This Creamy Curried Pumpkin Soup Recipe is made with healthy veggies like carrots, onion, cauliflower, and of course, pumpkin! Flavored with fresh garlic, ginger, and yellow curry paste, enjoy this delicious vegan and gluten-free curried pumpkin soup drizzled with coconut milk and sprinkled with toasted pumpkin seeds.
Pumpkin Curry Soup
Creamy, blended squash soups are my favorite this time of year. This savory pumpkin soup is one of my favorite cold-weather dinner recipes.
Made with simple, healthy, nutrient-rich veggies like onions, carrots, cauliflower, pumpkin puree, and seasoned with ground cumin and curry paste.
Dairy-free and gluten-free, choose to enjoy this delicious vegan pumpkin soup spicy or mild and garnished with all your favorite toppings including coconut milk, cilantro, or roasted pumpkin seeds.
Tools You’ll Need
- Stockpot or Dutch oven
- Food processor or Immersion blender
- Sharp knife
- Cutting board
What’s in Pumpkin Curry Soup?
The ingredients are simple and healthy. YES, this pumpkin soup recipe is incredibly good for you. Just check out all those veggies…
- Olive oil or Coconut oil
- Onions
- Carrots
- Celery
- Garlic and Ginger
- Cauliflower
- Vegetable broth
- Curry paste or Curry powder
- Cumin
- Cayenne powder
- Coconut aminos (or Soy sauce)
- Sugar
- Pumpkin puree
- Coconut milk
How to Cook Pumpkin for Puree
Feel free to skip this step if you plan to use canned pumpkin. However, if you’d prefer to make this soup with homemade pumpkin puree, here’s how:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper for easy clean-up.
- Cut a pumpkin in half lengthwise (from stem to tip. Use a sturdy spoon to scrape and scoop the seeds and stringy bits from the center of the pumpkin.
- Brush the pumpkin flesh and skin with approximately one tablespoon of oil then sprinkle with salt, if using. Transfer to your prepared baking sheet, cut-side-down. Pierce the skin with a fork in 2-3 places on each half to allow for steam to escape.
- Transfer to the oven and bake for approximately 45 minutes, or until the flesh is easily pierced with a fork.
- Remove the baking sheet from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before scooping out the flesh or peeling away the skin.
- Puree or add the pumpkin flesh directly to the pot along with the other veggies (more on that below).
TIP: for best results, always use sugar pumpkins (baking pumpkins) when being used in cooking and baking. Carving pumpkins are edible, but not as sweet.
How to Make Curried Pumpkin Soup
1. Soften the root vegetables:
Heat a little oil in a large pot or Dutch Oven over medium heat. You may use olive oil, avocado oil, or coconut oil. Sauté the onions first. Cook for approximately 4-5 minutes or until they have softened.
Next, add the carrots and celery. Mix with the onions and cover. Cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring often to prevent burning.
2. Add the ginger, garlic, and cauliflower:
Once the root vegetables have had a chance to start softening – stir in the smashed garlic cloves and fresh ginger.
TIP: Everything will be blended together in a blender or food processer, so there is no need to dice the ginger or garlic super small.
Add the cauliflower florets and mix well to combine.
3. Add the broth and seasoning:
Stir in the vegetable stock (or water) and bring to a low boil. Add the curry paste, ground cumin, cayenne, coconut aminos, and sugar.
Mix well, cover, and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook for approximately 15 minutes.
4. Stir in the pumpkin puree and coconut milk:
Add the pumpkin puree (homemade or store-bought) and the coconut milk (you may add the entire can or start with just half). Return everything to a simmer and then remove from heat.
5. Blend:
Grab a blender, food processor, or immersion blender.
Blend the curried pumpkin soup until smooth and creamy. You may need to add additional broth or water to get the right consistency.
6. Season to taste and garnish:
Season to taste and garnish with none or all of the following,
- Nuts or seeds
- Fresh cilantro
- Lime juice
- Shredded cheese
- Red pepper flakes
- Coconut milk or heavy cream
Leftovers? are fantastic! Allow your soup to cool to room temperature before transferring to the refrigerator for up to 4-5 days. Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop until heated through.
More Winter Squash Soup Recipes,
Roasted Acorn Squash Soup Recipe
Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup Recipe
Thai Pumpkin + Sweet Potato Soup with Lemongrass and Ginger
Miso Coconut Butternut Squash Soup
If you try making this Curried Pumpkin Soup, please leave me a comment and let me know! I always love to hear your thoughts.
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Curried Pumpkin Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 medium yellow onions - peeled and chopped
- 5 large carrots - chopped
- 5 stalks celery - chopped
- 8 cloves garlic - smashed
- 1 (2-inch) piece ginger - peeled and chopped
- 1 small head cauliflower
- 4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth - or water (plus more as needed)
- 3 tablespoon yellow curry paste - red curry paste OK
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon cayenne powder - optional
- 2 tablespoon coconut aminos - or soy sauce if you’re not sensitive to gluten
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 (29-ounce) can pumpkin puree - approximately 3.5 cups
- 1 (15-ounce) can full-fat coconut milk - plus more for serving
- coconut milk, cilantro, pumpkin seeds (pepitas), cashews, sliced lime wedges - to garnish
Instructions
- Cook the root vegetables: Heat oil in a large pot or Dutch Oven over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring often, for 4-5 minutes or until the onions soften and turn translucent. Add the carrots and celery and mix well to combine with the onion. Cover and continue to cook over medium-high heat for 10-15 minutes, stirring often.
- Add the cauliflower: After approximately 10 minutes or so - once the vegetables have had a chance to start softening - stir in the smashed garlic cloves and fresh ginger and sautè for approximately 1 minute. Add the cauliflower florets and mix well to combine.
- Add the broth and seasoning: Add the vegetable stock (or water) and bring to a low boil. Add the curry paste, ground cumin, cayenne, coconut aminos, and brown sugar. Mix thoroughly to combine and allow vegetables to simmer for approximately 15 minutes.
- Stir in the pumpkin puree and coconut milk: Add the pumpkin puree (homemade or store-bought) and coconut milk, return to a simmer and then remove from heat.
- Blend: Grab a blender, food processor, or immersion blender. Working in batches, fill your blender approximately half full with the acorn squash and broth mixture and blend until completely pureed. Pour your pureed soup into a new pot. Repeat until all the vegetables have been pureed into soup.
- Season to taste: Season with salt, pepper, or an additional teaspoon or two of sugar, if needed. If your soup is super thick, simply add additional water or broth until the desired consistency is reached.
Jessica's Notes
- I added approximately 1/2 pound baby potatoes as I had some leftover from a previous recipe. Normally, I wouldn’t add them to this soup, but I hate to let anything go to waste. Feel free to include them, or leave them out, it won’t change the flavor either way.
- If curry paste isn't available, curry powder will also work. Simply add 2 tablespoons of curry powder at the same time as the rest of the seasoning. Add more to taste, if needed.
- Yellow, red, or green curry paste will all taste delicious.
- Learn how to make pumpkin puree in this post.
- If pumpkin isn't available, substitute with your favorite type of winter squash including butternut squash, acorn squash, or delicata squash.
- The soup will thicken after cooling. Add additional vegetable broth or water as needed to reach the desired thickness when reheating.
- Nutrition information does not include suggested toppings.
Nutritional Information
(Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and specific brands of ingredients used.)
Wondering if this recipe could be done in an Instant Pot?
Potentially, but I don’t have the instructions for it 🙂