Curry Coconut Butternut Squash Soup with a touch of chili oil, a wonderfully spiced and spicy soup packed with autumnal goodness. It's a naturally-vegan, gluten-free and freezer-friendly soup that is comforting and hearty. Serve it with some croutons or freshly-baked bread, and have a cosy, delicious soup to warm you up on a cold day.
If you are looking for make-ahead crowd pleasers, this comforting butternut squash soup will tick all the boxes. It's creamy and fragrant, packed with deliciousness, and it's really easy to make with simple ingredients.
Soup season is here, and with it, an abundance of seasonal vegetables that make delicious soups. Butternut squash, sweet potatoes and pumpkins are by far my preferred vegetables at this time of the year, and I absolutely love them in sweet and savoury dishes of any kind.
To me, the best Autumn soup recipes are creamy roasted pumpkin soup, which is pure comfort in a bowl, roasted parnsip soup, spiced sweet potato red lentil soup, pumpkin and red lentil soup with bacon and now I can add this soup to the list too.
Eating vegetables doesn't have to be a chore, if you cooked them right in some delicious dishes, they will become your favourite thing to eat. Plus, they are quick and easy to make, so a win win situation.
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Ingredients overview
- butternut squash - easily available in supermarkets all year round, you can use it raw or roasted for this soup. Best swaps for butternut squash are sweet potatoes and pumpkins
- coconut milk - adds a wonderful rich flavour, plus creaminess
- vegetable stock / broth - used with the coconut milk for extra flavour
- chili oil - adds incredibly depth to the soup, and you can control the level of spiciness you want for the soup. I used chili oil for the soup and for garnishing
- onion - I used a regular onion, but red or shallots would work too
- garlic - for extra flavour and goodness
- curry powder and garam masala - I used them together for a warm, earthy touch
- oil - for frying the onion, you can use ghee or butter if you want a vegetarian soup, rather than vegan
- salt & pepper - to taste
- parsley - for garnishing
Variations
The addition of chili oil was an absolute great idea, it really lifted the flavours, without overpowering the rest of the ingredients. If you don't have chili oil, you can use chili flakes or chili powder.
You could also go for red Thai curry paste, add smoked paprika, or boost its fiber content by adding chickpeas, lentils or a handful of nuts.
Step-by-step photos and instructions
- heat up the oil in a large pan, add the chopped onion and fry until golden
- add the chopped garlic, chili oil and spices, and mix well
- allow the spices to release their flavours for 30 seconds, then add the peeled and cubed butternut squash, coconut oil and stock
- place a lid on the pan and leave it to cook until the butternut squash is tender
- season with salt and pepper, and use a hand mixer or a blender to blend the soup until smooth and creamy
- garnish with chopped parsley and chili oil, and serve it to croutons or bread
What to serve the soup with
We enjoyed the soup with homemade croutons, I used a stale baguette, cut it into cubes, and seasoned it with salt and pepper. I drizzled a bit of olive oil over, and air fried them for 5 minutes at 200 degrees Celsius (390 Fahrenheit).
Alternatively, you can enjoy the soup with white crusty bread, soda bread rolls, no yeast-yogurt flatbread or Guinness brown bread.
Expert tips
You can take this soup to the next level by using roasted butternut squash, instead of raw squash, but that will add to the cooking time considerably, unless you use leftover roasted butternut squash.
The roasted squash will add a natural sweetness to the soup, but rest assured, the soup is incredibly delicious with raw squash too - just cook it until it's tender, the spices and coconut milk will give the soup a wonderful taste.
I prefer using coconut milk together with stock/broth, using just coconut milk might make the soup too rich, and will flatten the flavours, but diluted with broth will allow the spices to shine better.
Use canned coconut milk for this recipe rather than the drinking coconut milk that comes in cartons. It's a lot creamier and richer, and it gives the soup the right texture and flavour.
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Curry Coconut Butternut Squash Soup
Ingredients
- 1 medium butternut squash
- 1 onion
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 tin coconut milk (400 ml, 13 oz)
- 500 ml vegetable stock (broth, 2 cups)
- 1 tablespoon garam masala
- 1 tablespoon hot curry powder
- 4 tablespoon chili oil
- 2 tablespoon chopped parsley
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 45 ml vegetable oil (3 tbsp)
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Instructions
- Heat up the oil on a medium heat.
- Peel and chop the onion and garlic.
- Fry the onion with a pinch of salt until golden, then add the garlic, garam masala, curry powder and 1 tablespoon of chili oil and mix well.
- Stir it for 30 seconds until the spices release their fragrance, then add the peeled and chopped butternut squash, coconut milk and stock, place a lid on the pan, and leave it to cook on a medium to high heat until the squash is tender.
- Season with salt and pepper, and use a hand blender to blend the soup to a smooth texture.
- Garnish with freshly-chopped parsley and the remaining chili oil, and serve it with croutons or crusty bread.
Video
Notes
- you can easily take this soup up a notch by using roasted butternut squash instead of raw. Roasting brings out a deep caramelized sweetness and add an extra layer of sweetness - it does however add to the cooking time, unless you lave some leftover roasted squash
- for the best texture and flavour, I like to mix coconut milk with broth. Using only coconut milk can make the soup overly rich and mute the spices
- use canned coconut milk, and not the drinking coconut milk that comes in a carton, that simply doesn't have the creaminess and flavour we need for the soup
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