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I am the only house on the block without a big, orange pumpkin on my front porch. I promise there has been plenty of pumpkin happening inside my home, this creamy and healthy Pumpkin Curry Soup included.

Healthy Thai Pumpkin Curry Soup with Coconut Milk. Easy vegan recipe that’s ready in 30 minutes! Creamy, comforting, and perfect for fast fall dinners.

This easy vegan pumpkin soup cooks in a single pot and carries deep flavor notes of Thai curry, coconut, and peanut.

It’s healthy, happens to be gluten and dairy free, and is also ready in 30 minutes flat, thanks to the use of a super speedy shortcut ingredient, canned pumpkin.

Between friends, I’ve had the idea for a spiced Thai Pumpkin Curry Soup floating about in my brain for a long while but avoided it for two reasons.

  • One, I was worried that the only way to make a richly flavored, satisfying pumpkin soup was to roast an actual, whole pumpkin. I had visions of an enormous, Cinderella-sized squash becoming lodged in my oven, breaking a sweat while attempting to slice it, and stringy pumpkin goo coating every surface of my kitchen. Nightmare.
  • Two, I felt that if I avoided the above scenario by using canned pumpkin instead of a whole, fresh pumpkin, I was somehow cheating.
Thai Pumpkin Curry Soup with coconut milk. Healthy and filling vegan recipe that’s perfect for fall dinners.

I’m not sure where I got the idea that making pumpkin soup with canned pumpkin is cheating—after all, I use it for Healthy Pumpkin Bread, Pumpkin French Toast, Pumpkin Energy Balls, and every single one of these pumpkin recipes without blinking—but it took a night of hungry desperation to set me straight.

It was 7:45 p.m., and I was staring down a butternut squash, willing it to peel, dice, and puree itself for soup. Not surprisingly, the squash did not grant my request.

WHY, I wondered, does squash not come already prepped, pureed, and in a convenient can so that I can make myself soup in a hurry?

I think you know where this is going.

DUH. Canned pumpkin. You are the answer to my weeknight soup prayers! (I even used it again in this Vegan Pumpkin Soup and this Pumpkin Chili.)

Although pumpkin’s flavor profile is a little different than butternut squash’s, the two share many of the same characteristics. If you are a fan of butternut squash soup (especially this Butternut Squash Apple Soup), I’m betting you’ll love this vegan Pumpkin Curry Soup (and Pumpkin Curry) too!

Easy, healthy, vegan Pumpkin Curry Soup with coconut milk.

Since canned pumpkin is fairly bland on its own, I added plenty of rich flavors to make this soup interesting and delicious.

Thai red curry paste does 90% of the lifting. It’s one of my favorite pantry ingredients. With just a few tablespoonfuls, you can infuse a whopping amount of flavor into all kinds of savory recipes. It’s available in the Asian food aisle of almost any grocery store (even Target carries it) or online. If you’ve never had it, it’s more sweet and robust than spicy hot. If you are feeling hesitant, you can always start with a little, then build to taste.

I added a little peanut butter to make the soup extra creamy and filling (to make the Pumpkin Curry Soup Paleo or peanut free, swap almond butter), fresh ginger to wake it up, and coconut milk to make it silky.

The recipe is flexible, so feel free to adjust the spices to suit your individual taste.

Pumpkin Curry Soup with Coconut Milk, Thai red curry paste, and peanuts. Simple, gluten free, vegan, and Paleo-friendly!

In other pumpkin news, I plan to (finally) pick up a few pumpkins from the big bin at the grocery store to decorate my porch later this week.

They might not be fresh from the patch, but as this Pumpkin Curry Soup can attest, there’s no harm in a little shortcut every now and then.

What Should I Serve with Pumpkin Soup?

More Easy Pumpkin Dinner Recipes

  • Dutch oven: I own and love this one. This is another excellent, affordable option. I also love this brand.
  • Immersion blender
  • If you love the idea of serving pumpkin soup inside a pumpkin but aren’t ready to go in for the whole squash, this looks like a perfect (and pretty!) solution.

Pumpkin Curry Soup

4.85 from 40 votes
Creamy Thai Pumpkin Curry Soup. A rich, comforting, and healthy vegan soup made with coconut milk, pumpkin, and the perfect blend of spices.

Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes
Total: 30 minutes

Servings: 4 –6 servings, about 8 cups

Ingredients
  

  • 2 teaspoons coconut oil or extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 1/2 cups chopped sweet yellow onion about 1 medium
  • 3 cloves garlic minced (about 1 tablespoon)
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
  • 3 tablespoons Thai red curry paste
  • 2-3 cups low-sodium vegetable broth or low-sodium chicken broth if the soup being vegetarian is not a concern, divided
  • 2 tablespoons almond butter or peanut butter, I used natural drippy peanut butter
  • 2 cans pure pumpkin puree (15 ounce cans) not pumpkin pie filling
  • 1/2 tablespoon coconut sugar or light brown sugar. Do not omit, as it balances the flavor of the soup
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2   teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1/8 to 1/4  teaspoon cayenne pepper plus additional to taste
  • 1 can light coconut milk (14 ounces)
  • For topping: chopped roasted peanuts or pepitas chopped fresh cilantro, coconut cream or plain nonfat Greek yogurt

Instructions
 

  • In a large pot or Dutch oven, melt the coconut oil over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté for 5 minutes, until translucent. Add the garlic and ginger and cook 1 additional minute, until fragrant. Stir in the Thai curry paste.
  • In a small bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together 1/3 cup of the vegetable broth and the almond butter or peanut butter until smooth. Add the mixture to the pot. Add the pumpkin, coconut sugar, cumin, salt, pepper, cayenne, and 1 2/3 cups of the remaining vegetable broth. Stir until well combined.
  • With an immersion blender, puree the soup until completely smooth, adding a little of the coconut milk if it is too thick to blend smoothly. Alternatively, you can ladle the soup carefully into a blender or food processor and puree it in small batches. Stir in the remaining coconut milk. If the soup is too thick for your liking, add additional vegetable broth until you reach your desired consistency.
  • Taste and add additional salt, black pepper, and/or cayenne pepper as desired. (My batch needed an extra pinch of salt; this will vary based on you vegetable broth). Serve hot with desired toppings.

Notes

  • Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 2 months. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat gently on the stovetop or in the microwave.

Nutrition

Serving: 1(of 6), about 1 1/2 cupsCalories: 172kcalCarbohydrates: 21gProtein: 5gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 4gSodium: 345mgFiber: 9gSugar: 10g

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Erin Clarke

Hi, I'm Erin Clarke, and I'm fearlessly dedicated to making healthy food that's affordable, easy-to-make, and best of all DELISH. I'm the author and recipe developer here at wellplated.com and of The Well Plated Cookbook. I adore both sweets and veggies, and I am on a mission to save you time and dishes. WELCOME!

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73 Comments

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      1. Your website has turned into a Go To for me when looking for recipes. I’ve made many and love most all of them. Thank you for sharing.5 stars

        1. TinaMarie, that makes me SO HAPPY to hear, thank you!! It means so much that you took time to let me know and leave this wonderful view.

  1. Hiya, I’d love to make this (and your other pumpkin recipes, they all look amazing!) but I can’t get canned pumpkin in my country. Would this work with fresh pumpkin peeled, diced and thrown in and then blended with the rest of the ingredients? Thanks so much!

    1. Hi Kat, I think you could try this with homemade pumpkin puree. I’d do an internet search for cooking down fresh pumpkin to a puree and try that here!

        1. Hi Cheryl, I haven’t tested it out myself but if you decide to experiment, I’d love to know how it goes!

  2. Not only is this delicious, it came together in less time than it took the hubster to chop the onion. Really, really good. Definitely a keeper.5 stars

  3. Thank you for this amazing pumpkin curry soup recipe.
    We took your suggestion and used peanut butter instead of the almond butter and also added a tablespoon of hot curry powder.
    The soup is delicious and was the hit of our dinner party? This soup is definitely going to made again in our household ?5 stars

  4. I made this soup and added in leftover Turkey. It is excellent, tasty, creamy, and filling. We will make it again.5 stars

    1. Hi Lisa! Did you add all of the broth at once? It calls for adding just part to start so that you can adjust to make the soup thinner if you like, since it’s hard to go in reverse. Also, did you use both cans of pumpkin? (The recipe calls for two). I hope that helps!

  5. Best soup ever!! We eat regularly at a nice vegan restaurant and ordered their Pumpkin Curry Soup. It was amazing, and I was on the search for a recipe to make the same soup. So lucky for me, this was the first one I found. So amazing and easy, and I like it even better than the restaurant soup!! I have now made this about 5 times, changing up the spices and garnishes. I have also given the recipe to several friends , who also love it ! Thank you…5 stars

  6. Found your site recently and so far everything I’ve made has been a keeper, thank you! This recipe was so easy and made of things I usually have in the house (in fact, the only thing I needed to pick up was some fresh ginger); I appreciated the potential substitutions (eg. I don’t have coconut sugar). Today was a day to cook several days’ worth of meals and I was shocked at how this one took no time at all–after cooking the onion, garlic & ginger it seemed the cooking was basically done. So quick and tastes great, thank you!5 stars

  7. Great flavor! Finally enough spice. I added Gram Masala and used coconut cream instead of milk to thicken it up a bit.5 stars

  8. So delicious. I used the almond butter, homemade pumpkin puree and homemade chicken bone broth. I added alittle Better Than Bullion as well. I liked how the flavor of the almond butter came out in the soup. It tastes so good. Thank you!!5 stars

  9. This soup is excellent. For me, it was spicy enough WITHOUT the cayenne pepper. It would have been too hot for my taste. Also I put a whole tablespoon of the coconut sugar and it was perfect. I also used 4 cups of broth since it was really thick. Thanks for this healthy recipe!

  10. I made this last night and took it to a Christmas party. My only regret was I didn’t make a double batch. It was very popular and there was nothing left. I made it in my IP on slowcook, the longer it cooked the better the flavour. The adjustments I made were minor; no nut butter of any kind, additional spices added were ground cardamon, garam masala and white pepper instead of ground black pepper. Today, is a yucky snowy day, so I made another batch for my husband & I while watching football – Sooo Gooood.5 stars

  11. Absolutely delicious!
    I’ve made it twice. Once with pumpkin purée and a second time with roasted pumpkin, cubed. Equally work’s awesome.5 stars

  12. Amazing!! So easy!! I made it with homemade pumpkin puree and it was restaurant quality. Definitely a repeat. This was the first year saved and froze the puree.5 stars

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