Thai Butternut Squash Red Curry
Ultra delicious Thai-inspired butternut squash red curry that is creamy, spicy, rich, and comforting! The sweet butternut squash pairs beautifully with all the red curry spices.
And here it is!
Two very different curry recipes delivered to you back to back. You should know that this was seriously poor planning on my part. I didn’t mean to bombard you with curry recipes one after the other. But in my defense, this curry is absolutely worth obsessing over.
Won’t you let me feed you a spoonful of red curry with basmati rice to make it up to you?
Thank the lawwwwd it’s butternut squash season again. The best season there is in my very humble opinion. Because um.. hello! Butternut squash red thai curry is actually a thing. And it’s creamy, spicy, sweet, crunchy, comforting, and just down right addicting. Something i’ve been waiting all summer long to share. But who makes spicy curry in the summertime other than me?
Everything we love about food in general all rolled into one easy curry recipe. What I need you to know is that this is weeknight curry. We’re using store-bought red curry paste and really amping up the flavor with a little yellow curry powder. WHAT. Yes friends. The yellow curry powder adds sooo much spice and flavor to this easy one pot butternut squash curry.
How to Make Butternut Squash Red Curry:
Food like this is my life.
I go a little loopie when I think about all that sweet, tender butternut squash nestled in a slow simmered silky coconut curry sauce. Judging by this and the last recipe i’ve shared, it’s obvious that curries would be on the list of food that I could eat forever and ever. Also, top it with crushed cashews/peanuts and freshly chopped cilantro and i’d think you were after my heart.
And speaking of butternut squash. I’m no longer allowing myself to purchase whole butternut squash anymore. That privilege was immediately revoked last fall when I made a decent sized cut between my thumb and forefinger and then proceeded to almost faint from the ample amount of blood that was gushing from the wound. It’s not that slicing and dicing butternut squash is difficult, it’s that the person behind Little Spice Jar happens to have a ton more accidents than the average human being. ‘Uncoordinated’ can totally be my middle name from now until the end of time. So it’s a rule now. For my own sake, I must only purchase precut butternut squash.
And hey! On the positive side, shortcuts like these are totally welcome. Especially when I want to get butternut squash red curry in my belly in 30 minutes. Found that silver lining. ??
There are two main components to my butternut squash red curry:
1.) the curry base: I’m using store-bought red curry paste and really oomphing up the flavor with a little yellow curry powder. Along with that we need shallots, ginger, a little fish sauce, and some sugar. If you follow a vegan/vegetarian diet, feel free to omit the fish sauce. I know, the stuff smells terrible but what it does for this curry is amazing. It really adds a nice depth that makes the curry taste//smell like it’s been simmering all day. And finally you need a can of coconut milk. I’m not gonna tell you that low-fat coconut milk won’t work, because it will. I’m just going to tell you that full fat coconut milk makes this a more luxurious red curry experience. And to that, i’ll say no more. ?
2.) the veggies: in our case, i’m using butternut squash and baby spinach because I find the combination of the two works really well. We’re big fans of baby spinach and use it for just about everything. Needless to say, we always have some on hand. Kale also works well for this recipe, but keep in mind you’ll have to let it cook with the butternut squash a bit as it takes longer to wilt than spinach. Kabocha squash, acorn, sweet potatoes, and even carrots would work really well in place of the butternut squash. All of these ingredients have that sweet starchy factor that this curry needs.
Grab a bowl, because curries are meant to be eaten in a bowl. Fill it with a nice mound of fluffy basmati rice and top it with that silky coconut sauce loaded with tender squash and top it off with a handful of crushed nuts and fresh cilantro. A squeeze of lime juice wouldn’t hurt either.
This is get snug-on-the-couch-with-netflix food.
Thai Butternut Squash Red Curry
Ultra creamy and delicious Thai inspired butternut squash red curry that is creamy, spicy, rich, and comforting! The sweet butternut squash pairs beautifully with all the red curry spices.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoons coconut oil (or any oil really)
- 1 large shallots, chopped (or 2 small)
- 2-2 ½ cups diced butternut squash (about 1.5 pounds)
- 1 tablespoon grated ginger
- 2-3 tablespoons red curry paste
- ½ tablespoon yellow curry powder
- 1 (15 ounce) can coconut milk
- ¾ cup vegetables or chicken broth
- 2 teaspoons fish sauce (omit for vegans/vegetarians)
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 3-4 cups fresh baby spinach
- basmati rice, crushed cashews/ peanuts, cilantro, lime wedges for serving
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large, deep skillet over medium high heat. Add the shallots and saute them for 5-6 minutes or until they just begin to get golden. Add the butternut squash and grated ginger, stir to coat with the oil.
- Add the red curry paste, yellow curry powder and stir until all the butternut squash is nicely coated. Continue to cook the curry paste for 2-3 minutes or until it's fragrant. Add the broth, coconut milk, fish sauce, and sugar. Let the sauce come to a simmer before covering. Lower the heat and allow the squash to cook all the way through, about 12-18 minutes. You'll know it's done when you can easily pierce the butternut squash with the tip of a knife. Stir in the baby spinach and allow it to wilt.
- Serve with basmati rice topped with crushed nuts, cilantro, and lime wedges.
Notes
- Kale can be used in place of the spinach in this recipe but keep in mind you'll need to add it in earlier so that it has enough time to wilt.
If you like this recipe, you might also like:
instant pot cajun butternut squash soup
Fantastic recipe. I added two Kefir lime leaves during the simmering time and the flavor was amazing. I also added a three small eggplants from my garden with the squash and my family is raving about it all.
I love this, and made it twice in a row, once as directed and again with a bunch of other vegetables I needed to use up. It’s so good anyway you do it, it’s a great curry base! I love this. Next time I’ll add a few Kaffir Lime leaves from my plant.
I just made this with about 7 cups of chicken broth as I wanted to convert this into soup that I’ll be taking to work this week for lunch. I also added the entire bag of spinach and kale. It looks and smells wonderful and can’t wait for lunch now!
Thank you for this comment. I was contemplating how to convert to a soup!
Very delicious. I followed the recipe as written (with one minor change, see below), and the sauce was a little watery. i will use less vegetable broth next time. The only minor change I made was I eliminated the sugar completely. Butternut squash is sweet already and there is no need to add more calories. The dish tasted perfect. OMIT the sugar and save the calories!
2 teaspoons of sugar for the whole recipe that yields 5 servings is less than half a teaspoon of sugar per serving, which would come out to like 8 calories…
If you want to keep the sugar, keep the sugar. It does add a nice depth of flavor.
I’d always add sugar (I use palm sugar, but brown works well too) and fish sauce to Thai food as that’s how it gets it’s signature sweet and salty flavour everyone loves. It’s such a tiny amount if sugar the calories are negligible, and most of the calories here come from the coconut milk anyway.
Made this today. Turned out delicious!
Is the 1.5 lbs of squash a reference to the weight of the whole squash before it is cut? I had a huge squash and measured 1.5 lbs of diced squash but it was more like 4 cups of diced squash. Should I use 2.5 cups or 1.5 lbs?
That’s correct – 1.5 pounds of squash is referring to a whole squash (including the peel/seeds). You’ll use 2.5 cups of diced squash.
just made this, so yummy!! I added in some chickpeas and a couple scoops of coconut cream ! Sooooo delishhhhh
Hi Marzia,
This looks great. Is broth the same as stock?
Regards,
Damien
Yes, you can use broth or stock for this recipe 🙂
Have you adapted to instant pot?
Unfortunately, I haven’t tried this recipe in the instant pot yet!
I made this using a instant pot. Saute the vegaatables and curry in the pot just like you would on the stove. I added the rice into the pot. I increased the broth to 2 1/4 cups. I used the manual setting and set it for 7 mins. I did the quick release method. Once the top is ready to come off, I added the spinach. If it turns out a little drier that you like, just add a little more broth at the end.
This curry looks amazing. I love the way you have served it. Lovely pictures.
This recipe is amazing! Absolutely loved it x
I just made this recipe and am eating it now. It’s so good that I couldn’t wait to finish eating before posting a comment! Thanks for the recipe!!
I made this last night and I loved how it turned out. I added a big tablespoon of peanut butter to the curry because I love that nutty flavor. Next time I make it, I will probably add in some extra veggies and tofu! Great recipe!
Absolutely delicious with a few modifications. The sauce is a bit too watery. I liked one of the comment recommendations to blend a cup of the squash to make the curry a bit creamier. Next time! And I also added a pound of turkey meatballs. Everyone loved this! Baby, hubby and me! We had this with brown rice.
Just made this tonight with a few changes and it was PERFECT! I’d actually never cooked butternut squash before so this was a first for me. I don’t like very hot items and already had yellow curry paste so I used that. I had about 4 cups of butternut squash total from the two small ones from my garden. I also added garlic with the ginger. After making sure the squash was cooked through I let it simmer for about 10 more minutes UNcovered. This allowed some of the liquid to evaporate and made the curry thicker. It was so so delicious and I will definitely be making again. Hubby licked the plate! Thank you for a great recipe!
I love this when Squash is in season. What else can I use? Yam?
Yams should work!
How long does this stay for in the fridge? I am trying to find meals I pre-make and freeze or refrigerate. Thanks!
Curries are forgiving so I’d say about 4-5 days tops!
I‘ve never made anything with butternut squash before and I have to say this one of the tastiest dishes we ever had! Keep up the great work and greetings from Germany. ^^
This was fast and yummy! I added a can of chickpeas at the end with the spinach and it was worked really well! Served over cauliflower rice and topped with some lime juice and Sriracha ? great recipe!
Super delicious! Thank you!
Absolutely amazing! If you’ve never used a rice cooker before (like me) then make sure to start cooking your rice before the curry, so that they’ll both be done at the same time.
Not sure what went wrong because I followed the recipe as is but it was super bland and not good. I was excited to try a new vegetarian recipe but this was not it.
Sorry to hear the recipe didn’t turn out for you. Maybe you can up the curry paste or try a different brand of paste if you decide to make this recipe again. With 3 tablespoons of paste, this curry should definitely not taste bland!
So good! Ended up with a larger crowd than expected and added double squash amount and 50% more spinach. Raves from everyone:) Definitely a new favorite
We eat a lot of vegetarian curry meals, as they’re usually a great filling main. Often times, though, we’re disappointed by the results. They all taste fine or okay, but rarely wonderful. This recipe, however, was wonderful. My wife and I loved every bit of it and the kids (five and two and a half) also loved the meal. I will absolutely make this a regular in our home with months of squash coming in the CSA boxes. Thanks for this. (Note: my wife and I added some kashmiri red chilli to our dishes and it gave some wonderful spice).
Made it tonight and it was delicious! I tossed in some baby bok choy along with spinach and a few baby potatoes and served it on a bed of multi grain rice and shredded spinach.
Otherwise, I followed the recipe exactly. Just wonderful! Thanks!
Sooo yummy. We eat this every time I buy a butternut squash.
I loved this recipe. Easy to make, and the flavor was robust! I added a can of chickpeas for extra protein. This recipe would also be great with tofu. I will definitely make this again.
Really really wonderful recipe!!
Fantastic balance of flavors. Two things, you could, if you have non-vegeterians add salmon or cod or chicken or tofu and it would be very good. I didn’t but added one honey crisp apple diced to the cooking squash.
Also, I needed it to travel fasf, so I added more vegggie broth and turned it into a delicious thick soup to drink while at my desk. I pureed the veggie version in case you were wondering. A true winner! Thank you Marzia, I am a nutritionist too. (used the light coconut milk and MCT oil to saute to compliment the coconut milk.)