Pumpkin, Sweet Potato and Coconut Milk Soup is light and delicious. Perfect for cold autumn evening or chilly spring afternoon. It’s easy to make and healthy, also vegan and gluten-free. Delicious lunch or dinner.
This recipe first appeared on April 1, 2009 and is now updated.
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I have made this Pumpkin, Sweet Potato and Coconut Milk Soup many times in the last many years. It’s easy, delicious, sweet, cozy, and comforting.
I don’t always follow the precise measuring of the ingredients. Sometimes I use more sweet potato or more pumpkin. More often than not I don’t use leeks because I simply forget to buy them.
This Pumpkin Soup is really smooth and creamy even though it doesn’t actually have any cream in it. There’s coconut milk added to the soup to make it extra luscious, so it is also not only vegetarian but also vegan.
I like adding chili powder or cayenne pepper to the soup to counteract the sweetness of the pumpkin and sweet potato. It’s a perfect soup for a cool fall evening! And if you love pumpkin soups then you need to try Curried Pumpkin Soup from Garlic and Zest.
Ingredients to make Pumpkin, Sweet Potato and Coconut Milk Soup
- Oil
- Onion
- Leeks
- Garlic
- Pie pumpkin
- Sweet potato
- Vegetable broth
- Light coconut milk
- Cilantro
- Salt and pepper
How to make Pumpkin, Sweet Potato and Coconut Milk Soup
The most difficult thing in this recipe is actually prepping the ingredients: peeling and chopping the pumpkin and sweet potato.
But here’s the thing, it costs a little bit extra but most grocery stores now sell peeled and cut sweet potato and pumpkin in the refrigerated section with the salads. So, if you really don’t feel like doing a lot of prep but still want to have a home-cooked and comforting soup then it is a great option.
- Peel, chop, and dice all the ingredients.
- In a large pot, saute the onion, leek, and garlic until soft.
- Add the chopped pumpkin and sweet potato.
- Add the vegetable broth and the seasonings.
- Cover with a lid, bring to boil, then reduce and simmer for about 15 minutes or until the vegetables are fall-apart tender.
- Remove the soup from the heat and blend until smooth using an immersion blender (or use a regular stand blender to do so).
- Add the light coconut milk, chopped cilantro and mix.
Delicious! Serve with crusty bread and extra cilantro.
TIP: I like to start sauteing the onions and leeks first and then peel the potatoes and pumpkin, this way I feel that I multitask a little bit and save a few minutes.
Variations for Pumpkin Soup
This Pumpkin Soup is delicious on its own but it also can be changed up in many different ways. Here are some ideas:
- If you aren’t following a vegan diet, then feel free to use chicken broth instead of vegetable broth.
- For non-vegetarians, add a few mini meatballs.
- Add a handful of mini soup pasta shapes, such as alphabet, Israeli couscous, or orzo.
- Use some Thai curry paste.
- Add a handful of lentils.
- Use regular dairy cream (10%) instead of coconut milk for a different flavour if you aren’t following a dairy-free diet.
Can you use canned pumpkin in this soup?
I am going to be honest and say that I have not tried doing it but I think it will work wonderfully. Here, in Canada, our most common pureed pumpkin can is about 400 ml, so this is what I would use for the recipe. If the cans you are using a smaller then adjust accordingly.
Just make sure that you are actually using pure pureed canned pumpkin and not pumpkin pie filling.
More pumpkin recipes:
These recipes all use canned pumpkin but you can make your own pumpkin puree.
- Pumpkin Cranberry Fudge
- Pumpkin Ricotta Cookies
- Festive and Easy Pumpkin Coffee Cake with Cranberries
- Pumpkin Bread Pudding
- Instant Pot Cornbread with Real Crispy Crust
- Instant Pot Pumpkin Fettuccine Alfredo (vegetarian)
Pumpkin, Sweet Potato,and Coconut Milk Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 1 small leek, finely chopped white part only
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 pound pumpkin, peeled and cut into 2 cm cubes
- 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 2 cm cubes (about 3/4 pound)
- 1 litre vegetable broth
- 1 can light coconut milk
- 3 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
- more cilantro to garnish
- salt, pepper, cayenne to taste
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat.
- Cook the onions, leeks, and minced garlic until soft.
- Add the pumpkin, sweet potato, and broth. Cover and bring to boil.
- Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes or until the vegetables are soft.
- Using an immersion blender blend the soup until smooth.
- Add the coconut milk and chopped cilantro. Mix.
- Season to taste with salt, cracked black pepper and cayenne if using.
- Serve with crusty bread and extra cilantro leaves.
Nutrition
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And just for fun, here’s the original picture that I posted back in 2009.
elizabeth says
Hi there,
I had this little book with this recipe in it,,,I loved it.
I can’t find the book anymore ( I think I loaned it to someone), & I don’t remember the name on the book. I know it had a few other recipes in it I liked, & would love to pick up this little cookbook again.
Was it Betty Crocker, by any chance?
Thanks, Elizabeth
Imagelicious says
Hi Elizabeth – no, it’s not a Betty Crocker book. It’s a tiny brochure, 14×20 cm (or about 5×8 inch). It’s called Fast Family Meals (The Hawthorn Series), printed in 2000. I love it, but it has very old style photographs. There are only 32 doubleside pages.