Instant Pot Curried Butternut Squash Soup is full of warming Thai inspired flavors. With red curry paste, creamy coconut milk and fragrant garlic and ginger, this vegan butternut squash soup is a delicious spicy spin on classic bisque. Post may contain affiliate links. To read my affiliate policy, click here.
Instant Pot Curried Butternut Squash Soup
Hey! It’s after Labor Day! That means it is 100 percent fall in my house. I am all in with fall flavors and produce- apples, pumpkin, butternut squash! Oh my! I am a huge fan of butternut squash in general. It’s mild and makes the perfect base for all the warming flavors of the season which is why this is the third butternut squash soup I’ve shared on here. 😳 See also easy butternut squash soup and Instant Pot butternut squash soup. While those two soups are flavored mainly with a touch of ginger and garlic, this version relies on flavors in Thai style curries and tastes very similar to my Thai chickpea curry. You get a burst of zesty flavor from red curry paste and saltiness from soy sauce. It really hits all the flavors and satisfies my takeout cravings. While I made it in the Instant Pot to save time, you can absolutely make it in the oven and on the stove top. I’ll go through all the methods below.
Ingredients
Ingredients for Instant Pot Curried Butternut Squash Soup: butternut squash, soy sauce, coconut milk, garlic, ginger, curry paste, onion, and vegetable broth
No matter how you make it, you’ll need:
- Butternut squash– You can get a whole one and peel and cube it yourself or buy them pre peeled and halved or pre peeled and cubed.
- Olive oil
- Onion– Any kind of onion will do. Rough chop it.
- Spices– The soup recipe needs fresh garlic and ginger. You can also add in red pepper flakes if you like things spicier and fresh cilantro to garnish if it floats your boat. I like to press the garlic with a garlic press and grate the ginger with a microplane.
- Curry paste– Thai red curry paste. This kind is my favorite.
- Soy sauce– Use tamari if you want it to be gluten free.
- Vegetable broth
- Coconut milk– The kind in the can, not the kind in the refrigerated section. Go for full fat coconut milk for the best flavor and texture.
- Lime– optional to squeeze in at the end
- Coconut cream– Totally optional but it makes for some extra creaminess and body as a garnish at the end.
- Roasted butternut squash seeds or pumpkin seeds– Again optional but a delicious topper for this soup. I really like using this sweet and spicy pumpkin seed recipe to roast up the butternut squash seeds.
How to Make Curried Butternut Squash Soup in the Instant Pot
The Instant Pot makes this soup so easy because it cuts the cook time on the squash down by a lot and it’s basically dump and go for the cooking process. To make this in your pressure cooker:
- Prepare the veggies.
Peel and cube the butternut squash and rough chop the onion. Pour the olive oil into the liner of the Pot and put the cut veggies into the inner liner of the Instant Pot. Season the veggies with the pressed garlic, grated ginger, curry paste and soy sauce. Pour in the veggie broth and give everything a good stir to combine. Then pour in the coconut milk. Do not stir.
Cut the squash or buy pre cut squash to save time.
- Pressure cook.
Secure the lid on the Instant Pot and make sure the valve is set to sealing. Pressure cook on high for 8 minutes. When the Pot beeps, do a quick release. Once it’s done releasing the pressure, open the lid.
After pressure cooking- not beautiful but delicious!
- Blend.
Either use an immersion blender and blend right in the inner liner of the Pot until smooth or carefully transfer the cooked squash and liquid into a good blender and blend until smooth. You can add a little more broth to thin it out if desired.
After blending
- Garnish and serve.
Dish it into bowls and garnish with fresh cilantro, a squeeze of lime juice, roasted squash seeds and a few dollops of coconut cream. Enjoy!
Instant Pot Curried Butternut Squash with Coconut Milk
Oven/Stovetop Version
Instant Pot Curried Butternut Squash Soup
No Instant Pot? No worries. I got you. You can still make this soup but it will take a bit longer. It will still be super delicious though. To make this in the oven and on the stove:
- Prep the veggies. Quarter the onions and lay the onions and squash out on the prepared tray evenly. Press garlic cloves and grate the ginger over the veggies. Drizzle olive oil and toss the veggies to evenly coat.
- Roast the veggies. Preheat oven to 400 and line a cookie sheet with foil. Spray the foil with nonstick spray. Pour the veggies onto the tray and bake for 45-50 minutes or until the squash is fork tender and onions begin to caramelize on the edges. Remove from oven. Let them cool until you can handle them.
- Blend. Put veggies into a blender along with the broth, coconut milk, soy sauce and curry paste. Blend until smooth.
- Heat and serve. Pour into a large saucepan and heat over low heat. When everything is heated through, dish it out into bowls and garnish as described above. Enjoy!
Tips and Tricks
Instant Pot Curried Butternut Squash Soup Thai Butternut Squash Soup with Coconut Milk-10
- Love a hot and spicy soup? Add extra curry paste. You could also increase the amount of red pepper flakes.
- For a really hot and spicy kick, you could grind up some dried Thai chili peppers.
- Don’t skip the coconut cream. It adds this silkiness to the soup that’s amazing.
- To save time, buy a pre peeled and cut squash. You can find them in the produce section.
- You can use frozen butternut squash. However, most of the time, the cubes are very small so you may want to reduce the cook time to 6 minutes. You also should taste the soup. Because frozen squash can take on a little extra watery, you may need to add more seasoning.
- Hate squash? Try this with sweet potatoes. You could make a very similar soup by substituting 3-4 medium to large sweet potatoes for the squash.
Storing and Reheating
Instant Pot Curried Butternut Squash Soup
Store this soup in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat by microwaving a bowl of soup covered loosely with plastic wrap to prevent splatters until warm. You can also freeze this soup in freezer safe containers for up to 3 months.
What to Serve with It
Instant Pot Curried Butternut Squash Soup
We eat this as a meal on its own. The coconut milk really adds a lot of body to the soup that makes it pretty filling. If you wanted to round this meal out more, it would pair well with an Asian inspired salad like this mandarin chicken salad. It would also taste amazing with a side of rice and steamed veggies scooped into it kind of like I do with this butternut and pumpkin curry with chickpeas. Whatever you like!
Other Butternut Squash Recipes
- The Best Balsamic Butternut Squash and Brussels Sprouts
- Brown Sugar Butternut Squash (with Cinnamon)
- Winter Vegetable Pasta
- Roasted Spiced Butternut Squash Savory Butternut Squash Recipe
- Sheet Pan Gnocchi with Roasted Fall Vegetables
- Easy Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
- Easy Roasted Butternut Squash Seeds (Savory Squash Seeds)
- Thai Pumpkin Curry with Butternut and Chickpeas
- Brown Butter Gnocchi with Roasted Squash and Kale
Did you make this? Let me know!
Did you make this Instant Pot Curried Butternut Squash Soup or one of my other recipes? Leave me a comment below and let me know it turned out or tag me on Instagram or Facebook @Seasonedsprinkles. I love hearing from you! Happy cooking (and eating)!
Ingredients
- medium butternut squash peeled and cubed
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 1 large onions rough chopped
- 2 cups of vegetable broth or stock
- 13.66 ounces of coconut milk 1 can
- 4 cloves of garlic pressed
- 1 inch of freshly grated ginger OR 1 tsp of ginger powder
- 2 tbs red curry paste
- 2 tbs soy sauce
- 1/8-1/4 tsp of red pepper flakes *optional
- Lime wedges and fresh cilantro for garnish
- Roasted butternut squash seeds or pumpkin seeds for garnish
Instructions
- Peel and cube the butternut squash and rough chop the onion. Pour the olive oil into the liner of the Pot and put the cut veggies into the inner liner of the Instant Pot. Season the veggies with the pressed garlic, grated ginger, curry paste and soy sauce. Pour in the veggie broth and give everything a good stir to combine. Then pour in the coconut milk. Do not stir.
- Secure the lid on the Instant Pot and make sure the valve is set to sealing. Pressure cook on high for 8 minutes. When the Pot beeps, do a quick release. Once it's done releasing the pressure, open the lid.
- Either use an immersion blender and blend right in the inner liner of the Pot until smooth or carefully transfer the cooked squash and liquid into a good blender and blend until smooth. You can add a little more broth to thin it out if desired.
- Dish it into bowls and garnish with fresh cilantro, a squeeze of lime juice, roasted squash seeds and a few dollops of coconut cream. Enjoy!
So delicious, quick and easy! I think that the recipes instructions should be edited to read “and put the chopped veggies…” – it says cooked veggies!
Thank you Sally! So glad you enjoyed it! And thanks for pointing out the type- fixing it now 🙂
Delicious, but thinner than I expected. Family liked it. Next time I’ll probably add more squash and less broth. Otherwise, YUMMY!
Glad you enjoyed!