Ingredients
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1 tablespoon (13.5 g) avocado oil or another neutral oil
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1 medium onion (about 150 g), chopped
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1 red bell pepper (about 150 g), chopped
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3 garlic cloves, minced
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1 tablespoon (6 g) grated fresh ginger
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3 tablespoons (45 g) Thai red curry paste, such as Thai Kitchen (heat varies by brand)
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1 can (15 oz, 425 g) pumpkin purée (100% pumpkin, not pie filling)
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3 cups (720 ml) unsalted chicken stock, such as Swanson Unsalted
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1 can (13.66 oz, about 400 ml) lite coconut milk, such as Thai Kitchen Lite
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2 teaspoons (12 g) fish sauce
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1 lb (454 g) raw shrimp (21 to 25 per pound), peeled, deveined, tails removed
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4 cups (120 g) baby spinach
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2 tablespoons (30 g) fresh lime juice (1 to 2 limes)
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1/3 cup (8 g) chopped cilantro
Allergens Contains: Shellfish (shrimp), fish (fish sauce). Some red curry pastes also contain shrimp paste; check the label. Coconut is no longer classed as a tree nut by the FDA, but check with anyone who has a coconut allergy.
Instructions
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1
Heat the oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Cook the onion and bell pepper 6 to 7 minutes, until soft and the onion edges just turn golden. Add the garlic, ginger and curry paste and stir 1 to 2 minutes, until the paste darkens a shade and smells toasty; frying the paste is where the soup's depth comes from.
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2
Stir in the pumpkin, scraping up anything stuck to the pot, then the stock and coconut milk. Bring to a simmer and cook, partly covered, 10 minutes, until slightly thickened and the pumpkin no longer tastes raw. Blend with an immersion blender until completely smooth.
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3
Stir in the fish sauce. Add the shrimp and keep the soup at a gentle simmer, not a boil, 3 to 4 minutes, until the shrimp are pink, opaque all the way through and curled into a loose C. Stir in the spinach just until it wilts, about 30 seconds.
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4
Take the pot off the heat and stir in the lime juice and most of the cilantro. Taste: add more lime if it tastes flat, or a few drops of fish sauce if it needs salt. Ladle into bowls and top with the remaining cilantro.
Meal Prep Tip
Make the base through step 2 and refrigerate it up to 4 days or freeze up to 3 months. Reheat to a simmer and cook the shrimp fresh in each batch; shrimp reheated in the soup turns tough.
Storage & Food Safety
Cook shrimp until opaque throughout and 145°F. Refrigerate leftovers at 40°F or below within 2 hours (1 hour above 90°F) and eat within 3 days; reheat to 165°F. For children under 4, cut the shrimp into small pieces and use a mild curry paste.
Make It Yours
Heartier
Add another 1/2 lb shrimp for about 9 g more protein and 40 calories per bowl. For a richer body, use half a can of full-fat coconut milk plus 3/4 cup water: about 30 calories more, and saturated fat rises to 8 g, right at our low-carb limit. A full can of full-fat doubles that.
If you don't like shrimp
Use 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs cut into 1-inch pieces, simmered 8 to 10 minutes to 165°F. Protein stays about the same and calories rise about 30 per bowl.
Lower-sodium
Skip the fish sauce and finish with extra lime and a pinch of salt only if needed. Saves about 190 mg per bowl, to roughly 410 mg.
Budget or pantry-only
Frozen raw shrimp are cheaper and work well; thaw overnight in the fridge. Choose bags that list shrimp as the only ingredient, since shrimp treated with salt or sodium tripolyphosphate can carry several times the sodium.
Gluten-free
Gluten-free as written with Thai Kitchen paste and most fish sauces. Check labels anyway, since a few fish sauces contain wheat-based hydrolyzed protein.
Nutrition
Per serving (about 2 cups, 510 g) — estimate, without rice.
Calories
240
Net Carbs
12g
Total Carbs
17g
Fiber
5g
Total Sugars
7g
Added Sugars
0g
Protein
24g
Fat
8g
Saturated Fat
5g
Sodium
600mg
Nutrition pending review by our registered dietitian — estimate only. Not medical advice.
Keywords
LunchHigh ProteinOne-PotPumpkinShrimpLow-Carb
