How to Make Pumpkin Soup (2 Tasty Recipes)

Fall is in full swing and it’s a good time to embrace warmth and comfort while you get ready to brace the onset of winter. A bowl of hot pumpkin soup is the perfect way to beat the autumn chill.

Squashes, including pumpkins, are quite versatile and can be incorporated into almost any type of dish. But one of the best things you can do with pumpkin is make it into soup.

Pumpkin soup has a rich taste and velvety texture. It is both savory as well as subtly sweet. Sprinkled with crunchy croutons and pumpkin seeds, pumpkin soup is the very embodiment of delicacy.

You can easily experiment with the flavors and serve it as a light lunch or dinner or even present it as a part of a meal. Pumpkin soup is so satisfying, healthy and comforting that it just might become your signature dish this squash season.

Here are two tasty recipes that you can use to make pumpkin soup.

Method 1: With Vegetable Stock

This method of making pumpkin soup is quick and simple, as it uses vegetable stock as a base. You can still make it from scratch using homemade vegetable stock and pumpkin puree.

Things you’ll need:

• Vegetable stock – 2 cups
• Pumpkin puree – 1 cup
• Heavy cream – ½ cup
• Ground nutmeg – 1 teaspoon
• Salt – 1 teaspoon

Step 1. Heat pumpkin puree and vegetable stock in a pan

• Place a pan over medium heat and add 1 cup of pumpkin puree to it.
• Add in 2 cups of vegetable stock as well.
• Stir to mix the pumpkin puree completely with the vegetable stock.

Step 2. Season the soup

• Add 1 teaspoon of salt to the pan, followed by 1 teaspoon of ground nutmeg and stir well. Nutmeg can drastically enhance the flavor of the pumpkin soup.

You can get ground nutmeg at stores, but freshly ground nutmeg is comparatively more flavorful.

Step 3. Add heavy cream and cook the soup

• Stir in ½ cup of heavy cream.
• Let the soup simmer for about 5 minutes before taking it off the heat.

Ladle the soup into bowls. Garnish with a sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice, heavy cream and parsley or cilantro before serving it hot.

You can also top your soup with croutons or roasted seeds. Both roasted pumpkin seeds and sesame seeds can be sprinkled over your pumpkin soup.

Method 2: Without Vegetable Stock

This is an all-out method where you start from the scratch and don’t lose out on the fiber from the veggies. You can experiment with different vegetables that go with pumpkin for a different taste every time.

Things you’ll need:

• Water – 2 cups
• Pumpkin purée – 1 cup
• Eggplant, chopped – 1 (large)
• Onion, chopped – 1 (large)
• Carrots, chopped – 2 or 3 (medium-sized)
• Potatoes, chopped – 2 (medium-sized)
• Butter – 1 tablespoon
• Salt
• Turmeric – 1 teaspoon
• Cumin – 1 teaspoon

Step 1. Add water and vegetables to a deep pan

• Pour 2 cups of water into a deep pan. You can use a saucepan or a soup pan.
• Add the chopped carrots, potatoes and eggplant to the water.

Step 2. Bring the vegetables to a boil

• Bring the vegetables to a boil.
• Turn the heat down to low and cover the simmering vegetables with a lid.

Step 3. Heat up some butter in a skillet

• Put 1 tablespoon of butter in a skillet and heat it until it starts foaming.

Step 4. Add cumin and onions to it

• Add 1 teaspoon of cumin seeds to the bubbling butter.
• When the cumin seeds start sizzling and popping, add the chopped onions.
• Stirring continually, sauté the onions until they are slightly golden in color.

Step 5. Add the onions to the vegetables

• Add the sautéed cumin and onions to the simmering vegetables in the pan. This will give your soup a robust flavor.

Step 6. Add turmeric powder and pumpkin puree

• Add 1 teaspoon of turmeric powder to the pan, followed by 1 cup of pumpkin puree.
• Let the soup simmer until the carrots become tender.

Turmeric will not only give a beautiful color to the soup, it will also enhance its taste.

Step 7. Puree the soup

• When the vegetables are tender, take the pan off the heat.
• Blend the soup on high until the texture becomes velvety.

Step 8. Season the soup

• Ladle the soup into a bowl and season it to taste with salt.

Garnish the soup with cream before serving. If you’re having some company over, go all fancy and serve the soup in hollowed out pumpkins. That will definitely get you presentation points with your guests.

Tips

• Swap either coconut or almond milk or cream for the dairy cream to create a healthier and vegan version.
• You can easily substitute shallots for the onions and use other vegetables like celery or capsicums to give a varied flavor to your soup.
• Using oven-roasted pumpkin flesh instead of store-bought pumpkin puree will impart a distinct nuttiness to your soup.
• For pureeing the soup, you can use an immersion blender as well.
• Depending upon the type of blender you’re using, you may need to let the soup cool down a little before you puree it or you may damage the appliance.
• When serving pumpkin soup, used warmed bowls to keep it warm for a longer time.

Summary of How to Make Pumpkin Soup

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