Thai Pumpkin Curry is a delicious and satisfying meal that takes just 45 minutes to make. This version is vegan (as long as you use vegan fish sauce), but you can use regular fish sauce if you prefer) and includes chickpeas, but you can add tofu, chicken, beef, pork, or shrimp if you like.
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What is Thai Pumpkin Curry?
Thai Pumpkin Curry is a spicy curry made with sweet cubed pumpkin and Thai
I use fresh pumpkin in this delicious Thai Pumpkin Curry rather than puree because I like to puree only part of it, giving it a thick texture with some tender chunks of pumpkin. You could add a cup of pumpkin puree if you want to skip the part of the recipe where you pull out some of the pumpkin to blend it.
This recipe includes chickpeas for some protein, making it a satisfying one-pot meal. But you can substitute tofu for the chickpeas if you like. If you’re not vegetarian, feel free to add chicken, pork, beef, or shrimp.
You can add other vegetables, too, like carrots, broccoli, green beans, zucchini, or eggplant. More vegetables will only make this dish even more satisfying and nutritious.
If you’re looking for a more classic American way to use pumpkin, don’t miss Grandma’s Pumpkin Soup.
What kind of pumpkin should you use?
The best pumpkin to use for Thai Pumpkin Curry is any good eating pumpkin. I like sugar pumpkins, Japanese pumpkins, and other types of squash in the same family, like kabocha squash, acorn squash, or butternut squash.
What is the best brand of Thai curry paste ?
Thai red
There are several brands available in the US, which vary in terms of flavor and heat level. Which you like best will depend on your personal preference for spice level and flavor.
I love a spicy kick and Mae Ploy brand
Thai Kitchen brand
I love using Thai
What ingredients do you need to make Thai pumpkin curry?
The ingredient list looks long, but most of it is common pantry stuff. A few things are worth a closer look before you shop.
Makrut lime leaves (sometimes called kaffir lime leaves) give the curry a citrusy, floral note that’s hard to get anywhere else. Look for them in the freezer case or produce section of a Thai or Asian grocery store. Bay leaves are the closest stand-in if you can’t find them, though the flavor isn’t the same.
Fish sauce is what gives the curry its savory depth. Swap in vegetarian fish sauce or soy sauce to keep the dish vegan. The vegan versions tend to be a little sweeter, so start with less and taste as you go.
Full-fat coconut milk is what makes the sauce rich and creamy. Light coconut milk works if you want something less heavy, but the curry will be thinner.
Palm sugar balances the heat with a touch of sweetness. It’s optional, and brown sugar works just as well if that’s what’s in your pantry.
Chickpeas make this a filling one-pot meal, but they’re not essential to the dish. Tofu, chicken, shrimp, or pork all work in their place if you’d rather go a different direction.
The red chile pepper (serrano or jalapeno) adds heat on top of what’s already in the curry paste. Leave it out, or use less, if you want to keep things milder.
How do you make it?
This curry comes together in one pot, but I cook the peppers separately first so they hold their color and a little bite instead of turning soft and gray in the simmering broth. A quick saute in a hot skillet is all they need.
The base builds in a Dutch oven: onions softened in oil, then garlic, curry paste, turmeric, and cumin stirred in just long enough to turn fragrant. The pumpkin goes in next, seasoned and cooked until it starts to soften before the broth and coconut milk join it.
Once the pumpkin is tender, I pull out about a cup of it and puree it separately, then stir it back into the pot. That’s the step that gives this curry its texture: part chunky, part creamy, without pureeing the whole pot into soup.
From there it’s mostly finishing touches. The reserved peppers go back in along with the chickpeas, then the spinach and cilantro at the very end, just long enough to wilt. Serve it over rice while it’s still steaming.
What to serve with Thai Pumpkin Curry
Serve this Thai Pumpkin Curry with white rice (like jasmine rice), brown rice, Instant Pot Coconut Rice, or Thai Fried Rice with Pineapple and other Thai dishes like Thai Curry Puffs, Tod Mun Pla (Thai Fish Cakes), Pad Kee Mao or Drunken Noodles, Noodles with Peanut Sauce, Thai Larb, and Chicken Satay.
If you’re looking for more ways to use pumpkin, try this Indian-style Pumpkin Chickpea Curry, Pumpkin Spice Latte Cake, or Pumpkin Ice Cream with cinnamon. Oh, and if it’s pumpkin season, you don’t don’t want to miss this Pumpkin Pecan Cheesecake or Pumpkin Swirl Bread!
Thai Pumpkin Curry
Robin Donovan
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoon cooking oil divided
- 1 red bell pepper seeded and sliced
- 1 small orange or yellow bell pepper seeded and sliced
- 1 red chile pepper serrano or jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
- 1 onion sliced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 2 to 4 tablespoons Thai red curry paste
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 4 ½ cups diced pumpkin peeled and seeded
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 3 slices fresh ginger
- 2 makrut lime leaves leaves or use bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce or use vegetarian fish sauce or soy sauce for vegan version
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1 tablespoon palm sugar or brown sugar
- 2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
- 1 14-ounce can full-fat coconut milk
- 1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained
- 3 ½ cups spinach leaves
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
Instructions
- In a medium skillet on the stove top, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium-high heat. Add the bell peppers and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the chile pepper and cook, stirring, for about 1 minute more. Remove from the heat.
- In a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, heat the remaining tablespoon of oil over medium heat. When the oil begins to
shimmer, add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, curry paste, turmeric, and cumin and cook, stirring, for about 1 minute more more. - Add the pumpkin, season with salt and pepper, and continue to cook, stirring to mix the ingredients well, until the pumpkin begins to soften, about 5 minutes more. Add the reserved peppers along with the ginger, lime leaves, fish sauce, lime juice, and sugar, if using. Stir in the broth and coconut milk and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, until the pumpkin is tender, about 5 minutes more.
- Once softened, take out about 1 cup of pumpkin and put it in a blender. Process until smooth and then return to the
pot. - Add the chickpeas and bring the soup back to a simmer over medium heat. Cook briefly, until the chickpeas are heated and then stir in the spinach and cilantro and cook a minute or two until the spinach wilts. Remove from the heat.
- Serve hot.
Made as written. Double batch. Delicious recipe, but one critique… 5min prep is a pipe dream. I’d like to see the average home cook slice and chop the veg in 5 minutes… not to mention peeling seeding and dicing a pumpkin or kabocha squash. For this double batch it took me a solid 1.75hr to prep all the mise to be ready to cook.
Worth it tho!
This sounds delish, could I use canned pumpkin? In my old age I cannot clean a pumpkin since I broke my hand.
Another great recipe by Robin!!
This is the first thai recipe I’ve made that actually tasted like it could be from a thai restaurant!! I immediately saved the recipe and will definitely make it again and recommend it to friends!
For the sugar I used coconut sugar, I had pureed pumpkin in the freezer which I used instead of chunks, and I added mushrooms and zucchini too, which I would really recommend the mushrooms.
I’m so glad you liked it! And great idea about the mushrooms!
This recipe was so good! I will make this one often. It takes awhile to chop and dice all of the ingredients. But it was absolutely worth the time. I added mushrooms, carrots, rotisserie chicken, and plantains. Thank goodness for leftovers!
Such a fabulous recipe. So full of flavor and all levels of spice and sweetness. Great balance. Thanks for all your work with this recipe!!!!
Is the pumpkin tossed into the curry raw and diced or cooked?
Yes, raw and diced.
Do I need to peel the pumpkin – whether it be a sugar pumpkin or a butternut squash that I use?
Yes, peel the pumpkin (or butternut squash) before dicing it.