I adore this curry butternut squash soup recipe! It is so flavorful and creamy. I’ll walk you through how to make it with step-by-step with photos and teach you my top two tips how to get great flavor!

  • It’s Easy: No peeling the squash to save you time. Normally I peel, seed, and then cube squash, but with this creamy soup, you don’t have to.
  • Has Bold flavors: Big curry and coconut flavors with lemon and cilantro
  • Made with Clean ingredients: It’s comfort food without making you feel sluggish
curry soup in a white bowl with cilantro on top

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Ingredients For This Curry Butternut Squash Soup Recipe

the ingredients with text overlay
  • Butternut Squash: I made this the first time with a four-pound butternut squash. Just cut it in half, scoop out the seeds, and set it on a parchment-lined baking sheet. I roasted it until it was soft. It gets pureed anyway, so why bother cubing it? The second time I made it I used a buttercup squash, and it was equally delicious and had great depth of flavor. Just scoop the soft squash out of the skin and you’re ready to go.
  • Vegetable Stock: You can use store bought vegetable broth, or you can try homemade – our recipe for vegetable stock is foolproof and will give you a delicious, hearty bowl of warm soup
  • Onion and Curry: I sautéed the onion and curry in a dutch oven. I have to say, taking the time to caramelize the onions a touch and to bloom the curry in the oil makes all the difference when you’re cooking with clean, simple ingredients.
  • Lemon: Add just enough lemon to brighten up the flavors! It balances the creamy sweetness.
  • Coconut Milk: I was going to add cashew cream to make it extra creamy, but I went with the slacker route again and just poured in a can of organic light coconut milk. You can use cashew cream if you’d like, but I love the way the coconut pairs with the curry.
  • Kitchen Staples: Avocado Oil (or Coconut Oil), Vegetable Broth, Kosher Salt, Black Pepper
  • Fresh Cilantro: Fresh cilantro is great for a garnish but if you do not like the taste, you can simply omit

How To Make Curry Butternut Squash Soup

the squash on the baking sheet and cooking the onions

Step 1: Roast Butternut Squash

Preheat your oven to 350ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Lay your squash cut-side down on the parchment and bake it until the flesh is very tender when pierced with a sharp knife, which should take about 1 hour. Turn the squash so the cut side is up and let it cool until it’s cool enough to handle, which should be about 1 more hour.

Step 2: Cook Onion

Heat your oil of choice in a large heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the chopped onion and cook, stirring often until it starts to brown. Reduce the heat as necessary to prevent the onion from scorching, but altogether it should take 6 to 10 minutes.

Pro Tip: Taking the extra time to allow the onions to brown will help amp the flavors of this clean-eating soup recipe.

blooming the curry with the onion and then adding in the broth

Pro Tip: My favorite way to bring out flavor in spices is to cook them in cooking fat before adding any liquid. This step essentially toasts the spices and brings out their flavors even more.

Step 3: Bloom Curry

Add in the spice and stir to coat, until fragrant but not darkening, for 30 to 90 seconds. Then stir in lemon juice.

Step 4: Add Broth

Add the veggie broth, salt, and pepper to the onion mixture, and increase the eat to high to bring the soup to a simmer.

scooping out the squash and adding it to the soup

Step 5: Scoop Cooked Squash

Scoop the flesh out from the cooled squash and discard the skin. Break it into large chunks if necessary.

Step 6: Add Squash To Soup

Add the squash to the soup. Return the soup to a simmer, and then adjust the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally until the onions are tender and the squash is completely falling apart. This should take about 10 minutes.

add coconut milk to soup and puree

Step 8: Add Coconut Milk

Add coconut milk to the soup and stir it to combine.

Step 9: Puree

Pureé the soup in a regular blender in batches, or with an immersion blender. I used my immersion blender to puree the soup. (That’s an affiliate link, by the way.) If you use your blender, just do it in batches and be super careful that the top doesn’t shoot off. Once pureéd, gently heat the soup without boiling and serve with cilantro!

curry butternut squash soup in a white bowl with cilantro leaves

Meal Prep, Storage, Leftovers and Reheating

Meal Prep: Bake the squash ahead of time to save time when assembling the soup.

Storage: Store leftover soup in an airtight container and either in the fridge or freezer. Make sure to let the soup come to room temperature before storing. Leftovers will stay in the fridge for up to five days, up to three months in the freezer.

Reheating: Simply portion soup and reheat on the stove top over medium heat, stirring often, until simmering. Garnish with cilantro before serving. A trick I like to use is to store the soup in single servings, making a quick and healthy lunch no-fuss!

FAQ For Curried Squash Soup

Does butternut squash need to be peeled for soup?

The skin of butternut squash cannot be added to the puree as it has an unpleasant papery texture. But the good news is for this soup you do not need to peel the squash before you roast it! It makes prep super easy and quick. Once it is cooked the skin slips off easily. Discard the skin or add it to your compost.

What does curry butternut squash soup taste like?

This soup’s taste is a lovely balance of curry spices, sweet butternut squash, and creamy coconut milk.

Variations to Try

  • Make It Spicy: For an added kick, use hot curry powder or Madras Curry Powder. Or you can add a little additional boost from some Thai red curry paste or a couple of sprinkles of red pepper flakes
  • Make Richer: You can sub in full fat coconut milk to make this richer tasting. Do no use cream of coconut though! That has a sweetness to it that wouldn’t work well for this soup.
  • Ginger and Garlic: Add garlic or ginger to the onions to add additional layer of flavors.
  • Sweeter: Add a little sweetness with a tiny drizzle of maple syrup

What Goes With Curried Butternut Squash Soup?

Here are some serving suggestions for this clean eating soup recipe:

More Butternut Squash Recipes

At Healthy Seasonal Recipes, we specialize in cooking with fresh veggies and creating weeknight meals. Sign up HERE to get more produce-forward dinner ideas for FREE! If you make this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and review. I would love to hear what you thought! Happy Cooking! ~Katie

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curry butternut squash soup in a white bowl with cilantro leaves on top

Curry Butternut Squash Soup

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5 from 18 reviews

  • Author: Katie Webster
  • Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
  • Yield: 10 cups 1x
  • Diet: Vegan
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Description

A simple and delicious recipe for curry butternut squash soup with rich curry and coconut will warm you up from the inside out. It’s the perfect meal when it’s chilly outside!

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1 4–pound butternut squash, cut in half lengthwise and seeds scooped out
  • 3 tablespoons avocado oil or coconut oil
  • 2 large onions, diced
  • 3 tablespoon curry powder
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 4 cups vegetable broth or homemade vegetable stock or reduced-sodium chicken broth
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • Freshly ground pepper to taste
  • 1 14–ounce can light coconut milk
  • cilantro for garnish

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Lay squash cut-side down on the parchment and bake until flesh is very tender when pierced with a knife, about 1 hour. Turn cut side up and cool until cool enough to handle, about 1 hour.
  3. Heat oil in a large heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, and cook, stirring often until starting to brown, reducing heat as necessary to prevent scorching, 6 to 10 minutes.
  4. Add spice, and stir to coat. Cooking stirring until fragrant but not darkening, 30 to 90 seconds. Stir in lemon juice.
  5. Add broth, salt and pepper and increase heat to high to bring the soup to a simmer.
  6. Scoop the flesh from the squash and discard the skin. Break into large chunks if necessary.
  7. Add the squash flesh to the soup. Return to a simmer, reduce heat to maintain a gentle simmer, and cook, stirring occasionally until the onions are tender and the squash is completely falling apart, about 10 minutes.
  8. Add coconut milk to the soup, and stir to combine.
  9. Remove from the heat. Puree the soup in the blender in batches or with an immersion blender. (USE CAUTION WHEN BLENDING HOT LIQUIDS). Serve hot garnished with cilantro

Notes

Whole30: To make this complaint, use full fat compliant coconut milk.

  • Prep Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
  • Category: Soup
  • Method: Stovetop
  • Cuisine: American

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 2 cups
  • Calories: 283
  • Sugar: 17 g
  • Fat: 16 g
  • Carbohydrates: 36 g
  • Fiber: 5 g
  • Protein: 7 g

Did you make this recipe?

Make sure you come back to the recipe post to leave a star rating and review.

I originally shared this recipe on December 9th, 2014.

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