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5 from 1 vote

Curried Butternut Squash Soup

This super flavourful soup is packed with veggies and immune boosting ingredients like garlic, ginger, and bone broth. It's puréed into a silky smooth soup with curry spice and creamy coconut milk. My whole family loves it and I love knowing that they're getting a huge dose of vegetables and bone broth with every bowl. Don't forget the naan bread for dipping!
Prep Time10 mins
Cook Time15 mins
Course: Soup
Keyword: butternut squash, curry, Dairy free, instant pot, soup
Servings: 6 servings
Author: Garnish at Home, adapted from Curry Trail

Ingredients

Soup:

  • 1 large butternut squash, peeled and cubed about 3-4 cups
  • 1 carrot, peeled and coarsley sliced
  • 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and cubed any kind of apple will do
  • 1 large yellow onion, diced or 2 small onions
  • 1 celery rib, chopped small
  • 1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
  • 6 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
  • 2 tsp dried ginger or 1 inch fresh peeled ginger, sliced
  • 2 tsp curry powder
  • 2 tbsp maple syrup
  • 3 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • 1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
  • 1 400ml can full fat coconut milk

For Serving:

  • few tablespoons roasted pumpkin seeds optional
  • 1 handful fresh chopped herbs like cilantro, parsley, green onion, thai basil, etc. optional
  • handful shredded unsweetened coconut, lightly toasted optional
  • 6 naan flatbreads, served warm with herb butter or Za'atar optional

Instructions

Instant Pot:

  • Add all of the soup ingredients, except the coconut milk, to the instant pot. Stir to combine. The broth will not completely cover the vegetables, that is fine! In order to get a nice thick soup, we don't want to add too much broth.
  • Secure lid and cook on manual high pressure for 10 minutes.
  • Perform a quick pressure release by carefully tapping the sealing valve to the venting position.
  • Using an immersion blender or in batches in a food processor/blender, blend soup until smooth.
  • Add coconut milk and gently reheat soup. Season to taste. What does that mean? If it needs more spice, add more curry powder. If it is a tad bitter, add a swig of maple syrup. If it needs more flavour, season with more salt and pepper or add some bouillon base. A squeeze of lemon also brings some nice acidity if you like!
  • Top with any of the optional garnishes you prefer and serve with naan bread.

Stovetop:

  • Preheat oven to 400F.
  • Add all the vegetables to a sheet tray. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast for 40 minutes, or until very tender. I find roasting the vegetables gives the soup a lot of flavour for the stovetop version, but if you prefer you can instead add all the soup ingredients (except the coconut milk) to a pot and boil for 20-30 minutes until the veggies are very tender before blending.
  • Add roasted vegetables to a pot along with the rest of the soup ingredients, except the coconut milk.
  • Using an immersion blender, blend soup until smooth.
  • Add coconut milk and gently reheat soup. Season to taste. If it needs more spice, add more curry powder. If it is a tad bitter, add a swig of maple syrup. If it needs more flavour, season with more salt and pepper.
  • Top with any of the optional garnishes you prefer and serve with naan bread.

Slow Cooker:

  • Add all of the ingredients, except the coconut milk, to the slow cooker. Stir to combine.
  • Cook on low heat for 8 hours or high heat for 4 hours.
  • Using an immersion blender, blend soup until smooth.
  • Add coconut milk and gently reheat soup. Season to taste. If it needs more spice, add more curry powder. If it is a tad bitter, add a swig of maple syrup. If it needs more flavour, season with more salt and pepper.
  • Top with any of the optional garnishes you prefer and serve with naan bread.

Notes

This soup recipe is very forgiving. If you don't have one or more of the veggies listed, you can easily sub more of another. The main ingredients to include are the butternut squash, onion, garlic. If you don't have have a bell pepper or celery, just add another carrot. If you don't have a carrot, add a small potato or sweet potato peeled and cubed! 
Leftovers: This soup also makes a fantastic base for a curry. Sauté some chicken breast and peppers (or protein and veggies of your choice), add the soup and simmer until everything is cooked. Serve over rice with a squeeze of lime or lemon. So good!!