Simple South African Butternut Soup With Coconut Milk And Curry
There aren’t many meals that are as sweet and comforting as this South African butternut soup. I’ve been cooking it for years, as it’s a longtime family recipe. Believe it or not, this soup is all fruit: an apple, an orange, and yes, a butternut squash. (It is, indeed, a fruit!)
Plus, a touch of curry powder, of course.
With a crusty loaf of bread on a winter’s night, there’s really not much better.

If you love this butternut soup, you’ll love our black bean chili with corn or our very easy white bean veggie soup. And if you’re looking for recipes for winter or holidays, don’t forget cranberry sauce with orange juice, roasted leg of lamb and potatoes, plus pumpkin pie for dessert!
What Is Butternut Squash?
“Smooth as butter, sweet as nut,” the butternut squash was bred in the 1940s by Charles Leggett in Massachusetts. As he said, butternuts have a smooth and pale outside, and an orange and sweet inside. They’re the lovechild of hubbards and goosenecks, with a long neck atop a round bottom.
Not all squash are created equal. There is acorn squash, spaghetti squash, winter squash and summer squash. Other squashes include pumpkins, hubbards and kabochas. But butternut squash remains my personal fave. No other squash matches its sweetness, and it tastes complimentary as a side to just about anything.
Ingredients for South African Butternut Soup
- Butternut: Since this is a butternut squash soup, I don’t recommend subbing with any other type of squash.
- Apple: Using a Granny Smith apple ensures there is just enough sweetness and appley flavor but not too much. Any other type of apple would likely make your soup overly sweet.
- Orange juice and zest: Spring for using fresh-squeezed orange juice since it always tastes better and the orange rind adds a great zesty touch to balance all the sweetness.
- Coconut milk: If you don’t have coconut milk in the cabinet, cream, half and half or whole milk works, too.
- Curry powder: This savory spice makes this butternut soup South African!

How To Make South African Butternut Soup
This butternut soup starts with sauteing onions in coconut oil. Once the onions are soft and translucent (about 5 minutes), add the squash and spices and saute for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. This won’t cook the butternut fully, but it will lend it some extra good flavor.
Add the apple, orange rind and juice, vegetable stock, salt and pepper, and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the squash is soft and cooked.
Turn off the heat and add the coconut milk. Then, pour it into a high speed blender or a food processor and blend. (One of my tricks with soups that I’m going to blend is to wait until it’s time to cool to add some kind of liquid—whether that’s some stock I put aside or some coconut milk, like in this recipe.)








Serving Suggestions
- Fresh Bread: Warm, crusty bread is the perfect companion to soak up every bit of this creamy, flavorful soup. Try a slice of sourdough or a homemade cornbread for a slightly sweet contrast.
- Toasted Seeds: Sprinkle toasted pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds on top for a crunchy texture and nutty flavor.
- Chopped Fresh Herbs: Finish this soup with a sprinkle of fresh parsley for a bright, herbal kick.
- Chili Oil: Drizzle a bit of chili oil for a hint of heat and extra depth.
Why Not Switch Things Up?
This mouthwatering roasted lamb and potatoes is a delectable trade at any dinner table. We often swap a turkey for a leg of lamb around the holidays, and there’s never a complaint in the house!

South African Butternut Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 yellow onion
- 1 butternut squash medium-large
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1 granny smith apple
- 1 orange 1 tsp zest, juice
- 3 cups vegetable stock you can use 4 cups but it won’t be quite as creamy
- 1 can coconut milk 13.5oz
- chopped parsley optional garnish
Instructions
- Start by peeling the butternut squash. Remove and discard the seeds. Chop into small squares (about 3/4"-1"). Roughly chop the onions and apple.
- Once you're finished prepping the squash, you can begin warming the oil in a cast iron enamel or stainless steel pot over medium heat. While the oil is warming, peel and chop the apple, juice the orange, then grate a teaspoon of the orange zest.
- Saute the onion for 5 minutes until soft and translucent. Add the squash, curry powder, salt and pepper, and saute for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the apple, orange zest, orange juice and vegetable stock and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the squash is soft and cooked.
- Turn off the heat and add the coconut milk. Then, pour it into a high speed blender or a food processor and blend. Or, if you have an immersion blender, simply blend in the pot.
- Reheat before serving if you used a blender.
This looks great! I need to know the size of the coconut milk, I have three cans on my shelf, and they are all different sizes. Also, if you don’t have access to coconut oil, what is a good substitute? Here in Spain, we have olive and sunflower oil.
Hi Darlene! Thanks for your comment, I will actually go edit the amount above to be more specific. Standard can size in the U.S. is 13.5oz or 400ml but of course it could vary! Glad you caught that! I would say if you don’t have coconut milk and you want to keep it vegan, either skip the coconut milk or use unflavored cashew milk. Homemade would probably be nicest for the cashew milk, you can just blend some cashews with water if you don’t have a milk maker. I’ve never tried almond milk in the soup, thinking it might work but it also might be too thin. Hope this helps!
This is a super delicious-looking soup, especially with the rain and forecast we have for the next two weeks.
Yes Esme, it really is the perfect soup for a rainy day!