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This creamy curry butternut squash soup is the coziest cold-weather bowl. Made with coconut milk and warm fall spices, it’s naturally dairy-free, easily vegan, and tastes even better the next day. Perfect for an easy lunch or your weekly meal prep!
Why You’ll Love This Curry Butternut Squash Soup
It’s officially soup season, and I’m here for it! This creamy butternut squash soup might just be the perfect fall soup. It’s cozy, creamy, sweet, savory, a little spicy, and full of all your favorite fall flavors.
Seriously, I could eat this for lunch every single day and be the happiest woman alive. Here’s why it’s on repeat in my kitchen:
- Creamy without dairy. Full-fat coconut milk makes it rich and silky, no heavy cream needed.
- Big flavor, simple ingredients. Curry powder, cumin, turmeric, and a pinch of cinnamon do all the heavy lifting.
- Ready in 45 minutes. Most of that is hands-off simmering.
- Meal prep magic. It gets better as it sits and freezes beautifully, so make a big batch!
- Fits lots of diets. It’s gluten-free, paleo-friendly, egg-free, and dairy-free, and it’s vegan when you use oil and veggie stock.
If you love cozy squash recipes, don’t miss my pumpkin recipes too!
Ingredients for Curried Butternut Squash Soup
*Scroll down to the recipe card for the full recipe and ingredient amounts!
This soup is packed with simple, good-for-you ingredients. Here’s what you’ll need (full amounts are in the recipe card below):
- Oil or butter: Use a neutral oil (like avocado oil) or coconut oil to keep it vegan, or butter if you’re not dairy-free.
- Onion and garlic: Sautéed aromatics build a sweet, savory flavor base.
- Spices: A blend of ground cumin, curry powder, turmeric, cinnamon, salt, black pepper, and an optional pinch of cayenne.
- Coconut palm sugar: A little brings out the squash’s natural sweetness.
- Butternut squash: One medium squash, peeled and cut into even cubes. Smaller cubes soften faster.
- Full-fat coconut milk: The secret to a rich, creamy texture. Save a little for drizzling on top!
- Stock: Chicken or veggie stock both work. Use veggie stock for a vegan soup.
Substitutions and Variations
- Sugar: No coconut sugar? Use honey, maple syrup, or brown sugar. Start with a little less if using honey or maple, then taste and adjust. You can also leave it out for a less sweet soup.
- Light coconut milk: Works if you want a lighter soup. It’ll be a little less creamy.
- Make it spicier: Add more cayenne or a pinch of red chili flakes, or use a hot curry powder.
- Add fruit: Simmer a chopped pear or apple with the squash for a lovely touch of sweetness.
- Shortcut squash: Pre-cubed butternut squash from the store works perfectly. You’ll need about 6 cups.
How to Make Curry Butternut Squash Soup
This fall favorite is ready in about 45 minutes from start to finish.
- Sauté the aromatics. Heat oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the yellow onion and cook until it starts to soften, then stir in the garlic, spices, and sugar and cook until fragrant.
- Add the squash. Stir in the cubed butternut squash and cook for about 5 minutes, until it starts to soften.
- Simmer. Pour in the coconut milk and stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the squash is fork-tender.
- Blend until smooth. Use an immersion blender right in the pot, or carefully blend in batches in a stand blender.
- Taste and serve. Return the soup to the pot, simmer a few more minutes to thicken, then taste and adjust the seasoning. Top with a swirl of coconut milk and a crack of black pepper.
Tips for the Best Butternut Squash Soup
- Cut even cubes. Same-size pieces cook at the same rate, so you won’t end up with hard chunks in your blender.
- Bloom the spices. Toasting the spices in oil for a minute wakes up their flavor. Don’t skip it!
- Vent your blender. Hot soup expands when blended. Fill the blender halfway, remove the center cap, and cover with a towel.
- Season at the end. Squash varies in sweetness, so always taste before serving and add more salt or pepper as needed.
- Adjust the thickness. Too thick? Add a splash of stock. Too thin? Simmer it a few minutes longer.
Do You Have to Peel Butternut Squash for Soup?
Technically, no, but I always do! Peeled squash makes a creamier, silkier soup. It also exposes more of the squash’s natural sugars to the heat, so you get a sweeter, more caramelized flavor.
How to peel and cube it: Trim off both ends, then cut the squash where the neck meets the round bottom. Use a sharp vegetable peeler to remove the skin. Halve the bottom, scoop out the seeds, and cut everything into 1-inch cubes.
What to Serve with Butternut Squash Soup
This soup makes a great light lunch on its own, but here’s how I like to round it out:
- A grilled cheese with thin apple slices tucked inside
- My Harvest Salad with Maple Balsamic Dressing
- A simple kale salad with pecans and dried cranberries
- A slice of crusty bread for dipping
Favorite ways to garnish: add feta or goat cheese, toasted pumpkin seeds, pepitas, or pecans, crumbled oven-baked bacon, homemade croutons, or an extra drizzle of coconut milk.
How to Store
Fridge: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 4–5 days.
Reheat: Warm single servings in the microwave, or larger portions in a pot over low heat, stirring often. Add a splash of stock if it’s thickened up.
Can You Freeze Butternut Squash Soup?
Yes! Butternut squash soup freezes beautifully, so this is a great one to double. Freeze it in large portions for family dinners or single portions for easy lunches.
- To freeze: Let the soup cool to room temperature, then chill it completely in the fridge. Transfer to freezer-safe containers or bags and freeze for up to 6 months.
- To thaw: Thaw in the fridge overnight.
- To reheat from frozen: Set the container in a bowl of warm water until the soup pops out. Add it to a pot with about ¼ cup water, cover, and warm over medium-low heat, stirring often. Once thawed, bring it to a boil to make sure it’s heated through.
For more tips, check out my Freezer Meals Guide.
FAQ’s
One medium butternut squash, about 2½ to 3 pounds, gives you roughly 6 cups of cubed squash. That’s the perfect amount for this recipe.
It can be! Use oil instead of butter and vegetable broth instead of chicken broth or stock, and it’s 100% vegan.
It’s warm and flavorful, not hot. The cayenne is optional, so leave it out for little ones or add more if you like heat.
Yes! Any sweetener works. Readers have made it with honey and loved it.
More Cozy Soup Recipes
Watch The Video
Butternut Squash Curry Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon oil or butter (use oil for vegan)
- 1 large onion diced
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon curry powder
- 2 teaspoons salt more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper more to taste
- Pinch cayenne pepper optional
- 1/4 cup coconut palm sugar
- 1 medium butternut squash(about 2½–3 lbs) peeled and cut into 1-inchcubes (about 6 cups)
- 1/2 cup full-fat coconut milk plus more for garnish
- 32 ounces (4 cups) chicken or veggie stock (veggie for vegan)
Instructions
- Heat oil in a dutch oven over medium heat. Once hot add onion, and cook until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes.
- Add garlic, spices, and sugar and cook until spices become fragrant (about 1 minute).
- Add in butternut squash and cook down for 5 minutes, stirring often, until squash is beginning to soften.
- Add coconut milk, chicken stock, and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat, and let simmer until butternut squash is tender.
- Carefully transfer soup to a stand blender, in batches, and blend together until smooth. Alternatively you can use an immersion blender.
- Transfer soup back into the pot and continue to cook for about 5 more minutes, or until the soup has reached your desired consistency.Â
- Taste soup and adjust seasoning accordingly
- Garnish with salt, pepper, and additional coconut milk.
Notes
- Vegan: Use oil and veggie stock.
- Sweetener: Swap coconut sugar for honey or maple syrup, starting with a little less and adjusting to taste.
- Storage: Keeps in an airtight container in the fridge for 4–5 days.
- Freezing: Cool completely, then freeze in freezer-safe containers or bags for up to 6 months. See my Freezer Meals Guide for more tips.
- Recipe and images updated in 2026.
Delicious! I used honey instead of coconut sugar bc i can’t have any sugar except honey.
This post just came into my inbox. I am in Nashville right now and it is cold – I wish I was home so I could make this soup instead. I love all the flavors of this recipe, and it looks so cozy.
Excellent excellent soup. I added two chopped pears,used lite coconut milk. It was great.
First time making this kind of soup and it was delicious. The spices were perfect and I didn’t change a thing! Thanks for the great recipe. Will definitely make again 😊
This is my favorite soup ever. It doesn’t take long to put it all together and it is delicious. I make it often! I’ve tried other recipes for butternut squash soup but none of them compare.
Can you substitute another sugar or sugar free substitute for the coconut palm sugar? The coconut palm sugar is not something I typically have on hand.
Absolutely. Use what sugar works for you.
How much squash as there are many variations of sizes.
I finally made this today and WOW!!!! I am a soup lover but have never been a big fan of curry or turmeric but this soup has made me a believer. I made it exactly as directed and It was so good I was licking the spatula to get every last drop from the pot. This soup is very filling, full of flavor and the taste is beyond delicious.
So happy you liked it, Karen!
I made this today and it’s absolutely amazing! So delicious! I did my own twist/substitutions and used coconut oil instead of butter, added red chili flakes because we love spicy and topped the soup with some roasted pumpkin seeds along with the coconut milk. Definitely a new favorite that will be a regular these cold winter months.
What would be a good side to go with this soup? Just want to make sure I”m full. : )