Here is a quick, festive pumpkin red lentil soup that is simple, warm, and seasonally delicious! Ready in under 30 minutes so you can focus on family while dishing up goodness. Serve with a naan or nice hearty tartine bread.
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Why You Will Love This Recipe
Fall means cooler evenings, busy school nights, and the inauguration of all those holidays gatherings, events, and parties. So save yourself a little time, while also preparing a simple, thoughtful meal.
Ingredients
- Olive Oil – Keep your olive oil high quality so you can keep your dish high quality.
- Onion – I prefer a sweet or yellow chopped
- Carrots - peeled and chopped
- Garlic - fresh minced delivers quality flavor
- Red Pepper Flakes – for a dash of zing
- Thyme – fresh or dried. Be sure to give it a quick sauté before adding the broth.
- Curry Powder – McCormick makes a great grocery offering.
- Chicken Boullion – Knorr is always by brand of choice, all my soup recipes are designed with this brand in mind.
- Salt + Pepper – about a ½ teaspoon of salt and a ¼ teaspoon of pepper.
- Bay Leaf – this herb, when infused into broth, adds an almost “minty flavor” with subtle hints of black pepper. It’s a beautiful quiet enhancement that is not bold, but its inclusion creates a complete depth of flavor.
- Chicken Broth – a perfect staple to any cupboard, perfect for soups.
- Pumpkin Puree – grab your favorite brand off the shelf, mine is Libby’s.
- Red Lentils – I have two brands I enjoy: Clear Creek grown in Idaho or Bobs Red Mill available in most grocers, or you can get Whole Foods 356 brand delivered very affordably!
- Lemon Juice – juiced from half of a fresh lemon.
- Lacinato Kale – this is the blue dinosaur kale. It’s character is more gentle than the other “prickly” kales and holds up well in soups.


How To Make Pumpkin Lentil Soup
- Add olive oil to a large 4Qt pot
- Over medium-high heat. Stir in the onion and carrots. Sauté for about 5 minutes or until onion is translucent.
- Stir in the curry powder, garlic and thyme, sauté for 1 minute.
- Add the bay leaf, red pepper flakes, broth, pumpkin, and lentils. Bring to a simmer and cook until lentils are soft, about 10-12 minutes. This is what I love about lentils, they are so quick!
- Stir in the lemon juice and chopped kale (or spinach). Cook just until kale is wilted.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Garnish with chopped cilantro. Enjoy with fresh tartine or naan bread.

Notes + Substitutions
In this version I am using canned pumpkin to capture and enhance the presence of pumpkin, and for quick and easy preparation.
You can also use fresh pie pumpkin to achieve more of a squash texture and focus. Simply cook a small 2 lb pie pumpkin and add the baked center, scraped from the skin. It takes approximately 45-40 minutes to bake a small pie pumpkin on 350° degrees F (176° C)
What to Serve with This Dish
- A fresh sourdough or tartine bread with butter.
- You may also enjoy this Naan Bread Recipe
Equipment
4 Quart Pot - my kitchen is home to a classic Costco set.
Rubber Spatula by ThermoWorks are my favorite daily spatula.
Wooden Spoon I love a good olive wood for a little beauty that lasts a lifetime.
Garlic Press for mincing garlic
Knife for chopping. This has become my favorite daily knife for most everything I do! It's called the Wüsthof Classic Ikon Ultimate Everyday Knife, 7" and they're right!
WÜSTHOF if you are looking for basic knives to add to your kitchen, these are my other daily basics.

Historical Fun Facts about Lentil Soup
To begin with, red lentils are a powerhouse ingredient, full of vitamin B, fiber, and protein for starters. History might agree since this ingredient has been popular since biblical times.
According to the Compass Classroom. Lentil soup goes back to Genesis, with it possibly being the dish Jacob served Esau for his birthright and would have been eaten all over the Alexandrian empire, Middle East, and beyond. The soup was easy because lentils could be dried, stored away, then pulled out and immediately cooked in liquid, rather than having to soak them overnight before cooking them.

Pumpkin Red Lentil Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion (1 ½ cup), chopped
- 3 medium carrots (1 cup), peeled and chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- Dash red pepper flakes
- 2 sprigs Thyme
- 2 tablespoons curry powder
- 1 tablespoons Chicken Bouillon I like Knorr brand
- Salt + Pepper to taste
- 1 bay leaf
- 6 cups chicken broth (1 ½ Qt - 1419 ml)
- 15 oz pumpkin puree 1 can
- 1 ½ cups red lentils split
- ½ lemon juice of (1 tablespoon juice)
- 5 oz lacinato kale chopped (or spinach)
- Optional: Costco Rotisserie Chicken This recipe already contains 16g of protein, but for that family member who wants animal protein, Costco offers amazing rotisserie chicken.
Instructions
- Add olive oil to a large pot or dutch oven
- Over medium-high heat. Stir in the onion and carrots. Sauté for about 5 minutes or until onion is translucent.
- Stir in the curry powder, garlic and thyme, sauté for 1 minute.
- Add the bay leaf, red pepper flakes, broth, pumpkin, and lentils. Bring to a simmer and cook until lentils are soft, about 10-12 minutes. This is what I love about lentils, they are so quick!
- Stir in the lemon juice and chopped kale (or spinach). Cook just until kale is wilted.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Garnish with chopped cilantro. Enjoy with fresh tartine bread.
Notes
- In this version I am using canned pumpkin to capture and enhance the presence of pumpkin, and for quick and easy preparation.
- You can also use fresh pie pumpkin to achieve more of a squash texture and focus. Simply cook a small 2 lb pie pumpkin and add the baked center, scraped from the skin. It takes approximately 45-40 minutes to bake a small pie pumpkin on 350° degrees F (176° C)

Nutrition

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