A simple pumpkin and sweet potato soup with coconut milk and lots of curry. Warming, healthy, and full of flavor.

My first autumn soup this season: pumpkin and sweet potato soup with coconut milk and curry. Vegan, creamy, comforting, and super flavorful! You will love it! And if you like this recipe, have a look at the Pumpkin Soup with Ginger (my first post ever), the Easy Slow Cooker Pumpkin Soup, the Vegan Roasted Pumpkin Soup, or the Butternut Squash Soup with Feta.
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What do you need?
Pumpkin and sweet potatoes
- I had half of a rather small pumpkin, more or less 450 g/ 1 lb.
- Because it was not much, I decided to add the same amount of sweet potatoes. Super idea; I absolutely loved the combination.
- My first choice is always Hokkaido. It is the most flavorful pumpkin I know, and the best thing about it is that you don't have to peel it.
- Butternut squash is also great, but you will have to peel that.
- Any other sort of flavorful pumpkin is fine.
What spices?
- I used a masala curry mixture, which is more or less my standard one.
- Use your favorite curry powder, but adjust the quantity depending on the heat of the mixture. The one I used is not particularly hot, a little bit, but mild enough for the children to be able to eat the soup as well.
- I used a small amount of cayenne pepper because my curry powder was not that hot. Start with a pinch and add more according to taste.
- You can also use curry paste, which in most cases, is even better than the dry spice mixture. Adjust the quantity in this case as well; curry paste is usually hotter than curry powder.
- If you like ginger, you can also add 1-2 teaspoons of grated fresh ginger.
Other ingredients:
- Coconut milk, vegetable broth, onion, garlic, and lemon juice.
How to make pumpkin soup with sweet potatoes?
- After cleaning and cubing the squash, continue by gently cooking chopped onions in coconut oil or olive oil.
- Add the spices and the garlic, stir for about half a minute, and add pumpkin and sweet potatoes.
- Stir to coat for a couple of minutes, and add vegetable stock and milk. Bring to a boil and cook, covered, for about 15 minutes or until the squash is tender.
- Blend the soup and adjust the taste with salt and lemon juice.
- Garnish with fresh chopped parsley. Coriander can be used instead.
- I also saved 1 or 2 tablespoons of coconut milk to garnish the soup. That is more for the eye, it is really not necessary, but you can do it if serving the soup to guests. Heavy cream can be used instead, but that is not vegan.
What to serve with it?
You can never go wrong with a simple slice of bread. My quick whole wheat bread is perfect to eat with soup. You can have it as it is or with butter (if you're not vegan). Dinner rolls, crackers, or crispbread make a perfect side as well.
Any kind of sandwich (vegan or not vegan) or cheese toasties would also be great.
We often eat this kind of spicy and creamy soup with leftover cooked rice. Make sure that the liquid is very hot to make up for the cold rice, place some rice on the plate, and cover it with soup. Stir well and allow a minute or two for the rice to get warmer.
Alternatively, rice or grain salad would make a good accompaniment. Something like this spelt berry salad or this bulgur salad with chickpeas, for instance.
The sweet potato and pumpkin soup can be easily reheated.
More vegan soups
Pumpkin and Sweet Potato Soup
Ingredients
- 1 lb pumpkin 500 g, Note 1
- 1 lb sweet potatoes 500 g
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil or olive oil
- 1 medium onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 tablespoons curry powder Note 2
- pinch of cayenne pepper optional and according to taste
- 2 ½ cups vegetable broth 750 ml
- 1 can coconut milk 400 g/ 14 oz
- 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice to taste
- fine sea salt
- some fresh parsley or coriander to garnish
Instructions
- Prepare pumpkin and sweet potatoes: If using Hokkaido, there is no need to peel it, any other sort should be peeled. Cube the pumpkin. Peel and cube the sweet potatoes as well. Chop the onion finely.
- Saute: Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed pot. Cook the onion gently for about 3 minutes, stirring often, until translucent. Add the finely chopped garlic, curry powder, and cayenne pepper, if using. Stir well for about 30 seconds.
- Add the cubed pumpkin and sweet potatoes and stir well to coat with the spices. Saute for about 2-3 minutes, stirring often.
- Simmer soup: Add vegetable broth and coconut milk. Cover the pot, bring to a boil, and simmer for about 15 minutes or until the cubes are soft.
- Blend the soup with an immersion blender and adjust the taste with sea salt and lemon juice. Start with one or two teaspoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice and add more according to taste. Serve hot as suggested above.
Notes
- I prefer Hokkaido (red Kuri squash), but butternut squash or another flavorful sort of pumpkin is fine.
- Adjust the quantity of curry powder according to how hot the powder is and to your taste. Alternatively, you can use curry paste. In this case, 1 or 2 teaspoons should be enough; curry paste is usually hotter than curry powder.
angiesrecipes says
I always love to use coconut milk in pumpkin soup. This looks so very creamy and yummy.
Anca says
Happy New Year!
This soup must taste delicious. I use coconut milk often, but not in soups. Nice to hear you've had pizza on NYE, that was our main too. 🙂
AlleyH says
I made this recipe but made a couple changes and it turned out great. I used red Kuri squash & sweet potatoes, added apples and cooked them with the spice, onion and carrots. I didn’t have curry so I used sweet blend spice with cayenne pepper. Added some homemade croutons at the end for a crunch. Great fall dinner recipe.
Adina says
It sounds great! Thank you for the feedback.