Thai Curried Butternut Squash Soup With Coconut Milk Urban Farmie

This post contains helpful tips and tricks! If you’re in a rush, please use the “Jump to Recipe” above! It only rains in Seattle twice a year - once from October to March, and once from March to June. And when it rains in Seattle, it’s always time for butternut squash soup. And this roasted, Thai curried butternut squash soup is one of my favorite combinations!

💭 Why you’ll love this recipe

Creamy, vegan and gluten-free - the recipe, as written, is deliciously creamy and still vegan thanks to the use of coconut milkUltra convenient and limited hands-on cook time - I love soup, but I hate the work. This recipes uses whole-roasted squash, so there’s no need to peel (and let’s be honest, that’s the worst part of squash season). And there’s little hands-on cook time. Instructions with or without a blender: You don’t necessarily need a blender to make this soup (it’ll be chunkier version but just as delicious!) Prevents waste - if you are an aspirational zero waste warrior like I am, you’ll be delighted that we even use the squash seeds in this recipe

📋 Ingredients & notes

This recipe uses a super simple set of ingredients - butternut squash, olive oil, garlic and ginger, red curry paste, vegetable broth and coconut milk for the soup. You can add a wide variety of things as garnish - I typically use squash seeds, scallions, and basil but you can also add toasted peanuts, or a drizzle of hot sauce (and any fresh herbs of choice)

Ingredient Notes

How do you know when butternut squash is ripe? I use a few ‘rules of thumb’ when I pick butternut squash. I look for squash that feels heavier than expected, and looks clean on the outside (i.e. without frostbite or bruises). Avoid any squash that has green spots on the outside, and look for an even color across the rind. Do you need to peel the butternut squash for this recipe? I use roasted butternut squash as the base - so not only is the squash caramelized, you also don’t need to peel it. Easy peasy! Can you eat squash seeds? Yes, and not just because this butternut squash soup is on a zero waste journey. Squash seeds are delicious and ultra nutritious. Clean the excess flesh, add some olive oil and salt to roast in the oven until it pops.

♨️ Make butternut squash soup from scratch

Prep the butternut squash for roasting Make sure to preheat the oven to 400F while you’re doing all of this. Thankfully, we don’t have to peel or slice the squash. So, put a damp towel underneath the squash to hold it in place and slice off stem end, cut vertically down in half. Scoop out the seeds and place them in a bowl. Do this until the flesh is clean. Line up a sheet pan with a silicon mat or parchment paper. Drizzle the fleshy side with olive oil, salt and pepper and place flesh side down on baking sheet. Roast the butternut squash to cook and caramelize the pulp Roast the butternut squash for about 30 - 40 minutes until squash is cooked. The cook time on squash will depend on how big it is - my squash was roughly the size of my palm, so it took 35 minutes to caramelize. Check after 35 minutes, and roast in 3-5 minute increments afterwards to make sure it’s tender. And hey, if you’re in a hurry, slice the tops off, and make several slits on the rind, and pop the squash in the microwave on high for 10 - 12 minutes.
Then, remove the squash and set it aside to cool down (roughly 5 minutes). Be careful while you handle the squash, it will be quite hot. Optional: If using squash seeds, roast the seeds while the squash cools down Turn down the oven to 350. Remove excess pulp from the seeds and add the them to the pan with about 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Toast for roughly 20 minutes (you’ll know when it’s done when you hear it pop). Turn off the oven and wait two minutes to take it out - set aside as garnish (zero waste!) Prepare the soup and add flavors Hey, I hear you. “What can I add to bland butternut squash soup? How can I spruce up butternut squash?” - I get these questions all the time. We’ll take care of that here. While the squash is cooling, heat vegetable oil in a pan on medium flame. Add minced garlic and ginger, and cook until it’s fragrant. Then add butternut squash along with Thai red curry paste, coconut milk, vegetable broth, salt and pepper. Let it come to a boil. Blend the soup to make it smoother or use a masher for a more “chunky” soup The great thing about roasting or steaming squash first is that the pulp becomes quite tender. So, if you don’t have a blender, don’t despair. Just use a wooden spatula or a masher and mash the soup to the best extent possible. You’ll end up with a chunkier version, but it’s still super delicious. If you have a blender or an immersion blender, use that to puree the soup. If you’re using a blender, wait until the soup is cool enough (typically around 5 minutes). Only fill the blender halfway full, open the steam vent, hold a towel over it to absorb the steam, and puree it. Once pureed, pour it back into the pot, heat it up, before serving. Garnish and serve a hearty bowl of delicious, roasted butternut squash soup I tend to use the squash seeds as garnish on my soup - but make sure you garnish right before you eat. Otherwise, it can get very chaff-like. Other garnishes include any fresh herbs, a dash of full-fat coconut milk or coconut cream as well as scallions for a crunch. If you enjoyed this curried butternut squash soup recipe, don’t forget to check out some of my other Fall favorite recipes as well:
If you tried this recipe, don’t forget to comment and rate! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

📖 Recipe

Note: This post was originally published on January 26, 2020. It was updated and republished on 20 September, 2020 with additional information and tips. If you try this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, tag  #urbanfarmie on Instagram or @urbanfarmie on Pinterest!