Put some spice in your life with this Thai pumpkin soup recipe. It's so tasty yet simple as it's made in the slow cooker, by dumping in chilli, ginger, garlic, thai curry paste, stock and finished with coconut milk.

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🎃What Does Pumpkin Taste Like?
🔪Equipment Needed
🍲Ingredients
📋Instructions
💡Tips
❄️Storing
❓FAQ
➕More Thai Recipes
📖 Recipe
💬 Comments

Some people don't realise this (although it may seem obvious), but Pumpkins aren't just for carving at Halloween. And surprise surprise, you can make lots of great-tasting pumpkin recipes, just like this one!

In fact, this year I carved a medium-sized pumpkin to light up for one night and before it went, I turned it into this Thai pumpkin soup I'm sharing with you today.

You can have your carved pumpkin and eat it 😂

Close up of a keto pumpkin soup with garlic, chili, ginger, Thai green curry paste in a black and white bowl

🎃What Does Pumpkin Taste Like?

Whenever I tell people I'm making pumpkin soup, they're curious about what it tastes like!

I think the best way to describe it, is that it has a similar taste to butternut squash, but it's milder in terms of sweetness.

It's also significantly milder than a sweet potato, and once mashed, has a mushier, more watery texture.

🔪Equipment Needed

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Measurements have been offered in cups and grams, so you'll only need some of the following things to make a good pumpkin soup recipe!

Pumpkin slow cooker soup in a black and white denby bowl on a white marble kitchen counter top

🍲Ingredients

Pumpkin - we use a medium size pumpkin, but don't get hung up about the size. Just chop it up and fit as much as you can in your slow cooker or crockpot. Alternatively, you can use any winter vegetable squash like butternut, acorn, spaghetti, delicata, etc.
Onion - this recipe only uses half a yellow onion, diced. If you have time, I recommend sauteeing it in oil for extra sweetness, but sometimes we don't have time. That's why a dash of honey is added to the end!
Ginger - an essential in Thai dishes, which gives this slow cooker squash soup extra tang! For ease, this recipe uses 1 tablespoon of ginger puree, but you can finely grate 1" of fresh garlic if preferred.
Garlic - the garlic is cooked in its skins within the pot to allow it to turn sweet and mushy, making it easy to blend. Alternatively, you can use garlic press/mincer and add straight to the pot.
Chiu Chow chilli oil - if you're looking for a milder slow cooker pumpkin soup, then you can omit this ingredient. It's a very hot and spicy red chilli and garlic paste/oil which I am loving at the moment in lots of dishes!
Thai curry paste - I use Thai green as the lime juice and lemongrass really enhance the flavour, while also meaning you don't need to buy these ingredients separately.
Chicken stock - you can opt for different stocks, like vegetable or a vegan one, but note you will also need to ensure you're using a vegan or vegetarian curry paste. Also, don't be tempted to add too much as the coconut milk will thin it out even more.
Honey - in an ideal world, I'd sautee this, and fry that to enhance the flavour of a recipe, so a dash of honey is added. Alternatively, you could try 1 teaspoon of sugar or keto options like keto honey, balsamic vinegar or sweetener* - but always do a test on a small portion first. *We found sweetener was overpowering with this recipe.
Coconut milk - honestly, don't skip coconut milk for a creamy pumpkin soup that's out of this world! I always a 14oz can (400ml) of unsweetened coconut milk for extra flavor, but coconut milk powder works perfectly, too! To make, just mix 1 & ½ cups of hot water with 5 tablespoon of coconut milk powder.

step by step on how to make Pumpkin Soup in the slow cooker, Thai style

📋Instructions

Cut your pumpkin in half and remove the guts and discard
Chop the pumpkin unpeeled and place as much of it as you can in your slow cooker
Then add the onion, ginger, garlic, chilli paste (if using), oil, onion, salt and pepper into the pot.
Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-7 hours
Start scooping the pumpkin flesh away from the skins (and discard the skins)
With the pumpkin flesh back in the slow cooker, add the curry paste, stock, boiling stock, honey, and blend with a stick blender
Cover and cook on high for another 30 minutes if it isn't piping hot.
Stir in the coconut milk, sesame seed oil, and lime juice, then serve with a garnish of toasted pumpkin seeds and cilantro/coriander in each bowl.

💡Tips

Try not to be obsessed about the weight or size of your medium pumpkin. Once you've cut it in half and scooped out the guts, cut your pumpkin into big chunks, then fit as much in your slow cooker as you can.
I prefer to cook the pumpkin first with the skin on, then they'll shrink and soften, making it easy to scoop and discard the skin.
If you have a good vacuum blender, you'll be able to blend your soup with the skin on, but a stick blender may leave unpleasant tough bits.
You can peel your pumpkin first, then chop it up and add it to your crockpot/slow cooker with ALL of the ingredients except the coconut milk and garnishes - but peeling pumpkins isn't as fun as scooping the flesh out.

Slow cooker Thai vegetable squash soup in a Denby Halo bowl with cilantro red chilli, coconut milk and sesame seed oil and pumpkin seeds

❄️Storing

Refrigerator: Storing slow-cooker pumpkin soup is simple! I store them in and air-tight containers in the fridge for up to 5 days. We tend to portion them in these Sistema soup mugs with lids and microwave them for 2-3 minutes (stirring halfway) as and when needed.

Freezer: Exactly the same as above! Portion them off in Sistema containers and store them in the freezer. Or, old plastic-lidded takeaway-type containers and store them for up to 3 months. But I urge you to write Pumpkin soup and the date as it's SO easy to forget what you made!!

You can defrost overnight in the fridge, but I often forget and microwave for 6 minutes, stirring halfway. We're very busy people 😂

❓FAQ

Can you eat pumpkin skin? There's a debate on whether you can on the internet in case the skins are tough. If you've ever cooked roast tomato soup and left the skins on, you'll know it's not a pleasant experience you'll want to repeat.

But cooking a pumpkin in a slow cooker makes the skin so tender, which is why I suggested earlier that if you have a REALLY good blender, why not try it? But a stick blender (which is what I'm currently using in my tiny narrowboat kitchen) probably won't cut it.

Can you make this Thai pumpkin soup in a soup maker? YES, absolutely! I have created an (unofficial) Slimming World pumpkin soup maker recipe prior to this and it does work. But I recommend adding your stock at the end to make sure you don't go over your machine's maximum level. However, only add coconut milk after cooking, otherwise, it will ruin its lovely creamy texture.

Thai Pumpkin Soup {Slow Cooker Recipe}