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Home » Recipes » Soup

Curried Butternut Squash Soup Recipe

Published: Nov 14, 2016 · Updated: Sep 27, 2021 · By Lisa Goldfinger · 6 Comments · This post may contain affiliate links

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pinterest pin: bowl of curried butternut squash soup with a green apple in the background

This curried butternut squash soup recipe, with tart green apples, apple cider and sweet onions, is the ultimate fall comfort food. Perfect for chilly weather meals when you want something healthy and comforting, or make a big batch ahead of time for holiday entertaining.

two bowls of curried butternut squash soup with shredded green apple garnhish

This soup is my favorite way to start Thanksgiving dinner. The recipe is adapted from The Silver Palate Cookbook and it is the best butternut squash soup I've ever tasted, a silky puree with the perfect balance of sweet, tart, and spicy.

I usually make a double or triple batch a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving and freeze it. On the day of, I reheat it, adjust the seasonings, and top each bowl with some freshly grated sour apple or a dollop of sour cream.

This is an easy soup to make. The hardest part is peeling and cutting the squash. But you can skip that step if you find pre-peeled or even pre-cubed squash at the market.

HOW TO MAKE CURRIED BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP

Here's how: Melt chopped onions in butter. Add curry powder, broth, squash and apples. Simmer for 25 minutes, puree, stir in apple cider, and enjoy!

  • Cook the onions (lots of onions) in butter, covered, for about 18 minutes, until they're soft, sweet and translucent. (the house will smell amazing!)
  • Add the curry powder and cook for a minute, stirring, to toast the curry powder. (The house will smell even better!).  
  • Add broth, cubed squash and diced apples. 
  • Cover and simmer for 25 minutes
  • Puree with an immersion blender or in batches in your food processor or blender.
  • Stir in apple cider and season with salt and pepper.
  • Done!

two images side by side. On the left an overhead view of dutch oven with sautéed yellow onions with curry powder. On the right, a dutch oven with broth, cubed butternut squash and cubed apples

two images side by side. On the left an overhead view of a dutch oven with chunky butternut squash soup. On the right the soup is pureed.

two bowls of curried butternut squash soup topped with shredded granny smith apples

More Butternut Squash Recipes to Enjoy

  • Curried Butternut Squash, Chicken and Lentil Stew 
  • Garlicky Roasted Butternut Squash
  • Jamaican Curried Chicken Stew with Rum and Mango
  • Roasted Squash Stuffed with Roasted Vegetables  
  • Blue Cheese and Sage Roasted Butternut Squash Appetizer

Serve curried butternut squash soup piping hot with a garnish of tangy, freshly grated green apple. Or see below for other topping suggestions.

close up of a bowl of curried butternut squash soup, garnished with shredded apples and black pepper.

This elegant seasonal soup is perfect for Thanksgiving but I also love it for a fall or mid-winter soup-and-salad dinner.

Suggested toppings for Butternut Squash Soup

There are lots of possibilities!

  • Grated green apples with the skin on. Grate just before serving. Toss immediately with two teaspoons of lemon or lime juice to prevent browning. For more info, read this great article from Serious Eats on how to prevent cut apples from turning brown. 
  • Coconut Milk. Put it in squeeze bottle so you can make a nice swirl in each bowl.
  • Sour Cream. A dollop in the center of each bowl would be delicious.
  • Toasted cumin seeds. A pinch of cumin seeds to top each bowl.
  • Toasted Sunflower Seeds
  • Do you have a favorite topping? If so, I'd love to hear about it!

Here's the Curried Butternut Squash Soup Recipe.  If you make this, I hope you'll come back to leave a star rating and a comment. I'd love to know what you think. 

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Recipe

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Curried Butternut Squash Soup Recipe


5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 3 reviews

  • Author: by Lisa
  • Total Time: 1 hour 10 mins
  • Yield: 5-6 1x
Print Recipe

Description

A velvety, richly flavored soup of sweet butternut squash, tart apples, onions and curry powder. Perfect for a festive occasion or a soup and salad meal.


Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2 large yellow onions, peeled and chopped (about 4 cups)
  • 5 teaspoons curry powder (I recommend Madras Curry Powder)
  • 1 large butternut squash (about 3 pounds) peeled, seeds removed, cut into 1-inch dice (8 cups of diced squash)
  • 2 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and roughly chopped.
  • 3-4 cups good quality low salt chicken broth* (I recommend Swanson’s)
  • 1 cup apple cider or apple juice
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt plus more, to taste
  • Fresh ground pepper, to taste
  • Optional Toppings - Choose one:
  • 1 Granny Smith apple with skin, shredded and immediately tossed with 1-2 teaspoons of lemon or lime juice to prevent discoloration**
  • ½ cup coconut Milk. Put it in squeeze bottle so you can make a nice swirl in each bowl.
  • ½ cup sour cream. A dollop in the center of each bowl would be delicious.
  • 2 tablespoons toasted cumin seeds. A pinch of cumin seeds to top each bowl.

Instructions

  1. Melt butter in a large soup pot or dutch oven oven over medium heat. Add onions and toss to coat with butter. Cover onions and turn heat down to a simmer. Cook for 18 minutes or until onions are softened and translucent.
  2. Add curry powder and turn the heat up to medium. Cook, stirring constantly, for a minute, to toast the curry powder.
  3. Add squash, apples and 3 cups of broth to the pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cook, covered, for 25 minutes, until apples and squash are very tender.
  4. Turn off heat. Puree soup with an immersion blender right in the pot. Or puree in batches in a blender or food processor and return to the pot. Add cider. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Thin with additional broth to your desired consistency.
  5. To Serve: Serve hot. Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with shredded apple or the topping of your choice.

Notes

MAKE THIS VEGETARIAN OR VEGAN: use a good quality vegetable stock in place of chicken broth and a vegan butter substitute for vegan.

TIPS FOR GARNISHING WITH SHREDDED APPLES: wait until right before serving to shred the apples. To prevent discoloration, prepare a bowl with a tablespoon or two of lemon juice. Shred the apple into the bowl and toss to coat. Drain and add to soup bowls.

  • Prep Time: 25 mins
  • Cook Time: 45 mins
  • Category: Soup
  • Method: stove top
  • Cuisine: American

Did you make this recipe?

If you make this recipe, please let me know how it turns out for you! Leave a comment below and share a picture on instagram with the hashtag #panningtheglobe

 

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Filed Under: All Recipes, American Food, Entertaining, Fall Favorites, Lunch and Brunch, North America, Soup, Thanksgiving Recipes, Vegetarian Tagged With: gluten-free, holiday recipes, Thanksgiving

Reader Interactions

Comments

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    Recipe rating 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

  1. Carol

    November 14, 2021 at 10:28 am

    I couldn’t agree with you more! This is the tastiest butternut squash soup.

    Reply
  2. Ryan J

    January 31, 2019 at 10:28 pm

    The apple adds such amazing flavor to this soup. I served mine with coconut milk as a garnish, but now I want to try the others too!

    Reply
  3. Amy

    December 06, 2018 at 1:14 pm

    My mom made this for me when I was younger and I have tried to find the right recipe and THIS IS IT. She even used to put the apple slivers on top. So perfectly balanced.

    Reply
    • Lisa

      December 07, 2018 at 4:00 am

      So great that you found what you were looking for - your mom's recipe - I'm happy you enjoyed!

      Reply
  4. Karen

    November 15, 2016 at 9:33 pm

    Oh my gosh Lisa!! This sounds so delicious! I have an excess of butternut squash from my cousin's garden just waiting for a recipe, and then this came along. Wow!

    Reply
  5. Beth (OMG! Yummy)

    November 15, 2016 at 10:43 am

    I love serving soup at Thanksgiving as a small appetizer in shot glasses. It's always a big hit. This soup would be perfect.

    Reply

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