Slow Cooker Thai Red Curry Butternut Squash and Chickpeas

This is the crossover dish of the set, a Thai red curry built on the cheapest produce of the autumn season. Butternut squash goes creamy and slightly sweet over a long cook, chickpeas hold their shape and carry the protein, and coconut milk plus red curry paste do all of the heavy lifting on flavor. A jar of curry paste keeps for months in the refrigerator and delivers far more flavor per dollar than buying individual Thai aromatics.

A slow cooker curry needs restraint at the front and brightness at the end, which is the one way it differs from the stovetop version. Holding back a quarter of the coconut milk and all of the lime and herbs until the last few minutes keeps the finished curry tasting fresh instead of stewed. Four hours of simmering flattens delicate flavors, so the delicate things go in after the cooking is done.

Squash is the ingredient to watch. It goes from tender to mush faster than most vegetables, so check it at the early end of the range rather than the late one. Buying it whole rather than pre-cut costs a fraction as much, and two minutes in the microwave makes the skin soft enough to peel without a fight.

Slow Cooker Thai Red Curry Butternut Squash and Chickpeas

Fall squash, canned chickpeas, and a spoonful of curry paste — a vegetarian curry that tastes like it took real effort and costs about as much as a bag of rice.

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 4 hours hrs

Total Time 4 hours hrs 20 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Thai

Servings 6 servings

Equipment

• Slow cooker 6-quart or larger

Ingredients

  

• 1 medium butternut squash about 3 pounds, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
• 2 cans (15 oz) chickpeas drained and rinsed
• 1 large onion sliced
• 1 red bell pepper sliced
• 4 cloves garlic minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger minced
• 3 tablespoons Thai red curry paste
• 1 can (14 oz) full-fat coconut milk divided
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce or fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 3 cups baby spinach
• 1 lime juiced
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro or Thai basil chopped
• 1/4 cup roasted peanuts chopped, optional

Instructions

 

• Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook the onion for 4-5 minutes until softened, then add the garlic, ginger, and red curry paste. Cook 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly, until the paste darkens and smells fragrant.
• Scrape the mixture into the slow cooker.
• Add the butternut squash, chickpeas, bell pepper, vegetable broth, soy sauce, brown sugar, turmeric, and about three quarters of the can of coconut milk. Reserve the rest. Stir to combine.
• Cover and cook on LOW for 4 hours, or HIGH for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, until the squash is tender at the center but still holding its shape. Check early – squash goes from tender to mush quickly.
• Stir in the reserved coconut milk and the spinach. Cover and cook 10 more minutes, just until the greens wilt.
• Turn off the heat. Stir in the lime juice and half the herbs. Taste and adjust with more soy sauce, sugar, or lime.
• Serve over jasmine rice, topped with the remaining herbs, chopped peanuts, and a lime wedge.

Notes

Whole butternut squash costs a fraction of pre-cubed squash and keeps on the counter for weeks. Microwave it for 2 minutes before peeling and it becomes far easier to cut.

Dried chickpeas are cheaper still. Soak 1 cup overnight, add at the start with an extra cup of broth, cook on LOW 6 hours, then add the squash for the final 2.

Sweet potato works in place of squash at roughly the same price. Frozen cubed squash works too – add it in the last 90 minutes.

Naturally vegan if you use soy sauce rather than fish sauce, and it freezes well without the greens and herbs.

Keyword butternut squash, chickpea curry, slow cooker, Vegetarian