This Thai Pumpkin Soup with coconut milk is the ultimate winter warmer. Serve this fragrant soup with a swirl of coconut milk and fresh coriander (cilantro) for a fantastic spiced vegan pumpkin soup.
Today I'm revisiting (and rephotographing) an old recipe. In fact, it is the first time I have revisited an old recipe in 7 years of blogging.
I'm starting with a favourite, my Thai Pumpkin Soup with Coconut Milk Recipe. It was one of the earliest recipes I shared and is one I still make regularly. In fact, it's one of my favorite vegan soup recipes ever.
It's become one of the most popular recipes on the blog too. Besides being crazy delicious, this pumpkin soup can be cooked up in a single pot - so it's super easy to make!
(And if that sounds amazing to you - be sure to grab this free printable with my favorite one-pot vegan recipes.)
At the first sign of the weather cooling down, I whip up a batch of this vegan pumpkin soup. It's a comforting classic with a delicious Thai twist.
Ginger adds a lovely gentle warmth to this pumpkin soup with coconut milk and coriander (cilantro) adds a wonderful fragrant depth.
Note that I've made my soup with butternut pumpkin, which is also referred to as butternut squash in North America. You can make it with any winter squash of your choice - so see what's in season near you.
Coconut milk adds a lovely velvety creaminess and richness. I like to use this coconut milk. Note that coconut milk and coconut cream are not the same ingredient - the cream is much thicker in texture. And you don't want the refrigerated kind that comes in a carton either!
I like to serve this delicious Thai pumpkin with a garnish of a few fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves, some finely sliced red chilli (or chilli flakes) and shaved coconut.
In lieu of bread, I like to serve a couple of chickpea pancakes on the side. A crusty bread roll is always a welcome favorite too.
So tell me, what is your favourite to warm up in winter?
Thai Pumpkin Soup with Coconut Milk {vegan}
Ingredients
- 1 tbs Olive Oil
- 1 onion coarsely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic grated
- 1.5 kg butternut pumpkin peeled and chopped, (3 pounds)
- 1 lemongrass stalk finely chopped or grated
- 1 tbs fresh ginger grated
- 1 bunch coriander (cilantro) (cilantro)
- 1 litre vegetable stock (4 cups)
- 400 ml coconut milk (13.5 oz)
Instructions
- Remove the roots and stalky ends from the coriander. Wash the leaves and dry in a salad spinner or paper towel before roughly chopping. Wash the roots and stalks well to remove any dirt clinging to the roots. Shake off any water and finely chop.
- Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat before adding the onion and garlic. Cook until the onion becomes translucent.
- Add the ginger, lemongrass and coriander roots and stalks. Cook until the stalks become soft before adding the pumpkin.
- Toss the pumpkin in the oil and cook for 5 minutes. Add the vegetable stock and bring to a boil before reducing the heat to lower. Cook for 30 minutes or until the pumpkin is tender. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
- Pour the soup into a blender and blend until smooth. Add most of the chopped coriander (cilantro) leaves reserving some to garnish the soup. Blend until the soup is speckled with flecks of green.
- Return to a clean saucepan and add the coconut milk. I like to only add half the milk, reserving the rest for garnish. Serve with shaved coconut, the remaining coriander (cilantro) leaves and chilli.
Notes
Nutrition
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Maureen JACKSON says
WOW, fantastic soup. I know what I will be cooking with my pumpkin harvest
Mike says
I live in Thailand (since the late 1960s) and have loved pumpkin since I was a child. A Thai inspired recipe like this one is certainly wonderful. I just have 2 comments...
1. We never use olive oil in Thailand in local cruisine. I suggest rice bran oil though most Thai kitchens usually have soy bean oil on hand.
2. The coconut milk you link to uses guar gum (to thicken it up a little I suspect). Really, buying a mature coconut and processing the meat is a simple process using a scraper to grate the coconut meat, some cheesecloth, and some hot water to extract the milk - which is the 2nd pressing. The 1st yields the very thick, high fat cream. You use almost no water at all for that 1st squeeze. For the 2nd use maybe 1.5c of hot water. The results are superior compared to canned (or worse yet, dehydrated). I'm sure there's some video online on how to extract milk from a coconut.
In a pinch though, canned will certainly work.
Mercedes says
Delicious! Is the nutritional value per serving or per 100ml?
Nicole says
I'm so glad you enjoyed it! The nutritional info is an estimate for each serving.
KellifromFiji says
My partner and I made this in Fiji! Fresh lemongrass is difficult to cut small enough. Next time we'll tie it in a bundle and pull it back out after it's done cooking. Ours was a little chewy, but my blender isn't the best. Still had a beautiful floral flavor! We ate it with chilis and boiled taro root! Of course, we added a little extra fresh coconut milk too.
Nicole says
Fiji has always been on my bucket list! Glad you enjoyed the recipe.
Rachel says
Great recipe... Love it
the hungry mum says
pumpkin soup is my fav! Adding the corriander makes a good thing, better 🙂
Nicole Macey says
Mmmm Sounds and looks delicious! Pumpkin soup is one of my favourite winter warmers!
Nicole @ Delicious Everyday says
Thanks Nicole.
Amy says
I do love pumpkin soup! We usually do curry powder with ours, but I love the Thai inspiration this one has. And I'm loving the cooler weather! Bring on fluffy socks, movie marathons and soup!
Kankana Saxena says
Such a gorgeous color of the soup. I love pumpkin any way.
Lennae's World says
Sounds delicious! I could do with a bowl on this cold and rainy day.
Lennae xxx
maamej says
Looks tasty, & maybe I an even convince my son to try it. I used to have a pumpkin soup recipe that had ginger & orange - that was a delicious combo.
Hannah says
How fun to re-do something from so long ago! I am so glad/relieved it's finally cooling down around here... can't wait to start making soups again!
Nicole @ Delicious Everyday says
Thanks @disqus_0MPefAbom8:disqus. I am so happy it is cooling down too. Yay for soup weather!
Rosa says
A delightful soup! So comforting and flavourful.
Cheers,
Rosa
Amy @ Food Crush says
Hi Jennifer, I cooked your soup on the weekend for Mother's Day. It was divine. Thanks for the recipe. 🙂
Jennifer says
I'm so glad you enjoyed it Amy. I made a batch last week. It's definitely becoming soup weather isn't it? 🙂
Ros McLaughlin of Eagleye Images & Design says
Pumpkin soup is one of my favorite soups, this recipe looks really delicious, can't wait to try it. I am a food photographer too, love your colours in these images. Thanks for the recipe.
Parisa says
I made this last night with 400ml of light coconut milk and it's sooooo delicious!!
Thanks for a great recipe!
Jennifer says
Thanks for the feedback Parisa 😀 I'm so glad you enjoyed it.
Lisa Leong says
I like your blog. It is very informative and involves a lot hard work to capture those striking pictures . I make Thai pumpkin soup last night. It tastes so much better than the one from can. On top of your recipe I add in minced lemon glass and a dollop of Thai red curry paste into the soup. The soup taste sweet with spiciness left in the mouth. Last time I grated some nutmeg into the soup, however my husband said it add too much sweetness into the soup. I excluded nutmeg this time.
brannyboilsover says
I think I am going to make this tomorrow!
delicieux says
I really hope you enjoy it branny. I look forward to hearing what you thought of it.
Kasper says
Whole family loved it!!
delicieux says
I'm so glad your family enjoyed it Kasper. Thanks for the feedback 🙂
christine says
Oh my.. This is mouthwatering. The photos are good too. If you wont mind I'd love to guide Foodista readers to your post. Just add the foodista widget to the end of this post so it will appear in the Foodista pages and it's all set, Thanks!
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Julie AlkalineSister says
Mmmmm, this looks delish. I have fresh cilantro just waiting to be enjoyed. Does it freeze well? Just found your blog, Yeh! I'll be back:) Oh and sorry about the crutches, I was on them for a fractured leg bone years back and it's not so much fun! Hope you heal fast!
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delicieux says
Hi Julie, Thanks for your kind comments 🙂 As for freezing cilantro, I've always used up my cilantro when it's fresh so I've never thought about freezing it, but I found this website http://www.tasteofhome.com/Cooking-Tips/Ask-Our-D... which provides some tips on freezing it. I hope that helps 🙂
Kathryn says
That looks delish!
Susan says
Thank you so much for your visit and comment on my blog recently! I am so sorry to read about your accident and I hope you heal quickly. I see many delightful soup recipes like this one that I will be happy to have when the weather cools here in the next few months. Lovely photography!
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delicieux says
Thanks for your lovely comments Susan.
You will definitely find a lot of soup recipes on my blog. A big bowl of soup with warm crusty bread during winter is one of my favourite things.
Jess says
I think I had some terrible experience with pumpkin soup as a child, because I've just never been fond of it and have avoided it wherever possible. That was until a couple of months back when I was at a friend's place and she made Thai pumpkin soup as an entrée and I basically inhaled a massive bowl of it. I can't believe what I've been missing out on - shame on me! Haven't gotten around to making it myself yet, but this recipe might be the one for me.
Also, oh I love the Jan Power farmers markets. From time to time I try to get to the smaller one at Reddacliff Place in the city on Wednesdays and attempt to get as many vegetables and loaves of interesting bread (e.g. sauerkraut bread from King of Cakes) as I can carry. Obviously I need to buy one of those neat little pull-trolleys on wheels that savvy market-goers always seem to have...
delicieux says
I think I had a bad experience with pumpkin soup when I was younger too as I could never eat it, but this soup was delicious. I think the difference, for me anyway was using sweet and nutty butternut pumpkin. I also think the addition of the ginger and coriander add a wonderful fresh element to it too.
I love the Jan Powers farmers markets too. We go to the Powerhouse one regularly (although we didn't go the other week as the crutches would make it difficult). The little pull trolleys are very handy at the markets. We took one last time and it was just so handy. I think I need to learn a little restraint though because the poor trolley was overflowing with all the wonderful purchases.
elra says
Sounds superb. I love Thai food 🙂
delicieux says
Me too. It's so flavourful and fresh.
Maria says
I'm sorry to hear that! I used to think I'm accident prone too, but I think I've been fairly lucky so far 🙂
I love this soup recipe, the coconut milk is beautiful in a thick soup like this one 🙂
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delicieux says
Thanks Maria. I love the addition of coconut milk in this soup.
Gabby says
Our family loved this soup. We didn't have lemongrass, though, in our local supermarket so we just squeezed a tablespoon plus a little more of a fresh lemon into the garlic/shallot mix. Wonderful with some fresh ground pepper, a tiny pinch of salt, and the basil garnish.
Pam @ Cookware says
I am sorry you are in crutches. My significant other is big accident prone, either he gets burned or cut in kitchen. I am sorry.
love the soup recipe, actually good for you too.! Love thai flavors.
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Veggie Belly says
this soup sounds delicious and comforting. feel better soon!
Not Quite Nigella says
Oh you poor thing! 🙁 But if it makes you feel any better, I am so accident prone it isn't funny! 😛
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delicieux says
Glad I am not the only one accident prone 😀
a sweet pea chef says
I'm not necessarily accident-prone, but I definitely get my fair share of injuries. I seem to always have something that's hurting...maybe I just complain a lot. 🙂
Feel better soon!
delicieux says
Thanks Lacey. 🙂
Sarah says
WOW! Great soup! I only used one red chili pepper and it just the right amount of kick. We love pumpkin soup around here and this one is just right for Thai night. Thanks!
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