This easy and healthy Thai butternut squash curry recipe is creamy, rich and perfect on a crisp fall day or any day for that matter. It is super easy and healthy as the sweetness from the butternut squash pairs great with the curry spices.
For those that follow this blog, I try to balance eating my absolute favorite foods like pizza and tacos which I know aren't the best for me with healthy vegetarian options that are super tasty. From vegetarian burrito bowls to butternut squash sweet potato soup, there are plenty of options.
To me it's important to eat what you enjoy, but it all comes down to balancing everything. I've admitted I didn't grow up a huge veggie fan so I've had to learn to like it. However with this Thai butternut squash curry, it really isn't hard to enjoy this!
What makes this recipe so great is while there aren't many spices, curry is packed with so much flavor it feels like you threw 20 spices into the dish. Being loaded with vegetables making it a healthy curry recipe doesn't hurt either!
If you're like me and have to work at eating your vegetables, this butternut squash Thai curry is the perfect dish to eat something that's tasty where you won't feel guilty afterward. There's never something wrong with that combo.
Jump to:
Ingredient Notes
- Veggies - the combination of onions, peppers, butternut squash, carrots and kale add a ton of flavor and nutrients.
- Curry - using both Thai red curry paste and yellow curry powder gives that curry flavor you expect.
- Coconut milk - adds necessary fat and creaminess.
Ingredient Swaps
Like any recipe, you can swap out some of the ingredients. Some variations include:
- From a veggie standpoint, you can replace butternut squash with pumpkin or sweet potato and kale with spinach.
- Coconut milk is the go-to for making a creamy sauce, but whole milk, almond milk or even heavy cream work as well.
- I like the flavor of peanut butter, but almond or cashew butter are good substitutes. Or sunflower seed butter if you have a nut allergy.
Step-by-Step Photos
Cook the onions and peppers until the onions are translucent then add the veggies, ginger, curry and garlic, cooking for another 2-3 minutes.
Add the stock, milk, fish sauce, peanut butter and sugar, bringing to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes before stirring in the kale and cook until wilted.
FAQs
Curry is actually a meaningless that colonizers used when they saw foreign dishes. However curry usually comes in two forms and both are used in this dish.
• Curry paste - comprised of fresh ingredients like lemongrass, ginger, galangal, chilis, and/or herbs which are ground together to make a thick paste.
• Curry powder - a combination of dried spices blended together and used in Indian cooking.
If you are allergic to coconut or just don't like it, you need to replace with something that is high in fat. So no almond milk. If you are fine with dairy, heavy cream is the best substitute.
If you need a dairy-free option, make your own cashew cream. Soak one cup of cashews overnight in water and then blend with ¾ cup of water and a dash of sat.
Butternut squash can be quite tough to cut into, so one key is to microwave for 1-2 minutes to soften the flesh.
From there, slice off the ends before peeling the skin. Cut in half and scrape the seeds out before dicing. Look at these step-by-step process shots.
Of course. Sweet potatoes and pumpkin are a great substitute for butternut squash. Acorn squash also works well. You can't go wrong with any of them.
You control the amount of heat in this curry by how much red curry paste you add, so if you like it hotter, add another 1-2 tbsp. If you want less heat, reduce the paste to 2 tbsp.
My go-to is basmati or jasmine rice. But you can also use brown rice, quinoa or millet.
You can keep in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days or in the freezer for 3 months.
Benefits of Butternut Squash
Like many vegetables, butternut squash comes with a ton of benefits, including:
- High in nutrients but low in calories
- Rich in vitamins and minerals
- Contains disease-fighting antioxidants
Pro Tips/Recipe Notes
- Be consistent when cutting the vegetables so everything will cook evenly.
- To save time, buy pre-cut butternut squash cubes.
- You can replace the kale with spinach but you need to add it earlier to give it time to wilt.
- If you are vegetarian/vegan you can make your own vegetarian fish sauce.
Other Vegetarian Recipes
If you’ve tried this butternut squash curry recipe or any other recipe on Chisel & Fork, please let me know how it turned out in the comments below! You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube to see more tasty meals and anything else I'm up to.
Thai Butternut Squash Curry
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- ½ medium sweet onion, chopped (1 cup)
- 1 green bell pepper, seeds removed and thinly sliced
- 1 red bell pepper, seeds removed and thinly sliced
- 5 cups butternut squash, diced into ½" cubes (about 1.5 lbs)
- 1 cup carrots, diced into ½" cubes (2 carrots)
- 1 tbsp grated ginger
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 tbsp red curry paste
- 1 tbsp yellow curry powder
- 1 cup vegetable stock
- 1 (15 oz can) coconut milk
- 2 tbsp peanut butter
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 4 cups fresh kale
- 1 cup basmati rice
- cashews, lime juice, cilantro for serving
Instructions
- Cook rice according to instructions. Set aside.
- Heat coconut oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and peppers and cook for 4-5 minutes or until onions are translucent.
- Add butternut squash, carrots, and ginger and stir to coat in oil. Toss in red curry paste and yellow curry powder and stir until everything is coated. Cook for another 2-3 minutes or until fragrant. With 30 seconds remaining, add garlic.
- Add stock, coconut milk, fish sauce, peanut butter and sugar and bring to boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cover and cook for 15-20 minutes or until butternut squash are cooked through. Stir in kale and cook until wilted.
- Serve over rice with crushed cashews, cilantro and fresh lime juice.
Notes
- Be consistent when cutting the vegetables so everything will cook evenly.
- To save time, buy pre-cut butternut squash cubes.
- You can replace the kale with spinach but you need to add it earlier to give it time to wilt.
- You control the amount of heat in this curry by how much red curry paste you add, so if you like it hotter, add another 1-2 tbsp.
- If you are vegetarian/vegan you can make your own vegetarian fish sauce.
Chris says
Never thought of combining Thai and butternut squash!