This autumn weather calls for comforting and cozy Butternut Squash Curry. Packed with butternut squash, spinach, chickpeas and a creamy coconut curry sauce. Eaten with rice and topped with fresh cilantro, and crushed red peppers. This curry is vegan and can be made gluten-free by using gluten-free soy sauce.
Step 1 – Cook your onion and butternut squash until the butternut squash is fork tender.
I peeled and cut my butternut squash into 1 inch by 1 inch cubes. If you are short on time you can buy precut butternut squash or even use frozen butternut squash. Just keep in mind if you do use frozen it will let out a decent amount of liquid as it is cooking.
Cooking your butternut squash will take the longest out of all steps. If you are in a hurry I recommend cutting the squash into smaller cubes so it will cook faster.
Step 2– Pour in the curry powder, cumin, cayenne pepper, crushed red pepper, ground ginger, vegetable broth, soy sauce, and coconut milk, stirring frequently until the curry begins to simmer. Once the curry is simmering add the cornstarch and sugar. Turn heat to medium low and cook for 10 minute stirring occasionally.
Want a very thick curry? Add an additional teaspoon of cornstarch to your curry to thicken it. Or if you want a thinner curry add more vegetable stock.
Step 3- Add the spinach and chickpeas to the curry.
As far as vegetables go, I used butternut squash, onion, and spinach. You can get as creative as you want and add additional veggies to your curry. Some other great vegetables I recommend adding include, carrots, bell peppers, and cauliflower.
Don’t have chickpeas? Add tofu to this curry to get some extra protein. I just recommend baking your tofu in the oven or air fryer before you add it to the curry. Otherwise it will get soggy.
Step 4- Taste curry and add additional seasoning (salt, pepper, or crush red pepper) if needed.
I love to eat my curry with rice. However, quinoa, lentils, naan bread, or pasta will also taste absolutely wonderful.
You will use half of a can of full fat coconut milk from a can to make this curry super creamy. When you are scraping the coconut milk out of the can you will want to use the thick park of the milk sitting on the top of the can.
Looking to make this curry lighter? Use canned lite coconut milk instead of full fat.
I do not recommend using coconut milk from a carton. The carton coconut milk is not as thick as the canned coconut milk therefore making your curry not creamy.
Substitutions
I wanted to share some of the recipe ingredients that you can swap out in case you do not have the ones I listed in your pantry.
Coconut Oil- Olive Oil or water if you are oil free
Full Fat Coconut Milk – Lite Coconut Milk
Soy Sauce- Tamari
Fresh Garlic- Garlic Powder
Ground Ginger- Fresh Ginger
Vegetable Broth- Filtered Water
Fresh Cilantro- Fresh Basil
I love to add garnishes to the top of my curry. Below are some of my go-to’s!
Fresh Cilantro
Fresh Basil
Crushed Red Pepper
Chopped Green Onions
Sesame Seeds
This Butternut Squash Curry is:
Tasty
Spicy
Hearty
Creamy
Comforting
Packed with flavor
When you make this Butternut Squash Curry I would love it if you would snap a photo of your food and share it with me on instagram @itsallgoodvegan.com. I can’t wait to see how you like it!
Butternut Squash Curry
Filled with butternut squash, spinach, chickpeas and a creamy coconut curry sauce. This curry is vegan and can be made gluten-free by using gluten-free soy sauce.
Butternut Squash Curry
- 1 Tbsp coconut oil, substitute with olive oil
- 2 Tbsp water, plus 1 Tbsp
- 1 large white onion, chopped into small pieces
- 3-4 garlic cloves, minced
- 4 cups of cubed butternut squash, cut into 1 inch by 1 inch cubes
- ½ tsp cumin
- 1 ½ Tbsp yellow curry powder
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp crushed red pepper, optional
- ½ tsp ground cayenne pepper, optional
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce, substitute for tamari or gluten-free soy sauce.
- 1/2 cups vegetable broth, substitute for water
- 1/2 can full fat coconut milk (13.6 ounces), use the thick white top from the top of the can.
- 1 Tbsp cornstarch
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1 can (15 ounces) of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 3-4 cups fresh spinach
Garnish
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- ½ tsp crushed red pepper
Directions
- Heat a large pot with coconut oil over medium heat. Add the onion, butternut squash, and 2 tablespoons of water to the pot. Cook the squash until fork tender.
- Add the garlic, yellow curry powder, ground ginger, cumin, crushed red pepper, cayenne pepper, salt, pepper, and stir. If you are sensitive to spice I do not recommend adding the ground cayenne pepper and all of the crushed red pepper.
- Pour the vegetable broth, soy sauce, and coconut milk, stirring frequently until the curry begins to simmer.
- Make the slurry. Add one tablespoon of cornstarch and one tablespoon of water to a small bowl. Mix until combined. Once the curry is simmering add the cornstarch slurry and sugar. Turn heat to medium low and cook for 10 minute stirring occasionally.
- Add the fresh spinach, chickpeas, and stir. Taste the curry and add additional seasoning (salt, pepper, or crush red pepper) if needed.
- Divide rice and curry into bowls and garnish with additional fresh cilantro and crushed red pepper.
- Leftovers can be kept in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 3 days.
Make it Your Own
- If you are heat sensitive do not add the crushed red pepper and ground cayenne pepper.
- Want to add more veggies to this curry? Some that I recommended include fresh carrots and red or yellow bell peppers.
- Add tofu, or tempeh for additional plant protein.
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