This is THE pumpkin soup recipe you will make now and forever! It’s thick, creamy, and irresistible, a classic easy pumpkin soup made with fresh pumpkin that’s fast to make, and only 189 calories per serving. Don’t forget crusty bread for dunking! (Or up the ante with crusty cheese bread).
This is a reader-favourite recipe included by popular demand in my debut cookbook “Dinner”!
Pumpkin soup
Some recipes should be kept simple as nature intended them to be, and in my opinion, Pumpkin Soup is one of those dishes. The natural flavour of pumpkin is good enough that you need very little to make a beautiful, creamy, full flavoured soup.
And while sometimes it’s nice to have a dolled up version with all the bells and whistles, 99% of the time, this simple recipe is how I make it.
It’s just a great EASY Pumpkin Soup recipe, a classic version that has everything it needs and nothing it doesn’t to be can’t-stop-eating-it delicious!
The secret ingredients to make pumpkin soup tastier is onion and garlic!
What goes in Pumpkin Soup
To make this great quick and easy pumpkin soup, you will need:
Pumpkin – Peeled and chopped into large chunks (or purchase it pre-cut). See below for the best pumpkin to use and recipe notes for canned pureed pumpkin option;
Onion and garlic – the secret ingredients that adds extra savouriness into the soup flavour!!
Stock/broth and water – for a tastier pumpkin soup, don’t skip the broth!
Milk, cream or half and half stirred through at the end. Here’s my view on cream. Does it make it better? Yes, insofar as adding richness to the soup. Is it necessary? Absolutely not. You do NOT need cream to make the soup thicker. All the thickness comes from the pumpkin itself. I usually make Pumpkin Soup with milk instead.
If you don’t have cream but want extra richness in your soup, just add a touch of butter!
Do you have to peel pumpkin for soup?
Yes, you do. The skin is too tough and won’t puree properly so you’ll end up with hard bits in the soup.
Best pumpkin for pumpkin soup
Use any type of eating pumpkin you want OR butternut squash (which is called butternut pumpkin in Australia). DO NOT use Halloween carving pumpkin used to make Jack-O-Laterns. While they are edible, they are not that tasty!
US: sugar pumpkin or butternut squash.
Australia: common ideal types include Jap/Kent, Jarradale, Queensland Blue or Butternut Pumpkin (which is called butternut squash in the US)
If you’re not a fan of chopping and peeling pumpkin, try my No-Chop Roasted Pumpkin Soup!
How to make pumpkin soup from scratch
Place peeled pumpkin, onion, garlic, broth/stock and water into a pot;
Boil rapidly for 15 minutes until pumpkin is very tender;
Use a stick blender or transfer to blender to blitz smooth; and
Adjust salt and pepper to taste, then add either milk OR cream – whichever you prefer.
The secret ingredients are the garlic and onion. It makes all the difference to add extra savouriness!
How to add flavours to pumpkin soup
While plain pumpkin soup is my favourite and the way I serve it most often, sometimes it’s nice to change things up by adding other flavours! Here are a few suggestions:
Curried pumpkin soup – stir in a touch of curry powder once you blitz it, add little by little
Thai red curry – start by sautéing 2 tbsp red curry paste in 1/2 tbsp oil over medium heat. Cook for 2 minutes until really fragrant, then proceed with recipe ie add liquids and pumpkin etc. Then instead of using cream, use coconut cream. Garnish with coriander/cilantro. SO GOOD!
Ginger– saute 1 tbsp finely chopped ginger in 1/2 tbsp oil or butter, then proceed with recipe.
Lightly Spiced – stir in 1/2 tsp each cumin, coriander and smoked paprika.
Turmeric – 1 1/2 tsp each ground turmeric, coriander and 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
Storing pumpkin soup
Pumpkin soup will keep in the fridge for 4 to 5 days, or can be frozen for 3 months – just thaw then reheat using your chosen method.
If your soup is too thick, just loosen it with a touch of water when reheating.
If it’s too thin (unlikely, but could happen!), then just simmer on the stove for a while to let it reduce – this will thicken it.
Soup Dunkers
A soup this thick and creamy demands bread for dunking! Try one of these:
4 steps. A bit of chopping, plonk it all in a pot, blitz, season then serve.
A thick and creamy pumpkin soup that’s full of flavour. Sweet pumpkin flavour, savouriness from the broth, garlic and onion.
You’ll be mopping up every last bit of this with your bread!! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
This recipe features in my debut cookbook Dinner. The book is mostly new recipes, but this is a reader favourite included by popular demand!
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Pumpkin Soup – Classic and Easy
Ingredients
- 1.2 kg / 2.4 lb pumpkin (any type) OR butternut squash, unpeeled weight (Note 1)
- 1 onion , sliced (white, brown, yellow)
- 2 garlic cloves , peeled whole
- 3 cups vegetable or chicken broth/stock , low sodium
- 1 cup water
- Salt and pepper
Finishes:
- 1/2 – 3/4 cup cream , half and half or milk (Note 2)
Instructions
- Cut the pumpkin into 3cm / 2.25" slices. Cut the skin off and scrape seeds out (video is helpful). Cut into 4cm / 1.5" chunks.
- Place the pumpkin, onion, garlic, broth and water in a pot – liquid won't quite cover all the pumpkin. Bring to a boil, uncovered, then reduce heat and let simmer rapidly until pumpkin is tender (check with butter knife) – about 10 minutes.
- Remove from heat and use a stick blender to blend until smooth (Note 3 for blender).
- Season to taste with salt and pepper, stir through cream (never boil soup after adding cream, cream will split).
- Ladle soup into bowls, drizzle over a bit of cream, sprinkle with pepper and parsley if desired. Serve with crusty bread!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
* Originally published June 2014, photos replaced in 2018, brand new improved video added in September 2019, minor housekeeping 2020 (no change to recipe).
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DELICIOUS!!! Cooked this tonight added yellow Thai curry paste to give it a bit of a bite PERFECT. Thankyou for this easy and tasty recipe everyone loved it👍
This was delicious!! I made it for the first time with the red curry paste and a little bit of sweet potato (didn’t have enough pumpkin), it was so easy and quick. I look forward to trying the other variations.
This is a great starting spot for pumpkin soup. A few adjustments to take this to the next level
1. Reduce pumpkin to 1kg
2. Use butternut pumpkin
3. Add 150g of butter
I just love this soup, so easy and delicious. I use the red curry idea, just enough bite to make it different.
I’m not usually a fan of pumpkin soup but a friend gave me a home grown pumpkin so I was searching for different recipes and came across this one. OMGEEE Nagi, you have converted me, this is the best pumpkin soup I have ever tasted. Can’t wait to try it with yr suggested additions next time:)
Could I use Greek yoghurt instead of cream?
l do Sandra. Adds a little bit of zing, and it’s healthier.
Another great recipetineats recipe! And so easy (besides wrangling the pumpkin)! I did the ginger variety, fried it up with the onion and garlic and added some turmeric.
This is such a great recipe and so easy to “tweak” by adding herbs, spices, different stock etc.
Made this for a second time, but followed the directions pretty closely, maybe used a smidge extra pumpkin. Still can’t work out why this tastes so good! Never thought I’d give up my usual pumpkin soup recipe, but this is much better. Fluorescent orange, very sweet, just so damned pumpkiny. Going to eat it daily over winter.
Delicious.
I made the tumeric variation with added red lentils (for the added protein).
Threw it all in the thermomix and 20 minutes later a gorgeous soup!
Michelle x
I haven’t cooked this recipe yet but my mum and me decided to make a pumpkin soup. Instead of using the broth, we are thinking of using lentils. Will it still taste good?
Lentils instead of broth? I would say it really wouldn’t work, you need the water content otherwise you would end up with a very dry mash and no flavour.
Lentils should be fine but if you are not using stock just add a little extra water so it just comes up to the top of the pumpkin pieces. If the lentils are pre soaked then I’d add them about half way through. Trial and error! have fun.
Delicious, comfort food. Recipe easy to prepare and follow.
When the mix is pureed using a stick blender in a jug, i notice that i taste tiny bits of onion. Could I put through a sieve after puree to get rid of those bits for the smoothest soup.
Thanks
Nick
Put it through the blender twice. Preferably when it is cold, heat again and serve.
Yum! Thick and tasty. I used 1.2 kg butternut pumpkin and also added some bacon when cooking the onion and garlic. I also added what I thought was tomato paste I found in my freezer (think it had some extra spices!) Added small amount of full cream milk into the individual dishes, as it was only eaten by my husband and I. Highly recommend this recipe, thanks.
I was surprised by how good this soup was. I only had about a kilo of pumpkin, skipped the salt as I used my regular stock powder, and used tinned evaporated milk, so the soup was too thin and smelled dreadful. I simmered it to reduce it and couldn’t believe it still tasted great- really tasted the pumpkin & had a nice burn from the pepper. I plan to try it with the suggested amount of pumpkin, and cream, next time, and caramelizing the onion & garlic first like I normally do, to see what happens. I normally can’t taste the pumpkin in my soup, and can see I was over-doing it by adding a potoato, carrot and celery to zhoosh up the flavour. unnecessarily. Maybe I’ll try making it with the Nagi vegie stock too. Nice! Thank you.
Made to the recipe but because this soup is very low in protein, I added a can of drained, rinsed cannellini beans and blended really well.
It did not change the taste or texture and no body had a clue. It added an extra 10gm protein per serve. Because of the extra protein and fibre it is very filling so I ended up with 6 serves as a main instead of 4.
I loved this recipe, and i prefer soups without cream or sugar!
I made a couple changes, i baked my pumpkin, 5 garlic cloves and 1 sweet potato which made it thicker:) (360’ for 40 mins/till soft)
Absolutely delicious!!
Thank you so much for this lovely recipe. I just finished making it, with ginger, in the blender, and adding crème fraîche in the end. Really lovely and simple to make as well as great to vary with.
I made this tonight. There’s a growing movement in the UK to hollow out the flesh from our halloween carved pumpkins to reduce food waste – and so I had to work with thin slithers of pumpkin. I therefore reduced the pumpkin weight by 20% to give me a 50/50 ratio on liquid to pumpkin and added it to the pan 4mins after the onion/garlic. This was a bit too late due to having to get the temperature up again, so maybe better 3mins later. Delicious!
First I cut the recipe down just for my husband and I and I used
butternut squash. I used chicken better than bullion in the boiling water to cook the squash. The squash still seemed a bit too sweet so I did not use any of the liquid from The boiling process. Used my vita mix processor with some chicken broth the onions and garlic and added some half-and-half and about 2 ounces of cream cheese. This is a fantastic recipe and easy to make little changes to my husband said he would love to have the soup anytime.
This is very nice if you want it a bit thicker add a couple of medium chopped potatoes or about 100g of split red lentils,doesn’t change the taste or if you want sweetness bung in a few carrots also adds colour.