Thai Butternut Squash Soup – plant-based on a budget

The Thai-style vegan butternut squash soup with coconut milk is perfect for cold winter nights and brings plenty of warmth and contentment without being heavy or overly bulky. It’s a flavorful roasted butternut squash soup flavored with the spiciness of chilies and the slight sweetness of coconut milk – it’s sure to be a hit.

Nothing says fall like a cozy butternut squash soup! It makes a hearty, warming meal that’s perfect for a chilly night.

This Vegan Butternut Squash Soup recipe is a little different than most! It has a lot of spice, is perfectly creamy and is full of flavor.

Are you a lover of Thai cuisine? If yes, you must try this Easy Thai Basil Tofu, Tofu Pad Thai and Vegan Thai Pizza Recipe.

Why this recipe works

• Great taste! The combination of sweet, tangy and creamy is truly divine!
• Easy to do it on time and warm up.
• Adjust the flavors easily according to your own taste.

What’s in this recipe

What comes to mind when you think of Thai flavors and ingredients? There are so many signature elements in beloved Thai cuisine! Let’s look at the highlights of what you need to make this sweet and spicy soup.

• Butternut Squash: This slightly sweet winter squash is roasted in the oven before being mashed into a silky smooth soup.
• aromatics: Onion, garlic, and ginger give this vegan butternut squash soup the first flavor.
• Lemongrass: Another emblematic ingredient in Thai cuisine, lemongrass is a long leek-like herb with a strong lemon flavor that adds a very unique flavor to Thai dishes.
• coconut milk: A true staple of Thai cuisine, this creamy plant-based milk will add creaminess to most dishes and bring out all the flavors.
• tomato paste: Adds depth of flavor and more umami to the soup.
• Thai Bird Chilies: Thai Bird Chilis are small, red, very hot, and widely used in other Thai dishes (and other Asian cuisines). If you can’t find them, you can use serrano peppers instead.
• lime juice: Use freshly squeezed lime for a little sparkle in the soup that will round out all the other flavors.
• Garnish: Coriander leaves, finely chopped green onions, olive oil, and sriracha make great garnishes. Use them all or choose your favorites.

How to Make Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Here’s an overview of the steps to make this delicious Thai butternut squash soup. See the recipe card further down the page for details.

• 1) Roast the butternut squash. Halve the butternut squash lengthways. Remove the seeds and fibrous pieces, prick the skin of each piece halfway with a fork and quickly spray all sides of each piece with cooking spray or brush lightly with oil.

TOP TIP: Microwaving the squash for a minute or two will help soften the squash and make it easier and safer to cut in half. Be sure to prick the skin a few times with the tip of a knife before microwave it so nothing explodes inside your microwave.

• 2) Location Place the squash cut-side down on the baking sheet and bake for 40 minutes.

• 3) Removed Remove from the oven, allow to cool and remove the flesh from the skin. Place the pulp in a bowl and set aside.

TOP TIP: You only need half the squash for this recipe, but it never hurts to use half a cooked squash for recipes like these Butternut Squash Sage Cookies, Butternut Squash Mac-n-Cheese and this Creamy Curry Butternut Squash Have lentil soup on hand.

• 4) heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat and add the onion. Cook for 5-8 minutes or until tender.

• 5) Add to Pumpkin, garlic, ginger, lemongrass, coconut milk and tomato paste to the onions. Bring to a boil and simmer until heated through, about 10 minutes.

• 6) Transfer Place in a blender (in batches if needed), add the chilies, lime juice, salt and water and blend until smooth.

• 7) To return the mixed soup into the pot. Feel free to experiment and adjust the spices as you like. Reheat if necessary, then transfer to bowls.
• 8th) garnish with coriander leaves, chopped green onions and drizzles of olive oil and sriracha.

Expert tips and FAQs

• Add some crunch. Garnish with toasted pumpkin seeds or some pumpkin seeds.
• store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to five days or in the freezer for up to three months. Reheat the leftovers in a saucepan on the stove.
• For less spicereduce the amount of chilies, making sure to remove the seeds and skins that contain the most heat.

More butternut squash recipes

Photos by Alfonso Revilla