This Butternut Squash and Cashew Curry is thick, creamy, vegan, wholesome, and full of warming Indian spices. The contrast of soft-cooked squash with tender, buttery cashews makes every bite satisfying and delicious - cozy and comforting fall curry for dinner!
If you are looking for healthy Indian vegetarian curries, try my red lentil dal recipe or the beet and chickpea curry next!
Why You'll Love This Butternut Squash Curry
This butternut squash curry is our go-to fall comfort food! It’s rich, creamy, and infused with warm, aromatic Indian spices—an incredibly delicious way to enjoy seasonal butternut squash.
The melt-in-your-mouth tender squash pairs beautifully with cashews that retain a little bite, creating the perfect texture contrast. I also mash some of the cooked squash right into the curry to naturally thicken the sauce, making it perfect for scooping up with garlic naan or avocado naan.
-maria doss
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Indian curries often use a ground cashew paste to thicken the sauce and give it a creamy texture and an incredibly rich flavor, like in my Indian butter chickpeas and tofu tikka masala.
For this butternut squash curry, I took a slightly different approach and added whole raw cashews instead. As they simmer alongside the squash, the cashews become tender and buttery while adding a rich flavor that pairs beautifully with the warm, spiced curry. Whole cashews are also used in traditional Indian dishes, including kaju curry—kaju means cashew in Hindi—where cashews take center stage in the dish.
Tips for Success
- Butternut Squash: You’ll need about 4 to 5 cups of cubed butternut squash (roughly a 2-pound squash), and to save time, you can use pre-chopped squash from the store. Don't waste those butternut squash seeds; make these oven roasted butternut squash seeds, which make a healthy, crispy snack.
- Butternut squash pieces: Chop the butternut squash into ¾ to 1 inch cubes. If you cook it smallish, then it will cook very soft and turn mushy in the curry.
- Raw cashews: I recommend using raw cashews for their mild, buttery flavor and not toasted ones.
More Veggie Packed Curry Recipes
Butternut Squash and Cashew Curry
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons coconut or vegetable oil
- ¼ teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 ½ cups chopped onion (about 1 medium)
- 1 serrano pepper (cut a small slit without cutting it in half)
- 4 cloves garlic (grated)
- 1 tablespoon grated ginger
- 1 to 2 teaspoons salt or to taste
- 4 teaspoons coriander powder
- ½ to 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper powder (use based on your spice tolerance)
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ½ teaspoon garam masala powder
- 4 to 5 cups cubed butternut squash (about 2 pound squash)
- 1 ½ cups raw cashews (not toasted)
- 1 can coconut milk (about 2 cups)
- 1 to 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- ½ cup chopped cilantro
- ½ lemon
Instructions
- Saute aromatics. Heat 3 tablespoon oil in a deep pot over medium heat. Once hot, add ¼ teaspoon cumin seeds and let them sizzle for a few seconds until fragrant. Add 1 ½ cups onion, 1 pepper, and about ½ teaspoon of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft and translucent, about 4 minutes.
- Cook spices. Add the garlic and ginger and sauté for about 2 minutes. Stir in the 4 teaspoon coriander powder, ½ to 1 teaspoon cayenne, ½ teaspoon turmeric, and ½ teaspoon garam masala, along with about 2 tablespoons of water to prevent the spices from burning. Cook, stirring constantly, until the water evaporates and the mixture becomes dry and glossy.
- Cook squash. Stir in the cubed butternut squash, 1 ½ cups cashews, 1 can coconut milk, and 1½ cups of water. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover and cook for 15–20 minutes, or until the squash is tender and cooked through.
- Finish. Uncover and add more salt, 1–2 tablespoons of brown sugar, ½ cup of cilantro, and a good squeeze of lemon juice. Mash a few pieces of the cooked squash with the back of your spoon to make the curry creamier. Taste and adjust the salt, sugar, and lemon juice to your liking.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information, based on third-party calculations, should be seen as estimates, not guarantees, as various factors like product types, brands, processing methods, and more can alter the nutritional content in recipes.
Variations
- Skip the cashews: Omit the cashews and use 1 can of drained and rinsed chickpeas instead. They make the curry hearty and add a little extra protein.
- Use frozen butternut squash: Frozen squash is a great time-saving shortcut since there’s no peeling or chopping involved. Because it releases more water as it cooks, reduce the amount of water slightly. You can always add more later if the curry becomes too thick. Frozen squash also cooks faster, so start checking it after about 12 minutes to keep it from breaking down completely into the sauce.
- Add spinach: For a pop of color and extra nutrients, stir a handful of chopped spinach into the curry during the last few minutes of cooking, just until wilted, as we did in our Indian chickpea spinach curry.
FAQ'S
Butternut squash curry tastes rich, warm, and deeply savory, with a subtle natural sweetness from the squash. Its sweet, slightly nutty flavor beautifully balances the heat and warmth of the Indian spices, while the tender squash absorbs all those delicious flavors as it cooks.
If some of the squash melts into the gravy, it creates a creamy, buttery, velvety texture. The remaining cubes stay soft and tender, giving you a satisfying bite that easily melts in your mouth.
Adding whole raw cashews to curry gives it a rich, buttery flavor and a wonderfully tender texture. As they simmer, the cashews absorb the delicious curry flavors and transform from crunchy nuts into soft, tender bites that almost melt in your mouth. They’re especially delicious paired with soft butternut squash, adding a subtle texture contrast to the curry.
It depends on how long they will cook. If the whole raw cashews are simmered in the curry for at least 15–20 minutes, there’s no need to soak them first—they’ll soften and become tender as they cook.
If you cook curry for less time, it’s helpful to soak the cashews in water for at least 3 hours. Drain them well before adding them to the curry.
Cutting the squash into evenly sized pieces helps it cook through without completely falling apart in the curry. Here are the steps:
1. Place the squash on a cutting board and slice about ½ inch off both the stem and bottom ends. This gives you two flat, stable surfaces.
2. Use a vegetable peeler to remove the tough outer skin.
3. Cut the squash in half vertically.
4. Use a metal spoon to scrape out the seeds and stringy pulp. Discard the seeds or save them for roasting.
5. Cut the squash into ¾- to 1-inch cubes. This size works well because the squash becomes tender while still holding its shape in the curry.
Avoid cutting the squash too small. Smaller pieces can cook too quickly and turn mushy or dissolve into the sauce.
Cut the butternut squash into fairly large, even pieces, about ¾ to 1 inch, rather than small chunks. This helps the squash become tender while still holding its shape in the curry.
Also, avoid overcooking it—cook just until the squash is fork-tender. Fresh butternut squash works best, as frozen squash tends to soften more quickly and can become mushy. If using frozen squash, reduce the cooking time and check it often.
Since this curry is rich, creamy, and slightly sweet, it pairs beautifully with Indian flatbreads like roti, phulka, paratha, naan or tandoori roti. They’re perfect for dipping and scooping up all that thick, velvety sauce.
For a rice-based option, fluffy basmati rice or cumin rice is delicious with the curry and soaks up the flavorful sauce beautifully. Cooked quinoa is another great choice if you’re looking for a higher-protein option with a subtle nutty flavor and texture.
Yes, you can freeze butternut squash curry, and it makes a great make-ahead meal. The texture will change slightly after freezing and reheating, especially depending on whether you started with fresh or frozen squash.
If you used fresh squash, the cubes will hold their shape reasonably well, although they’ll be noticeably softer and more tender after thawing and reheating.
If you used frozen squash, expect the pieces to break down much more during reheating. Since the squash has already been frozen once, freezing it again as part of the curry can make it very soft. The curry will still taste delicious, but the texture may become thicker and smoother, almost like a puréed gravy rather than a chunky curry.
How to make butternut squash curry?
You can find the full printable recipe below, but here is a quick overview of the procedure along with step-by-step photos.
Looking for more ways to use butternut squash? Try my mashed butternut squash or the oven-roasted butternut squash recipe.
More Indian curry recipes
If you love cozy, comforting meals like the butternut squash curry recipe, you’ll enjoy these flavorful vegetarian curries too. Each one is packed with bold Indian spices, nourishing ingredients, and easy weeknight appeal!
- Beet curry with chickpeas is vegan, healthy and makes an easy 30 minute meal.
- Creamy chickpea and spinach curry is quick, easy to make with pantry staples! It’s vegan, gluten-free, packed with protein and fiber, and full of bold, authentic Indian flavor.
- This instant pot dal is full of flavor, cozy, nourishing and immensely satisfying. It is a fantastic way to incorporate a lot of kale; even kale haters won't mind eating it.
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Hi, I’m Maria! I share easy, flavor-packed dinners, high-protein meals, and irresistible baking ideas. If you’ve ever asked, “Don’t know what to cook tonight?” you’re in the right place. And yes—there’s plenty here for breakfast, snacks, and dessert too. More about maria ->
Jay
Delicious. Didn’t have any ginger or chillies so made without nor did I weigh the butternut squash, so put in what I had. It looked about right for the liquid content of the recipe. It was absolutely delicious. I dressed the curry with chopped spinach. Will be making this again.