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Home » soups » Slow Cooker Thai Pumpkin & Red Lentil Soup (Plus 5 Favorite Crockpot Tips!)

Slow Cooker Thai Pumpkin & Red Lentil Soup (Plus 5 Favorite Crockpot Tips!)

Posted Oct 31, 2018 | Updated Oct 27, 2022 by Helen | 63 Comments |

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

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A bowl of pumpkin and red lentil soup sprinkled with fresh coriander

This slow cooker Thai pumpkin and red lentil soup is creamy, nutritious, and absolutely delicious. It’s not quite dump and go, but you only need 10 minutes to prepare it!

Crock pot Thai pumpkin and red lentil soup on a wooden board and with a spoon with a title on it for Pinterest

Thai pumpkin & red lentil soup. THIS is what you should have for dinner tonight!

It’s:

  • rich
  • thick
  • spicy
  • creamy
  • super tasty
  • healthy
  • warming & satisfying

How to make slow cooker Thai pumpkin and red lentil soup

  1. Cook the first 6 ingredients (all the vegetables and spices) for a few minutes on the stove top to begin releasing the lovely flavours. If you have a multi-cooker or a slow cooker with a saute function, this gets really easy!
  2. Add the lentils, coconut milk and stock/broth. Then switch on your slow cooker and walk away for 6 to 8 hours (or longer!).
  3. Blend with a stick blender or in a food processor in batches.
  4. Season well and scatter over fresh coriander.
closeup of a bowl of thai pumpkin soup on a wooden board with a spoon and herbs

How to serve this Thai pumpkin and lentil soup

As you can see, I keep my Thai pumpkin soup simple. I sprinkle it with a little fresh coriander, toast some bread and drizzle it with olive oil and sprinkle it with salt, and I’m done.

If you want to be a bit fancier, however, you can:

  • Sprinkle your soup with some toasted pumpkin seeds.
  • Make some of these LIFE-CHANGING crispy halloumi bites and sprinkle them over the top (DELICIOUS!).
  • Make some kale chips and sprinkle them over the top! (Got an air fryer? They’re really easy to make!)
  • If you aren’t a vegetarian, fry some bacon bits and sprinkle them over the top. Mmm!
  • Dot the top with some fresh pesto
  • And… my favourite… make some of these amazing pesto cheese twists for dunking!

How do you freeze the soup?

This pumpkin soup will keep for 3 to 4 days in the fridge, but it’s also perfect for freezing.

This recipe makes about 6 servings – pretty good! But if you have a big enough slow cooker why not make double so that you can freeze more for later? Suddenly Winter doesn’t seem so bad!

There is no magic freezing formula. Simply cool in freezer safe containers, put on a lid and freeze for up to 3 months. Make sure you do wait until the soup has cooled as you don’t want to risk raising the temperature of your freezer even a little.

I usually freeze soup and other meals in glass containers because I feel they’re the safest. Just don’t overfill the containers. Leave at least an inch at the top. Remember the soup will expand as it freezes and you don’t want the container to break.

Freezer safe Ziploc bags work well too. Just remember to label your bags or containers with the contents and date! Ever stood there for 10 minutes trying to peer through frosted glass to work out what something is? Not fun!

Not sure if you’re getting the best out of your slow cooker? Here are my top 5 slow cooker tips

1 Flour-coat & brown:

You can absolutely just dump your meat and veggies in the pot and run. Your meal will still end up delicious, but taking just an extra few moments to brown your meat and/or vegetables on the stove top first will really help to seal all the juices into the meat and boost the flavour of the final dish.

For casseroles and stews, you can also be extra clever by rolling your meat in a little flour first. This will ensure that you end up with a richer, thicker sauce.

2 Get organised

If you’re not keen on the idea of going to work smelling of onions and garlic, then prepare everything the night before (including browning the meat).

Throw it into the pot with your liquid covering the veg and meat and then put it into the fridge.

In the morning just pop the pot back into the slow cooker base and turn it on. Just try to remember to take it out of the fridge when you get up so that it warms up a little before you switch it on and you don’t risk cracking your pot due to extremes of temperature.

3 Don’t be a peeping Tom

I know, I know, it’s so tempting to keep having quick peeks at your delicious feast cooking up there all by itself, especially when the gorgeous smells start to permeate the room.

But … well, DON’T.

Especially in the first couple of hours of cooking.

Each time you lift the lid, you’ll lose around 15 to 20 minutes of cooking time because that’s how long your crock pot will take to regain the lost heat.

Some people would disagree here, but you don’t really need to stir, either, unless your recipe specifically tells you to do so. The whole point of a slow cooker, remember, is to ‘dump and go’!

4 Get fresh at the end

To cut through the richness of many slow-cooked dishes and/or add colour and vibrance to the flavours, do one or more of these things just before serving. Generously add:

fresh herbs, lemon zest, grated parmesan, high quality olive oil or even yoghurt, crème fraiche or cream (dairy may curdle if added at the beginning of cooking)

Your dish would have been wonderful just as it was, but such an added touch could make all the difference and turn a really good meal into an absolutely scrumptious one!

5 Be a greedy guts

Well, sort of. If your crock pot’s big enough (and you don’t have five kids to guzzle all the food down on one night), try to make double so that you can freeze some. You might as well leave yourself with no work at all for another day!

Now of course these are just my top 5 tips – there are loads more (if you’ve got any to share, I’d love it if you could mention it in the comments below!)

Above all remember that crock pots aren’t just for casseroles and stews. You can make cakes & puddings, chili and bolognese sauces, ribs, curries, pot roasts, soups, stocks and quite possibly hundreds of other things in there, too.

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVOURITE CROCK POT RECIPES?

birds eye view of a bowl of Crock pot Thai pumpkin and red lentil soup on a wooden board

More easy slow cooked meals

  • Easy crockpot chicken gnocchi soup (Olive Garden copycat – slow cooker or pressure cooker!)
  • slow cooker Korean chicken
  • perfect Thai chicken and butternut squash curry (stove top, slow cooker or pressure cooker!)
  • easy slow cooked Greek lamb with lemon garlic potatoes (oven or slow cooker!)
  • Thai pumpkin and red lentil soup (vegetarian and delicious!)

More delicious soups

  • creamy lemon chicken orzo soup
  • Instant Pot tomato soup (can’t beat it!)
  • roasted cauliflower and pancetta soup

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Crock pot Thai pumpkin and red lentil soup  in a white bowl on a wooden board and with a spoon

Thai pumpkin & red lentil soup

A deliciously thick, spicy, creamy, warming & healthy crock pot soup – perfect for a wholesome Autumn or Winter lunch.
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Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 8 hrs
Cuisine Thai-style
Servings (click to change) 6
Author Helen

Equipment (affiliate links)

  • slow cooker with temperature probe

Ingredients (UK/Australia? Click below for grams/ml)

cups/ounces – grams/ml
  • 1 onion chopped
  • 1 small to medium pumpkin peeled and chopped into smallish cubes
  • 2 garlic cloves crushed
  • 2 cm piece fresh ginger finely sliced or grated
  • 2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste
  • 2 tablespoons tomato puree
  • 1 cup dried red split lentils
  • 1 can coconut milk not light
  • 2 cups chicken or veggie stock good quality
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • fresh coriander to sprinkle over at the end
Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions
 

  • In a little oil, cook the onion with the pumpkin for a few minutes on a medium heat on your stove top, then add the garlic, ginger, curry paste and tomato puree. Cook for another minute or so, then transfer to your crock pot.
  • Add the lentils, coconut milk and stock and cook on low for 6-8 hours (longer if you like – or 4 hours on high if you’re short on time).
  • Blend until smooth with a stick blender, then stir in salt and pepper to taste. Serve and scatter with the fresh coriander.

Notes

A note about the coconut milk

Your coconut milk may (but may not) look as if it’s split when it’s finished cooking (mine did). Don’t worry about this at all. As soon as I blended the soup, all was fine!

Thick or thin?

This makes quite a thick soup. The first portion I ate I ate it super thick and really enjoyed it, but the next day I added a little water to thin it out a little. Both ways were nice, so the choice is yours!

Refrigerating and freezing the soup

This pumpkin soup will keep for 3 or 4 days in the fridge.
If you’d like to freeze it, let it cool thoroughly first (pour into a container with a lid and immerse in a cold water bath if you want to cool it faster). 
Then pour into freezer safe containers or Ziploc freezer bags. Don’t fill glass containers too much. Leave at least an inch at the top of the container to allow for expansion as the soup freezes. 
Freeze for up to 3 months!
 

Nutrition

Calories: 365kcalCarbohydrates: 42gProtein: 14gFat: 17gSaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 2mgSodium: 131mgPotassium: 1376mgFiber: 12gSugar: 11gVitamin A: 20125IUVitamin C: 26.4mgCalcium: 90mgIron: 5.6mg
Tried this recipe?Let me know if you liked it!

Comments

  1. Lark West says

    09 Oct 15 at 3:21 am

    Also … I have three crockpots of various sizes.
    What size pot is this recipe for?

    Thanks again, in advance.
    ~ Lark ~

    Reply
    • Helen says

      10 Oct 15 at 11:42 am

      Hi Lark!
      Really happy you want to give this a go – it’s a delicious soup!
      My crock pot is small to medium (4.7 litre) but I don’t think the size of your crock-pot will affect the recipe too much. Also, don’t worry about the exact amount of pumpkin – I just used a smallish one and chopped it into smallish cubes so that they’re easy to blend at the end. Hope that’s enough info – I tend to me a bit of an ‘imprecise’ cook, but I think you can vary the amounts slightly in this recipe no problem
      Let me know how it goes!! 🙂

      Reply
      • Lark West says

        11 Oct 15 at 9:54 pm

        Thank you, wonderful Helen.
        i know this will be delish!

    • Helen says

      10 Oct 15 at 11:42 am

      Just replied below, Lark … good luck!!

      Reply
  2. Lark West says

    09 Oct 15 at 3:18 am

    Hi!
    Making this in the net couple of days.
    Sounds OH SO YUMMY!
    How much pumpkin, actually?
    And what size-ish cubes would you recommend?
    Thank you!
    ~ Lark~

    Reply
  3. pragati says

    18 Nov 14 at 2:25 pm

    I love how smooth your soup looks. I love lentils and pumpkin and this soup has been on my list for a very long time!

    I make pumpkin curry a lot but have yet to try it in a soup. The curry paste, coconut milk, lentils, pumpkin are all so warming… this is my kind of comfort food for sure!

    Reply
    • Helen says

      19 Nov 14 at 4:12 pm

      Hello, Kamal! Thanks so much for passing by and taking the time to comment. I’m so happy that you like the sound of this and hope you give it a go. If you do, let me know what you thought!

      Reply
  4. P says

    12 Nov 14 at 4:14 am

    I love my crock pot! And I definitely do not break top #2, haha. I’ve gotten into the habit of doing prep in the morning before heading out for the day. I love coming back home to a ready-made, healthy and delicious meal 🙂

    Reply
    • Helen says

      13 Nov 14 at 3:37 pm

      Hi, P! I love crock-pots too, in theory, but I think I definitely still need quite a bit of practice to get things right and figure out what the best recipes are. Thanks for passing by!

      Reply
  5. Choc Chip Uru says

    06 Nov 14 at 9:00 am

    Your soup looks absolutely lovely, pumpkin and lentils do go so well together 😀
    Love the photos!

    Cheers
    Choc Chip Uru

    Reply
    • Helen says

      06 Nov 14 at 7:54 pm

      Hi, Choc Chip Uru! Thanks so much for passing by, and happy you like the soup. 🙂

      Reply
  6. Bintu @ Recipes From A Pantry says

    05 Nov 14 at 1:31 pm

    I am still learning how to better use my crockpot too. It does take time right. Oats in crockpots rock my boat and then some – they are just so much creamier.

    Reply
    • Helen says

      05 Nov 14 at 8:47 pm

      Ooh, wow, there’s one I hadn’t thought of! I’d like to try rice pudding, too – yum yum!

      Reply
  7. [email protected] Olives & Garlic says

    05 Nov 14 at 4:38 am

    Wow pumpkin and red lentils sound like a combination I must try ASAP.

    Reply
    • Helen says

      05 Nov 14 at 8:47 pm

      You MUST, Kathy!! 🙂

      Reply
  8. Annie @Maebells says

    04 Nov 14 at 2:50 pm

    I actually just tried pumpkin soup for the first time. I love the addition of the red lentils to make it a bit heartier!

    Reply
    • Helen says

      05 Nov 14 at 12:12 am

      Glad you like the lentil addition, Annie – it was great with the spice, too!

      Reply
  9. Mariana @The Candid Kitchen says

    04 Nov 14 at 2:09 pm

    Great winter recipe! Pumpkin and squashes are my favourite bases for a soup. Glad to hear you’re making the most of a crockpot!

    Reply
    • Helen says

      05 Nov 14 at 12:13 am

      Hi, Mariana … glad you like it! You can’t really go wrong with pumpkin in a soup, can you? 🙂

      Reply
  10. Laura @ Raise Your Garden says

    03 Nov 14 at 2:44 pm

    Soups look amazing, I agree with Izzy with tat pumpkin soupl Great cooking tips too, I finally learned to add my fresh herbs at the end of the recipe too. But learning to cook is a process, and I learn as I go, getter better all the time, especially with great bloggers like you who help me out =)

    Reply
    • Helen says

      05 Nov 14 at 12:13 am

      Aw, thanks, Laura … I aim to please!!

      Reply
  11. Isadora says

    03 Nov 14 at 4:50 am

    We move around a lot too and it makes it so hard to make good friends. That is awesome that you had an old friend come visit, old friends are the best! This crockpot is also really awesome! I don’t think I’ve seen one like it before, but that is so cool that you can use it on the stove! This pumpkin soup looks amazing and I bet the thai flavor goes so well with the pumpkin and lentils 🙂

    Reply
    • Helen says

      05 Nov 14 at 12:15 am

      Hi, Izzy! It is hard to make friends when you move around but yes, thank goodness our old ones don’t abandon us! It was so great for me to see a familiar face after so long. The crock pot is rather snazzy, isn’t it? 🙂

      Reply
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