This rich, velvety slow cooker Curried Butternut Squash Soup recipe is packed with Thai-inspired flavors and conveniently made in the slow cooker. Perfect for busy weeknight meals!
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Nothing is more satisfying on a chilly fall or winter day than a bowl of homemade soup.
Fortunately this Curried Butternut Squash Soup can be a reality more quickly than you think, thanks to the help of your trusty slow cooker and a handful of uber-flavorful, Thai-inspired ingredients.
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Why this recipe works
Butternut squash is a challenge to peel (I've knicked myself peeling squash too many times to count!) Which is why I love this squash soup recipe.
You can use fresh or FROZEN butternut squash cubes that have been already peeled and chopped to cut the prep time down to minutes! Dump the remaining ingredients into the slow cooker and let it work its magic while you go on with your day.
Ingredients
Most of the items you need for this recipe are easy to find, but I do have a few ingredient notes to share:
- Green curry paste: You will also find red (and occasionally yellow) curry paste on the shelves. The differences primarily come from the ingredients and color of chilis used (red = red chili peppers and chili powder, green = green chili peppers, coriander, basil and lime leaf). Green curry paste is generally a touch sweeter than red curry paste.
- Freshly grated ginger: Never grated ginger before? It’s quite simple: grab a knob of fresh ginger at the store, peel the skin using a vegetable peeler and grate it using a microplane grater. If you’re short on time, you can also buy fresh ginger paste in either refrigerated or frozen form.
- Coconut milk: I’ve made this recipe using lite coconut milk and regular coconut milk and I prefer the regular version, hands down. I think Bon Appetit said it the best when it described lite coconut milk as the 2% of coconut milks. The result is slightly grainy and less rich.
- Fish sauce: My go-to fish sauce is Red Boat. It’s available at many Asian markets as well as Amazon. But if I’m out of that, Thai Kitchen is a solid choice (and is sold at Target).
Instructions
There is little more to this soup than a bit of chopping and stirring. The rest of the magic happens in the slow cooker.
- Add squash, onion, garlic, ginger, curry paste, chicken stock and coconut milk in the bowl of a slow cooker. Stir to combine. Cook for 8 hours on low.
- Puree the soup. You can either do this in batches in a blender (fill the jar only ½ full when blending hot liquids as they expand during the pureeing process) or use an immersion blender.
- Stir in fish sauce, brown sugar & butter. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Garnish with pepitas, freshly chopped cilantro and extra curry paste.
FAQS
Yes! I often freeze individual portions for quick and easy lunches on the go.
Leave a little bit of headroom in your soup containers to allow for expansion when the soup freezes solid. This soup will keep for up to 4 months in the freezer.
A few ingredient substitutions are all you need to tweak this recipe to work for vegans.
Replace the chicken broth with vegetable broth, the fish sauce with soy sauce or your favorite vegan fish sauce (or make your own vegan fish sauce at home) and omit the butter entirely.
Tip: You might want to check your curry paste, too, as some contain fish sauce.
Serving suggestions
As written, this soup has a mild curry flavor. It's a great base for people who aren't huge curry fans. I like to serve this soup with extra curry paste on the side so people can stir in as much as they like.
Also recommended: chopped fresh cilantro and roasted and salted pepitas.
You can serve this soup as a starter or add some bread and salad for a light meal.
More slow cooker soups
- This Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup is packed with our favorite southwestern flavors.
- Simple and comforting, EVERYONE loves this Slow Cooker Italian Wedding Soup.
- Many people who don't like super spicy foods really enjoy this Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili.
- This recipe for Split Pea and Ham Soup is the easiest we've ever made!
- A bowl of this easy Broccoli Cheese Soup recipe is pure comfort food.
- Beer is the secret ingredient in this Chicken Taco Soup. It adds great depth and flavor.
You can find all of our flavorful & easy soup recipes in our archives.
Recipe
Slow Cooker Curried Butternut Squash Soup
Ingredients
- 8 cups of peeled cubed butternut squash
- 1 large onion chopped
- 3 garlic cloves chopped
- 1 ½ tablespoons peeled and grated fresh ginger root
- 3 - 4 tablespoons green curry paste plus more for serving
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 1 can 13.5 ounces regular coconut milk
- 3 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon butter
- Salt and pepper
- Chopped cilantro optional
- Roasted salted pepitas, optional
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Instructions
- Add squash, onion, garlic, ginger, curry paste, stock and coconut milk to the bowl of a large slow cooker. Stir to combine. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours.
- Puree the soup using an immersion blender or a regular blender.
- Stir in the fish sauce, brown sugar and butter. Let soup sit for 15 minutes before serving to allow all the flavors to meld together. Add salt and pepper to taste and garnish with fresh cilantro and pepitas.
Notes
- This soup is pretty mild as written. Feel free to stir in an extra spoonful of curry paste if you want a more pronounced curry flavor.
- This soup freezes beautifully. I often freeze individual portions to pull out for easy lunches.
- If using a blender to puree the soup, only fill the jar halfway. Hot soup expands when it is blended. If you fill the jar too full, the lid will blow off and create a very memorable mess.
Nutrition
Nutrition info not guaranteed to be accurate.
This rich, fragrant Curried Butternut Squash Soup recipe gives you all the flavors of your favorite takeout Thai curry dish with the dump-and-go convenience of the slow cooker. An easy dinner idea that freezes well!
Faith says
I love this recipe so much! We actually use it as a curry base and add chicken and veggies with rice. It's sooooooo good.
Love this twist, Faith! I'll have to try it!
Suzanne Wolter says
Is there a good substitute for the coconut milk? Allergies!
Hi Suzanne, I've never tried substituting anything else for coconut milk, but you could try heavy cream to replicate a similar consistency (minus the coconut flavor, of course). You might also try a nut milk of some sort (almond or cashew), but that would result in a thinner soup. I'd be curious to hear your results. Please report back if you give it a try!
Suzanne Wolter says
Hello, Anna.
I made this with fat-free half and half, curry powder instead of the green curry paste, and a splash of maple syrup instead of the brown sugar. It was really good. I am always experimenting with different ingredients! I just wanted to let you know how it turned out, I really enjoyed the soup. I made it again and doubled the batch. I froze in lunch size portions to take to work. I either have soup or a light salad for lunch. Thanks for the great recipe. Regards, Suzanne - Littleton, CO
So glad you liked it, Suzanne! It will be perfect for lunches. Thanks for stopping back to let us know how it turned out for you!
Carol McLane says
I should have mentioned that I cooked it on the stove and not in a crock pot worked well in shorter time
Carol McLane says
Yummy. I did make some drastic changes. i used Carrots instead of squash. Carrots were on sale. I also added a little lime juice as suggested in one of the comments. It was VERY good and I am sure tomorrow it will be even better as these kind of soups get better with age. It was a little thicker than I like so for my second helping I added a little more chicken broth and a little more curry paste. Thanks
Love your twist, Carol! Cooking should be about making a recipe your own. Thanks for stopping back to share your experience!
Jackie says
Accidentally put in the fish sauce early! Will this mess up the taste?
I'm pretty sure it will be fine, Jackie. Let us know what you think!