Pumpkin Curry Soup

Introducing the best pumpkin soup recipe ever: Pumpkin Curry Soup! Made with Thai red curry paste and coconut milk, this soup is vegan, gluten-free, paleo, and Whole 30 compliant. Plus it's easy to make, super quick, and incredibly delicious!

Here in Stockholm we had the most uncharacteristically glorious autumn, right up until the end of October. And then the clocks changed, the months flipped, and a deep, depressing greyness set in. Blah.

I've never been a fan of November (as a Canadian I don't have the sparkle of a November Thanksgiving to look forward to) and I feel like this November is being particularly rude. At least we don't have snow yet?

I tend to cozy up to comfort food in the dreary months, and making a big pot of delicious, warming, and nourishing soup is one of my favourite ways to do that. I've got a particularly special soup to introduce you guys to today: Pumpkin Curry Soup.

Here's what I love about this soup. It's:

• Made in one pot
• Made with real pumpkin
• Uses easy to find ingredients
• Spicy but not too spicy
• Full of good-for-you ingredients

What goes into this Thai Pumpkin Curry Soup?

• A real pumpkin! Yasss! We'll talk about pumpkin varietals down below.
• Coconut milk. Full-fat, please and thank you.
• Red curry paste. You can use a little or a lot.
• Onion, garlic, and ginger. To stave off vampires and colds.
• Veggie broth. Mmmhmm.
• Cilantro. I'm on team cilantro. You can leave it out if you can't deal.
• Lime juice. For a little zing!

How do you make pumpkin curry soup?

Easy as 1, 2, 3, 4!

Ok, wait, you also have to hack up a pumpkin. Easy as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5?! I like to chop my pumpkin in half, scoop the seeds out, and then chop it into sections about 1-2 inches wide.

I find these sections are easier to slice the skin off of than trying to tackle peeling an entire pumpkin, but you can do whatever works for you. The goal is to have about 10 cups of cubed pumpkin when you're done. 

Now we're ready to make some soup! We're going to heat up some oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot. I like to use my Le Creuset Dutch Oven for making soups like this one. Onions, garlic, and ginger go into the pot and get all sweaty and a little bit brown. Just a light tan, if you know what I mean.

Then you're going to add your cubed pumpkin. Give it a stir and let it hang out with the onions and garlic for a minute or two, and then add your vegetable broth. It should just barely cover the pumpkin (see photo above). I also like to add the curry paste now because I want the flavour to get into the pumpkin as much as possible.

Cover and simmer until the pumpkin is tender. I like to check this by stabbing a pumpkin chunk with a fork and seeing how easily it'll penetrate. We're looking for pretty dang easy here. I find this takes about 15-20 minutes of simmering time.

At this point you're going to want to purée your soup. I am a) lazy and don't like to dirty extra dishes when it's not strictly necessary, and b) accident prone and don't like transferring hot liquids into a blender, so I prefer to use my immersion blender for this job. If you don't have an immersion blender, fear not. You've got options.

Once the soup is blended up nice and velvety smooth, get in there with your coconut milk and a good squeeze of lime. Taste the soup and adjust the seasonings if you like. Maybe a bit more lime? Perhaps a tad more curry paste? You do you.

And that's it! Your soup is ready to serve. I like to top it with cilantro, chili flakes, and toasted pumpkin seeds if I'm feeling fancy.

What kind of pumpkin do you use for soup?

I believe that's a Jarrahdale pumpkin, but there was a bit of a communication breakdown between me and the dude at the farmer's market, so I can't confirm. Muscat or Blue Hubbard pumpkins would also work well.

Can I use butternut squash instead? You may.

Help! I don't have an immersion blender!

No problem. Either you can transfer the soup in batches to a regular blender (BE VERY CAREFUL WHEN BLENDING HOT LIQUIDS!) or if you don't have a blender you can use a food mill.

Is this soup freezer friendly?

You bet it is! Freezes like a dream, my friends.

Is this recipe vegan? Yassss! Just double check that your curry paste is vegan.

Can I make this soup spicier / less spicy? Yup. Just add a little bit of curry paste at a time until you reach your desired level of spiciness. Remember you can always add more, but you can't take it out.

Hey Nutrition Lady, tell me about pumpkin!

Pumpkin, and other yellow fleshed winter squash, are jam packed full of carotenes, including beta-carotene, alpha-carotene and other carotenoids. These are the compounds ultimately responsible for their bright yellow and orange colours, and also is a pre-cursor to Vitamin A (you need that so you can see).

Winter squash (including pumpkins) are also rockstars in the B vitamin department, with high amounts of vitamin B6, and a good amount of vitamin B2, vitamin B3, folate, and pantothenic acid.

Pumpkin also contains a good dose of dietary fibre, potassium, vitamin C, and manganese.

Other soups and stews you might enjoy:

Spicy Carrot Soup with Tahini and Garlicky Greens
Tomato Fennel Quinoa Soup
Vegan Corn Chowder
Butternut Squash and Black Bean Chili
Slow Cooker Chickpea Curry
Mung Bean and Coconut Curry

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