Vegan & gluten-free Thai Butternut Squash Soup made in the Instant Pot! This soup is packed with all the warm fall flavors. Serve with a side of rustic bread!

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 10 minutes
  • Cook time: 20 minutes
  • Total time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 3
  • Category: Soup
  • Cuisine: American

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 3-4 garlic cloves (minced)
  • 1 tablespoon minced ginger
  • 1 medium yellow onion (150 grams, chopped)
  • 680 grams butternut squash (diced, around 4 cups of diced squash)
  • 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon red curry paste
  • 1/4 teaspoon turmeric (ground)
  • 1 teaspoon brown sugar (optional)
  • salt (to taste)
  • 2 cups water (16 oz)
  • 7 oz lite coconut milk (half of regular 14 oz can (little less than 1 cup coconut milk))
  • 1 lime (juice of)

To garnish

  • chopped cilantro
  • coconut milk
  • red chili flakes
  • pumpkin seeds

Method

  1. Press the saute button on the Instant Pot. Once it displays hot, add the oil and then add the garlic, ginger and chopped onion. Saute for 3 minutes until onion is softened.
  2. Then add the diced butternut squash and mix to combine. Add in the red curry paste.
  3. Stir and cook the squash with the curry paste for 1 to 2 minutes. Then add the turmeric, brown sugar (if using), salt and water.
  4. Close the pot with its lid. Press the manual/pressure cook button and cook on high pressure for 8 minutes. The pressure valve should be in the sealing position. Let the pressure release naturally for 5 minutes and then do a quick pressure release.
  5. Puree using an immersion blender or use a regular blender. If using a regular blender, let it cool down a bit and then transfer to a blender. Place a kitchen towel on the lid of the blender so that you don't hurt yourself from all the steam. I prefer pureeing this in my regular blender as it results in a creamier soup.
  6. Transfer soup back to the pot (if pureed using a regular blender) and then add 1/2 of a 14 oz can of lite coconut milk (little less than 1 cup coconut milk).You can use regular full-fat coconut milk here.
  7. Add lime juice and stir. Adjust salt at this point.
  8. Garnish the thai butternut squash soup with coconut milk, pumpkin seeds, cilantro and serve. You may also sprinkle some red chili flakes on top for extra-heat.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.