Nestle your hands around a hot bowl of creamy pumpkin soup. Cozy-on-up cuz winter’s a comin!
This healthy pumpkin soup recipe is made with fresh pumpkin, red lentils, and the perfect amount of creaminess without the cream! That’s right, this velvety soup is vegan. Let’s talk about the ingredients you will need. ♡
First, let me just say what inspired me to make this recipe. My family is a blend of Turkish and American heritages. With that being said, I have made countless amounts of Turkish lentil soup. And well, since I am American, why not add some pumpkin to it?
Brilliant idea? I know it. 😌 Ok, moving on. Here is what you need to make this Turkish-inspired creamy pumpkin lentil soup.
Pumpkin Soup Ingredients
| Garlic & Onion | Soft, caramelized onion and aromatic garlic will help build a nice flavorful base. |
| Red lentils | Cook up real quick and is really creamy once blended. |
| Sugar Pumpkin | Seeds removed and baked until fork tender. Roasted sugar pumpkin adds a great rich flavor to this soup. |
| Red pepper paste | I love using Turkish red pepper paste. It’s always in my fridge. Feel free to use any red pepper paste you can find! |
| Vegetable broth | Adds a slow-cooked taste, fast! |
| other essential ingredients | Like olive oil, coriander, salt, and pepper. |
How to make pumpkin soup
Time needed: 40 minutes.
The best pumpkin lentil soup recipe
- Roast the pumpkin
Wash and remove the seeds of the sugar pumpkin. Rub on olive oil, salt, and pepper all around the outer skin and inner flesh. Roast flat-side down on a baking sheet. Bake at 400 °F for 30 minutes or until tender when pierced with a knife.
- Heat a large pot over medium-high heat.
Once heated, drizzle in olive oil, diced onion, chopped garlic, salt, and pepper. Sautee until the onions have softened and are brown around the edges.
- Add the spices.
Add the coriander. Fry for 15 seconds, long enough until aromatic. Next, add the red pepper paste and red lentils. Fry for an additional 30 seconds.
- Add the broth.
Use vegetable broth. Add equal amounts of water. Cover the pot with a lid and cook on high until a boil. Once a boil is reached, reduce the heat to medium-low and continue to cook for 25 minutes.
- Add the roasted pumpkin to the cooked lentils and blend.
You can achieve this by either using an immersion blender or by transferring all of the ingredients into a high-speed blender and blending until smooth and creamy.
- Serve with a sprinkle of pumpkin seeds.
What if my sugar pumpkin doesn’t yield 3 cups?
No worries. This recipe is very forgiving. Use what you have and this pumpkin soup will still taste amazing.
How to make pumpkin soup creamy?
You can make this soup creamy a couple different ways.
- Use an immersion blender. This is a very practical and effective way. Dive into the same pot with this tool. The soup will be creamy but still hold a hearty consistency.
- Transfer the ingredients to a high-speed blender. This can be a bit tricky, but if you have a Vita-Mix and followed the recipe exactly, all of the soup will fit into the blender. It’s to the top, but it will all fit. Blend until smooth and creamy. The longer you blend, the creamier it will be.
How to serve pumpkin soup?
Serve with Pepitas ( pumpkin seeds ) on top, perhaps a wedge of lemon, fresh sprigs of thyme leaves, and a little sprinkle of chili flakes.
What’s important is that you enjoy this creamy pumpkin soup just the way you like it.
More delicious pumpkin recipes!
- Pumpkin Pasta Sauce
- Almond Flour Pumpkin Cake Balls
- Paleo Pumpkin Bread
- Creamy Cannellini Pumpkin Soup with Spinach (vegan)
Read the recipe from start to finish. You will better understand the flow of the recipe and identify any unfamiliar words or methods.
Shop for the ingredients beforehand. When you shop ahead, you are less likely to swap out ingredients for what you don’t have, thus creating a complete recipe fail!
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to leave a comment below and an honest rating. ♡
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Pumpkin Soup
- Prep Time: 5-10 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 4–6 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
The best healthy pumpkin soup recipe that is made with fresh pumpkin, red lentils, and the perfect amount of creaminess without the cream!
Ingredients
To roast the pumpkin
- 3 cups, roasted pumpkin (about 1 small sugar pumpkin)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- A pinch of salt and coarse black pepper
Soup base
- 1 cup onion, fine dice
- 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp coarse black pepper
- 1 tsp coriander
- 1 tbsp red pepper paste
- 1 cup red lentils
- 4 cups vegetable broth
Serving suggestions
- Red pepper flakes
- Pumpkin seeds
Instructions
Roast the pumpkin
- Preheat the oven to 400 °F
- Clean and remove the seeds from inside the sugar pumpkin.
- Drizzle olive oil, salt, and pepper all over the pumpkin and rub the inside out to ensure that it is fully coated in seasoning.
- Place each pumpkin piece flat side down on a baking sheet. Transfer to the oven and bake at 400 °F for 30 minutes or until tender when pierced with a knife. Set aside.
Start the soup base
- Heat a pot over medium-high heat. Once heated, add the olive oil, onions, garlic, salt, and pepper. Saute, until the onions have softened and have browned around the edges.
- Next, add the coriander, stir-fry until completely coated in the onions. Then, add the red pepper paste, and red lentils. Stir-fry until the lentils are fully coated with the red pepper paste.
- Finally, add the vegetable broth, and water. Stir and mix to incorporate. Put the lid to the pot on and turn the stove to high until a boil is reached. Once reached, reduce to medium-low and cook for 30 minutes.
Putting it all together
- Once the lentils are nice and soft, add the roasted pumpkin.
- Blend all of the ingredients with an immersion blender or transfer the ingredients to a high-speed blender. Blend until smooth and creamy or until desired constancy is met.
Enjoy with a wedge of lemon and chili flakes.
- Category: Soups
- Method: Roasted and Stovetop
- Cuisine: Turkish-American
Keywords: lentil pumpkin soup, savory pumpkin soup, roasted pumpkin soup recipe, creamy pumpkin soup, pumpkin soup vegan