Butternut Squash and Chickpea Curry

What To Use As A Substitute For Some Of The Ingredients

Here are a few suggestions on what ingredients to use for making this Butternut Squash and Chickpea Curry recipe in case you want to make some substitutions. Note that prep time, measurements, and taste will vary slightly. That's where your creativity comes in, so have fun making this your own! And let me know how it came out.

• Butternut Squash: Any winter squash will work, acorn, buttercup, Hubbard, or sugar pumpkin.
• Carrots: Parsnips will be a good substitute for this recipe. It will add a different color to the dish, overall. But it will taste the same.
• Chickpea (Garbanzo Beans): Any beans that have the same texture like great northern, lima beans, navy beans, soybeans, white kidney beans. They all have the same creamy texture and have a slightly nutty flavor like chickpeas (garbanzo beans).
• Coconut Milk: Coconut Cream can be a substitute, however, it is sweeter than coconut milk and is a lot thicker. So dilute the coconut cream with some water. If you don't like the taste of coconut, you can substitute and use whipping cream, tahini, nut butter, or Greek yogurt. All of these will give the curry its consistency and impart somewhat of a creamy and nutty flavor.
• Coconut Oil: Use refined for a neutral flavor, unrefined if you want more of a coconut flavor to the dish. Alternatively, you can also use olive oil.
• Coconut Palm Sugar: Palm sugar has an earthy taste so because of that, any substitute will not impart that same flavor to your curry dish. And coconut palm sugar is not as sweet. However, in a pinch, you can substitute granulated sugar, light or dark brown sugar, or even cane sugar. These will be slightly sweeter in comparison so adjust the measurement to your taste.
• Ginger: This recipe calls for 1 tablespoon of fresh ground ginger. If you do not have fresh, you can substitute ¼ teaspoon of ground ginger.
• Kosher Salt: Coarse Sea Salt or Himalayan Sea Salt. Use a 1:1 ratio since they are the same in size.
• Lemongrass: If you're wondering what it tastes like, the flavor is citrusy with a hint of mint. It is very mild, so it will not overpower the curry and will impart a very nice fragrance to the dish. You can find them in the produce section with all the fresh herbs. It's a hit or miss at a grocery store. If you cannot find any, serve the curry with a slice of lime on the side. Note that fresh lime juice does wonders to the dish, but squeeze the lime juice right at the dinner table and not while cooking.
• Onion: You can use shallots in place of onion for this recipe. Shallots will be milder.
• Red Chili Peppers: Any chili peppers would be a good substitute. And I'm sure since you're thinking about it, you can handle the heat! So kudos!! 🌶
• Red Curry Paste: See the "Different Types of Flavorful Thai Curry" chart below.
• Rice Vinegar: White Wine Vinegar, Apple Cider Vinegar, Sherry Vinegar, or Seasoned Rive Vinegar will be great substitutes for Rice Vinegar.
• Soy sauce: Regular or Low-Sodium works. If you want to make this recipe gluten-free, use Tamari, Liquid Aminos, or Coconut Aminos.
• Spinach: Kale, Chard, Bokchoy, or any other green-leafy vegetable will be great substitution or even addition to this curry dish.
• Thai Basil: You can use sweet basil instead. It will lack that hint of spice that you get from the Thai Basil, so if you cannot find any, use some mint with the sweet basil.
• Vegetable Broth: Water or chicken broth (for non-vegetarian option).

Different Types of Flavorful Thai Curry

Listed below are the Maesri brand that I use and highly recommend. Chefs use them and restaurants use this brand too! It's a product from Thailand and you cannot get close to authenticity as these curries. They come in a 4-ounce can. They are all-natural, non-GMO, gluten-free*, 100% vegan, and no MSG.

*NOTE: Karee Curry Paste (Yellow Curry Paste) contains wheat flour, which contains gluten.