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This ultra-delicious Thai-inspired butternut squash red curry is creamy, spicy, rich, and comforting! The sweet butternut squash pairs beautifully with all the red curry spices.
And here it is!
Thai butternut squash red curry has always been one of the most popular recipes on my blog. And the taste is incredible!
Maybe it’s the fact that it’s loaded with vegetables, but it’s also very customizable? Like chickpeas? Throw in a can! Let it bubble and simmer away with thai curry paste until the whole house smells delicious. Top the curry recipe with fresh herbs like chopped cilantro and serve it up with brown rice or white rice.
Thank goodness it’s butternut squash season again—AKA 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 downright 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 so much spice and flavor to this easy one-pot butternut squash curry.
How to Make Butternut Squash Curry:
Butternut squash curry ingredients:
- Basmati Rice: You can also serve this with naan, quinoa, white rice, or brown rice!
- Coconut Oil: I like to cook curry recipes that naturally use coconut milk in coconut oil to help enhance the flavor. You could also use avocado oil or any other oil that you typically cook with.
- Shallots: I like to use shallots for most Thai recipes that I make. If you happen to have a red or yellow onion on hand, you could make that swap too!
- Butternut Squash: We’ll dice the squash and simmer it in the curry until it’s fork-tender! Even my never-vegetarian hubby loves this recipe!
- Fresh Ginger: We’ll add grated ginger to the curry to amp up the flavor.
- Red Curry Paste: Buy a good brand of red curry paste, as most of the flavor in this recipe comes from it. This is my favorite brand.
- Yellow Curry Powder: contains ingredients like cumin, turmeric, and other seasonings. You can use any mild yellow curry powder you like. Here’s what you need.
- Coconut Milk: I like to use full-fat coconut milk for this recipe, but a low-fat version will work too. Coconut milk helps thicken the curry, so this recipe is naturally gluten-free.
- Vegetable Broth or Chicken broth: This is what helps thin out the coconut milk and makes a delicious curry that you can spoon over your rice.
- Fish Sauce: adds umami to the recipe. Feel free to omit this if you follow a strict vegetarian or vegan diet. This is my favorite brand.
- Sugar: helps balance the salt in the recipe.
- Baby Spinach: adds color and is another source of fiber and nutrition.
Making Butternut Squash Curry:
- Serve it up. Grab a bowl and load it up with your favorite rice or quinoa. Then top it with this freshly made, extremely fragrant curry recipe! Sprinkle some crushed peanuts or cashews on top and cilantro. Squeeze on fresh lime juice to really wake up the flavors!
- Saute the aromatics. Start by heating the oil in a skillet. Once melted, add the shallots and give them plenty of time to sweat down and become golden. Then, add the butternut squash and grated ginger.
- Simmer the curry. Once the butternut squash is well coated in the oil, we’ll add in the red curry paste and curry powder and stir until the squash cubes have a chance to get nicely coated in these ingredients. Continue to cook until the curry starts to get fragrant. Add the broth, coconut milk, fish sauce, and sugar. Bring the curry to a simmer, then lower the heat and allow the squash to cook until it’s completely fork-tender. You’ll know it’s done when a fork pierces through the cubes without any resistance. Stir in the baby spinach.
FAQs about this recipe
Swap it for sweet potatoes if you’d like.
Keep them in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Reheat in the microwave before serving.
If you like this recipe, you might also like:
- 20-Minute Panang Chicken Curry
- Chicken Tikka Masala
- Creamy Coconut Curry with Shrimp and Corn
- Curried Butternut Squash Soup
- Finger Lickin’ Butter Chicken
Thai Butternut Squash Red Curry
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoons coconut oil or any oil really
- 1 shallot chopped
- 2-2 1/2 cups diced butternut squash about 1.5 pounds
- 1 tablespoon ginger grated
- 2-3 tablespoons red curry paste
- 1/2 tablespoon curry powder
- 15 ounce can coconut milk
- 3/4 cup vegetable stock or chicken stock
- 2 teaspoons fish sauce omit for vegans/vegetarians
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 3-4 cups fresh baby spinach
- cooked basmati rice
- for serving 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.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like This? Leave a comment & rating below!
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.)
Really really wonderful recipe!!
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.
Sooo yummy. We eat this every time I buy a butternut squash.
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!
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).
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
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!
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.
Super delicious! Thank you!
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!
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. ^^
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 love this when Squash is in season. What else can I use? Yam?
Yams should work!
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!
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.
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!
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!!
This recipe is amazing! Absolutely loved it x
This curry looks amazing. I love the way you have served it. Lovely pictures.