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    BLANK » Recipe Index » Caribbean Dishes

    Jamaican Pumpkin Soup (Vegan Style)

    Last Updated January 17, 2023. Published September 12, 2020 By Charla 17 Comments

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    short pin soup
    Long pumpkin pin

    Enjoy a meat free version of this traditional Jamaican Pumpkin Soup. It's bursting with true Caribbean flavour, tasty and incredibly satisfying, so good you will be tempted to have more than one bowl of this goodness.

    two bowls of soup

    If you are looking for a way to use up some fresh pumpkin then you definitely need to check out this soup dish.

    It's suitable for most dietary requirements and is a vegan and gluten free spin on a Caribbean traditional soup recipe.

    Please don't forget to check out the pureed version of this recipe, it's like the little sister to it but just as tasty!

    If you grew up in a Caribbean household especially one of the English speaking islands i.e Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Antigua, St Kitts and Nevis, Grenada etc... chances are you had soup on a Saturday.

    Yup, I did too!! Saturdays were reserved for soup, for dinner. In my household we had soup 2 times a week - Tuesdays and Saturdays. Sometimes we would have it more than 2 times but those days were customary for us.

    Today I'm going to show you how to make Jamaican pumpkin soup that is meat free and still just as tasty (I promise).

    I see this as a vegan rendition of Jamaican Chicken Soup using jackfruit (similar to what is used in my Brown Stew Jackfruit) recipe in place of chicken.

    Which squash to use?

    What makes pumpkin soup truly Jamaican is the type of pumpkin that is used which is Calabaza aka a West Indian pumpkin or simply put winter squash.

    In the Latin American countries it is referred to as Cucurbita.

    Unlike the sugar pumpkin that is used in North America and England during the fall, Calabaza is the preferred squash for island people.

    Upon appearance it looks remotely different, although the flesh of the pumpkin remains bright orange, its skin is a striking shade of green.

    Regardless of what pumpkin I am using I enjoy making Pumpkin Pone, Pumpkin and Sweet Potato Soup, and Vegan Pumpkin Spice Drink those are my favourite fall recipes.

    a bowl and a half of soup

    Veganizing your Jamaican soup

    Now here comes the fun part, veganising your soup. This is really simple to do with the following components - you will need some vegetable stock, my homemade cock soup mix (I will add the link in the notes section) and some partly mashed pumpkin to yield the foundation of the soup.

    The great thing about this soup is once you have the aforementioned sorted, you simply customise the rest of the soup to your preference adding, yam (name), cocoyam, dasheen (taro) cho cho (christophine), plantain, green banana, breadfruit, cassava, potato and so fourth etc...followed by dumpling.

    You can add as little or much as you like. I love yellow yam but these days I'm struggling to find it so I used white instead.

    You can use the exact same vegetables that I'm using or use your own vegetable medley.

    How to make Jamaican Pumpkin soup

    steps 1-2 stock and pumpkin boiled a

    • Bring the large stock pot to the boil with the vegetable stock.
    • Meanwhile, add half of the pumpkin to the pot.
    • Allow the pot to boil for 10 minutes then mash the pumpkin (use a potato crusher or fork). This will form as your base.

    steps 3-6 making the dumpling

    • Prepare the dumpling by adding the flour and pink salt to a medium bowl.
    • Pour the water into the flour in intervals to form a pliable dough ball.
    • Pinch off about a golf ball size of the dough and form into discs or roll in the palm of your hand to make spinners.
    • Add the dumpling to the pot.

    steps 7-10 adding vegetables to the soup

    • Then add all of the ingredients excluding the parsley, black pepper, onion granules and coconut milk
    • Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for an hour.
    • Half way through cooking add the coconut milk, parsley, black pepper and onion granules, pink salt if needed stir and do a taste test and adjust accordingly.
    • Continue to simmer for another 30 minutes during this time the soup should have thickened. Mash some more pumpkin for a thicker texture.
    • Remove the thyme stems, scotch bonnet and pimento berries prior to serving.

    Do I have to include your homemade cock soup mix?

    My version of cock mix is best for people who have used the store bought kind but want something that doesn't contain a bunch of unwanted additives and wheat.

    It also helps to give more authenticity since this mix is added to many Jamaican soup dishes. If you don't want to add the cock soup mix then definitely use vegetable stock to prevent the recipe from tasting bland.

    I'm Caribbean but not gluten free, can I still make this recipe?

    Absolutely! If you are not gluten free just use spelt flour or whatever non gluten free flour that works for you.

    Is this recipe freezer friendly?

    Yes, you can portion the soup into individual freezer friendly soup bowls and freeze and consume within 3 months.

    When you are ready to have your soup, simply leave to thaw out (this may take a few hours) on the counter top and heat through using your preferred method.

    Where can you purchase the Caribbean vegetables that have been listed?

    You will need to head to a neighbourhood that is diverse with Black/Asians/Latinos. Go to these markets and you will find the vegetables that you need. If you are not sure, ask the vendor as most are more than happy to help you out.

    Notes and tips

    • You will need a large stock pot that holds 2 quarts/2 litres.
    • For best results use both Vegetable Broth and my Homemade Cock Soup Mix (click the link to access both).
    • Use whatever vegetables you want, you can mirror my recipe or simply include some of your favourites.
    • Use zucchini if you can't get hold of cho cho/christophine/chayote and you may want to include swede/turnips if yam etc... isn't an option.
    • Be sure to mash half of the pumpkin before hand to make the base of the soup.
    • If you can't obtain calabaza squash, simply use butternut or any other squash. It won't impact the outcome of the recipe.

    close up of the soup

    More Caribbean soup recipes to try

    • Trinidad Corn Soup
    • Cuban Black Bean Soup
    • Caribbean Detox Soup
    • Crema de Malanga (Dasheen Soup)
    • Callaloo Soup
    • Pumpkin Lentil Soup 
    • Gungo Peas Soup

    **Don't forget to comment below and star rate if you have tried my recipes. Let's be friends and engage on Facebook and Instagram I also like to pin on Pinterest, where you can find more amazing recipes.**

    Jamaican Pumpkin Soup

    Enjoy a vegan rendition of Jamaican Saturday soup - so wholesome, filling and packed with flavour.
    5 from 12 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Soup
    Cuisine: Jamaican
    Prep Time: 30 minutes
    Cook Time: 1 hour
    Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
    Servings: 6 people
    Calories: 312kcal
    Author: Charla

    Ingredients

    • 1 lb Pumpkin (450g) roughly 4 cups, chopped
    • ½ cup coconut milk (120ml)
    • 10 cups vegetable stock (2 ½ litres) see notes for the link
    • 2 cans jackfruit shredded (core discarded)
    • 1 cho cho chopped
    • 2 medium carrots chopped
    • 1 medium sweet potato chopped
    • ½ - 1 lb yellow yam (450g)
    • 3 tablespoon homemade cock soup mix see recipe notes
    • 3 scallion chopped
    • 4 garlic cloves chopped
    • 1 scotch bonnet pepper
    • ½ tablespoon parsley
    • ½ teaspoon black pepper
    • 1 teaspoon onion powder/granules
    • 6 sprigs of thyme
    • 10 pimento berries
    • pink salt to taste (if needed)

    For the dumpling

    • 2 cups gluten free flour (272g)
    • ½ cup warm water (120ml)
    • ½ teaspoon pink salt
    US Customary - Metric

    Instructions

    • Bring the large stock pot to the boil with the vegetable stock.
    • Meanwhile, add half of the pumpkin to the pot.
    • Allow the pot to boil for 10 minutes then mash the pumpkin (use a potato crusher or fork). This will form as your base.

    To make the dumpling

    • Prepare the dumpling by adding the flour and pink salt to a medium bowl. Pour the water into the flour in intervals to form a pliable dough ball.
    • Pinch off about golf ball size of the dough and form into discs or roll in the palm of your hand to make spinners.
    • Add the dumpling to the pot.

    For the soup

    • Then add all of the ingredients excluding the parsley, black pepper, onion granules and coconut milk.
    • Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for an hour.
    • Half way through cooking add the coconut milk, parsley, black pepper and onion granules, pink salt if needed stir and do a taste test and adjust accordingly.
    • Continue to simmer for another 30 minutes during this time the soup should have thickened. Mash some more pumpkin for a thicker texture.
    • Remove the thyme stems, scotch bonnet and pimento berries prior to serving.

    Notes

    • You will need a large stock pot that holds 2 quarts/2 litres.
    • For best results use both Vegetable Broth and my Homemade Cock Soup Mix (click the link to access both). 
    • Use whatever vegetables you want, you can mirror my recipe or simply include some of your favourites.
    • Use zucchini if you can't get hold of cho cho/christophine/chayote and you may want to include swede/turnips if yam etc... isn't an option.
    • Be sure to mash half of the pumpkin before hand to make the base of the soup.
    • If you can't obtain calabaza squash, simply use butternut or any other squash. It won't impact the outcome of the recipe.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 312kcal | Carbohydrates: 63g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 2455mg | Potassium: 868mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 16197IU | Vitamin C: 21mg | Calcium: 86mg | Iron: 4mg
    Tried this Recipe? Tag me Today!Mention @ThatGirlCooksHealthy or tag #ThatGirlCooksHealthy!
    « Pumpkin and Sweet Potato Soup (Stove or Instant Pot)
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    About Charla

    I'm Charla. Caribbean foodie & Certified Health Coach. Welcome to the heaven of gluten and dairy free recipes as well as modernised healthier alternatives to some of your favourite Caribbean recipes.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Nicola

      November 10, 2022 at 10:34 pm

      5 stars
      I made this and used kidney beans as I had no jack fruit. It was absolutely delicious. Thank you for the recipe.

      Reply
      • Charla

        November 10, 2022 at 11:16 pm

        Hi Nicola, you are most welcome. I'm so glad it worked out with kidney beans instead :).

        Reply
    2. Parth

      February 23, 2022 at 4:41 am

      5 stars
      I didn't think I would like a vegan version of pumpkin soup but it turns out that this one is top of the list. It's my Saturday go to, yum yum...

      Reply
      • Charla

        February 23, 2022 at 11:08 am

        I'm so glad to hear that, thank you!

        Reply
    3. Avy

      September 13, 2020 at 8:16 pm

      Perfect recipe in time for Autumn. My father cooks a cow foot soup every Sunday, but since I'm vegan I don't eat it. Seeing as it's tradition for us Jamaicans, I'm happy there's a vegan soup recipe very similar to what I grew up with. Thanks!

      Reply
      • Avy

        September 13, 2020 at 8:17 pm

        Sorry, every Saturday*.

        Reply
      • Charla

        September 13, 2020 at 8:19 pm

        No problem. You might also like my Trinidad Corn Soup recipe too. It's another vegan favourite!!

        Reply
    4. Sue

      September 12, 2020 at 4:25 pm

      5 stars
      This pumpkin soup looks just perfect for a cold winter day. Pinning!

      Reply
      • Charla

        September 12, 2020 at 10:29 pm

        Thank you Sue

        Reply
    5. Bintu | Recipes From A Pantry

      September 12, 2020 at 4:19 pm

      5 stars
      Oh my, this soup sounds wonderful. So flavourful and perfect for this time of year.

      Reply
      • Charla

        September 12, 2020 at 4:22 pm

        Thanks Bintu.

        Reply
    6. Sunrita

      September 12, 2020 at 2:23 pm

      A very hearty and wholesome soup indeed. Would have never thought of making soup with jackfruit!

      Reply
      • Charla

        September 12, 2020 at 2:24 pm

        It's a game changer for sure.

        Reply
    7. Jen

      September 12, 2020 at 2:06 pm

      5 stars
      Love the idea of freezing the leftovers into lunch sized portions. Makes it so easy to enjoy it during the week when I want something quick to grab. So perfect!

      Reply
      • Charla

        September 12, 2020 at 2:08 pm

        I'm so glad to hear that Jen. Enjoy!!

        Reply
    8. Julia

      September 12, 2020 at 1:56 pm

      This sounds like a delicious soup recipe. Love how rich it is!

      Reply
      • Charla

        September 12, 2020 at 1:58 pm

        Thanks Julia!!

        Reply

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    Greetings

    I'm Charla. Caribbean foodie & Certified Health Coach. Welcome to the heaven of gluten and dairy free recipes as well as modernised healthier alternatives to some of your favourite Caribbean recipes. Learn more about me

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