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).
MORE SOUP RECIPES TO WARM YOUR SOUL
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Can this soup be frozen if it has milk in it? Or are you better off leaving it out if you want to freeze some?
I am loving all your recipes Nagi
Hi Jacqui, I’ve successfully frozen it before – N x
So easy. I used half and half varieties of pumpkin- Kent and butternut together. I didn’t have nice stock, only cubes but it didn’t matter – flavour was just as good. Love that Nagi’s recipes are so adaptable.
I’m so glad it turned out for you Amanda!
You don’t need to peel the pumpkin. Just wash it. When it’s cooked and blended, you won’t even know its there. Plus everyone needs the fibre!
Hey Harley – I made this soup again last night without peeling it; worked an absolute treat. Thanks for the idea.
Great idea Harley!
would roasting the pumpkin first make a difference in taste?
Just finished making your recipe for pumpkin soup out of a fresh pumpkin head I had left from Christmas it is delicious will serve to my guests!
Wahoo! I’m so glad you love it!
This is same recipe of pumpkin soup that I’ve been making for years and I can also agree it’s delicious, however, I fry some chopped bacon with the onion and garlic before adding the pumpkin and stock. Extra yum!
Everything is great with bacon, I love this idea I’ll have to give it a go ☺️
What size can of puréed pumpkin do you need to use? It just says two cans.
Hi Stacey, 2 x 14oz / 400g cans.
Are we supposed to guess at the amount of the most important ingredient.. PUMPKIN??
– How much pumpkin puree??? Some of us make and freeze batches of it!
No guessing, it’s all in the recipe – about 1.2kg of unpeeled pumpkin or 2 cans of pumpkin puree. So you’ll need 800(ish) grams ☺️
OMG! This soup is AMAZING! Just finished a bowl full. I added some fresh sage from my garden and used white pepper. So good! Thanks for this easy recipe.
Is that sour cream on top with parsley?
Drizzle of cream! 🙂 N x
If you use 2 cans of pumpkin (per your note), what size cans are they?
I love your recipes and am making many of them as I receive them. I also look forward to seeing what Dozer is up to.
What a beautiful dog and he is living the life of a King with you. He is so lucky to be so loved. Have you always had dogs, or is he your first?
Keep the recipes coming!
Made this soup last week and it was so good that I am making it again today and freezing some. I don’t even usually like soup, but this was really good. My husband was clamoring for more. I added a little milk and garnished with fresh parsley.
That’s terrific to hear Lora! I’m so pleased you enjoyed this! N x
so… i bought and cooked a “carving pumpkin” i guess that’s wht i’ll be using… maybe less taste. ill find out soon. first time i try pumpkin soup. but ive made butternut squash soup many times and love it!
Where would I be without this website and these recipes. So simple, so yum! Thankyou
Glad you enjoyed it Liz!!! Thanks for sharing your feedback 🙂 N
Just made this with butternut squash. Really enjoyed it, and I appreciate how you’ve shared a straightforward recipe without weird additions like apple. This recipe is a keeper!!!
Apple in pumpkin soup??? What..??? Glad you enjoyed this NORMAL pumpkin soup!! 😂
This was FANTASTIC!!! I never realised such a simple recipe could be soooo good – thank you!!! I never used garlic and onion before and now I’m convinced that is what made this so good. Everyone in my family loved it
That’s great to hear Sarah! Pleased you enjoyed this! N x
It’s a bit strange is says “use ANY KIND OF PUMPKIN” then further down it says NOT to use a halloween jack-o-lantern carving pumpkin. I have what to me looks like a normal large orange pumpkin. How do I know if it’s a halloween carving pumpkin or a suitable one? Thanks.
Hi Andy! Stores should set carving pumpkins out separately from normal eating pumpkins and sold as such. Well, I hope they do! Because carving pumpkins are made to be easy for carving so the skin is thinner and there’s less flesh, and they tend to be watery on the inside and the flesh is not very tasty. They are edible but not that nice 🙂 N x
If I’m using canned puree, do I add the same amount of water and broth? Or is it less because you are boiling the squash [the other way]? I imagine I will first sautee the garlic and onions, and then add everything else (pumpkin puree, broth, water) to simply heat through, then add cream.
Hi Teresa! The directions for canned puree are in the notes! 🙂 N x
I had the same question. It was not addressed in the recipe. When you mentioned using canned pumpkin you didn’t say anything about adjusting liquid. I would think it would be less liquid because it’s already soft. Thank you
What size can??? 14 oz or large 29 oz??
Is this actually what Americans call pumpkin or is this a squash? I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a green pumpkin. It looks like an acorn squash to me, in your video. Just wondering before I make this because I was planning to use an orange pumpkin. 🙂
Hi Alexis! This recipe can be made with pumpkin OR squash. There’s a section in the post that talks about different types of pumpkins. Orange skin pumpkin is fine – the flesh pretty much tastes the same. Butternut also GREAT with this recipe! N x
Thank you for the recipe! It was absolutely delicious. I added two bay leaves while it was simmering, and a generous sprinkling of pumpkin pie spice. Then, serving it up, we just happened to have fresh parmesan on hand so I grated some of that into our bowls and that really just rounded it out so well! It was a hit, even with our two year old. I wanted a recipe that used real pumpkin and half and half, and was pretty quick to make, and this fit the bill all around!! Of course, I found it took me much longer than five minutes to dice up our pumpkin.
Great to hear you enjoyed this Leighann! N x PS Pumpkin can be TOUGH can’t it!! 😂