Thai-Inspired Butternut Squash Soup with Coconut Milk
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my full disclosure policy.
This Thai-style butternut squash soup is soothing and flavorful, and the heat from the curry and Sriracha will warm you right up.
Butternut squash soup flavored with Thai red curry paste and coconut milk is soothing and flavorful, and the heat from the ginger and spices will warm you right up. The Sriracha, peanuts, scallions and cilantro add vibrant flavor and texture, and they look pretty, too. For me, this soup is filling enough to serve as a main course but for heartier eaters, feel free to add a scoop of jasmine rice to bulk it up.
What you’ll need to Make Thai-Inspired Butternut Squash Soup
Step-by-Step Instructions
To begin, heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and ginger.
Cook, stirring frequently, until softened, 6 to 8 minutes.
Add the butternut squash, carrots, broth, fish sauce, sugar, and 2 tablespoons of the curry paste.
Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, covered, until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes.
Using a hand-held immersion blender, purée the soup until silky smooth. (Alternatively, cool the soup slightly, then purée in a blender in batches, making sure to leave the hole in the lid open to allow the steam to escape.)
Stir in the coconut milk, lime juice, and salt; bring to a simmer but do not boil. Taste and adjust seasonings, adding the remaining tablespoon of curry paste if more heat is desired.
Ladle the soup into bowls. Drizzle with Sriracha and garnish with the scallions, peanuts, and cilantro, if desired. Enjoy!
You may also like
- Thai-Inspired Chicken & Rice Noodle Soup
- Easy Butternut Squash Soup
- Thai-Style Ginger and Sweet Red Chili Shrimp
- Quick Beef Pho
- Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato Soup
- Thai-Style Red Curry Chicken
Thai-Inspired Butternut Squash Soup with Coconut Milk
This Thai-style butternut squash soup is soothing and flavorful, and the heat from the curry and Sriracha will warm you right up.
Ingredients
For the Soup
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 medium yellow onions, roughly chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, very roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh ginger, from a 2-inch knob (see note)
- 2½ lb pre-cut butternut squash (or one 3-lb butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed)
- 3 large carrots, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 6 cups chicken broth, best quality such as Swanson
- 1½ tablespoons fish sauce
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 2 - 3 tablespoons Thai red curry paste
- 1 (14-oz) can unsweetened coconut milk (preferably not low fat)
- Juice of half a lime, plus more limes for serving
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Optional Garnishes
- Sriracha sauce, for drizzling
- 4 scallions, thinly sliced
- ¾ cup salted peanuts, roughly chopped
- ⅓ cup chopped fresh cilantro
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and ginger and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, 6 to 8 minutes. Do not brown; reduce heat if necessary.
- Add the squash, carrots, broth, fish sauce, sugar, and 2 tablespoons of the curry paste. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, covered, until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes.
- Using a hand-held immersion blender, purée the soup until silky smooth. (Alternatively, cool the soup slightly, then purée in a blender in batches, making sure to leave the hole in the lid open to allow the steam to escape.) Stir in the coconut milk, lime juice, and salt (if the coconut milk is solidified, use the immersion blender to mix it in). Bring to a simmer, then taste and adjust the seasonings, adding the remaining tablespoon of curry paste if more heat is desired. Ladle the soup into bowls. Drizzle with the Sriracha and garnish with the scallions, peanuts, and cilantro, if using.
- Note: Check out easy guidance on how to peel, grate, and chop fresh ginger here.
- Make Ahead: This soup can be made up to 3 days ahead of time and stored in a covered container in the refrigerator. Keep in mind that the soup will thicken up quite a bit as it cools, so you'll need to add a bit of water or broth to thin it back to the right consistency upon reheating.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The soup can also be frozen for up to 3 months. Defrost the soup in the refrigerator for 12 hours and then reheat it on the stovetop over medium heat until hot. (It may thicken up a bit while in the freezer; if so, just thin it out with a bit of water or broth while reheating.)
Nutrition Information
Powered by 
- Per serving (8 servings)
- Serving size: 1 bowl (not including garnishes)
- Calories: 307
- Fat: 17 g
- Saturated fat: 10 g
- Carbohydrates: 36 g
- Sugar: 13 g
- Fiber: 4 g
- Protein: 8 g
- Sodium: 658 mg
- Cholesterol: 6 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
See more recipes:
Comments
Add a Comment
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
This soup is excellent! I left it chunky, as is, without pureeing. We used Hubbard squash just because we grew a bunch. Were vegan so used vegan fish sauce. Today is the second time in as many weeks that we are making a double batch of this. Great recipe.
I can’t wait to make this for my family. To make it vegetarian, I’m planning to use vegetable broth and omit the fish sauce. Just wondering Jen if you would add liquid aminos or soy sauce instead of the fish sauce? Thanks!
Yes, I would recommend replacing the fish sauce with soy sauce. Enjoy!
I love your website. Thank you! Just to say that instead of butternut squash, which I was not able to find in my local supermarket, I used red lentils and the result was delicious.
A knockout! A perfect fall soup, totally delicious and super easy preparation. I simply can’t praise it enough, also Jen’s Thai inspired Chicken and Rice Noodle soup. I find Jen’s recipes completely reliable and reproducible which doesn’t always happen with other cooking websites where what you see is often not what you get when you make it yourself.
We love this soup. I use Hubbard squash as that is what hubby planted. 🙂 The honey gives it something that makes the texture rich and decadent. The Thai red curry paste lets you adjust to whatever heat you like. It is just the perfect soup!
Oh. My Goodness!! What an awesome soup! I made this yesterday for dinner tonight and I can hardly wait. I’m serving it with all the toppings. Yum!
Hi Jenn… Can frozen butternut squash be used instead of fresh?
Sure!
LOVED this recipe! I did not adjust one thing. I did find the 2 TB of red thai curry paste provided just the right amount of heat. Adding this to my list of go-to recipes
Hi Jenn…I KNOW this is a crazy question but here goes. I made your sweet potato/carrot soup last week and had to freeze it. I’m hosting friends soon and they all love Thai so thought this a better option but was wondering if I could marry the two. Maybe sauté the ginger and scallions, then add with fish sauce, curry paste and coconut milk to the other soup? Insane? Love everything about your site…ty!
Hi Cheryl, I think it should work! 🙂
Made this soup for 500 ladies at a retreat the last weekend. What a hit! Yes, it took me a lot of hours to prep and cook it BUT it was worth seeing the smiles afterward. Thank you for all the hard work you do to make sure your recipes are top notch and tasty! Have never been disappointed!!
Wow, this is SO good! I kept the Thai chili paste to the 2 tablespoons as per the recipe because the soup has exactly the right amount heat for my taste (and more importantly for my husband as he is sensitive to spicy foods).
I used all the juice from 1 lime as the lime itself was a bit small. Don’t be afraid of using the fish sauce – it just deepens the flavour doesn’t add a “fishy” taste.
Another fab recipe Jenn…girl – you rock!
Amazing soup! Could have used a little extra fish sauce if you’re looking for a stronger Thai flavor. But this has become a favorite in our house. My husband isn’t a big soup person, but I paired this with a big bowl of salad for a light dinner and he loved it.
Wonderful soup! Only had green curry paste on hand and it worked great. First timer with fish sauce (I was hesitant), but no fish flavor came through. Served soup with a Thai chicken salad. Great combo!
Once again I made a great recipe, Jenn does not disappoint. Everything I have made is terrific. Thank you Jenn.
This is really delicious and easy to make.
I couldn’t find the fish sauce at the store. So I omitted it.
It is is divine!
Thank you
A delicious soup that is not your standard roasted butternut squash soup! Both my sister and I made it this week and we really enjoyed it. The only suggestion we have is that if you like a slightly thicker soup, you may want to start with 4 or 5 cups of chicken stock rather than 6. You can always add more stock to make it thinner if you wish.
Delicious and satisfying. Will make on a regular basis. Your clear instructions and the fantastic end results of all your recipes make your website my go-to place! Thank you.
Absolutely loved it! Was given a large Butternut but had no real clue what to do with it , then this popped up so I thought I’d give it a go. Went for the 3 tablespoons of paste as we like things hot. Husband was satisfied with just soup nothing else so that’s a win. Thankyou from Adelaide South Australia
I made this soup today and it was SO delicious on a cold, rainy day. I added the extra TB of red curry paste in the end and siracha to my individual bowl. Delicious!
Delicious! I used Sunshine Squash, so the velvety soup was a beautiful coppery orange. The lime juice at the end really brightens the flavour. Quick and very easy to make.
Wonderful! Made first time following recipe, except only 2 tbs sugar. Second time one dinner guest was vegan, so used vegetable stock and Yondu umami vegetable sauce instead of fish sauce and no additional salt (Yondu is salty). Great both ways.
Made this delicious soup ! I am a huge lover of soup and this one is defiinely in my soup collections now! Lots of flavour! The thai kick is perfect! I added the scallions a few chopped nuts and few drops of chipotle sauce and a pinch of smoked sea salt ! this soup would also make a great appetizer !
Love your food Jen!
Delicious spin on a classic soup! And it’s easy!
Just made this soup. It was so velvety and delicious. My husband is not a great squash lover, but he couldn’t tell it had squash in it and thoroughly enjoyed it. Forgot the limes so just used fresh lemon juice instead, we made our own bone broth. Added the extra tbsp of curry paste. This is definitely one recipe I’ll be using again. Thank you.
I replaced the butternut squash with sweet potatoes, because that’s what I had, and I needed to up the broth to get a good consistency. I used 4T of curry, the last of the jar, so it was plenty spicy without adding sriracha. This was simple and absolutely delicious!!! Finishing it with plenty of lime was key to brightening the soup. I will be hanging on to this recipe! Thank you!!!
Hi Jenn, could you tell me how many ounces a serving is in this recipe? I’m trying to keep to a low sodium diet as much as possible. Thanks. Will be trying this recipe over the weekend, so will let you know!
Hi Helen, I’d guesstimate that each serving would be approximately 12 ounces. Hope you enjoy it!
Can I use another type of squash, like acorn? I have a big one to do something with.
Sure, Janet — the soup may taste a bit different, but it will work. I’d love to hear how it turns out!
This is the best butternut squash recipe!
Granny here is trying to get some good nutrition into the grands 10 and 12 y.o. One has very developed palate and the other one does not. This soup was a hit for them both!! Thank you !
I just made this, Thank you for such an easy to follow recipe! I do feel the amount of sugar in this maybe a bit unnecessary, as I found it overly sweet, still mega tasty though!