Butternut Squash Curry – This easy squash curry recipe is packed with a rainbow of veggies and pulled together with a creamy curry sauce that’ll keep you coming back for more. (Gluten Free, Vegan)
Hey, friend! Did you have a good weekend? We did two of my favorite things–watch a movie (I LOVE movie night!) and bake (these, if you were wondering).
Today, I’m ready to dive into my routine and fuel up with a mega-amazing Meatless Monday meal! These butternut squash curry bowls are just the ticket. They’re power packed with a rainbow of veggies, and tied together with a creamy coconut curry sauce that gives me allll the heart eyes.
Bonus – They’re done in about 30 minutes! Here’s what makes them so dang delicious…
HERE’S WHAT I PUT IN MY BUTTERNUT SQUASH CURRY
DICED BUTTERNUT SQUASH. Bright orange butternut squash is the base of this veggie curry recipe. Even if you’re not a big squash person, it’s lovely here. (This is my favorite way to peel & cut a butternut squash.)
BELL PEPPERS. I love to use a blend of yellow and red peppers (1/2 of each) because it’s so pretty, but you can use your favorites. (I use leftover peppers for stir fry, fried-rice, soup, etc.)
GREEN ONION + GARLIC + GINGER. Now we’re REALLY building in the flavor! This trio of aromatics is the flavor base for this recipe. I love this combination together. (Psst! I’ve been digging frozen garlic + frozen ginger lately. I find it in the frozen veggies section and it’s SO fresh and easy!)
CHICKPEAS. For a little plant-based protein, I add some chickpeas to this curry. They’re pretty neutral in flavor and go so nicely with…
MY MAGIC CURRY SAUCE. Very similar to my shrimp curry, this squash curry recipe uses my magic yellow curry sauce. It’s a mix of creamy coconut milk, yellow curry powder, Tamari (or soy sauce or coconut aminos), and a little creaminess from some peanut butter or cashew butter.
SPINACH + FRESH HERBS. For another layer of greens + flavor, I love adding a few giant handfuls of spinach (they cook right down!) and some fresh cilantro or basil. They brighten up the color and flavor in this squash curry!
BONUS GARNISHES. Then, you can garnish this with all kinds of extras—more fresh cilantro or basil, crushed peanuts or cashews, sliced red chilis, red pepper flakes, lime wedges, etc.
HOW TO SERVE SQUASH CURRY:
- WITH A LITTLE RICE, CAULI RICE, OR QUINOA. I most often serve this butternut squash curry with a side of rice (white or brown), cauliflower rice or quinoa. Trader Joe’s sells frozen brown rice that’s par-cooked and it only takes 3 more minutes to finish up!
- WITH THAI CUMBER SALAD. For a light, fresh side, I love pairing richer dishes like this with my Thai Cucumber Salad. It’s easy to toss together, and the cooling cucumber is A lovely contrast to a creamy curry sauce!
- WITH SOME FRESH FRUIT. Some pineapple or mango is refreshing! (Or watermelon in the summer!)
- WITH NAAN BREAD OR FLATBREAD. Another tasty option is to serve your squash curry with a little naan (not GF) or flatbread to scoop up all that creamy curry goodness. (Here’s a gluten free naan recipe!)
FAQ + TIPS & TRICKS FOR THIS BUTTERNUT SQUASH CURRY.
IS THIS SQUASH CURRY SPICY? I use a mild yellow curry powder, so you can really build and control the heat. If you’re a total curry newbie, you may want to start with 1 tsp. of curry powder in the dish, then taste and go from there. I use 2 tsp. curry powder and think it’s my sweet spot. If you like a stronger flavor, you can go all the way up to 1 Tbsp. (3 tsp.).
TIP: GO FOR THE FULL-FAT COCONUT MILK. I pinky promise, your sauce will be at its best when you use full-fat coconut milk instead of lite. If you *must* use lite, just know it’s going to be thinner and less creamy. (Do NOT use the refrigerated coconut milk beverage as that’s too thin to work. Your sauce will be watery.)
OTHER VEGGIES TO TRY. This squash curry recipe is really forgiving and can accommodate lots of different veggies. A cup of cauliflower florets, 1/2 cup of frozen peas (stirred in at the end!), some sliced carrots, or some mushrooms would all be delicious.
CAN’T HAVE NUTS? READ THIS. If you’re nut free (allergy or preference), you can skip the nut butter in the sauce, though it’ll be slightly less velvety and creamy. To compensate, you can add 1 tsp. cornstarch or arrowroot dissolved in 1 Tbsp. water, and stir it in while the sauce simmers to thicken.
TIPS FOR CUTTING A BUTTERNUT SQUASH. I love buying pre-cut squash to save time, but it’s almost always more affordable to cut it yourself. If squash seems intimidating, this tutorial is really helpful for me. It’ll walk you through the whole process!
CRAVING MORE YUMMY RECIPES? YOU MIGHT LIKE:
- Vegan Black Bean Tostadas with Mango Salsa
- Vegetarian Tortilla Soup
- Mediterranean Cauliflower Rice
- Slow Cooker Chicken Curry
- Shrimp Curry
HELPFUL FOR THIS RECIPE:
Butternut Squash Curry (Vegan + Gluten Free)
- Total Time: About 35 minutes
- Yield: 4 Generous Servings 1x
Description
Butternut Squash Curry – This easy squash curry recipe is packed with a rainbow of veggies and pulled together with a creamy curry sauce that’ll keep you coming back for more. (Gluten Free, Vegan)
Ingredients
- 1 tsp. coconut oil
- 2 cups diced butternut squash
- 1/2 red pepper, large diced (1/2 cup)
- 1/2 yellow pepper, large diced (1/2 cup)
- 2 green onions, sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tsp. minced fresh ginger
- 1 (14 oz.) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 2 tsp. mild yellow curry powder
- 1 Tbsp. low-sodium gluten free Tamari (or soy sauce or coconut aminos)
- 2 Tbsp. natural peanut butter or cashew butter*
- 1 (14oz) can full-fat coconut milk
- 2 cups spinach
- 1/4 cup roughly chopped cilantro (or basil)
Optional garnish ideas: fresh cilantro or basil, crushed peanuts or cashews, sliced red chilis, red pepper flakes, lime wedges, etc.
Instructions
- Add coconut oil and squash to a Dutch oven or large skillet. Cook squash over medium heat about 15 minutes, or until fairly tender.
- Add bell pepper and green onion and cook 4-5 minutes to soften.
- Add garlic, ginger, and chickpeas and cook 1 minute
- Add curry powder, tamari, peanut butter, and coconut milk. Stir and cook 2-3 minutes.
- Add spinach and cilantro and cook 2-3 minutes, or until spinach has wilted.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Indian-American, Vegetarian, Vegan
Keywords: butternut squash curry, squash curry, vegetable curry, vegan curry
This looks amazing! We’re huge curry fans, so we’ll have to try this soon!
It’s tough to beat a good curry, right? Hope you love this one!
Alyssa: I notice that you have lots of recipes that use cubed butternut squash. I’m also a big fan of butternut squash, but I live with a “use everything” fanatic. He also scorns the “pre-cut” vegies. So I don’t buy the bags of cubes. Do you know of a secret magic trick to peel a whole squash? That would be extremely helpful.
oh -oops – I thought I was still on the Simply Quinoa site. Sorry. But you may know the answer too.
No worries! This is my favorite method for prepping butternut squash. It’s the easiest thing I’ve tried! Hope it’s helpful for you, too 🙂
Made this last night and it got thumbs up from both kids and adults in my family! Thanks for the great plant-based AND quick recipe (can be rare combo 🙂 Important comment to the author – the recipe appears to be cut off after step 3. The rest of the steps are missing after that. I pieced it together based on the video and did some guesswork – and it turned out great- but other readers might appreciate knowing the other steps 🙂
Katie – Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a rating. I have no idea why it was only showing the first 3 steps, but I think I’ve fixed the problem. (Thanks for pointing it out!) 🙂
Oops meant to share a rating!
★★★★★
Can’t wait to try this. Chickpeas and amount needed missing from recipe.
Correen – Oh my goodness! You’re totally right! I don’t know how that (VERY) important mistake slipped past me. Ack! I’ve updated the recipe card so you should see everything you need now. Thanks for helping me fix my error!