Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup is a comforting way to enjoy your favorite winter squash. It's unbelievably delicious, and the electric pressure cooker makes the cooking process as easy as possible!
Press the Sauté button on the Instant Pot and wait 1 minute for the bottom to warm up. Addin the olive oil and onion, and cook until the onion softens, about 5 to 8 minutes. Add in the garlic and curry powder, and stir for 1 more minute, just until they smell fragrant.
Press the “Off/Cancel” button and add 1 cup of water to help prevent the garlic from burning. Use a wooden spoon or spatula to scrape the bottom of the pot, to make sure nothing is stuck. (This will prevent a burn error later.)
Add in the remaining 2 cups of water, the butternut squash, and the salt and pepper. Secure the lid and move the steam release valve to sealing. Cook at high pressure for 10 minutes. It will take roughly 10 minutes for the pot to pressurize, so the screen will read “ON” until then.
When the cooking cycle is complete, let the pressure naturally release for 10 minutes. (This means you don’t have to do anything until the screen reads L0:10.) When the time has passed,move the steam release valve to venting to release any remaining pressure. When the floating valve in the lid has dropped, it’s safe to remove the lid.
Transfer the soup to a blender and carefully blend until it’s smooth. For safety, be sure to remove the vent in the blender’s lid and cover it with a thin towel to let steam escape. (This way the lid won’t blow off your blender from the steam pressure.) You can work in batches, if you need to, or you can use an immersion blender to blend the soup directly in the pot.
Return the soup to the pot, and stir in the coconut milk. Adjust any seasoning to taste, adding more salt, if needed. You can also add a splash of maple syrup, if you prefer a sweeter tasting soup. Serve warm, with any garnishes you like. You can drizzle it with extra coconut milk, or add some roasted butternut squash seeds, fresh cilantro, or black pepper on top. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Notes
Nutrition information is for roughly 1 cup of soup, assuming you get 8 cups from this recipe. This information is automatically calculated, and is just an estimate, not a guarantee.*Weigh the squash after peeling and cutting it. You can use pre-cut squash from the store, or frozen squash to save time.**For the best results, open a can of full-fat coconut milk and pour the contents into a high-speed blender. Blend for 60 seconds, or until the milk looks smooth. Then you can measure out the 1/2 cup for this recipe. Reserve the rest in the fridge, for a future recipe.