Easy Butternut Squash Thai Curry

Name: Easy Butternut Squash Thai Curry
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 40 min
Ingredients: 1.5 pound Butternut Squash, peeled, seeded, and diced in 1/2 inch pieces ((about 5 cups)); 3 Tablespoons Coconut Oil; 1 cup Red Bell Pepper, sliced; 1 cup Broccoli Florets, cut small; 1 cup Mushrooms, sliced; 1/4 cup Thai Red Curry Paste, store bought or homemade ((see notes)); 2 Tablespoons Thai Red Curry Powder, store bought or homemade ((see notes)); 1 15 ounce can Coconut Milk; 1/2 cup Vegetable Stock; Salt and Pepper to taste; Fresh Cilantro, torn (for garnish)

Easy Butternut Squash Thai Curry is a delicious vegan and vegetarian Thai Red Curry dish that will blow your mind! Fresh vegetables, coconut milk, and sweet butternut squash with the savory Thai Red curry blend will fill you up. This is a truly satisfying meal!

Thai Food – An Acquired Friendship

Thai food and I have had a shaky relationship over the years. I started off hating it, now I love it! I still don’t like peanut butter in my food (must be a childhood thing with all those PBnJ sandwiches my mother would send to school as my lunch that would wind up sticking to the roof of my mouth and no milk to wash it down). Anyway, overall, I love Thai food.

The thing I hate the most about many “lifestyle change” diets is there are so many bad recipes out there. People, for various and personal reasons, want to follow a certain dietary lifestyle without having lousy food. I make it my goal to take my delicious recipes and find ways to convert them into an awesome meal for people who want to avoid certain foods. That’s why, when I make a Keto or vegetarian or vegan dish, it’s usually based off of something I’ve already mastered.

Since Thai food has become one of my favorite cuisines, I wanted to make a versatile Thai meal that would fit the aforementioned dietary lifestyles. This is absolutely not boring, bland, or yuckie. It’s bold, packed with flavor, and totally yummy!

Butternut Squash Thai Curry

I have more and more friends gravitating toward Keto, vegetarian, and vegan lifestyles. So, while not my main form of preparing food, I have done my share of these styles of cooking. So I figured I would venture more into these realms to broaden my scope and skills.

I love my Thai Red Curry meals. I make one with chicken and shrimp, and another with mussels. The real star of the dish is the sauce. You can serve it on anything and it’ll taste great. I had some butternut squash on hand, my social media girl and her family is vegetarian, and a couple I’m friends will just went vegan and asked me about some recipes. So, “Voila!” Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know that’s French, but I don’t know the Thai equivalent.

What Ingredients Are in Butternut Squash Thai Curry?

Butternut Squash
Coconut Oil
Red Bell Pepper
Broccoli Florets
Mushrooms
Thai Red Curry Paste
Thai Red Curry Powder
Coconut Milk
Vegetable Stock
Fresh Cilantro, torn for garnish

Ingredient Notes

Butternut Squash – use a potato peeler to peel the squash. Some people throw out the bulb since it is mostly seeds. I, however, find it’s really not too much work to scoop them out so I can get the most use out of it.

Thai Red Curry Paste – You can use a store bought version or there is a simple recipe for mine in the recipe notes. It’s really easy!

Thai Red Curry Powder – I haven’t really found this in many stores, but, not to worry! I have my own in the recipe notes as well!

Adding Some Heat

Thai Chilies, also known as Bird’s Eye Peppers, are used a lot in Thai food to add some heat. They are really small but are really hot. You can add some to the paste if you wish to make your own, or you can dice them us really small and add them to the dish when you add in the paste. Here’s how I adjust the heat to my Thai dishes:

Mild: 2 chilies, deseeded
Medium: 4 chilies, deseeded
Hot: 6 chilies, with seeds

How Is Butternut Squash Thai Curry Made?

Heat 2 tablespoons of coconut oil in a large heavy pot like a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the butternut squash and season with salt and pepper. Cook until you can stick a fork in the pieces with ease, about 6-8 minutes.
Add the remaining tablespoon of coconut oil along with the bell pepper, broccoli, and mushrooms and lightly season with salt and pepper. Cook until they are still slightly firm, about 3 minutes.
Next, add in the Thai red curry paste and the Thai red curry powder. Mix in with the vegetables and allow the paste to cook, about 3 minutes.
Add in the coconut milk and vegetable stock and turn up the heat to high to bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for another 10 minutes.
Serve with basmati or cauliflower rice, fresh cilantro and lime wedges.

What Can I do with the Leftovers?

The leftovers can be kept for 4-5 days in the refrigerator. Or you can freeze them and keep them for up to 6 months in the freezer. Let them thaw on the counter.

To reheat, you can use the microwave or stovetop. Take some to work for you lunch and make you co-workers jealous!

Useful Kitchen Tools

I don’t know what I would do without these amazing kitchen tools. I use all of these at least once a week, some I use every day. None of these are sponsors. However, the links below are brands I trust and use regularly. I highly recommend these product to make your life in the kitchen easier.

<br />	<br />	<br />
<br />	<br />	<br />

**Other Amazing Recipes That You’ll Love!**

Click on these links for other great Thai! Or type in “Thai” in the search bar to find even more recipes!

While these recipes are not necessarily vegetarian or vegan, with just a substitution or two, like swapping out butternut squash for the chicken, you can have these other restaurant quality meals as well!

Thai Basil Chili Chicken

Thai Cashew Chicken

Thai Yellow Curry Chicken and Vegetables

Thai Red Curry Seasoning Blend & Paste