Pumpkin Lentil Soup

Name: Pumpkin & Lentil Soup
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 45 min
Ingredients: 1 red onion chopped; 2 cloves garlic chopped; 1 inch piece of ginger chopped; 1/2 teaspoon fresh turmeric chopped (can substitute 1 1/4 teaspoon dried turmeric powder if fresh isn't available); 1/2 teaspoon dried turmeric (no need to add this if you used 1 1/4 teaspoons fried turmeric from step above); 1 cup lentils; 2 3/4 cups water; 1/2 cup pumpkin puree; 1/2 teaspoon chili powder; 1/2 teaspoon cumin; 1/2 teaspoon coriander; salt and pepper to taste; 3-4 tbsp Olive oil; 1/2 cup coconut milk; 1 jalapeno chopped (optional); 1 tbsp sesame seeds (optional); 2 teaspoons Sambal Oelek (optional)

ByShashi Charles October 30, 2015March 24, 2025 March 24, 2025

60 Comments

Updated on March 24, 2025

A delicious and filling Lentil and Pumpkin Soup loaded with immunity building onions, garlic, ginger and turmeric! This soup is a must try, y'all!

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Pumpkin-Lentil-Soup-#BeHealthyForEveryPartOfLife

These days there seems to be a quiz for just about everything! From "What Disney Character are YOU?" or "Who should I dress up as for Halloween?" to "How good is your vocabulary?" and, one of my favorites "How dirty are you?" (which happens to be in reference to your personal hygiene and not your behavior, we are PG 13 over here people) the consensus is: when it doubt, quiz it out!

Recently my daughter came across a quiz titled "Will you get Alzheimer's?" and she figured she would have me take the quiz - without me knowing! So while I was in the middle of cooking this Pumpkin & Lentil Soup for dinner and picking myself up off the floor after tripping over my dog, she started asking me a set of weird questions. Between cooking and looking in my purse for the Advil Tablet Vial for my hurt derrière, I did not give her questions the attention they demanded.

When she was done, she looked all glum for a second and informed me that I was a candidate for early onset Alzheimer's and then she cheered up and began calling me "Alzy" - I have no clue where she gets her sense of humor from! Now, Alzheimer's is not something to take lightly. But I don't have it. Seriously - I am not in denial. I have just been so busy recently and I haven't been writing down where I need to be and what I need to do, like I know I should and well, you can only fill a bucket so high right?

Ingredients to make this Pumpkin Lentil Soup

1 red onion chopped
2 cloves garlic chopped
1 inch piece of ginger chopped
½ teaspoon fresh turmeric chopped can substitute 1 ¼ teaspoon dried turmeric powder if fresh isn't available
½ teaspoon dried turmeric no need to add this if you used 1 ¼ teaspoons fried turmeric from step above
1 cup lentils
2 ¾ cups water
½ cup pumpkin puree
½ teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon coriander
salt and pepper to taste
3-4 tbsp Olive oil
½ cup coconut milk
1 jalapeno chopped optional
1 tbsp sesame seeds optional
2 teaspoons Sambal Oelek optional

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Instructions

Add olive oil to a pan and make sure to swirl it around so it comes the bottom

Add the onions, garlic, ginger and fresh turmeric and saute for about 10 minutes - stirring often

Add in the lentils and stir lentils around in mixture so they are covered in olive oil too

Add in the water, pumpkin puree, coconut milk, turmeric powder, chili, cumin, coriander and salt and pepper and stir well.

Bring to a boil, then cover and lower heat to low and let simmer for 15-17 minutes stir in jalapenos