Classic Pumpkin Soup Recipe
If I had to live in pumpkin soup monogamy for the rest of my days, I'd choose this classic pumpkin soup recipe — without curry, without crispy pancetta, without dancing croutons — that got me hooked on pumpkin soup in the first place. No question. Refer to the extensive notes section below for Instant Pot, slow cooker, dairy-free, and canned pumpkin variations on this recipe.
Servings: 6
Calories: 235kcal
Ingredients
- 1 medium sugar pumpkin 2 to 3 pounds/907 to 1(360 grams)
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) olive oil
- 2 tablespoons (28 grams) unsalted butter
- 1 medium onion finely chopped
- 6 cups 1(420 ml) low sodium vegetable stock (see notes)
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) maple syrup
- ½ cup (120 ml) heavy cream
To garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F with a rack in the center.
- Split pumpkin in half and remove seeds with a large spoon. Brush pumpkin on cut surfaces with oil and place on a rimmed baking sheet, cut-sides down.
- Roast until completely tender and a knife or cake tester inserted near the stem meets little to no resistance, 30 minutes to 1 hour. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
- When cool enough to handle, scoop out seeds and stringy bits and reserve for roasting if you like. Scoop out flesh into a medium bowl and discard skin. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, melt butter in a large, heavy pot over medium-high heat.
- Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened but not browned, about 4 minutes.
- Add pumpkin flesh, stock, cinnamon, nutmeg, cayenne, salt, and pepper.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes.
- Remove pot oven from heat.
- Puree soup with immersion blender or carefully, in batches, in regular blender.
- For a smoother soup, strain through a fine-mesh strainer.
- Whisk in maple syrup and cream.
Video
Notes
- A sugar pumpkin, also called a pie pumpkin or sweet pumpkin, is smaller, sweeter, and less fibrous than the kind you'd carve.
- There are several great types of squash that work beautifully as substitutes for sugar pumpkin in soup. Butternut will work (or try my favorite butternut squash and apple soup). But my favorite choices, which have denser, sweeter flesh, are kabocha squash (sometimes called Japanese pumpkin) and red kuri squash.
- If you prefer a thinner soup, add up to 8 cups stock (or feel free to adjust after blending).
- As with many soups, pumpkin soup is great to make ahead. The flavors will even get better over time. You can keep this soup tightly covered in the fridge for several days. Gently reheat before serving, without bringing to a boil.
Instant Pot method
If you'd prefer to make your soup in the Instant Pot, that's great too. You can start with roasted pumpkin or peeled, diced raw pumpkin (which won't have quite the same depth of flavor but is still perfectly delicious.) Here's what to do:- Use the sauté function to melt the butter and then cook the onion until softened (about five minutes).
- Add the raw or roasted pumpkin, broth, cinnamon, nutmeg, cayenne, salt, and pepper to the pot. IMPORTANT: Use only four cups of broth, since the IP is a sealed environment that doesn't result in much evaporation at all.
- Position the lid and set the vent to sealing. Set the pot to manual, high pressure. For raw pumpkin, cook for 15 minutes. For roasted pumpkin, cook for 5 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally.
- Follow the recipe's regular instructions for adding the cream and maple syrup and pureeing the soup.
How to cook a whole pumpkin in the Instant Pot
Fun fact: You can also cook a whole sugar pumpkin right in the Instant Pot to make pumpkin puree. For a 2- to 3- pound pumpkin, place the entire thing into the pot and add one cup of water. Position the lid and set the vent to sealing. Cook on manual, high pressure for 15 minutes and then let the pressure release naturally. When cooled somewhat, carefully cut in half, scoop out the seeds and stringy bits. Flesh is ready to use. You can roast the seeds as well if you like.Slow cooker method
To make this soup in the slow cooker, sauté the onions in the butter in a medium frying pan. Then add all ingredients to the slow cooker. Cook on low for 5 hours or on high for 3 hours. Puree and serve.Dairy-free method
To make a dairy-free and vegan version of this soup, you'll make two simple substitutions.First, swap in olive oil, or a neutral-tasting oil like safflower for the butter. Second, swap out the cream. You have several options for substitutions:- My preference is an equal amount of cashew cream, because it's easy to make, behaves similarly to cream, and has a complementary and fairly neutral flavor profile. If using cashew cream, stir it in right before you remove the pot from the heat. It only takes an instant to thicken.
- My second-favorite option is to use a potato. Peel and dice a medium-sized potato (either a starchy or a gold-fleshed one will work) and add it to the pot along with the broth. Follow the rest of the instructions, but be sure to simmer the soup until the potato is tender. When you puree, it will add a nice creaminess and heft.
- Or, if you like the taste of coconut, you can use an equal amount of full-fat coconut milk. It's a complementary flavor but does change the taste of the soup.
Libby's canned pumpkin soup recipe
If you've got a can of pumpkin puree and no fresh pumpkin to work with, you can still make this recipe. A 2- to 3- pound sugar pumpkin yields about the same amount of roasted flesh as one 15.5-ounce can of pumpkin puree. Start by sautéing the onion in the butter and simply add the canned pumpkin in the following step. There's no need to make further changes to the recipe. The taste will be a little different than when using fresh pumpkin, but it's still good.Nutrition
Calories: 235kcal | Carbohydrates: 23.9g | Protein: 2.9g | Fat: 16g | Fiber: 1.7g