This pumpkin soup recipe is smooth, creamy, and delicious, packed with curry spices and rich pumpkin flavor. It works beautifully with fresh roasted pumpkin or canned pumpkin puree!
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This pumpkin soup recipe is smooth, creamy, and full of rich flavor from pumpkin, coconut milk, and warming curry spices. I love to make it with fresh roasted pumpkin in the fall, which gives it an intensely sweet flavor and almost velvety texture.
But when I don’t have time to roast a squash from scratch, I make this pumpkin soup with canned pumpkin instead. It works beautifully too, and the soup comes together about twice as fast. On a fall weeknight, I can’t argue with that. 🙂
Pumpkin Soup Ingredients
Most of the ingredients in this pumpkin soup recipe are pantry staples:
- Onion and garlic – They add savory depth of flavor.
- Extra-virgin olive oil – You’ll use it for roasting the pumpkin (if you’re using fresh) and sautéing the onion and garlic.
- Curry spices – Ginger, turmeric, cumin, cardamom, and coriander add warm, aromatic flavor. I love this mix of spices in my easy coconut curry, and it’s delicious in this pumpkin soup too!
- Coconut milk – It makes this soup rich and creamy without any heavy cream or dairy.
- Vegetable broth – Use store-bought, or make homemade vegetable stock.
- Apple cider vinegar – Its tangy flavor balances the squash’s sweetness.
- And salt and pepper – To make all the flavors pop!
Beyond these basics, you’ll need a fresh pumpkin or canned pumpkin puree.
Pumpkin Options
The best types of fresh pumpkin for this recipe are kabocha squash, red kuri squash, buttercup squash, and butternut squash. All of these squashes have sweet, firm flesh that will give this soup a great creamy texture and pumpkin flavor. Avoid using a big carving pumpkin. It’s stringier and less sweet than the varieties I recommend.
If you’d like to save time, you can use canned pumpkin puree instead. The soup is still creamy and flavorful, though slightly less sweet. You can skip the roasting steps in the recipe and jump straight to sautéing the onions!
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
How to Make Pumpkin Soup
This easy pumpkin soup recipe has three main parts:
- roast (for fresh pumpkin only),
- simmer,
- and blend.
Here’s how it goes:
If you’re using fresh pumpkin, start by roasting the squash. Carefully chop it in half vertically, and use a spoon to scoop out the seeds and pulp. Rub the cut side of the squash with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and place it cut side down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Roast the squash in a 400°F oven until it’s completely soft, 40 to 60 minutes.
When the roasted squash is cool to the touch, peel away its skin and measure 4 1/2 packed cups of the soft pumpkin flesh. If you’re using canned pumpkin, there’s no need to measure—you’ll use all the pumpkin in the 2 cans.
Next, simmer! In a large Dutch oven or pot over medium heat, sauté the onion until it softens. Add the spices, garlic, and ginger, and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the pumpkin, broth, and coconut milk, and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove the soup from the heat, and stir in the vinegar.
Finally, blend the soup. Allow it to cool slightly. Then, transfer it to a blender and puree until smooth (you could also use an immersion blender for this step!). The consistency will vary based on the water content of your squash, so if the soup is too thick, blend in water, 1/2 cup at a time, to reach your desired texture.
Season to taste. Pour into bowls, and enjoy!
What to Serve with Pumpkin Soup
I love this creamy soup with a variety of garnishes on top. It’s wonderful with a drizzle of coconut milk, microgreens or chopped fresh cilantro, and/or toasted pumpkin seeds. Crusty homemade croutons are delicious too!
Enjoy the soup on its own, with a hunk of crusty bread or homemade focaccia on the side, or make it part of a larger meal. I love to pair it with a grilled cheese sandwich or a hearty autumn salad like one of these:
Storage
Store leftover pumpkin soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. It’ll thicken in the fridge, so I recommend reheating it over medium-low heat on the stove, adding water as needed to loosen it to your desired consistency.
This soup also freezes well for up to 3 months. Transfer frozen soup to the fridge to thaw overnight before reheating on the stove or in the microwave.
More Favorite Soup Recipes
If you love this vegan pumpkin soup, try one of these delicious soup recipes next:
- Butternut Squash Soup
- Sweet Potato Soup
- Acorn Squash Soup
- Vegetable Soup
- Carrot Ginger Soup
- Best Lentil Soup
- Tomato Basil Soup
- Or any of these 35 Best Soup Recipes!
Pumpkin Soup
Ingredients
- 1 (4-pound) pumpkin (I like kabocha squash), or 2 (15-ounce) cans pumpkin puree
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 1 teaspoon sea salt, plus more for sprinkling
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1 (14-ounce) can full-fat coconut milk, reserve a little for garnish
- 2½ cups vegetable broth
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Microgreens, optional, for garnish
Instructions
- If using fresh pumpkin, preheat the oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Cut the pumpkin in half and scoop out the seeds. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place cut side down on the baking sheet. Roast for 40 to 60 minutes, or until very soft. When cool to the touch, peel away the skin and measure 4½ packed cups of the flesh. If you're using canned pumpkin, there's no need to measure—you'll use all the puree in the 2 (15-ounce) cans.
- Heat the 2 tablespoons of oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, salt, and several grinds of pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 8 minutes, or until softened. Add the garlic, ginger, cumin, coriander, turmeric, and cardamom and stir for 30 seconds, or until the spices are aromatic. Add the cooked pumpkin, coconut milk, and broth and stir to combine. Simmer for 20 minutes, then stir in the vinegar.
- Transfer to a blender, working in batches if necessary. Blend until smooth. Fresh pumpkin can vary in water content, so if your soup is too thick, add up to 1½ cups water (½ cup at a time) to reach your desired consistency.
- Season to taste. Pour into bowls and garnish with additional coconut milk, fresh black pepper, and microgreens, if desired.
Love this recipe! Tastes like fall in a bowl! I topped it with pumpkin seeds.
Delicious! Tastes like fall in a bowl. I topped it with pumpkin seeds!
This was such a perfect recipe for kicking off soup season! Yum!
I made this today and it was delicious. I topped with pepitas and drizzles of olive oil and hot honey
One of the best pumpkin soups I’ve made, it was delicious!
I’m so glad you loved it!
Hi! Can you use reduced fat coconut milk?
Hi Anna, you can but it won’t be as rich and creamy.
This was excellent. My garnish was toasted Walnuts(from my tree)and crumbled Stilton cheese on top….so delicious.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
ooh yum!
What a delicious soup! The coconut milk makes is rich and creamy and the vinegar rends the perfect amount of acidity!
Absolutely lovely soup.
I topped it with caramelized apples and rosemary and imrhe flavours marry deliciously.
Ooh yum, I’m glad you loved the soup and thanks for the apple idea!
This looks GREAT and I Whole Foods has kambocha, which I will try! 2 Questions:
1) I assume I can make and freeze it – yes?
2) Is the contest for making & submitting a photo still on or is it a thing of the past.
Hi Susan,
Yep, you can freeze it, and yes, it’s still on, here’s the post with the cooking club info! https://www.loveandlemons.com/love-lemons-cooking-club-october/
So delicious! What a beautiful aroma in the kitchen, as well. I did not purée it as I love my soup a little chunky, but I’m sure it’s just as delicious that way. Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe.
I previously puréed squash from scratch and froze it for the fall/winter. How many cups of pumpkin purée would equal to the whole squash as required by the recipe?
Try a couple spoonfuls of peanut butter in it and garnish with celantro for a Tai version. Delish.
I could not find a kabocha squash so I used buttercup squash instead. I’m guessing it’s a decent substitute but I found the buttercup squash a bit starchy compared to butternut squash but the buttercup had a wonderful nutty smokey flavor when fully cooked. I would recommend halving the spicies too much of a strong curry like flavor which drowns out the wonderful taste of the squash. I would also want to try cream instead of the coconut milk next time. Soup takes on a richer fuller flavor after a day in the refrigerator but thickens up substantially so be prepared to thin it a bit.
Just made this soup and it is delicious!!! I also love that the squash used in the recipe is low fODMAP which butternut squash isn’t. I added just one small clove of garlic and used garlic oil to sauté leek greens instead of onions to keep it all low FODMAP. Can’t wait to eat it for dinner with sourdough and a salad ? thanks!!
Oh. My. Gracious. This is easily the best soup I’ve ever made. Swapped the spices for a king masala spice blend that had all the required goodies in it because I couldn’t track down the individual ones, roasted 2 of the garlic cloves, and at the end of it all decided to leave it chunky instead of blended, using a wooden spatula to mash some of the larger squash chunks. Paired it with a piece of cornbread and voila: heaven! Thank you for such a fabulous recipe!!
I liked it, thank you, but was hoping for a little sweeter of a taste. I was going to add a cut up apple but decided I wouldn’t on my first go-round. Next time I think I will.
Hi Katy, you could stir in a little honey or maple syrup to sweeten it to your liking (without re-blending anything).
Do you strain your soups after blending? The consistency in your pictures look so thin and smooth compared to when I make them!
Hi Angela, no, I don’t strain. Since squash can vary in water content, I suggest adding water after you blend it if it’s too thick. It’s possible you could just add a bit more liquid than what you’ve used in the past? Let me know if you give the ratios in this recipe a try. With the coconut milk and all, it should be pretty creamy.
This is fantastic!!! I used buttercup squash that I found at the farmer’s market. It’s sweet and more on the dry side, so it’s great for soup (And smoothies). I used a potato masher rather than puréeing it which kept some of the texture. I will definitely make this again.
Hi Sarah, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Made this soup for my family. Only change I made is that I roasted the onions and garlic as well in the oven (lazy). They really enjoyed the soup with sourdough bread and garlic bread. Thanks!!
I’m so glad you all loved it!
This looks delicious!
What are the greens you sprinkled on top of the soup in the photo?
cabbage microgreens 🙂