Thai Butternut Squash Soup with Coconut Milk (Creamy, Spicy)

Aromatic Butternut Squash Soup, creamy with coconut milk and loaded with spicy Thai curry flavors. (Prepared in Instant Pot for speedy weeknight dinner.)

Posted On: Oct, 22 |  Author:
Thai Butternut Squash Soup with Coconut Milk (Creamy, Spicy)
Diet Info: DF GF F LF Na LS VG V Fa

An easy recipe for Butternut Squash Soup with coconut milk, and Thai curry flavors prepared in Instant Pot for a speedy fix for chili night dinner. Refrigerate for a week. Freeze up-to 6 months. Gluten free, Vegan. 

This soup is super special because it is creamy, spicy, and delicious but still vegan and low-calorie. This is what I love about Coconut milk in soups. Have all the flavor, and a creamy soup without a drop of cream. You can even go super low-calorie by using low-fat coconut milk or using half coconut milk and half vegetable broth. 

Preparing soup in Instant Pot makes it quick option for weeknights. Plus no need to dice squash. Simply peel and cut in rough chunks. Instant Pot pressure cooker setting still makes it soft and ready-to-be-creamy soup in just 10 minutes. And flavor is like soup slow-cooked for an hour. (A serving of nutrients and vitamins is pure bonus.) 

So, let's make some Spicy Butternut Squash Soup!

(Oh, if you like spicy soups? Don't forget to checkout my Roasted Spicy Butternut Squash Apple Soup, Spicy Black Bean Soup, and Turkey Posole Rojo. Yumm!!)

Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup with Coconut Milk Recipe

USE YOUR FAVORITE THAI CURRY FLAVOR

This soup is also my favorite because you can use any Thai curry base you prefer for this recipe. This year I shared three Thai curry pastes - Green Curry Paste, Red Curry Paste, and Yellow Curry Paste.

I used Red Curry Paste for this recipe. But you can really use any paste you have in hand - yellow and green both will make an equally delicious Thai Curry Butternut Soup.

With homemade curry pastes, you don't even need a try to grocery store to make this soup. Dinner tonight! (hint hint)

USE GOOD QUALITY COCONUT MILK

Star ingredients of this butternut squash soup are coconut milk, Thai curry paste, and lots of lime/lemon flavor.

I recommend to use a good quality coconut milk. This is one ingredient that defines this Butternut Squash Soup. Not only does it balances the spice of Thai Curry Paste.. It also gives soup a subtle coconut flavor. And amazingly creamy texture without a hint of dairy-cream. Such as my favorite Organic Thai Coconut Milk. This is unsweetened, organic and 100% vegan Coconut Milk.

Unsweetened milk gives me option to control the amount of sugar. Honestly, I don't like a overly sweet soup. You don't want it sweet like a Thai Curry. So, I recommend adding a moderate amount of sugar when cooking the soup. Unsweetened coconut milk also has some natural sweetness. So, I start with two tablespoon sugar in 2 quart soup. I know, it may sound less. But best is to taste and adjust as per your preference.

The heat-sweet balance in soup also depends on kind of Thai Curry Paste used. When making this soup with homemade Thai Curry Pastes, I use 3 tablespoon curry paste, 2 tablespoon sugar, and 12 ounce unsweetened coconut milk for 2 quart soup. For store bought curry paste, I use 2 tablespoon paste and one tablespoon sugar. In store bought, I use Thai Kitchen Red Curry Paste. It is 100% gluten free and vegan.

Bottom line - always taste and adjust seasonings.

Creamy Butternut Squash Soup Coconut Milk and Thai Curry

I also add lemongrass in this soup as per availability. If you can't find lemon grass, add a tsp lime zest and some extra lime juice.

Now, imagine aroma of hot pot of butternut soup with coconut milk, Thai curry and lime flavors filling kitchen with Thai restaurant like aroma. I know your grocery list is out. Make some tonight!

INSTANT POT or DUTCH OVEN

To prepare this coconut milk butternut squash soup, I used Instant Pot. Instant Pot helps develop flavor in this soup in way less time. Instead of simmering soup in dutch oven for 25 minutes, I simply pressure cook soup in Instant Pot for 8 minutes. Pressure cooking also preserved nutrients.  In-fact, after squash is cooked and soup is loaded with fragrant Thai curry flavor... I add coconut milk. And then pressure cook soup again for 3 minutes which helps me reduce 10 minute worth of cooking time to 5 minutes.

Note: You can by all means prepare this soup in regular dutch oven. It will only need more time to cook the soup. Rest all steps remain the same.

Bowl of Butternut Squash Coconut Milk Soup

USE BUTTERNUT SQUASH ANY WAY: FROZEN, ROUGH CHOPPED, OR DICED

When cooking in Instant Pot, I don't even have to dice the squash because I know it will cook well under pressure. When using fresh butternut.. I simply cut squash in half. Peel off then slice in big chunks that can snuggle well in Instant Pot. That's it. It still cooks well, soft and puree perfectly.
Frozen diced squash is always in my refrigerator. That works perfect for this recipe as well.

Instant Pot Thai Curry Coconut Milk Butternut Squash Soup

Let me summarize why should you try this Butternut Squash Soup!

1. Coconut Milk - Creamy soup without cream. You can also make it low-fat with lite Coconut Milk.
2. Thai Curry - Use as Thai curry flavor you like. I use Red Curry. Green and Yellow works perfect. No other change needed.
3. Vegan, Gluten free, Paleo-Diet friendly. (use natural sweetener of choice)
4. Loaded with flavor and nutrients with cooking under-pressure in Instant Pot.
5. No Need to peel and dice squash. Simply cut into rough chunks that can fit in pot. Use a pre-diced or frozen butternut squash. Either one will work.
6. Soup stays good for up-to a week in refrigerator. Freezes well up-to 6 months.

Thaw/Re-Heat: Please note soup will get thick with time. To thin-out, add some vegetable stock or water. Reheat. Taste and adjust seasonings such as salt, sugar, lemon juice.

Make some tonight for Meatless Monday dinner and enjoy! -Savita x

Butternut Squash Soup Creamy Spicy with Coconut Milk and Thai Curry

For love of Butternut Squash:

1) Butternut Squash Apple Soup
2) Butternut Squash Soup
3) Butternut Squash Risotto

What is you favorite Butternut Squash recipe? Leave a comment below and share with me.Spicy Butternut Squash Coconut Curry Soup Recipe - Long Picture

Bake fresh bread to serve on the side:

Pumpkin Dinner Rolls with Honey Ginger Butter Brioche Dinner Rolls Zucchini Carrot Muffins

Thai Butternut Squash Soup with Coconut Milk (Creamy, Spicy)

4.8 (12 reviews)
Thai Butternut Squash Soup with Coconut Milk (Creamy, Spicy)
Total Time: Prep Time: Cook Time: Cuisine: American () Difficulty: Easy
Yields: 2 quarts soup - Serves: 8
Nutrition: 222 calories per serving (1 Cup Servings)

Ingredients

Directions

  • 1. Sauté Aromatics :  Heat oil in Instant Pot at Saute Setting. Add onion, garlic, ginger and cook stirring often until onions are soft and has started brown slightly at edges. (4-5 minutes)
  • 2. Cook Curry Paste:  Add curry paste and continue saute for 2 more minutes or until curry paste is fragrant, releases oil, and darkens in color.
  • 3. Add Squash, Seasonings and Pressure Cook:  Add squash pieces, bouillon cube, 5 cups of water, lemon grass stalk (broken in half) with 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Place the lid of Instant Pot. Seal and set vent to "sealing" position. Cook at high pressure for 8 minutes. Quick Release, open, and remove lemon grass.
  • 4. Add Coconut Milk and Continue Cooking:  Add coconut milk, lime zest. Cook on high pressure for 3 minutes. Quick release. (You can also simmer soup for this step, covered for 10 minutes on saute setting.)
  • 5. Puree Soup:  Puree the soup with immersion blender to smooth consistency. Or Work in batches and puree soup in stand mixer/blender. Add back to pot. Mix in lime juice, black pepper, sugar. (Stir well so sugar is dissolved.) Taste and adjust seasonings with more salt, sugar, and lime juice.
  • 6. Garnish and Serve Soup:  Ladle hot soup into bowls. Garnish with toppings of choice. I recommend one or all - black pepper, toasted pumpkin seeds, scallion, cilantro, red onion, red radish. Serve and enjoy!
Savita's Notes:

*When using Homemade Curry Paste, I use 3 tablespoon curry paste, 2 tablespoon sugar for 2 quart soup. For store bought curry paste, I use 2 tablespoon paste and one tablespoon sugar. I used Red Curry Paste for this recipe. Yellow Curry Paste and Green Curry Paste also work well.

Soup is prepared in Instant Pot. You can also prepare in Dutch Oven. Read Recipe Description above Recipe Card.

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? Tag @SAVITACHEFDEHOME on Instagram and hashtag it #SAVITACHEFDEHOME

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31 Responses

  1. Loved, love ,love ,this soup, it absolutely hits all the flavours .. although I couldn’t find lemongrass,willl try again and hopefully I can find some
    ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
    Thanks for sweet feedback. This is one of our fav soup. You can also look for frozen lemongrass paste. Very handy when I need it.
  2. Delicious! I left out the sugar. So good!
    ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
  3. We love this soup! I wonder if it would freeze well? We have so many squash from the garden.
    ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
  4. Made this tonight and it was delicious! Doubled the ginger and even managed to impress my Thai boyfriend 😅
    ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
  5. Delightful! With the exception of the lemon grass stalk (used Penzey dry lemon grass) it was prepared as directed with wonderful results. Very flavorful.
    ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
    Thanks for letting me know.
  6. how spicy is it? serving it to a friend that doesnt like real spicy. Im taking it to an event, so plan to keep warm in a crock pot if you think that will work.
    it’s not hot spicy. coconut milk and sugar balance the heat very well. I don’t see any issues with keeping warm in crockpot.
  7. Excellent recipe
    ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
    Thanks Annie.
  8. I used my squash sitting outside for fall decoration microwaved to soften then cut up for IP. Turned out beautifully and soup done for lunch. Can you imagine how much easier if using a package of cubed squash. I used beef broth and a few red pepper flakes also. Definitely a keeper.
  9. OMG! So good!
    ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
    Hi Dianne, thanks!
  10. cut squash into 2" cubes, coat with oil and broil until caramelized also use Thail basil
    ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
  11. This is so delicious. I also made in a regular pot on the stove, without extra veggie broth was fine. I like to serve on top of a little jasmine rice, the flavorful soup on top of the white rice is so good! Definetely a little cilantro on top! Thank you for this beautiful recipe.
    Hi Holly, thanks for sweet feedback. This is indeed a special soup, I specially love Thai flavor and sweet notes of squash. I'm glad you liked it. I'm happy to share.
  12. This soup is soooo good. I agree it was thinner than I expected when I first made it but I always try to make soup a day or two in advance to let the soup flavors improve. It was perfect. Definitely a do-over. Thank you for sharing and Happy Holidays!
    ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
  13. I don’t have an insta pot
    This soup can be easily prepared in a regular soup pot, on stove top. (such as Dutch oven, or any heavy bottom soup pot). Follow the recipe instructions as-is except in step-3, add 1/2 cup more liquid, then instead of pressure cooking, cover pot with lid and simmer on medium heat until squash is tender. Follow remaining steps as-is. I hope it helps.
  14. It looks great, the one thing I am missing is the calories per portion
    I’m going to update that soon.
  15. We had this soup for dinner tonight. So good!!! My family now wants this on rotation! I used store-bought Red Thai Curry paste. Next time, I'll try your homemade paste recipe. Thanks!!
    ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
  16. Hi, I was under the impression that if I used any dairy products while pressure cooking, I will get the burn message. So I am wondering if it will burn during Step #4. I have always added my dairy products after pressure cooking. Please advise. Also, in the past, to get the full flavour of the lemon grass in my dishes, I have used a zester to grate the lemon grass into my dish while cooking. Do you think that might be a good idea with this recipe? If so, should I still use one full stalk?
    There is *no* dairy product in this butternut soup recipe. It only needs *coconut milk*. Also, I prefer to use whole crushed lemongrass for this recipe. Pressure cooking helps extract lots of flavor. On a side note, dairy does not burn in Instant Pot if used right way. I have a recipe coming soon. Check back again. I hope it helps.
  17. Made this using green curry.....absolutely delicious!!!!!
    ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
    Thanks for letting me know. I'm glad you enjoyed this Butternut Soup. Green curry sounds delicious. So many options.
  18. Mine soup was watery than I prefer. Very flavourful. Next time, I will cook with more squash to thicken it up.
    ★ ★ ★
    Thanks for feedback. Did you cook soup with coconut milk as suggested in Step-4? If not, then this might be the reason. I hope it helps.
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