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Bowl of vegan pumpkin curry in a bowl with rice

Pumpkin Curry


  • Author: Liz Madsen
  • Total Time: 20 minutes
  • Yield: 8 cups 1x
  • Diet: Vegan

Description

This easy Pumpkin Curry is cozy, creamy, and quick to make. With frozen vegetables and canned pumpkin, you can make this meal in 20 minutes.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 4-5 cloves garlic (to taste), minced
  • 8 cups frozen vegetables (see note 1)
  • 1 15-oz can pumpkin puree
  • 1-2 cups (or more) low sodium vegetable broth
  • 2 tbsp creamy almond butter, optional (see note 2)
  • 1-3 tsp curry powder (to taste)
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • ½ - 1 tsp ground ginger
  • ½ tsp ground cumin
  • ½ tsp black pepper
  • Sea salt, to taste (I used about ¾ tsp)

Optional Add-ins

  • Cilantro
  • Lime juice
  • ½ cup canned coconut milk
  • Rice for serving

Instructions

  • Tip #1: Measure out all of your spices beforehand. You can just throw them all into a little bowl or jar and dump them in when it’s time.
  • Tip #2: If you’re going to serve this with rice, I recommend you start that now on another burner. I typically use basmati rice, but any will work.
  • Saute onions and garlic: Now start to saute your onion and garlic in a medium large pot (I use a 5.5 qt pot that was about ⅔ full with this curry). You can use oil if you wish, but I choose to just use a little of the veggie broth, and add a little splash everytime the veggies start to stick to the pan. Cook the onion until mostly translucent over medium high heat, about 3-4 minutes, then add the garlic and cook for an additional minute.
  • Add the spices: Now, use your cooking spoon to push the garlic and onion to the sides so you have just the bottom of the pot clear. Pour your spices in the middle and stir the mount around within that clear area for no more than 20-30 seconds. Now add just a splash of broth and stir it around, starting to incorporate it with the onions and garlic. This is NOT proper tempering as in Indian cuisine, but it saves me the oil so I like to do it this way and honestly feel the flavor is just as good. But you do as you like.
  • Make the sauce: Now just add the rest of your broth, almond butter if using, and your canned pumpkin and stir well so you have a thick sauce. How much broth you add is up to you. I prefer to start with 1 cup, and add more only if I need to. Remember that the frozen veggies will release some of their own liquid, thinning down the sauce as they thaw and cook.
  • Add the veggies: Turn the heat down to medium, add the frozen veggies, stir well, and place a lid on the pot. Cook them for about 10 minutes, stirring halfway through. You’ll find that it’s very thick while the veggies are still frozen, and will start to loosen toward the end. When the veggies are cooked, you can add a little more broth if it’s too thick for you.
  • Add the add-ins: When you’re happy with the consistency and doneness of your veggies, add the lime and coconut milk. Stir it well, and let it heat for 30 seconds or so before removing from heat.
  • Serve it up: Serve up your pumpkin curry with rice (if you like), and some cilantro if you’re one of those people that likes cilantro, like me! If not, try other herbs like parsley, Thai basil, sage, or thyme.
  • Store Leftovers: Refrigerate any leftovers up to 5 days in an airtight container. Curry flavors usually get even better the second and third day, so this is a great dish for meal prep. You can also freeze leftovers in an airtight freezer safe container up to 3 months.

Notes

  • Note 1: I used a mix of a stir-fry blend from my local grocery store and some frozen cauliflower because I like cauliflower in curry, but you can use whatever you’d like. I actually really love the big bags of frozen veggies from Costco, but I was out and didn’t feel like dealing with their crowds the day we photographed this.
  • Note 2: Look, I know it sounds strange to put almond butter in a curry, but this does taste really good. It adds just a little warmth, nuttiness, and really autumnal flavor to the curry, but the amount is so little it doesn’t make it sticky or sweet. That being said, if you can’t have almonds you can either substitute something like peanut butter or sunflower seed butter, or you can leave it out altogether and it will still be incredibly delicious.
  • Note 3: Though vegetables have a lot of their own protein, you could add a more concentrated protein source like baked or air fried tofu, beans (like white beans or chickpeas), tempeh, or seitan.
  • Note 4: I like to get all my spices from The Spice House online. The quality is better, I can order flatpacks to save majorly on shipping (and use my own spice jars), and I never have to pay too much at the store for random spice jars that may or may not fit nicely in my cabinets. Save 10% off your first order! Enter FREESPICETEN at checkout on thespicehouse.com.
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes
  • Category: Entree
  • Method: Stove top
  • Cuisine: Indian, American, Fall

Keywords: Vegan, Oil-Free, Gluten-Free, Soy-Free, Sugar-Free, Can be Nut-Free, Pumpkin Curry, Vegan Pumpkin Curry