Butternut Squash and Chickpea Curry

This creamy butternut squash and chickpea curry is made with red curry paste, coconut milk, and fire-roasted tomatoes to create a flavor-packed vegan curry.  Roasting the squash is not required in this recipe, everything goes in one pot to make it an easy comforting meal.  

The squash curry is relatively simple to make and doesn’t take much time to cook, except for cutting up butternut squash.  If you’re new to cutting butternut squashes I have instructions below.  To cut down on time it can be substituted with store-bought fresh or frozen pre-cut squash.  If you enjoy using the winter squash in cozy curries, I have a butternut squash chickpea curry soup using yellow curry powder instead of red curry paste.

How to Pick a Butternut Squash

Butternut squash is a winter squash that can sometimes be found at the store year around, but it’s best in the early fall through winter months.  Winter squashes have thick skin and can be stored for long periods of time.  Look for one with no green spots, mold, or bruises.  A few scratches or nicks are fine, but no deep cuts. It should feel heavy for its size. 

How to Cut a Butternut Squash

1.  Cut off ¼-1/2 inch of the top and the bottom ends.  

2.  Hold the squash in one hand and use a vegetable peeler to peel the outer skin.  Remove the top tough layer and most of the white portion underneath.  Make sure to run the peeler over it a couple of times to get down to the orange layer.

3.  Stand the squash upright and cut down the middle lengthways.

4.  Remove the seeds and pulp with a spoon.

5.  Cube the squash by laying the cut side down on the cutting board and cut into strips, then cut the strips into cubes.

Ingredients

Here's a list of ingredients you’ll need to make the chickpea butternut squash curry along with substitutions and tips for each ingredient.

Red onion - Can be substituted with any type of onion.

Jalapeño - Add for more heat, to somewhat reduce heat remove the seeds and membrane, to really reduce the heat of the dish leave it out.  I use jalapeños because they’re easy to find, but they can be substituted with your favorite.

Garlic cloves - Crush or mince the garlic.

Fresh ginger - If you don’t use fresh ginger often, it can be stored in the freezer.  I peel it, then freeze it whole.  No need to thaw, just grate what you need with a Microplane while still frozen.  It’s also much easier to grate while frozen.

Red curry paste - It will depend on your spice preference and brand.  If you’re using Maesri red curry paste or another brand that you know is spicy, start with 3 tablespoons.  If you’re using a milder brand like Thai Kitchen, start with 4 tablespoons.  Also to keep the dish vegan check the ingredients of your curry paste for fish or shrimp sauce.

Butternut squash - Use 2 pounds and peel and cube the winter squash.  It will get blended to make the curry creamy.

Fire-roasted tomatoes - If you can’t find fire-roasted, try a can of diced tomatoes.  The fire-roasted variety is more flavorful, but it’s better to substitute them than to leave them out.

Coconut milk - I use full fat to give the curry more body.

Tamari - This adds saltiness and can be substituted with low-sodium soy sauce.

Chickpeas - The two cans can be substituted with 3 cups of cooked chickpeas.

Fresh spinach or kale - Either one can be used, kale will take longer to cook than spinach.

Lime - Add the juice of one lime after the curry has cooked to give it some acidity.

How to Make Butternut Squash and Chickpea Curry

Cook the onion and jalapeño with a pinch of salt until the onion starts to become translucent.  For oil-free cooking add a tablespoon of water at a time if the onion sticks to prevent burning (or use a neutral-tasting oil).

Add the minced garlic and grated ginger and cook for about 1 minute.  Then add 3-4 tablespoons (depending on preferred spice level) of red curry paste and mix into the onions.  Cook for about 1 minute.

Then add the cubed butternut squash, tomatoes, coconut milk, tamari, salt, and mix together.  Bring to a gentle boil, then lower the heat to a simmer.  Cook covered for 20-25 minutes or until the squash is soft, stirring occasionally.

Blend half of the curry to make it creamy; use an immersion blender, a regular blender, or mash some of the pieces of squash with a spoon against the side of the pot.

Add the chickpeas and kale (or spinach) and simmer for about 5-10 minutes, then add the lime juice.

Tips

• For this butternut squash and chickpea curry, I use 2 pounds of butternut squash.  Peeling and scooping the seeds out only reduces the weight by a few ounces so look for around a 2-pound squash at the store.
• Two pounds of squash is around 6 cups of cubed squash.  
• Any leftover cubed squash can be frozen; use leftovers in butternut squash curry soup or butternut squash Buddha bowl.
• To save time on the recipe, buy fresh or frozen pre-cut squash.
• If the curry is too thick for your liking, add a little vegetable broth to thin it out, not much though, you don’t want to dilute the flavors.

How To Serve

Serve it with white rice, brown rice, or try jasmine.

Storage

Store leftover squash and chickpea curry in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for about 5 days.  If you’re using leftovers for lunch, I usually just store them with the rice.  If you want to make it ahead of time for a guest or a potluck, I would store the rice separately.

More Vegan Curry Recipes

• Butternut Squash Curry Soup
• Red Lentil Dahl
• Vegan Potato Curry with Coconut Milk
• Mixed Vegetable Curry with Coconut Milk

I hope you enjoy this vegan chickpea butternut squash curry!

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