Easy Pumpkin Red Lentil Soup
on Sep 12, 2024
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This pumpkin red lentil soup will take you just 20 minutes to make. Rich and creamy, filling and nutritious, and with a warming hit of Thai spices, it’s an easy, cozy and budget friendly meal perfect for cooler days.
Why you’ll love it
When your mind starts to turn to pumpkin recipes in the Fall, you may at first think of your favorite sweet treats such as pumpkin pie or this amazing healthy pumpkin cake (with pear!).
But the versatility of pumpkin means that it’s also delicious in a savory dish. I call this roast pumpkin feta salad amazing for very good reason, and we always have some of this butternut squash and chicken curry in our freezer!
But when it’s a comforting and filling soup you’re in the mood for, this pumpkin red lentil soup won’t let you down.
Here’s a summary of what you’ll love:
- Quick and easy. You’ll need around 10 minutes to prep the ingredients and another 10 minutes to simmer it on the stove.
- Simple, budget friendly ingredients. In-season pumpkin, humble red lentils and a small amount of other cupboard and pantry staples make this easy on the wallet.
- Rich, creamy, warming, satisfying, and bursting with flavor.
- Full of good-for-you ingredients. It’s also naturally vegan, gluten free and dairy free, if that’s important to you.
- Make ahead friendly. This is perfect for prepping ahead and getting in the fridge ready for busy work lunches. Alternatively, it’s definitely freezer friendly!
- Slow cooker option. Prefer to come home to the soup all ready to eat? The recipe is easy to adapt for your slow cooker and of course I’ll share exactly how!
About the ingredients
You’ll find a full list of ingredients with amounts in the recipe card below. But here’s a summary of what you need to know.
- Onion: You can use any type. The onion provides a savory depth of flavor to complement the mild, sweet flavor of the pumpkin.
- Pumpkin: If available, I always use ready-chopped cubes of pumpkin to save time. In my local store, it’s available both fresh or frozen – either are fine. In a pinch, you can even use a can of pumpkin puree instead.
- Fresh garlic and ginger: Both of these elevate the soup with more complexity of flavor – don’t skip them!
- Thai red curry paste: I aim for a high quality curry paste including chili, lemongrass, shallot, galangal, kaffir lime, coriander, cumin, and shrimp paste. Authentic brands from Thailand are usually a reliable choice.
- Tomato paste: The concentrated stuff. This adds a little tang as a contrast to the mild pumpkin flavor.
- Split red lentils: These are ideal for adding to soups as they cook much faster than other types of lentils. They’ll help thicken the soup and contribute to the delicious creamy texture.
- Coconut milk: Use full fat coconut milk, not light, for maximum creaminess.
- Vegetable broth (stock): Vegetable broth keeps the soup vegan, but feel free to use chicken broth instead if you like.
- Fresh cilantro/coriander: This curried red lentil and pumpkin soup is even more delicious with tasty toppings added, and fresh cilantro is the easiest of all. I love the pop of bright green and citrusy and slightly peppery flavor on top of the soup.
How to make easy pumpkin red lentil soup
Start by cooking the onion in a little oil for a few minutes. Then add the garlic and ginger.
Now all you have to do is stir in all the other ingredients (apart from the fresh coriander).
Pop a lid on the pot and bring it to the boil, then let it simmer for about 10 minutes or until the red lentils are tender.
Blend the soup either with an immersion blender (hand-held), or in a food processor, until smooth and creamy.
Season well to taste (start with a little then taste to see). Serve out into bowls and sprinkle each with plenty of the fresh coriander.
Helen’s Top Tips
- Consider keeping chopped pieces of ginger in the freezer. It’s easy to slice off the peel while it’s still frozen. This way, you’ll always have it on hand when the mood to make a red lentil pumpkin soup strikes!
- If you would prefer the soup to be a little bit chunky, take half of it out of the pot before blending – then add it back into the pot!
- This soup is a little spicy with the 2 tablespoons of curry paste! If you’d prefer it to have a milder taste, simply reduce the amount of curry paste to just 1 to 1.5 tablespoons.
- This is a thick soup. If you would prefer it to be thinner, add an extra cup of vegetable broth (or water) before simmering.
- If you prefer, you can make this in your slow cooker so it’s ready to blend when you come home from a busy day (instructions in FAQs below).
- Why not double the recipe so you can freeze more for later? Suddenly winter won’t seem so bad!
More topping ideas
I usually keep my Thai pumpkin and lentil soup simple. I sprinkle it with fresh coriander and serve with these 2-minute toasts with olive oil and salt. Mmm.
Since the soup has a spicy kick, I also love to swirl a big spoonful or two of Greek yogurt (or other plain yogurt) into it to serve. Just wait until the soup has cooled a little so the yogurt doesn’t curdle.
If you want to be fancier, however, you can:
- sprinkle your soup with some toasted pumpkin seeds, mixed seeds and nuts, or dukkah.
- go classic and scatter with lots of croutons. For something a little different, go with these amazing halloumi bites!
- squeeze over some lime juice. It goes very well with the other Thai flavors in the soup.
- make some of these pesto cheese twists for dunking. My favorite, especially if serving to guests!
- Wild card option – throw together some of this amazing homemade gnocchi made with just ricotta cheese, parmesan and flour, cook, then sprinkle over the top of the soup. Yum.
Recipe FAQs
It’s possible, but red split lentils cook much faster and have a creamy consistency when cooked and blended into the soup.
Let it cool, then store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4 to 5 days. To reheat, either reheat gently in a saucepan again on the stove, or cover and microwave for 3 to 4 minutes or until piping hot again.
Simply cool in freezer safe containers, put on a lid and freeze for up to 3 months. 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. Ziploc freezer bags work well for soups, too.
Yes! If your slow cooker has a sauté function, you can make it exactly as in the stove top version, and then cook on low for 6-8 hours (longer if you like – or 4 hours on high if you’re short on time). If it doesn’t, just sauté on the stove before transferring to the slow cooker, or just skip the sautéing – it won’t matter too much. The only difference is that you’ll reduce the amount of vegetable stock to 2 cups instead of 3 as on the stovetop.
A few more easy soups
Easy Pumpkin Red Lentil Soup
Ingredients
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 inch fresh ginger, finely sliced or grated
- 17 ounces pumpkin, about 3-3½ cups, uncooked, cubed (I use ready-chopped either fresh or frozen)
- 2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste, (reduce amount to 1 to 1½ tablespoons if you'd like the soup to be less spicy)
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste , (concentrate)
- 1 cup dried red split lentils
- 1 can coconut milk, full fat (not light)
- 3 cups vegetable broth, (stock) Add an extra cup for a slightly thinner soup.
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 bunch fresh coriander, to sprinkle over generously at the end
Instructions
- Cook the onion for a couple of minutes in a large pot with a lid on a medium high heat until softened. Stir in the garlic and ginger.1 onion, 2 garlic cloves, 1 inch fresh ginger
- Stir in the pumpkin, curry paste, tomato paste, lentils, coconut milk and broth (stock).17 ounces pumpkin, 2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste, 2 tablespoons tomato paste, 1 cup dried red split lentils, 1 can coconut milk, 3 cups vegetable broth
- Put the lid on the pot while you bring the mixture to the boil. Then take off the lid, turn the heat down a little and simmer for around 10 minutes or until the lentils and pumpkin are tender.
- Blend until smooth with an immersion blender (hand held blender) or in a food processor. Add salt and pepper to taste. Scatter with the fresh coriander to serve.salt and pepper to taste, 1 bunch fresh coriander
A delicious pumpkin soup, thoroughly enjoyed. Thank you for sharing.
Ahh you’re welcome, Lee – thank you for trying the recipe and I’m so glad you liked it!
Also … I have three crockpots of various sizes.
What size pot is this recipe for?
Thanks again, in advance.
~ Lark ~
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!! 🙂
Thank you, wonderful Helen.
i know this will be delish!
Just replied below, Lark … good luck!!