Fill Your Bowl with Flavorful Curried Pumpkin Soup

I love when soup season rolls around.

There is nothing like sitting down to a bowl of warm soup at the end of a long day. It brings me right back to those childhood days when a bowl of deliciousness was sure to cure any ailment.

Soup still holds a place in my heart as a comforting meal that makes me always feel better, even on the worst days. Warming you up from the inside out, it’s a homemade treat that’s sure to perk you up, especially when it’s paired with ample amounts of bread to dunk in the bowl.

With the arrival of fall, ‘tis the season for all things pumpkin. And this particular recipe is one that you need to try immediately.

Instead of the typical pumpkin spice flavor, this recipe incorporates curry spice, another popular pairing with squash.

The combination of the vegetables with the curry blend is warming and rich, with a real depth of flavor. With added cayenne pepper, each slurp gives you a little bit of heat on the back of your tongue that lingers until you take your next spoonful.

The true beauty of this recipe is that it is oh-so-simple to make. It comes together in 30 minutes, so you don’t have to spend hours in the kitchen.

Also, you don’t have to worry about chopping mountains of vegetables or measuring endless ingredients. Chop up a few onions and a few leaves of sage, mince some garlic, and you’re ready to go.

I love to pair this particular soup with sesame or sourdough bread and a glass of white wine for a complete meal that will fill you up without weighing you down.

Be sure to use 100% pure canned pumpkin instead of spiced pumpkin pie puree. That way, you won’t get that dessert spice flavor competing with the curry, or the added sweetness that canned pie filling brings to the party.

If you have a little extra time on your hands and you prefer to use fresh vegetables, you can use our recipe to make pumpkin puree from scratch for the best flavor. You can also use chopped roasted pumpkin, but I like to puree mine before combining it with the other ingredients to make this soup.

It’s also easy to make in bulk and keep in the refrigerator or freezer for use in other delicious fall recipes.

For a vegan option, you can easily substitute vegetable stock for the chicken broth in this dish, and use non-dairy milk and creamer.

No matter how you make this recipe, you can’t go wrong with the strong flavors and unbelievable silkiness of the final product. The addition of toasted pumpkin seeds or pepitas and chopped fresh sage gives the dish some textural variation, and a lightened up flavor from the fresh herbs.

Curried Pumpkin Soup

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★★★★★

5 from 1 review

• Author: Shanna Mallon
• Total Time: 30 minutes
• Yield: 8 servings 1x

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Description

From the first spoonful, you are going to want to dive face first into a comforting bowl of our flavorful curried pumpkin soup.

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Ingredients

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• 2 tsp olive oil
• 2 medium yellow onions, chopped
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 tsp curry powder
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper (optional)
• 45 oz pumpkin puree (three 15-ounce cans, or 6 cups chopped roasted pumpkin)
• 5 cups chicken or vegetable broth
• 2 tsp packed light brown sugar
• 2 cups milk
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• Toasted pumpkin seeds
• Fresh sage, chopped

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Instructions

1. Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven or heavy stock pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and saute until translucent, approximately 5 minutes.
2. Stir in garlic, red pepper flakes, curry powder, coriander, and cayenne. Cook for about 30 seconds to 1 minute, until the garlic is fragrant.
3. Stir in pumpkin puree, chicken broth, and brown sugar. Bring the mixture to a simmer. Simmer for 15 minutes to develop flavors, stirring occasionally.
4. Remove from heat and blend with an immersion blender until the soup is smooth. Return to heat and stir in the milk. Simmer over medium heat until the mixture is warmed through.
5. Remove from heat and stir in heavy cream.
6. Serve warm with toasted pumpkin seeds and sage for garnish.

• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 25 minutes
• Category: Soup
• Method: Stovetop
• Cuisine: Fall

Keywords: pumpkin, curry powder, soup, autumn

Cooking By the Numbers…

Step 1 – Prep and Measure Ingredients

Peel and roughly chop the onions. Don’t worry about being to precise with this step; you will be blending the soup later in the recipe.

Remove sage leaves from the stems. Chop finely and set aside for garnish.

Measure all remaining ingredients and set out in the order listed.

Step 2 – Saute Onions

In a Dutch oven or heavy stock pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat.

When the oil is hot, add the onions. Saute them until they are translucent, stirring frequently, for approximately five minutes. Turn down the heat if you need to – you do not want them to brown.

Step 3 – Make Base

Stir in the garlic, red pepper flakes, curry powder, coriander, and cayenne if you are using it. Cook for approximately 30 seconds to 1 minute, stirring frequently, until the fragrance of the garlic fills the air.

Add the pumpkin, broth or stock, and brown sugar. Stir to combine, then bring the mixture to a simmer and continue to cook for 15 minutes.

Step 4 – Blend Until Smooth

Remove the pot from the heat. Using an immersion blender, blend the soup until it is smooth.

You can also blend in batches using a countertop blender. Just be careful to avoid steam burns!

Return the pot to medium heat. Stir in the milk and continue to cook the until the mixture is warmed all the way through, approximately 5-7 minutes..

Step 5 – Finish and Garnish

Remove the pot from the heat, and stir in the heavy cream.

Ladle into bowls and serve hot, with a garnish of toasted pumpkin seeds and chopped sage.

Don’t Be Afraid to Tinker

When it comes to soup recipes, I like to tinker with them. Whether it’s adding or subtracting a little salt, or amping up the heat of the dish, there’s always room to adjust the flavors to your particular preference.

If you like your spice, add more cayenne pepper as needed. Just be sure to do this by the pinch, and not by the teaspoon. A little goes a long way with this particular spice.

Sometimes, canned pumpkin versus fresh can have different levels of intensity in terms of flavor, so you may want to add a little extra curry powder if you feel like it needs a touch more for a real kick in the taste buds.

Regardless, you are going to love serving this soup up for any occasion.

When will you serve this dish? Tell us about your weeknight dinner or special occasion plans in the comments below. And be sure to give this recipe a five-star rating if you loved it!

Wait! We’re not finished! If blended soups are your thing, you’ll love these:

• Creamy Tomato Basil Bisque
• Spicy Roasted Vegetable Soup
• Butternut Squash
• Creamy Pumpkin

Photos by Meghan Yager, © Ask the Experts, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. See our TOS for more details. Originally published by Shanna Mallon on November 21, 2008. Last updated: December 28, 2019 at 20:05 pm.

Nutritional information derived from a database of known generic and branded foods and ingredients and was not compiled by a registered dietitian or submitted for lab testing. It should be viewed as an approximation.

About Meghan Yager

Meghan Yager is a food addict turned food and travel writer with a love for creating uncomplicated, gourmet recipes and devouring anything the world serves up. As the author of the food and travel blog Cake 'n Knife, Meghan focuses on unique foodie experiences from around the world to right at home in your own kitchen.

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