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Coconut Curry Butternut Squash Soup

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Coconut milk, curry and Indian spices compliment the flavor of the butternut squash in this savory Coconut Curry Butternut Squash Soup. One of my favorite ways to enjoy butternut squash.

Coconut Curry Butternut Squash Soup

Coconut Curry Butternut Squash Soup

This Coconut Curry Butternut Squash Soup takes less than 25 minutes to make and it’s so good! If you love curry and Indian spices, you will love this soup recipe! It’s delicious, comforting, and healthy, and has been a fan favorite here for over 10 years (just read the reviews!) If you’re looking for something a little different, I have lots of butternut squash soup recipes like this Slow Cooker Butternut Pear Soup, Lentil Soup with Butternut and Kale, and Butternut Squash Soup with Sage

Butternut Squash Soup

Why This Recipe Works

  • Healthy: This butternut squash soup is high in fiber and only 108 calories per serving. Perfect as a starter or double the portion and enjoy it with some crusty naan.
  • Easy: If you buy pre-chopped butternut squash or frozen, the only other prep is mincing onion and garlic. This recipe has just a few steps and is ready quickly.
  • Satisfies Dietary Restrictions: This soup is perfect for low-fat, vegetarian, vegan, dairy-free, or gluten-free diets.
  • Freezer Friendly: You can make a double batch and freeze the rest!

Butternut Squash Soup Ingredients

  • Spices: Roasted cumin, garam masala, madras curry powder
  • Onion and Garlic: Mince half of a medium onion and two garlic cloves.
  • Butternut Squash: Peel the vegetable and chop two cups of squash. For an easier way to cut it, follow these tips.
  • Coconut Milk: You’ll need one cup of light canned coconut milk.
  • Broth: Use chicken broth or vegetable broth to keep this coconut curry soup vegetarian.
  • Salt and Pepper to taste
  • Cilantro is optional, but I highly recommend it!

How to Make Coconut Curry Butternut Squash Soup

  1. Onion and Garlic: Heat oil in a large soup pot or Dutch oven and sauté the onion and garlic over medium heat.
  2. Spices: Season the onion and garlic with all three spices and cook for a minute.
  3. Simmer: Pour in the broth, coconut milk, and butternut squash and cook covered for 12 to 15 minutes until the squash is soft.
  4. Blend: Remove the lid and puree the soup until smooth with an immersion blender.
  5. Serve: Season the butternut squash soup with salt and pepper and serve with fresh cilantro.

Variations

  • Time Saver: Use a bag of cut and peeled butternut squash or frozen butternut squash to reduce the prep time.
  • Butternut Substitution: This coconut curry soup would also taste great with pumpkin or acorn squash.
  • Consistency: This soup is light, so if you like a thicker soup, use more squash or less broth.
  • Cumin: If you don’t have roasted cumin, use regular.
  • No immersion blender? If you don’t have one, transfer the soup in batches into a regular blender. Remove the plastic cap and cover the opening with a towel to let steam escape while blending.
  • Slow Cooker: To make this coconut curry soup recipe in the slow cooker, follow the first three steps. Transfer the seasoned onions and garlic to the slow cooker, add the remaining ingredients, and cook on low for eight hours or high for four hours. When ready, continue with step five.

What to Serve with this Butternut Squash Soup

How to Store Coconut Curry Soup

This coconut curry butternut squash soup makes excellent leftovers since it’ll keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. It also freezes well for up to three months. Thaw it in the fridge and microwave or heat on the stove until warm.

“I am so glad this recipe is still here. I scour the internet almost every fall looking for this recipe as I have made it every year for almost ten years. It’s delicious, comforting, and healthy. It’s incredible!”

-a 5 star review
Coconut Curry Butternut Squash Soup

More Indian Inspired Recipes You Will Love:

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Coconut Curry Butternut Squash Soup

4.89 from 27 votes
2
Cals:108
Protein:2
Carbs:14.5
Fat:5
Coconut milk, curry and Indian spices compliment the flavor of the butternut squash in this savory Coconut Curry Butternut Squash Soup.
Course: Soup
Cuisine: Indian
Coconut Curry Butternut Squash Soup
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes
Total: 25 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
Serving Size: 1 generous cup

Ingredients

  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon roasted cumin
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons garam masala
  • 2 teaspoons madras curry powder
  • 1/2 medium onion, minced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 16 ounces butternut squash, about 2 cups chopped and peeled
  • 1 cup canned light coconut milk, plus optional, more for garnish
  • 3 cups vegetable broth, or chicken broth (use less for a thicker soup)
  • kosher salt and fresh black pepper, to taste
  • chopped fresh cilantro, optional for garnish

Instructions

  • Add oil to a large soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat.
  • When oil is hot add onion and garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 2 to 3 minutes.
  • Add the roasted cumin, garam masala and madras curry powder and mix well cooking another minute.
  • Add the broth, light coconut milk, butternut squash and bring to a boil, cover and cook low heat until the squash is soft, 12-15 minutes.
  • Remove cover and using an immersion blender, puree soup until smooth (or do this in batches in a regular blender).
  • Season with salt and fresh pepper, to taste and serve with fresh cilantro.

Last Step:

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Notes

This soup is light, so if you like a thicker soup, use more squash or less broth.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 generous cup, Calories: 108 kcal, Carbohydrates: 14.5 g, Protein: 2 g, Fat: 5 g, Saturated Fat: 0.2 g, Cholesterol: 3.8 mg, Sodium: 726 mg, Fiber: 3.5 g, Sugar: 0.2 g

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108 comments on “Coconut Curry Butternut Squash Soup”

  1. So delicious!! I did not veer from the recipe, except that I used the entire butternut squash that I had. I think it made it thicker. That was probably at least double of what the recipe required. Excellent soup and will make again!

  2. The flavor of this soup is amazing! And it was even better the second day. As described, it’s on the thinner side so next time (and yes there will be plenty of next times) I will use more squash. My only deviation to the recipe was I used regular coconut milk-simply because I didn’t have the light. Tons of flavor. Thanks!

  3. There is only one word for this soup…. addictive! I only blended a portion of it and left the rest organic for some texture. I made this for food prep, but I am not sharing it with my family. Great recipe!

  4. I love almost all of Gina’s from her first cook book to the present. But eventhough the soup has a rich array of spices I found it spicy but not interesting. The squash seemed to be lost. I added the whole can of coconut milk, two cups of chicken broth but still didn’t love the soup. Not sure what is misssing.

  5. I’ve used a few different butternut squash soup recipes but this one was my favorite so far and one of the simplest and quickest to make with ingredients I already had in the pantry. Peeling the squash is messy and kind of a pain, so I might just try roasting it next time to skip that step and see if it turns out as good. I did have to increase the spices, added cayenne and additional coconut milk for more flavor. Everyone raved about it and enjoyed it as much as I did. You can also clean, season and roast the seeds to make pepitas as a topping for the soup.

  6. This Butternut Squash soup will be one of my go to recipes for soups. The curry really enhanced the soup. I hate to peel and chop a butternut squash, so I cheated and used frozen butternut squash and it was amazing still (plus a bit faster). I also topped it with the pumpkin seeds. Great soup as a side or a full meal.

  7. So, so good!!!! I had a pretty big butternut squash, probably 6+ cups worth. I used the whole thing but didn’t alter the liquid (3 cups broth, 1 can coconut milk) and the thickness/consistency was perfect! I also added a dash of cayenne as we love spice!

  8. I love this recipe! I roast my butternut squash and onion in the oven before adding it to the pot. So delicious!

  9. YUM YUM YUM! This is a delicious soup, perfect for this chilly fall evening and the excess of butternut squash! so so good

  10. Avatar photo
    Lynn Breitner

    Delicious. I did adjust it slightly – no garam masala in the pantry, so I doubled the curry powder. And to balance the flavors, I added some applesauce.

  11. Easy and delicious. I made this tonight after a stressful day at work. Recipe came together quickly and created a wonderful aroma in my kitchen. My husband loved it so much he had three bowls! Definitely will make again.

  12. Delicious & full of flavor. I will make again but with more squash and less broth. I wanted something a little thicker, but this definitely has the flavors I was seeking. 
    I roasted the squash to build flavor and I’m glad I did. This soup would be really tasty with roasted veggies & tofu over rice for a more filling meal. 

  13. I am so glad this recipe is still here. I scour the internet almost every fall looking for this recipe as I have made it every year for almost ten years. It’s delicious, comforting, and healthy. It’s incredible!

  14. This soup is soooo good! Very flavourful and spicy! It is a thinner soup , so if you like your soups on the thicker side either reduce the broth or add more squash. Either way, you can’t go wrong with this delicious soup!

  15. Avatar photo
    Vitaline Balog

    A family favorite. My 13 yr old granddaughter says it’s her favorite soup.
    Easy to make and as a ww the points are perfect.

  16. I made a double batch in the slow-cooker – sure am glad I did because this was AMAZING! A nice twist on a classic. My oven was already on, so I roasted the onions before putting them in the cooker. Thanks for another winner, Gina!

  17. Avatar photo
    Janet Carmichael

    When I looked at the spices, I thought, “ooh, that seems like a lot” but the recipe is quite delicious. You definitely have to like indian spices and if you do, this recipe is a winner.

    Love that it has low points to eat as a snack on hungry days.

  18. This was amazing Gina! I have been cooking your recipes religiously for dinner since early August along with low calorie meals for breakfast and lunch and since then I have lost 30 pds! I have 10 more to go but don’t plan on stopping cooking skinnytaste recipes. Thank you for making dieting NOT a torture for those going through the process. I actually crave dinner time! 🙂

  19. Delicious, and such a nice twist to what I usually find to be a pretty bland flavor (butternut squash). My modifications: 
    1. I dumped all ingredients (minus the oil, because I forgot) into a slow cooker. Cooked on low for about 4 hours. Blended with an immersion blender in the crock pot. Absolutely delicious! 
    2. Added 1tsp ground ginger, 1 tsp dried mint and 1-2 tsp of acid (I used rice vinegar; it’s what I had handy). I probably had about 1.25lbs of squash in mine. 
    3. I didn’t sauté the onions first but the soup might be more delicious if the squash was roasted and the onions were sautéed first. ?
    4. The lack of oil wasn’t missed at all – and, yay!, less points. 
    5. I used regular vegetable broth. I didn’t have fat free on hand. 

    So tasty and my house smelled delicious when I got back home. Will definitely make again. 

  20. Hi. I have made this recipe many times before and love it! But this time I would like to make it for my work crew, we are doing a Biggest Loser challenge healthy pot luck. Any chance you can make this in the crock pot? Thanks so much and I love all of your ideas and recipes. 🙂

  21. This soup is wonderful!  I am new to weight watchers and am experimenting with butternut squash.  I loved the idea of adding the Indian flavors and am glad I gave it a try.  The soup paired with sliced honeycrisp apple made for a great lunch combo.  And all for just 2WW Smart Points!  Am sending the link to this one to my sister who is on WW and has a diabetic husband.  

  22. Good heavens, this is delicious. I didn’t have roasted cumin, so I put the regular ground cumin in a nonstick skillet and toasted it.

  23. I sliced my finger open trying to crack into the butternut squash, but it was totally worth it. This soup is phenomenal. I want to fill my bathtub with it and eat my way out.

  24. This is ABSOLUTELY the BEST coconut curry butternut squash recipe I've ever had. It is phenomenal just as is. Seriously. Spiced perfectly and so simple! Definitely do the cilantro option if you like it, and I added a poached egg on top which really added a new dimension to it as well. Another great Skinnytaste recipe! I will make this for my parents next time I'm home to visit! =)

  25. Does anyone else feel the need to use this soup as a curry base?? I am tempted to take half of the pot I made, throw a bunch of veggies and maybe tofu in it, and put it over some jasmine rice. Yummy!

  26. Oooo – the above comment sounds good! I'm making this right now, and my kitchen smells like an Indian restaurant. Soooooo good! Can't wait to tuck into this soup!

  27. I've made this soup dozens of times and it never let's me down. The broth you use will dictate your outcome. Make sure you taste your brith and you like it. It don't change at the end. Lol an entire reg size butternut will yield approximately 6 cups so its easy to triple the recipe. The leftovers thicken up and makes the perfect sauce to pour over some jasmine rice with sautéed tofu, red peppers and water chestnuts. Just a few of my experiences , very happy ones I may say. 🙂 thanks for sharing such a great site with so many wonderful recipes Gina. 🙂

  28. Extremely good! My five-year-old is eating some right now. I recommend a dollop of fat-free Greek yogurt (we used Fage). It adds a nice little tangy flavor to it.

  29. Avatar photo
    Leah Hart Tennen

    I have a butternut I've needed to use for some time…I think this is it! I'm really into my slow cooker these days (thanks for so many great recipes). Maybe someone posted in the comments already, but do you have suggestions on how to convert this recipe for slow cooking? My thoughts are to throw it all in, cook on low for 4-6.

    1. HI- any chance she got back to you on the slow cooker option? I am hoping to do this for a work lunch this week. Thanks!

      1. I have a slow cooker butternut on my site and it works fine. You can cook this low 8 hours.

  30. This came out amaZing! The only changes I made were to use pre-cut organic squash and I sauteed the squash with the onions, then added the liquid after 10min. After covering and letting it cook 15min, added all to my Vitamix. This made up for the disaster that I had with the LF Creamy mushroom soup last week. I will definitely be making this again!!

  31. I ended up using sweet potatoes because that's what I had. Delicious! I also added and extra tsp of the garam masala and the curry powder. I love it spicy!

  32. I recently found your site and this was the first thing I made. Can I just say. I am sooooo happy I found your site. It came out perfectly!

  33. Delicious! My husband loved it too. Melissa, it was a bit spicy for me too, so I went with a little bit of light sour cream to balance it.

  34. Help, I just made this soup. It is delicious but VERY SPICY! My mouth is on fire! Next time I'll go lite on the spice, but any ideas on how I can "cool" down the flavor of the batch I just made?

  35. I just serve it with warm bread, either french or naan, and a salad. It's usually more than enough for my husband and I. Love this soup! Husband always requests it 🙂

  36. Any recommendations for something to go with this soup? I am wanting to make a grilled white fish to accompany the soup and I am not sure what spices to use. Any help is appreciated!

  37. Hi Gina ,
    Love your site and fantastic recipies, truly a gem! If I don't have garam marsala, how will the taste of this soup differ? Trying to decide to go shop for this spice if you feel its essential? Thanks!

  38. Love your site! Been following it for over year and have made many successful meals thanks to you.

    Question – I have a ton of Thai Red Curry Paste in the fridge, takes forever to use up – Could I use this as a substitute for the madras curry?

    Thanks!

  39. It sounds like this is a pretty spicy hot soup. Is this recommended for someone who does not like spicy foods very much?

  40. This was amazing!! Added a can of chick peas, a dash of apple cider vinegar and both yellow summer (had it in freezer) and butternut squash – oh and a TB of brown sugar. YUM! The cilantro and green chiles definitely make the soup! Was wondering if plain greek yogurt on top might be yummy too! Loved it! Thanks!

  41. Made this soup yesterday and me and the kids were fighting over the last bowl! My neighbor is Indian and loaned me her fabulous fresh spices. The roasted cumin makes me never want the grocery store stuff again, and my neighbor mixed up the curry herself. This soup was so good, she came over and had me show her how to make it!

  42. Cilantro shouldn't be optional in this recipe! It really makes all of the flavors blend well. I also added 1 Tbsp of brown sugar and 2 tsp sriracha chili sauce for a little more burst of flavors. I couldn't find garam masala (nor have I ever heard of it), but it wasn't needed.
    Best soup I've ever made!!

  43. Fantastic! I have been known to be pretty upscale on my taste buds but I loved this! I ended up pureeing my cilantro in the soup too. I will be eating this for lunches next week but I am also freezing the rest of it since I made a double batch. Thanks so much for all your hard work on this site!

  44. So good. I did make change used 2 cups chicken broth and used pumpkin very hearty soup. Served it with a toasted baggette 1 tsp blue cheese sliced pear and honey drizzle. A dinner not soon to be forgotten.

  45. Avatar photo
    Queen Of Rats

    This is my favorite soup! So savory and delicious! Great by itself as a meal. My friends love it too 🙂

  46. I am so glad I found this. As always gina this was out of this world! I added a touch of hot chili powder and a tiny dab of honey. Next time I might peel and saute an apple for a tiny bit of sweetness but this came out super good!

  47. Wow!! Don't know how I missed this one last year but can't wait to try it!! Was wondering if you could substitute pumpkin for the butternut squash – my very favorite soup is Vegan Apple Curry Pumpkin Soup from Whole Foods and this sounds VERY similar. Now that soup season is coming back around this is going to the top of my list :)!

  48. Avatar photo
    Gonna Lose It

    Just made your soup and had a bowl,fantastic! I had to improvise a bit,used regular cumin and had to use no fat sour cream because my coconut milk was more like a spread when I opened the can.Thanks I look forward to trying more recipes. Gotta go I need more soup!

  49. No need to respond to my earlier request, Gina. I had to make do w/what was in my cupboard anyway (I'm in snow-covered Brooklyn). I used the whole roasted cheese pumpkin, a cup of leftover spiced apple cider, a cup of chik stock, the whole can of lite coconut milk, a whole onion, a few cloves of garlic, sweet and madras curry powders, apple pie spice, cumin, a little brown sugar, sweet paprika, & some Sriracha. We adored it. I topped it w/some banana I sauteed in Pam w/a little brown sugar & the pumpkin's seeds I toasted in a skillet w/olive oil, cumin, & a pinch of brown sugar. Thanks so much for your inspiration. Your recipes are great b/c they can be adapted to whatever you have on hand. You are great!

  50. Gina, I just roasted a cheese pumpkin for this (I had to use it up) and wonder how much cooked squash the 16 oz of raw squash equals. I want to adjust the amounts accordingly. I think I've got about 1-2 cups of pureed pumpkin here. Thanks!

  51. I just made this last night and it came out Fantastic, my niece who never had Butternut squash before thought it was great. Today I had a bowl and added a little Apple Spice and a sprinkle of of brown sugar and it was like Thanksgiving yams. I also put a little to the side and added a touch of Wundra so it was more of a gravy to poor over Chicken, my niece said it was like an Indian Korma Chicken… I am getting a lot out of this soup, Thank you… 🙂

  52. Although we have a traditional way of making squash soup, I'm going to try your recipe out. Maybe I could spice things up in our kitchen. 🙂

  53. Oh goody!! I think I am going to need to try that one as well!! The best part about is that today I have LEFTOVERS!! 🙂

  54. Avatar photo
    Gina @ Skinnytaste

    sassy, thanks for sharing 🙂

    I've never had apples in soup, sounds interesting!

    Wendy- SO worth it!!! I have a recipe for chicken coconut curry on my site, it's excellent and a great recipe to use your garam masala.

  55. Just made this soup for dinner. It was deLISH!!! It took me a while to find a store with the Garam Masala … but it was SOOO worth looking for!! I will definitely be making this one again! YUMMO!!

  56. I made a similar soup curry butternut squash but instead of coconut milk it has 2 apples in it and some apple cider 1 cup. It has one more point per serving but is super delicious and has curry powder 2 tbsp and some broth, onions, instead of the coconut milk i like to garnish it with some apple too to make it pretty.

  57. I made this as soon as it came in my email. It was so perfect…I lOVED it! Keep it up Gina! I love your recipes so much I shared your website with my WW meeting.

  58. Avatar photo
    Gina @ Skinnytaste

    Chum, they usually sell it in Indian neighborhoods. You could simply use ground cumin instead.

    Soupseeds, looks like you did a fine job at reducing the fat, was it good?

    Findingmyweigh/Niki, isn't it delicious!!! This is my kind of soup!

    Sara- I know, the bowl is so pretty! Gotta love Pier One!

    Unlikelyorigins, I love cumin too, you will love this if you are a cumin lover.

  59. Avatar photo
    Unlikely Origins

    I would *never* have come up with something like this on my own, but I'm intrigued!

    And, man, I love anything with cumin. Is it possible to be addicted to a spice?

  60. Wow … this is GREAT! I just made it tonight. I really dislike bland squash/pumpkin soup and this one is far from bland. Thanks for the great recipes!

  61. Avatar photo
    Susie Bee on Maui

    Lovely Gina!

    A similar recipe with carrots, also very tasty!

    http://eatlittleeatbig.blogspot.com/2010/09/rich-and-creamy-carrot-soup.html

  62. Soupseeds, I've seen some yummy-looking chicken andouille sausage at the grocery store with all the different types of chicken sausages. Maybe you can try that too.

  63. I tried adapting the Pumpkin, Barley and Sage soup myself, and lowered the fat by over 14 grams. Give me your opinion? http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=1298899 Thanks Gina! You're my favorite "go-to" page for great recipes. I have a binder full of printed out recipes from your site.

  64. I'm trying to adapt a soup recipe I saw in BH&G recently that looked delicious, using pumpkin, called Pumpkin, Barley, & Sage soup. It uses andouille sausage, but maybe to cut down on the calories/points I could use a few pieces of bacon, cooked and drained. http://www.bhg.com/recipe/soups/pumpkin-barley-and-sage-soup/ I absolutely love butternut squash soup, and yours are always delicious. Can't wait to try this one, thank you!

  65. I've never seen roasted cumin in the store. Do you make your own with cumin seeds that you toast in the skillet and then pulverize? Is the flavor markedly different? I can't wait to try this recipe. Yum.

  66. Avatar photo
    Gina @ Skinnytaste

    @Kaylyn, I love coconut curry!

    Regular cumin should be fine if you don't have roasted.

    Thanks Olga, great idea!

  67. Avatar photo
    Olga @ MangoTomato

    so proud of you 🙂 Great job. I do the same thing: use whatever ingredients I have on hand!

  68. Avatar photo
    Gina @ Skinnytaste

    Crossing fingers! If not, you can still make it without the cream. Or add low fat sour cream, I add that to all my soups that require cream.

  69. Avatar photo
    My Kitchen in the Rockies

    While typing I have some pumpkin soup on the stove. It calls for half and half, but mine went bad. I should have checked before starting to cook. So you are saving my dinner! Let me check if I have some coconut milk left. Thanks!