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Looking for a delicious and savory cozy fall soup? Our pumpkin lentil soup with almond sage crumble is made with minimal ingredients and is super easy to make. Ready to eat in just 30 minutes!
Running out of groceries? Make pantry soup.
I know I’m not the only one who stocked up on beans, lentils, nuts, and rice, you name it when everyone was told to stay home. It may or may not be 6 months later and I’m still finishing off some of the initial items I panic bought.
This pumpkin lentil soup is one of those perfect “end of the grocery run” kind of recipes. It calls for primarily pantry ingredients like red lentils, coconut milk, vegetable broth, canned pumpkin, white wine vinegar, nutritional yeast and spices… You know, stuff you might already have lying around!
Pantry soups are my go-to lately. As the weather starts to cool, we find we can really stretch our grocery runs by 2-3 days simply by making pantry soups like this pumpkin lentil soup, cheesy lentil soup, black bean lentil soup, or vegan stout chili.
Pumpkin Rules
I actually got called out on a call with leadership at my 9-5 for my love for pumpkin. “I didn’t peg you to be one of those,” she said. As much as I wanted to disagree, I couldn’t agree more. The fact that I love pumpkin spice and pumpkin-flavored things is just… not something that you would expect from me.
I know the main reason I love pumpkin and pumpkin spice is because of the savory vibes both flavors bring to sweet things and savory things alike. If you loved this pumpkin lentil soup and want to check out some of my other pumpkin recipes, consider looking into pumpkin risotto or vegan pumpkin bread.
What ingredients do you need to make pumpkin lentil soup?
To make pumpkin lentil soup, you’ll need a handful of pantry ingredients plus a few fresh ones. This recipe is pretty forgiving so if you’re running low or don’t have a spice or two, don’t sweat it! It’ll still turn out a-m-a-z-i-n-g.
For the liquids, you’ll need some vegetable broth, a can of full-fat coconut milk, some white wine vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, and a can of pumpkin. I’m not sure if pumpkin counts as a liquid or a solid but it’s pretty wet so we’re going with liquid. The extra virgin olive oil is called for at the beginning to sauté the onion. If you’re a WFBP (oil-free) and want to make this recipe oil-free you can simply use a splash of vegetable broth to cook the onion. The white wine vinegar brings some acid into the soup – if you have white wine you need to get rid of, you can substitute that instead.
For the dry ingredients, you’ll need an onion, garlic cloves, some red lentils, raw almonds, and a slew of spices. For the spices, you’ll need fresh sage, ground nutmeg, ground cinnamon, red pepper flakes, bay leaves, nutritional yeast, and salt and pepper. I mean, this is pumpkin soup… you gotta have the nutmeg and cinnamon. Otherwise, the gods of fall might get mad.
How do you make pumpkin lentil soup?
To make pumpkin lentil soup, you’ll need a handful of kitchen tools like a knife, a cutting board, a small ramekin, a baking sheet, a large pot or dutch oven, a silicone spatula or wooden spoon, measuring cups and spoons, a blender or immersion blender, and a ladle.
To start, preheat your oven to 375 degrees. While the oven preheats, chop an onion and mince four garlic cloves. Add them to a dutch oven or large pot with some olive oil and Sautè for 5 minutes or until the onion is translucent.
Meanwhile, add a splash of olive oil to a ramekin. Take 8-10 sage leaves and working one leaf at a time, dip them in the oil and use your fingers to slide off any excess oil back into the ramekin. Add the sage to a baking sheet and repeat until you run out of leaves. Spread the almonds out on the other side of the baking sheet and roast in the oven for about 8 minutes.
Return to your onions and garlic. Then, add your white wine vinegar, red pepper flakes, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, two bay leaves, plus four sliced sage leaves. Let the mixture simmer, stirring occasionally until the bottom of the pan starts to glaze.
Meanwhile, return to the oven. Then, remove the almonds and sage and chop them into small pieces. Next, add them to a small bowl and mix in a small bit of olive oil, nutritional yeast, and salt and pepper. Set this mixture aside until you’re ready to serve the pumpkin lentil soup.
Return again to your soup. Add vegetable broth and coconut milk to deglaze the bottom of the pot. While the liquid heats, thoroughly rinse the red lentils until the water runs mostly clear. Once the broth comes to a low simmer, add the lentils and the canned pumpkin. Stir until all of the pumpkin incorporates into the broth.
Next, cover the soup and simmer for 20 minutes to cook the lentils. Then, break out your immersion blender (or a regular blender) and blend until the soup is smooth and creamy. Lastly, Serve the soup with the almond sage crumble on top. It really makes the soup so definitely go the extra mile to make it happen!
Substitution ideas and more
We love our pumpkin lentil soup but if you’re looking for ways to adapt this to your needs, we won’t stop ya.
Make it WFPB (oil-free): To make this recipe WFPB, simply remove the olive oil. Use vegetable broth to sautè the onion and skip the oil in the almond sage crumble.
Make it spicy: The red pepper flakes give pumpkin lentil soup a mild kick. If you’re a heat seeker, add some more red pepper flakes to the almond sage crumble.
Add more broth: This soup is pretty thick. Feel free to thin it out to your liking by adding 1-2 more cups of vegetable broth.
Sub white wine: If you don’t have any white wine vinegar lying around but happen to have some white wine, feel free to substitute it.
Use a different nut: If you have an almond allergy or don’t have any lying around, this recipe would taste great with walnuts, cashews, or pecans.
Liked my pumpkin lentil soup?
If you liked this pumpkin lentil soup, you might like some of my other fall recipes. Check out
- Vegan Cajun gumbo
- Roasted sweet potato quinoa bowls
- Double onion green beans
- Vegan wild rice soup
- Butternut squash pasta
Recipe jam
In this segment, I suggest a song for you to listen to while you make pumpkin lentil soup! You can even stream it right here in your browser. Today’s recipe jam is Mine by Gustaf.
If you try this recipe, I want to hear about it! Feel free to post your creations to Instagram or Facebook and tag Hell Yes It’s Vegan or #hellyesitsvegan. I look forward to seeing what you make!
Pumpkin Sage Lentil Soup
Equipment
- knife
- cutting board
- measuring cup and spoons
- silicone spatula or wooden spoon
- ramekin
- baking sheet
- small bowl
- large pot or dutch oven
- ladle
- immersion blender or regular blender
Ingredients
Pumpkin Lentil Soup
- 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ cup white wine vinegar, (or white wine)
- 4 fresh sage leaves, thinly sliced
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 pinch ground cinnamon
- 4-6 cups vegetable broth, (I used 4 but the soup is pretty thick, so if you want a thinner soup, add more broth)
- 1 can coconut milk
- 1 can pumpkin puree
- 1 ½ cup red lentils, rinsed
- salt and pepper to taste
Almond Sage Crumble
- 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 8-10 fresh sage leaves
- ½ cup raw almonds
- 1 tsp nutritional yeast
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Pumpkin Lentil Soup
- Add olive oil to a dutch oven along with the onion and garlic. Sauté for 5 minutes or until onions are translucent. (Jump down and start prepping the Almond Sage Crumble while you cook the onions.)
- Add the white wine vinegar, sage, bay leaves, nutmeg, red pepper flakes, and cinnamon. Continue to sauté until the vinegar is absorbed and browning occurs at the bottom of the pot.
- Add vegetable broth and deglaze the bottom of the pot. Then add the coconut milk and pumpkin puree. Stir until combined and then add the rinsed lentils. Bring to a simmer and cover for 20 minutes returning occasionally to stir.
- When the lentils are cooked, break out your blender or immersion blender and blend the soup until smooth.
- Generously season with salt & pepper to taste. Serve the soup with almond sage crumble on top.
Almond Sage Crumble
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Add olive oil to ramekin, Working one leaf at a time, and dip the sage in the oil. Squeeze any excess oil back into the ramekin and line each leaf on a baking sheet. Spread the almonds out evenly across the sheet and roast the the almonds and sage for 8 minutes.
- Chop the almonds and sage and add to a small bowl with the remaining olive oil in the ramekin and nutritional yeast. Generously add salt and pepper to taste, mix, and set aside.
good recipe!!!!!!!!!!!!!!