishes. Additions can be added after heating & garnishes before eating. Be sure to stir it well as the soup seperates when freezing.
I’ve made this many times now and love it! I tend to add more red curry paste for me, less if I’m sharing.
This is such an awesome dish! It’s light, but packs a whole lot of flavor. I enjoy spice so I added a little more chili paste. I had it for dinner with some crusty bread– perfect for a rainy day! Next time I think I’ll add some noodles to this for a play on ramen. Thanks for sharing!
I have some *green* curry paste.
Any reason not to try that in this recipe?
It offers a different flavor. I would be interested in what you think!
I’ve made a green Thai curry Squash soup in the past – delicious. Made essentially the same as this, for the green curry, you may want to add more coconut milk and some Thai basil.
This soup was amazing! I used a little less curry (1.5 Tbsp) and skipped the red pepper flakes since I have a toddler I was feeding. I didn’t have the coconut flakes on hand so I can’t wait to try it with that next time. I also opted for olive oil. Definitely keeping this recipe in the rotation!
I’m glad you loved it and were able to make it work with your little one, too! I appreciate your review, Jenny.
Just made this and it’s so good! I added almost an entire can of coconut milk too and it’s delicious! Love that I can play with the level of heat, and also added some kale for a little more green.. perfect for these chilly winter evenings.
The soup was delicious. It was a simple, quick soup with so much flavor.
So delicious – spicy and wonderful! I used an immersion blender and lots of red pepper flakes, and I added the coconut milk in with the broth rather than swirling it through at the end. Not at all difficult to make and mostly hands off once the chopping is complete. I will definitely make again. Thanks, Kate! (And Cookie)
You’re welcome, Sarah! I’m glad your immersion blender worked so well.
This is the first Cookie and Kate recipe that I haven’t absolutely loved, I’m sorry! I think the brand of curry probably makes a big difference. I’m kind of a Thai food fanatic and so I would not use Thai Kitchen curry paste for my recipes because it doesn’t taste authentic, in my opinion. I always use one of two brands that I get from an Asian market. I used Maesri in this recipe and it didn’t work well at all. I should have seen that coming, because grocery store brands like Thai Kitchen are so subdued compared to the more authentic curry pastes, and so I should have maybe used only a tablespoon of the Maesri paste. I think the relative blandness of the Thai Kitchen paste is what this recipe needs. The curry flavor in my soup was completely overpowering and not balanced enough. Stronger curry pastes like Maesri really need more creaminess to balance them out, I think. I added a can of coconut milk to the soup and it helped, but still it wasn’t great because then it just tasted like an inferior version of red curry sauce. (Actually, I might toss in some veggies and serve it over rice – that could be good!) The other reason the type of curry paste used matters is because some curry pastes (like Maesri) already include cumin and coriander, so the addition of more of those spices is overkill, especially because I ground my own cumin powder from seeds and it was really fresh and strong. In the end, I can see this soup being really good with some more subtle kinds of red curry paste, or with maybe 1 tablespoon of a stronger tasting paste like measri. Hope this review helps others.
Bummer, Sarah! I appreciate your feedback. Yes, the curry you use can impact your results. Thank you for your detail!
This soup is really, really good. Really. I used 3 T. of the curry paste and it was the perfect kick. I did not have shaved coconut on hand so I made the tamari slivered almonds from another C & K soup recipe to use as a topping. So good!
SUCH A DELICIOUS RECIPE!! I even messed up and forgot to sautee the squash with the onions and just added it in after the broth and it still came out well. I used a 3 lb squash so I added a bit more of all the spices and the whole jar of curry paste. It’s seriously so good and so simple to make!
I’m glad to hear that, Pat!
Hello! I’ll be making this soup again for the 2nd time. Can you suggest something to serve with it besides salad? I’m hoping to pair it with a plant protein…
Hi Jen! You could serve with my crispy tofu?
Soup was delicious!! I did add some garam masala and grated ginger root, plus a whole can of coconut cream after the squash was done, but before blending. Your recipe is so good with all the flavors! Thank you for sharing!!
I made this a week ago and had so much leftover. I was sick of eating soup so I decided to use it for a sauce with gnocchi. I just sautéed a little garlic in butter with the gnocchi and poured it on top with a little flat leaf parsley and a squeeze of lemon. A good way to repurpose leftovers!
Butternut squash soup is one of my favorites and I think this is my new favorite butternut squash soup!
I followed the recipe as written and I feel like it is seasoned perfectly. I can’t wait to have this soup for leftovers this week!
Delicious! I’m home with an extremely picky eater and he loved it. (No small feat!). Many thanks for another flavorful and satisfying soup recipe–I know I’ll be making it again soon.
SOOO GOOOOOOOD <3 I just blended the coconut milk and cilantro into the soup. Also did not have any coconut flakes. Not as cute for presentation, but great for a week of meal prep!
I’m glad you love it, Asako!
Five stars!!!! This soup is sooo creamy, spicy, and delicious!
One of my favorites!!
Has anyone tried freezing this recipe?
Hi Leah! This should freeze well. Let me know if you try it!