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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!
Super yum!!! Recipe is perfect the way it is and makes a good amount! I have had 3 meals out of it and am still not tired of it! Def adding this to my recipe list and will be making again soon!
Made this with peas instead of spinach and it was great. Will definitely make this again and again.
It was great, as is! Unfortunately I followed the directions of commentators and added a bit of peanut butter. DON’T DO IT. Totally changed the dish. Great recipe, I’ll make sure to follow it next time.
I make this curry every other week, I’m absolutely obsessed! However, I was wondering if the recipe is still ok if I don’t add onion? I know it adds so much flavour but I’ve recently learned that I am all getting to fructose 🙁
Thanks!
Hi Emily! I haven’t tried it myself, so I’m not 100% sure, but I think you could simply omit the shallots from the recipe.
I added shrimp to the curry as well and it was delicious.
SO DELICIOUS!!! I found this via Pinterest and I will DEFINITELY make it again!! It came together quickly and was really tasty!
Additions and substitutions: I added 1 can of chickpeas, as feeding a teenager requires extra protein. I subbed turmeric for yellow curry powder (I didn’t have curry powder on hand) and baby kale instead of baby spinach (our grocery store was out).
My whole family LOVED this dish!!
Wonderful! Absolutely loved it. I only had yellow curry but it was great. Red onions rather than scallions, didn’t have any peanuts but – it was perfect. Don’t over cook it. Served on some brown jasmine rice. I look forward to making it again! Might try the tip on adding some peanut butter next time. Thank you!
All the positive reviews got my hopes up, but I really didn’t like it. The sauce was good, but was too sweet in combination with the butternut squash. It would have been great with chicken, but the squash didn’t do anything for me (and I like squash!), it needed something more filling in it. I also didn’t like the stringiness of the wilted spinach with the thinner curry sauce. I’ll stick with butternut squash soup and chicken curry as separate foods in the future.
OMG!!! It’s soooooo delicious! I just added diced chicken breast. It will be a staple in my home!
This was great! I used the kale substitute because I had it. And I put it over quinoa instead of rice. Hubby liked it and he’s not a curry fan!
Really good. I couldnt get paste so used a sauce. Made it a little soupy, but still goid just not as spicy
SO GEWWWWWDDDDDDD YUMYUMYUM. We made it with Kubocha squash and its was DELIGHTFUL.
I make this recipe almost every other week – so delicious. Add some peanut butter and it really brings it to another level 😉
Made this for dinner tonight and the family liked it. .. 2 Tbsp. of Red Curry Paste makes it pretty spicy.
I saw a recipe online a few days ago after being given a case of butternut squash and got the ingredients printed out, but not how to put them together…The search began. Of course, I couldn’t find it, but I did find this and it had close to the same ingredients, so thought I would give it a try. Boy am I glad! My mouth started drooling as the pot was simmering and I could hardly wait for the first taste!. It is wonderful and warmed me up on this cold winter day without all those calories I have been eating lately. I have enough for dinner tonite and maybe another meal in the near future. Thank you so much for this perfect blend of spices and veggies. I did add a cup of chickpeas to the recipe, as I had them ready for the other recipe. I’m sure it didn’t change the flavor, but added a touch of protein. In fact, I have some chicken I thought I might add to one of my other bowls. Seems like a very versatile recipe that will always taste great.
Wonderful flavor! Loved it, will make again. Added broccoli & cauliflower for more veggies, delicious
BOMB
Best dish ever. Have made it multiple times for friends and family and it’s definitely a fav!
Oh! My! Gosh!!!! Made this tonight and it was AMAZING.
I used frozen butternut squash instead of fresh, 3/4 thawed and 1/4 still frozen. It made it a bit thicker but still delicious. Was good over rice or by itself as a stew. I will be making this again.
Great recipe. I made a triple batch. We had some unusual orange squash from our fall harvest that worked beautifully in this recipe. I did add an entire onion along with the shallots. Didn’t use the fish sauce and certainly didn’t miss it. We will be making this over and over again.
Sorry, this was just okay to me. I tried it before and after adding the fish sauce and sugar (only 1 tsp.) and they did make a positive difference. I have better recipes for this dish so will not likely make again.