Name: Canning Thai Coconut Squash Soup
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 6
Ingredients: 2 quarts (2 liters) chicken or vegetable broth; 1 ½ lb (750 grams) butternut, kabocha, acorn, or some other orange-fleshed winter squash, peeled and cut into ½" (1cm) cubes; ½ tsp (2 ml) ground red pepper; 2 fresh Thai chile peppers, seeded and minced; 3 garlic cloves, minced; 1 stalk lemongrass, quartered; 1 piece peeled fresh ginger (a 2 inch or 5 cm piece), grated; 2 tbsp (30 ml) sugar; 1 tsp (5 ml) lime zest; 1 chopped red bell pepper; 4 chopped shallots; 2 tsp (10 ml) salt; 2 tbsp (30 ml) fresh lime juice; 2 tbsp (30 ml) red onion slivers (for serving); 1 tbsp (15 ml) chopped cilantro (for serving); ½ cup (250 ml) coconut milk (for serving); Lime wedges (for serving)

Thai squash soup is a delicious pressure canning recipe that preserves exotic flavors right on your pantry shelf. Simply add a can of coconut milk to serve, and you’ll have a delicious Thai coconut squash soup that’s ready to heat and eat for a busy weeknight meal.

Whether you’re an experienced canner, or just getting started in the craft, canning Thai squash soup (also known as Thai coconut squash soup) is an easy pressure canning recipe that’s sure to please a crowd.

The most time-consuming portion of this recipe is chopping everything to size, but once you’ve done all your prep work, it comes together quickly, and it’ll be in the pressure canner before you know it.

There aren’t all that many squash canning recipes out there, and unless you have a root cellar, it can be tricky to preserve pumpkin, butternut, and other types of winter squash.

The presence of squash makes it a flavor-packed addition to your pantry and a great way to enjoy a meal on busy nights. Plus, it’s incredibly nutritious.

The main thing to note here is that you cannot add the coconut milk before canning, as there are no approved canning recipes (pressure canning or otherwise) that include coconut or coconut milk.

But coconut milk comes in a can already, so you just take a can of coconut milk off your pantry shelf at the same time and mix them to serve. But everything else is in the jar, ready to heat and eat.

Ingredients for Thai Squash Soup

This is a tested canning recipe developed by Ball Canning. It’s featured in their book, The All New Ball Book of Canning and Preserving (pg. 284).

The ingredients for canning Thai squash soup are quite simple. To make a batch of 6 pints or 3 quart jars, you’ll need the following:

2 quarts (2 liters) chicken or vegetable broth
1 ½ lb (750 grams) butternut, kabocha, acorn, or some other orange-fleshed winter squash, peeled and cut into ½” (1cm) cubes
½ tsp (2 ml) ground red pepper
2 fresh Thai chile peppers, seeded and minced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 stalk lemongrass, quartered
1 piece peeled fresh ginger (2 inch or 5 cm piece), grated
2 tbsp (30 ml) sugar
1 tsp (5 ml) lime zest
1 chopped red bell pepper
4 chopped shallots
2 tsp (10 ml) salt
2 tbsp (30 ml) fresh lime juice

You can use any type of winter squash you’d like for this recipe. Try to use a winter squash with orange flesh, as this will yield the most attractive results, but if you can’t find winter squash with yellow flesh, feel free to use any other variety as you see fit.

Avoid using summer squash, as it has a higher water content and requires different instructions for canning and cooking. You’ll need about five cups (1.25 liters) of squash in total.

In terms of spices, you can omit the ginger, garlic or lemongrass if they’re not to your taste, or substitute dried ingredients if you don’t have fresh spices.

For the peppers, you can use any type, even though they suggest Thai peppers for flavor. All sweet peppers, or all hot peppers work just fine.

If you don’t have shallots, onions will work just fine (as will scallions).

The main thing is, don’t add more solids to the recipe. You can omit the peppers, onion, spices, sugar and lime to suit your taste. Any one of them, or multiple, based on your preferences.

Just make sure you add a bit more broth to fill the space in the jars, and don’t substitute other types of veggies in their place.

One change you can safely make, in terms of adding ingredients, is adding dry spices. You’re always allowed to add reasonable amounts of dry spices to any canning recipe.

If you want more heat, try adding dried red pepper flakes or cayenne powder. You can add dried onion powder, ginger powder, garlic powder or really any other dried spices you like for more flavor.

You can also infuse just about anything you want into the broth. This recipe infuses lemongrass into the broth, but you can also infuse kefir lime leaf or other spices directly into the broth before preparing the soup.

Some of the ingredients are added at serving time, partially for fresh flavor, but also because some of them, namely coconut milk, isn’t approved for canning.

For each pint, Ball canning suggests serving with the following:

2 tbsp (30 ml) red onion slivers
1 tbsp (15 ml) chopped cilantro
½ cup (250 ml) coconut milk
Lime wedges

For quart jars, you’d use twice that much.

These add-ins are optional, and you don’t have to add any of them. I rarely have fresh cillantro or a tablespoon of chopped onion just hanging around when I run inside for lunch, but they’re nice if you do have them on hand.

For canning liquid, the recipe suggests chicken or vegetable broth, but you can use any type of broth you have on hand, or plain water. I don’t suggest using plain water, as it’ll make your soup taste washed out, but sometimes that’s all you have.

Often when you’re canning soup, the jars are only filled about half way, and the remaining space in the jar is filled with broth.

This particular recipe makes full jars with plenty of solids, but be sure you leave 1 inch of headspace when filling the jars.

Preparing Ingredients for Thai Squash Soup

The hardest part of this canning recipe is getting all the veggies chopped and prepared.

Start by washing your veggies.

Next, peel the squash, slice it in half, and remove the seeds. Then, chop it into small cubes.

This is pretty straightforward with a butternut squash, but it can be tricky with many other types of squash.

I’m particularly fond of my Victronox Swiss Army Peeler, which is incredibly sharp, and has a unique grip that makes it easy to peel hard winter squash.

It’s been a real game-changer for my canning prep.

After preparing the butternut squash, you’ve still got the rest of the ingredients to prepare.

Get everything chopped and prepared, either with a knife, or sometimes a small food processor can really help speed things up.

Be sure you keep everything at a dice though, rather than pureed.

Pureeing ingredients can thicken the broth, and we’re going for chunks of veggies in a liquid broth so that the result doesn’t get too thick.

Once you have all the veggies prepared, it’s time to start getting everything pre-heated. You’ll need to heat the soup, as well as pre-heat the canner.

This is a hot-pack recipe, so don’t start packing those jars yet!

It’s actually pretty important when working with winter squash that you hot pack the jars, preheating everything before it goes into the jars (rather than adding the cubed squash raw).

I know it’s counterintuitive, but partially pre-cooked squash actually holds together better than raw squash. When you raw pack squash, it has a lot of air left in it’s tissues, and it can blow apart in the jars. Pre-heating it by simmering first drives off the air in the squash pieces, so they’ll hold together better.

Canning Thai Squash Soup

Start by preparing a pressure canner for hot pack, according to the manufacturer’s instructions. For most pressure canners, that means adding 2-3 inches of water to the bottom of the canner, adding in the bottom trivet, and then pre-heating the canner to a gentle simmer (about 180 degrees F).

Bring the broth to a boil in a six quart (six-liter) stainless steel or enameled Dutch oven.

Stir in the red pepper, garlic cloves, Thai chiles, and lemongrass stalk. Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring often.

The simmering here is important, because you’re flavoring the broth as well as pre-cooking some of the veggies so they do better in the canning process.

Remove the lemongrass, then add the squash, sugar, salt, lime zest, lime juice, shallots, and bell pepper.

Be sure you remove the lemongrass at this point, as it’s just for flavoring the broth and shouldn’t end up in the finished canned good.

(If you forget, it’s not the end of the world, and your canned soup is still safe if it’s properly processed. It’s mainly that leaving the lemongrass in during canning could mess with the flavor of the finished soup, and lemongrass is tough and not great for chewing when serving.)

Return to a boil, then reduce the heat. Simmer with the pot, uncovered, for five minutes.

Stir occasionally.

Ladle the hot soup into hot jars, leaving an inch (2.5 cm) of headspace.

Remove the air bubbles with a bubble removal tool, then use a clean rag to wipe any food particles or residue from the jar rims.

Place the lids and bands on the jars, then tighten them until they are fingertip-tight.

Place the jars on a rack in a pressure canner that contains two inches (5 cm) of simmering water (this should be about 180 degrees Fahrenheit or 90 degrees Celsius).

Repeat this process until all of the jars are filled.

Place the lid on the canner. Turn it to the locked position. Adjust the heat to medium-high, then vent the steam for 10 minutes (or based on your pressure canner manufacturer’s instructions).

Palace the weighted gauge or counterweight on the vent, then bring the pressure to 10 lbs for a weighted-gauge canner or 11 lbs for a dial-gauge canner. Adjust the pressure to your altitude (see altitude adjustments below).

Once the canner is up to pressure, process pints for 75 minutes or quarts for 90 minutes.

Turn off the heat, then cool the canner to zero pressure. Allow the canner to sit for another five minutes before you attempt to remove the lid.

Cool the jars in the canner for 10 minutes. Then, remove the jars and allow them to cool for 12 hours.

Check the seals, label, then store for up to one year.

Altitude Adjustments for Canning Soup

With pressure canning, the processing times stay the same at higher altitudes, but the pressures change. Here are the altitude adjustments for pressure canning soup:

For dial gauge pressure canners:

0 to 2,000 feet in elevation – 11 lbs pressure
2,001 to 4,000 feet in elevation – 12 lbs pressure
4,001 to 6,000 feet in elevation – 13 lbs pressure
6,001 to 8,000 feet in elevation – 14 lbs pressure

For weighted gauge pressure canners:

0 to 1,000 feet in elevation – 10 lbs pressure
Above 1,000 feet – 15 lbs pressure

Serving Thai Squash Soup

To serve this soup, pour the contents of a jar into a medium stainless steel pan. Bring the soup to a boil over high heat.

Then, for each pint jar you prepare, stir in ½ cup (250 ml) of coconut milk, two tablespoons (30 ml) of red onion slivers, and one tablespoon (15 ml) of chopped fresh cilantro.

Bring everything to a simmer, then cook for a minute or two (or until heated all the way through). If you’re reheating quarts, simply double the measurements given above.

Serve with fresh lime wedges, if desired.

Soup Canning Recipes

There are so many different soup canning recipes out there, try these for your pantry:

Makes 6 pints or 3 quarts

Canning Thai Coconut Squash Soup

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

This thai inspired squash soup is a delicious pressure canning recipe. Coconut milk is added at serving for real thai flavor.

Ingredients

2 quarts (2 liters) chicken or vegetable broth
1 ½ lb (750 grams) butternut, kabocha, acorn, or some other orange-fleshed winter squash, peeled and cut into ½" (1cm) cubes
½ tsp (2 ml) ground red pepper
2 fresh Thai chile peppers, seeded and minced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 stalk lemongrass, quartered
1 piece peeled fresh ginger (a 2 inch or 5 cm piece), grated
2 tbsp (30 ml) sugar
1 tsp (5 ml) lime zest
1 chopped red bell pepper
4 chopped shallots
2 tsp (10 ml) salt
2 tbsp (30 ml) fresh lime juice

Serving Add Ins Per Pint

2 tbsp (30 ml) red onion slivers (for serving)
1 tbsp (15 ml) chopped cilantro (for serving)
½ cup (250 ml) coconut milk (for serving)
Lime wedges (for serving)

Instructions

Bring the broth to a boil in a six quart (six liter) Dutch oven. Stir in the red pepper, garlic cloves, Thai chiles, and lemongrass stalk. Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring often.
Remove the lemongrass, then add the squash, sugar, salt, lime zest, lime juice, shallots, and bell pepper. Return to a boil, then reduce the heat. Simmer with the pot uncovered for five minutes. Stir occasionally.
Ladle the hot soup into hot jars, leaving an inch (2.5 cm) of headspace.
Remove the air bubbles with a bubble removal tool, then use a clean rag to wipe any food particles or residue from the jar rims.
Place the lids and bands on the jars, then tighten them until they are fingertip tight.
Place the jars on a rack in a pressure canner that contains two inches (5 cm) of simmering water. Repeat this process until all of the jars are filled.
Place the lid on the canner. Turn it to the locked position. Adjust the heat to medium high, then vent steam for 10 minutes. Place the weighted gauge or counter weight on the vent, then bring the pressure to 10 lbs for a weighted-gauge canner or 11 lbs for a dial-gauge canner.
Process pints for 75 minutes or quarts for 90 minutes.
Turn off the heat, then cool the canner to zero pressure. Allow the canner to sit for another five minutes before you attempt to remove the lid.
Cool the jars in the canner for 10 minutes. Then, remove the jars and allow them to cool for 12 hours. Check the seals, label, then store for up to one year.
To serve, pour the contents of a jar into a medium stainless steel pan. Bring the soup to a boil over high heat.
For each pint jar of soup, stir in ½ cup (250 ml) of coconut milk, two tablespoons (30 ml) of red onion slivers, and one tablespoon (15 ml) of chopped fresh cilantro. For quarts, double the measurements.
Bring everything to a simmer, then cook for a minute or two (or until heated all the way through).
Serve with fresh lime wedges, if desired.

Notes

When serving, ball canning suggests adding the following ingredients to each pint of soup (or twice this much per quart):

2 tbsp (30 ml) red onion slivers (for serving)
1 tbsp (15 ml) chopped cilantro (for serving)
½ cup (250 ml) coconut milk (for serving)
Lime wedges (for serving)