Thai Curried Pumpkin Soup recipe is creamy, sweet, and spicy with bursting Thai coconut curry flavors made with kabocha squash, red thai curry paste, and coconut milk in an Instant Pot Pressure cooker. Naturally keto, vegan, and gluten-free.
During the fall and winters, one thing I'm excited about is soup season. This Thai pumpkin soup is my go to, right alongside my butternut squash soup and sweet potato soup.
I have used Kabocha Squash for this soup recipe but feel free to use any kind of pumpkin or even butternut squash. If you want to make this soup other than in the fall or winter season, you can use one 15 oz canned pumpkin puree instead of a fresh pumpkin. Follow the same recipe, pressure cook for 1 minute, and adjust the water or broth accordingly.
Many Thai red curry paste brands available in the market contain fish and oyster sauce. So if you are a vegetarian or vegan, I highly recommend using Thai Kitchen Red Curry or Maesri Thai Red Curry Paste brands. Also, check out my thai red curry recipe from my blog.
More Pumpkin Recipes, you may like
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Ingredients for Thai Pumpkin Soup
- Pumpkin: Peeled, deseeded, and roughly diced into 2-inch pieces.
- Coconut oil: is used for sautéing. You can use any cooking oil.
- Aromatics: onion, ginger and garlic.
- Thai red curry paste: I have used store-bought Thai Kitchen Red Curry Paste (vegan), which can be found in most grocery stores and on Amazon.
- Vegetable broth (or water): use vegetable broth for the best flavors. If you don't have Vegetable broth, you can simply use water.
- Coconut milk: I like Chaokoh Coconut Milk brand. Full fat works best as it contains the creamiest flavors, but low-fat coconut milk works, too.
How to Make Pumpkin Soup in Instant Pot
Press SAUTE on Instant Pot. Add 1 tablespoon oil, and once it's hot, add 3 garlic cloves (minced), ½ inch ginger (minced), and 1 medium yellow onion (finely chopped) and saute till the onions turn soft.
Next, add 1 tablespoon of Thai red curry paste (adjust more to taste) and saute for a few seconds.
Add 4 cups of diced pumpkin, 2 cups vegetable stock (or water), ½ teaspoon turmeric (optional), and salt.
Close the Instant Pot with pressure valve to Sealing. Cook on High Pressure for 8 minutes.
When the instant pot beeps, let the pressure release naturally. Open the lid.
Puree soup using an immersion hand blender until smooth. If you don't have an immersion blender, puree in a blender in batches once slightly cooled.
Add 1 cup of thick coconut milk, juice of half a lime, and stir well. It tastes great with coconut milk, but you can also replace it with milk or cream or half and half.
If you think the soup is too thick, you can add water and boil it for 2 minutes.
Serve easy Instant pot Thai curried pumpkin/kabocha squash soup hot and top with red chili flakes and coriander leaves.
Stovetop Pot Method
- Heat oil in a large pot, and once it’s hot, add minced garlic, ginger, and onions, and saute till the onions turn soft.
- Add Thai red curry paste and saute for a few seconds.
- Add diced pumpkin, water or vegetable stock, turmeric, and salt.
- Cover and simmer until the pumpkins are soft, about 20-25 minutes.
- Puree soup using an immersion blender until smooth. If you don’t have an immersion blender, puree in a blender in batches once slightly cooled.
- Add thick coconut milk, and lime juice, and stir well.
- Serve hot and top with red chili flakes and coriander leaves.
What do you eat with Pumpkin Coconut Soup?
Storage Suggestions
- Store: This spicy pumpkin soup will last up to 3-4 days in the fridge if you store it in an airtight container.
- Freeze: You can freeze pumpkin Soup for up to 2 months in an airtight container without adding the cream/milk. Defrost the soup in the fridge overnight, then reheat it on the stovetop or microwave until warm through. Add the coconut milk (or cream) and adjust the seasonings as needed.
Variations
- Thai Roasted Pumpkin Soup: You can roast the pumpkin cubes in the air fryer or oven before adding them to the soup.
- Spicy Pumpkin Soup: If you dont have that red curry paste in hand, use red chili powder or red chili flakes to make the soup spicy.
- Curried Pumpkin Soup: Add 1 tablespoon of curry powder instead of Thai red curry paste.
- Replacement for Coconut Milk: You can use heavy whipping cream or full-fat milk or half and half in place of coconut milk for non-vegan pumpkin soup.
- Toppings: You can use roasted pumpkin seeds, and roasted chickpeas as healthier toppings options.
Expert Tips
- Make sure to dice your pumpkin into roughly the same size (about 2-inch cubes) for even cooking.
- Be sure to sauté the onion and ginger, garlic, in a little olive oil or butter first. The soup will have a rich flavor.
- You can also use frozen pumpkin cubes in place of fresh ones.
Is Pumpkin Keto Friendly?
Pumpkin can be keto as it's low in net carbs. Per 100g, pumpkin only has 5g of total carbs, with 1g of fiber. However, pair it with other low-carb vegetables like cauliflower for a keto-friendly diet meal.
If you are on a Keto or Low Carb Diet. Check out my Keto Indian Food Recipes Collection.
More Instant Pot Vegetarian Soup Recipes
Thai Pumpkin Soup Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 4 cups pumpkin diced, peeled and deseeded
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 3 cloves garlic cloves minced
- ½ inch ginger minced
- 1 medium yellow onion finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon thai red curry paste adjust more to taste
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder optional
- 2 cups vegetable stock (or water)
- ½ can 14 oz coconut milk (about 1 cup)
- juice of half lime
- salt to taste
For Garnish:
- ¼ teaspoon red chilli flakes
- 1 teaspoon cilantro
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin seeds
Instructions
Instant Pot Method:
- Press SAUTE on Instant Pot. Add oil and once it's hot, add minced garlic, ginger, onions and saute till the onions turn soft.
- Next, add Thai red curry paste and saute for a few seconds.
- Add diced pumpkin, water or vegetable stock, turmeric, and salt.
- Close the Instant Pot with pressure valve to Sealing. Cook on High Pressure for 8 minutes. When the instant pot beeps, let the pressure release naturally. Open the lid.
- Puree soup using an immersion blender until smooth. If you don't have an immersion blender, puree in a blender in batches once slightly cooled.
- Add thick coconut milk, lime juice, and stir well. It tastes great with coconut milk, but you can also replace it with milk or cream or half and half.If you think the soup is too thick, you can add water and boil for 2 minutes.
- Serve easy Instant pot Thai curried pumpkin/kabocha squash soup hot and top with red chili flakes and coriander leaves.
Stovetop Pot Method:
- Heat oil in a large pot and once it’s hot add minced garlic, ginger, onions, and saute till the onions turn soft.
- Add Thai red curry paste and saute for few seconds.
- Add diced pumpkin, water or vegetable stock, turmeric, and salt.
- Cover and simmer until the pumpkins are soft, about 20-25 minutes.
- Puree soup using an immersion blender until smooth. If you don’t have an immersion blender, puree in a blender in batches once slightly cooled.
- Add thick coconut milk, lime juice, and stir well.
- Serve hot and top with red chili flakes and coriander leaves.
Notes
Variations to make Pumpkin Soup:
- Spicy Pumpkin Soup: If you dont have that red curry paste in hand, use red chili powder or red chili flakes to make the soup spicy.
- Curried Pumpkin Soup: Add 1 tablespoon of curry powder instead of Thai red curry paste.
- Replacement for coconut milk: You can use heavy whipping cream or full-fat milk or half and half in place of coconut milk for non-vegan pumpkin soup.
- Toppings: You can use pumpkin seeds, roasted chickpeas as a healthier toppings option.
Nutrition
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Eileen
I made your recipe using a leftover Halloween pumpkin. I was out of the thai chili paste, subbed sambal oelek. I increased that and all the spices substantially, doubled the garlic, used juice and pulp of whole lime. Before serving stirred in some sprouted chia and flax seeds, coyo plain yoghurt and topped with pumpkin seeds. Really delicious. Thank you so much.
Bhavana Patil
Hello Eileen. Thank you so much for trying out the recipe and sharing your feedback. Appreciate it 😊
Chitra
Oh, wow! For the first time I have come across a vegetarian keto/lowcarb recipe site. I am a fellow Kannadiga. Nice to see you such a good blog.
Bhavana Patil
Hey Chitra, So good to know that.. Hope you will try these low-carb recipes. Happy Cooking 🙂
Beth
Really delicious! I used canned pumpkin and 1 can of coconut milk and didn’t have to use a blender. Also omitted the cilantro and used juice of 1 lime. Topped with pumpkin seeds and red pepper flakes. Will definitely make this again!
bhavana
Thank you Beth 🙂