Instant Pot Thai Butternut Squash Soup

Thai butternut squash soup combines the warm flavors of curry with the classic fall vegetable of butternut squash to make the perfect comforting fall soup. Combining fall flavors with Thai flavors results in a deliciously creamy soup that is healthy too. This velvety smooth soup with warm spices is perfect for a cold day or a holiday dinner.

Jump to:

• 💭What’s Thai Butternut Squash Soup?
• 🍎 Calories and Nutrition - How To Make It Healthy
• 📋 Ingredient Notes
• 🔪 Step-by-Step Instructions 
• 🍳 Stovetop Instructions
• 💡Expert Tips
• 🍽 What To Eat It With
• 📖 Substitutions 
• 🍏Variations
• 🥡 Storage
• 🍳 Recipe

💭What’s Thai Butternut Squash Soup?

Thai butternut squash soup is a spinoff of the traditional butternut squash soup. By adding a couple of classic Thai aromatics and mixing in some curry paste, the soup has an added depth of spice that makes the best flavor that is both comforting and addicting.

🍎 Calories and Nutrition - How To Make It Healthy

With this recipe, I used key ingredient swaps to make this a lower-calorie dish, following the guidance from my healthy butternut squash soup recipe. Here’s what I did: 

• Used light coconut milk, which is only 45 calories for ⅓ cup. I would recommend avoiding heavy cream or full-fat coconut milk as they are very heavy on fats and calories.
• Use cooking spray instead of traditional oil for everything that was sauteéd or fried. 1 tablespoon of olive oil adds a whopping 120 calories to the dish, whereas cooking spray is 0 calories.
• Omitted usage of butter

For a detailed breakdown of each ingredient, their portioning, and how they make up the nutrition profile of the Thai butternut squash soup recipe, you may refer to the table below:

Thai Butternut Squash Soup
Ingredient	Quantity	Calories	Protein (g)	Fat (g)	Carbs (g)
Butternut Squash	3 cup	189	4.2	0.3	48
Garlic	2 clove	9	0.4	0	2
Light Coconut Milk	0.33 cup	45	0	5	1
Shallot	0.25	18	0.625	0.025	4.2
Chicken Stock	1 cup	10	1	0	1
Red Curry Paste	1 tsp	7.5	0.5	0	1
Fish Sauce	1 tbsp	15	4	0	0
Total		293.5	10.725	5.325	57.2

If you liked this recipe, you should check out the following: 

• Thai Butternut Squash Soup
• Is Butternut Squash Soup Healthy

📋 Ingredient Notes

Fresh Butternut Squash – A key ingredient for the dish. The sweetness of the butternut squash complements the savory flavors of the curry well, giving it the hearty flavor that will warm your soul. Depending on what is in grocery stores, you can also use kabocha squash or pumpkin to make a delicious pumpkin soup. 

Thai Red Curry Paste – I used the Mae Ploy brand. You can also make your own from scratch if you desire, but it tends to be hard to manage the spice level since red curry is made from Thai chilis, which are nothing to joke around with. Check out this red curry paste recipe if you'd like to make your own.

Light Coconut Milk – Used 1 serving of light coconut milk 

Chicken Stock – To help flavor and add to the liquid base of the dish.

Aromatics – Shallots, garlic, and fresh ginger are sautéed to add flavor to the dish. The holy trinity of Thai curries. 

Seasonings – The soup is seasoned with fish sauce, sugar, and lime juice to give it a balanced flavor. Palm sugar is what's traditionally used but both brown sugar and white sugar also work.pop

Garnishes – Cilantro, lime, and red chili

🔪 Step-by-Step Instructions 

Prepare the vegetables – Skin the butternut squash and cut it into cubes. Mince the garlic, onions, and ginger.

Sauté the aromatics – Turn the instant pot on the sauté setting and spray with cooking spray. Sauté the garlic, onions, ginger, and curry paste until aromatic, about 1-2 minutes. Be sure to move them around regularly to prevent burning. 

Pressure cook – Add in the cubed butternut squash pieces along with the chicken stock. Cook on high pressure for about 8 minutes and let natural release for 4 minutes. Turn the pressure valve to quick release the remaining pressure.

Add to Blender – After cooking the butternut squash, put the butternut squash mixture in the blender and blend until smooth. This is essential for achieving the creamy texture we all love about the soup, without needing to add any cream. You can also use an immersion blender if desired, but be aware of hot splashes. Season with salt and pepper as desired.

Add coconut milk and garnish – Add a swirl of coconut milk and garnish with cilantro and red chilis. Enjoy your delicious Thai-inspired butternut squash soup

🍳 Stovetop Instructions

To make this on the stovetop, you will largely follow the same instructions above. Instead of pressure cooking, you will cook everything in a saucepan. Turn the heat to medium heat to saute the aromatics. Then cover the saucepan with the squash and stock and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the squash is fork tender. 

💡Expert Tips

Remove the skin of the butternut squash – This will optimize the sweet flavor of the squash.

Sauté the aromatics and curry paste before cooking – This will give the soup an amazing flavor.

🍽 What To Eat It With

While the soup is traditionally eaten with a side of bread, given the high carb content and lower protein content of the dish, I would recommend eating it with a protein-heavy side. 

Here are some great options of dishes that are packed with protein and would pair will with the flavors of the soup:

📖 Substitutions 

Low-fat milk – You can also use low-fat milk, half and half, or almond milk.

Vegetable Stock – Another option for stock. You can also use a cup of water.

Kabocha Squash – A great substitute for butternut squash soup

🍏Variations

Add apples – It brings a slight sweetness to the soup

Classic Butternut squash soup – Just omit the fish sauce, ginger, and curry paste. 

Make spicy – Sauté some Thai chili or red chili flakes to make it spicy 

Herbs – This would also be great with Thai basil, as well as classic garnishes like rosemary, sage, and thyme.

Garnishes – Pumpkin seeds or chili powder would also go great with this

🥡 Storage

This will last in the fridge for up to 4 days in an airtight container.

🍳 Recipe