This creamy vegan pumpkin soup with coconut milk is a nourishing, warm bowl of goodness. It’s easy, well-spiced, and a delightful way to eat veggies.
As the weather changes and summer turns to winter, nothing satisfies quite like creamy soups.
While many healthy pumpkin soup recipes call for canned pumpkin puree, this recipe opts for fresh or frozen instead.
So if you love pumpkin flavour but pass on dairy, this creamy vegan pumpkin soup recipe is a must-try. With just a few simple ingredients, you’ll have a warming, nutritious meal in no time. Best of all, this easy vegan soup requires very little work. All you need to do is chop the veggies and cook them down, and you’ll be digging into incredible flavour in no time.
Because we know soups can start to feel a bit same-same around this time of year, we shook this recipe up a bit, veering away from your typical pumpkin/butternut squash variety. Instead, aromatic spices and coconut milk pack a flavour punch, while carrots sneak in an extra serving of veggies.
Ready to dig in?
What You Need to Make It
- Coconut oil: Coconut oil adds extra flavour, but you can also swap it out for avocado oil, extra virgin olive oil or butter (vegan or non-vegan, depending on your dietary preferences).
- Cardamom pods: Usually, you can find cardamom pods at your local grocery store. If you can’t find them, leave them out or replace them with an equal number of whole cloves. Whether using cardamom or cloves, be sure to remove them before blending your soup.
- Cumin seeds: Whole cumin seeds work best in this, but you can also use ¾ teaspoon cumin powder in a pinch.
- Curry powder: Use any curry powder you prefer. We make this with Keen’s Curry Powder.
- Garam masala: Garam masala adds depth and flavour to this recipe. You can use any garam masala you prefer.
- Turmeric: Turmeric adds flavour and colour to the soup. If you don’t have it, just use more curry powder instead (though it might make your soup spicier!)
- Ground Ginger: Ground ginger adds a kick of spice. If you don’t like ginger, leave it out.
- Onion: A large brown or yellow onion is best here. A red onion will also work, but it will add some sweetness to the
- Garlic: Fresh garlic adds depth and brightness — we don’t recommend skipping it.
- Carrots: Fresh chopped carrots are lovely here. Peel them or not, it’s up to you! (We don’t peel them for this recipe).
- Pumpkin: A shortcut to making this recipe even easier is to buy pre-cut pumpkin, either fresh or frozen. If you buy a fresh pumpkin, buy a little over 1 kg, as you’ll be removing the skin and seeds.
- Veggie broth: Homemade or store-bought vegetable broth works equally well.
- Coconut milk: For this recipe, you want to use canned full-fat coconut milk, it adds a rich and creamy flavour that can’t be beaten. Coconut cream also works but will yield a richer soup. If you don’t like coconut milk, you can swap this for other non-dairy milk, such as soy milk or almond milk. Just be warned: soy and almond milk can be much thinner than coconut milk, so your soup won’t be as creamy.
- Lemon juice: Lemon juice added at the end brings just the right amount of acidity to this soup, so good!
- Coriander: If you like coriander, finish your soup off with a generous sprinkle of it. If you’re not a fan, swap it for other fresh herbs like basil or parsley. Or leave it out altogether.
- Pumpkin seeds: Pumpkin seeds are an optional garnish but add a bit of texture and visual interest.
📖 Recipe
Creamy Vegan Pumpkin Soup With Coconut Milk
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This creamy vegan pumpkin soup with coconut milk is a nourishing, warm bowl of goodness. It’s easy, well-spiced, and a delightful way to eat veggies.
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons coconut oil
- ½ Tablespoon cardamom pods
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 Tablespoon curry powder
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 medium yellow onion (diced)
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- 2 medium carrots (diced)
- 1 kilogram pumpkin (diced (not including skin))
- 4 cups veggie broth
- ½ can coconut milk (full-fat)
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- coriander ((optional, for topping))
Instructions
- In a large pot with a heavy bottom, heat coconut oil over medium heat.
- Add cardamom pods and cumin seeds. Cook, stirring constantly until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
- Add curry powder, garam masala, turmeric, and ground ginger. Cook for another minute.
- Add onion and garlic, and cook, stirring occasionally until the onion is a little bit caramelised, about 5 mins.
- Add diced carrots, pumpkin and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook for another minute.
- Add veggie stock, and increase heat to bring the pot to a boil. Once it's boiling, reduce the heat to low and simmer everything for 30 minutes without a lid.
- After 30 mins, the veggies should be soft enough to easily pierce with a fork. If not, cook for a few more minutes. When veggies are soft enough, remove cardamom pods from the soup. They should float to the top, but give a few good stirs to dislodge any that may be trapped under the veggie mix.
- Once you're sure all cardamom pods have been removed, blend the soup with an immersion blender until smooth. You can also transfer the soup to a food processor or high-speed blender.
- Blend until the soup has a smooth, creamy texture. It should be the consistency of heavy cream.
- If blending in a food processor or blender, transfer the soup back to the pot.
- Add coconut milk and lemon juice. Season your soup to taste until the flavours are really bright and vibrant, adding salt for saltiness, lemon juice for acidity, and curry powder for more depth of flavour. You can also add some black pepper here if you'd like.
- Top the soup with a few fresh coriander leaves (or fresh parsley/basil if substituting), and serve alongside some crusty bread and a side salad.
- Enjoy warm, and store the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. You can also freeze leftover soup for a quick and easy meal to reheat.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Dinner, Soup
- Method: Blending
- Cuisine: Australian
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