Thai Butternut Squash Curry recipe is a delicious vegan curry simmered with fragrant spices and rich coconut milk.
This recipe was originally published in 2016. It was updated in 2022. The original curry recipe remains the same. Enjoy!
This squash curry is a recipe that I make on the regular. I like that the ingredients are easy to find in the local grocery store and the fact that it’s a healthy, perfect weeknight dinner option.
Not only is it a vegetarian dinner recipe that’s perfect for Meatless Monday but it’s also vegan, dairy-free and totally healthy.
It’s also great for meal prep since the leftovers heat perfectly the next day.
I like to use light coconut milk in this recipe to cut down on calories. Plus, I find that the butternut squash is rich and creamy on its own, meaning that we don’t need the full-fat coconut milk to add more body and silkiness to the sauce.
🛒 Ingredients Needed
- Olive Oil
- Butternut Squash – You’ll want about 4 cups of cubed squash.
- Shallots – If you can’t find shallots, you can swap in a small onion.
- Fresh Garlic + Ginger – To make things easy, I like to use the fresh ginger that comes in tubes. It’s often sold near the fresh herbs in grocery stores.
- Spices – Cumin, coriander, mustard seeds, turmeric and cayenne.
- Lite Coconut Milk – Coconut milk is sold in cans and you’ll find it in the Asian foods section of your grocery store.
- Baby Spinach – You can also use kale or arugula.
- Fresh Cilantro – If you’re not a fan of cilantro, you can leave it out. Or, swap in parsley.
📋 How to Make It
- Peel and cut the butternut squash into small cubes.
- Cook cubed butternut squash until slightly softened.
- Add shallots.
- Add ginger, garlic and additional spices.
- Add coconut milk and simmer.
- Stir in spinach.
- Enjoy!
❄️ Can You Freeze It?
You can freeze this curry. The texture of the coconut milk may turn a bit grainy after thawing, but the amazing flavor will remain the same. Store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to three months.
🌟 Variations
- Try swapping in some sweet potatoes for the butternut squash.
- Make a chickpea butternut squash curry by adding in a can of drained garbanzo beans when the coconut milk goes in.
- Add some heat by adding in some red pepper flakes or minced jalapeno or serrano pepper. Or, cut back on the heat by omitting the cayenne.
- Add in extra vegetables like kale, green beans, zucchini, etc.
- Add extra protein by adding some cubed tofu.
- For a pop of flavor, add in a squeeze of lime juice at the end.
🍷 Wine Pairings with Curry
- Dry Riesling is a great match for this squash curry. It’s hint of sweetness will tame down the heat while its acidity stands up to the bold blend of spices.
- Gewurztraminer is another lightly sweet wine that pairs nicely with this dish.
🍽 What to Serve with It
I like to serve this curry with instant pot white rice, basmati rice, brown rice or quinoa. It also is great served with some naan bread on the side.
🥗 More Vegetarian Dinner Recipes
- Zucchini Lasagna Rolls
- Indian Butter Chickpeas
- Spaghetti Squash Casserole
- Quinoa Burrito Bowls
- Mushroom Parmesan
- Sweet Potato Chili
✔️ More Butternut Squash Recipes
- Butternut Squash & Sausage Pasta with Creamy Goat Cheese
- Curried Butternut Squash Soup
- Roasted Squash Salad with Maple Tahini Dressing
- Butternut Squash Risotto
- Butternut Squash Bisque with Maple Cream
🥘 More Curry Recipes
- Curry Chicken Skewers with Lime
- Black Bean Curry
- Instant Pot Butter Chicken
- Curry Chicken Salad Lettuce Wraps
- Coconut Curry Butternut Squash Soup
Did you Make This Butternut Squash Curry?
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Butternut Squash Curry Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 4 pounds butternut squash (peeled and diced (about 4 cups))
- 2 shallots (minced)
- 8 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 Tablespoon grated fresh ginger
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 2 teaspoons mustard seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1/2 – 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 13.5 ounce cans light coconut milk
- 4 cups baby spinach leaves
- Salt and pepper (to taste )
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro (for garnish)
- 1/4 cup chopped peanuts (for garnish)
- Rice (for serving)
Instructions
- In a large skillet heat olive oil on medium-high until hot. Add squash and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, 6 to 8 minutes, or until slightly softened.
- To the skillet add the shallot, and cook until softened, 1-2 minutes. Add garlic, ginger and spices. Cook, about 1 minute, until fragrant.
- Add the coconut milk to the pan. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer, stirring occasionally, 10-15 minutes, until squash is tender. (Be careful not to boil, as the coconut milk may separate.)
- Add spinach and stir until wilted. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve curry on top of rice, topped with chopped cilantro and peanuts.
Nutrition
Watch the Web Story of me making Butternut Squash Curry.
This looks so delicious! I love vibrant dishes like this – it makes eating even more enjoyable 🙂 I’ve never tried Blue Apron, but I have tried most of the other services. They’re so helpful during the holidays especially!
I agree Marlynn! Plus, the gift of a subscription would be great at holiday time too!
Squash curry sounds so great today since it’s colder and dark and dreary!
This is definitely a go-to comfort food on chilly days!
Holy crap, this is unreal. I can’t get enough. I added a little bit more cayenne for a dash more heat, used celery leaves for boldness, and added 1 tsp fenugreek for extra curry flavor. I also made a “coconut milk” by mixing 1.5 cups coconut flour with 3 cups water (vigorously shaken time to emulsify). I think this made is thicker/richer.
Anyway, this will be an absolute go to as a serving dish for company. So good. Flavor explosion.
I haven’t tried out any of the meal delivery services yet but I have some friends who really love Blue Apron.
Im looking forward to making this recipe. Ill probably be using canned squash. Im excited to try it anyway. I bought a whole case of canned blended squash. Gotta do something with it. Thank you sincerely, denise king
This looks so scrumptious! I love lively dishes similar to this– it makes eating a lot more pleasurable.
I also added nigella seeds. Very good recipe! Thanks
Can I use mustard powder instead of mustard seeds? How much?
Hi Megan – I would just go ahead and leave out the mustard seeds.
We are crazy for butternut squash this time of year, and this looks amazing! We are having Indian food tomorrow, so I will add it too the menu and give it a try.
I hope you enjoy Renee!
Your tag line says “Can I pour you a glass of wine”. Yes, I’m sure you can; as in you are able. You really should ask, “MAY I pour you a glass of wine”.
It was delicious! I will definitely be making it from now on.
I’m so happy to hear that you liked this dish Keiko!
I made it and it was A M A Z I N G!!
So happy to hear that you liked the curry Consuelo!
The recipe looks great, but blue apron is a terrible choice for vegetarians. You get three meals of their choice and if you don’t like any of the meals, that’s too bad. I’ll stick to my grocery store.
My husband and I agreed that the curry is missing something, we are just not sure what it is! Maybe it’s because we spent ten days in India last month and I’m trying to copy some of the things we ate while there. I thought the texture of the squash (once it softened) made the curry a bit too much like a thick sauce. We ate two helpings with rice, and I pureed the rest. We will consider it a soup.
I’ve added red curry paste, almond butter, lime juice and a tiny bit of soy sauce to my curry sauce
I’m so in love with all curries, and also anything with butternut squash! So this looks like a recipe that is right up my alley. I’m not vegetarian but we love to cook vegetarian every once in a while just for a change. Totally making this!
Enjoy Becca!
This looks incredible. Can’t wait to try this for dinner!
I hope it’s a hit Jana!
I’m always looking for more meatless options to turn to. Will definitely have to try this out as curry anything is usually a hit.
Curries are one of my favorite things to make for dinner. I seriously cannot wait to try this!
I hope you love it Amanda!
Butternut squash curry is my go to dish in the fall – Can’t wait to try this recipe!
I hope you enjoy Hillary!
Oh goodness this sounds so good, and a great use for butternut squash (I generally get stuck in a soup rut with that squash). Definitely going to give one a shot!
I hope you guys love it Mary!
I did not have celery–but used shredded carrots instead. This was so good! The coconut milk takes it to a new level.
I’m glad you liked it Anita!
It tasted exactly as I thought it would and I loved it. I will include it in my frequent recipes. Thanks for sharing and greetings from Mexico City.
Changed the order and sauteed the spices in peanut oil in the instant pot, added the shallots, garlic and celery, and then a cup of dry chick peas and squash with some water and cooked them in the instant pot for 40 minutes. Added the coconut milk after. Very yummy.
I couldn’t find where I was supposed to add the shallot. I ended up not using them. Felt like the curry was missing something, but it was tasty. The squash got too mushy so I ended up making a “soup”
Hi Cristhy – So sorry about that! I just updated the instructions. The shallot should go in right before the garlic and other spices. Thank you!