Roasted Pumpkin Soup
As pumpkins reach their peak in the fall, there’s nothing quite like turning them into a velvety roasted pumpkin soup that lets their natural flavors shine. Drawing on my background as a classically trained chef and my deep knowledge of seasonal ingredients, I’ve fine-tuned this recipe to make the most of fall’s freshest produce. The roasting technique intensifies the pumpkin’s sweetness, creating a soup that’s both nourishing and bursting with flavor—perfect for cozy weeknight dinners or gatherings with friends.
Table of contents
Why You’ll Love This Healthy Roasted Pumpkin Soup
Along with Curry Butternut Squash Soup, this Roasted Pumpkin Soup is the pinnacle of the cozy fall soups! I love canned pumpkin puree, but making pumpkin soup from scratch with a whole roasted pumpkin is a great cooking project for a fall weekend. Then, the best part is that it keeps for four days in the fridge- so you can serve it during the week for a weeknight meal or to heat up for healthy lunches!
This healthy pumpkin soup recipe has a vegan-friendly option to be made with cashew cream instead of heavy cream. It is also naturally gluten-free. So if you are following a plant-based diet or avoiding grains or gluten this is a great soup for you to try!
Ingredient Notes
- Pie pumpkin: For this recipe we use a whole pie pumpkin. It is simple to cut in half to roast for the soup. It is almost as easy as opening a can of pumpkin puree! The oven does all the work! If you haven’t ever bought a whole cooking pumpkin before read our tutorial for how to cut up a whole fresh pumpkin for cooking.
- Extra-virgin olive oil: You could use avocado oil or ghee if you prefer.
- Veggies: This has a classic Mirepoix base of onions, carrots and celery. I’ve also added garlic for flavor.
- Seasonings: Adding aromatic spices like cinnamon, salt, ground nutmeg, pepper and cayenne to the sauteed veggies will help bloom their flavors in the oil. This will make them come alive and taste more intense.
- White wine: This helps release any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. The acidity of the wine also helps to amplify the flavors and to add acidity to the base flavors of the soup. Skip this step if you don’t drink/ cook with alcohol.
- Vegetable or chicken broth: My favorite vegetable broth is Imagine No Chicken and I also like to make Veggie Stock from scratch. If you’re not vegetarian, you could also use chicken broth or homemade chicken stock in this soup.
- Raw cashews for cream: We used raw cashews to make cashew cream to make this roasted pumpkin soup dairy free, however, you can sub in 3/4 cup heavy cream instead of the additional broth and cashews.
- Maple syrup & apple cider vinegar: Maple syrup and apple cider vinegar helps balance and boost the flavors in the soup.
- Optional garnishes: Chopped chives or toasted pumpkin seeds.
Choosing A Fresh Pumpkin
There are many different kinds of pumpkin, but you’ll want to look for pie pumpkin for this recipe. They are smaller, thinner skinned and have less stringy flesh than jack-o-lantern pumpkins. Look for one that is 2 1/2 to 3 pounds for this recipe. If there is any dirt on it, make sure you wash it off as soon as you bring it home.
How To Make Pumpkin Soup From Scratch
Step 1: Preheat oven
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment or foil.
Step 2: Bake pumpkin
Place the pumpkin cut side-down on the prepared baking sheet and transfer to the oven. Bake until the pumpkin is fork tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Allow to cool, cut side up on the baking sheet. Scoop the flesh from the pumpkin with a large kitchen spoon. Discard the skin.
Note: If you like you can save the seeds to roast pumpkin seeds just as you would with Jack’o’lantern seeds. Clean them well, dry them, toss them with oil and salt and bake until crispy and lightly golden.
Step 3: Cook veggies
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed large soup pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery, carrot and garlic and cook stirring often until the vegetables start to brown, 7 to 10 minutes.
Step 4: Season veggies & simmer
Sprinkle cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, pepper and cayenne over the vegetables and stir to coat. Cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the white wine and simmer until the wine is almost completely evaporated.
Step 5: Add broth
Add 6 ½ cups broth to the vegetables and spice mixture and bring to a gentle boil over high heat. Reduce heat to maintain a simmer, and let cook until the celery is completely soft, about 5 minutes.
Step 6: Optional, Make cashew cream
Meanwhile, puree cashews and the remaining 1 ½ cup of broth in a blender until as smooth as possible. Reserve 2 tablespoons of cashew mixture for garnish. Optionally you can use 3/4 cup heavy cream instead of the additional broth and cashews.
Step 7: Puree & serve roasted pumpkin soup
Add the roasted pumpkin to the broth mixture and return to a simmer over medium-high heat. Puree with an immersion blender or in a blender in two batches until smooth. Use caution when pureeing hot liquid! Sir in cashew mixture, maple syrup and vinegar. Serve hot drizzle with reserved cashew cream and garnish with chives and pumpkin seeds if using.
Serving Suggestions For Roasted Pumpkin Soup
- For a healthy fall dinner pair with Massaged Kale Salad or Holiday Slaw with Apples and Pomegranate.
For a Halloween party make Halloween Mocktails and serve up our Butternut Squash Pizza and a Caesar Salad. - It tastes great served with a loaf of whole-wheat bread, cornbread or you could also make these Parmesan Leek Muffins to go with it instead.
- At lunchtime, heat a portion along with a healthy corn muffin.
FAQs and Expert Tips
This soup will freeze just fine for up to three months. Once it’s cool, transfer into airtight containers. For single servings, use 2-cup containers, or to serve the whole family, use larger ones. Make sure to not fill them all the way to the top as the soup will expand when it freezes. Seal, label and set the soup on an even flat surface in the freezer.
Set the container of the soup in the fridge for 1 to 2 days to thaw slowly. To thaw it quickly you can do so in the microwave. To do so, heat for 4 minutes at a time, then use a fork to break apart the frozen chunk as it thaws. Repeat until thawed, then continue heating until it is simmering hot.
Make sure you reheat leftovers completely to ensure they are food safe. Do not reheat twice and do not refreeze.
If you aren’t going to serve the soup immediately and you want to cool it down quickly, set the pot into a large bowl of ice water. Stir frequently with a metal spoon to help it to cool. Bringing the temperature down quickly will help it get through the temperature danger zone as quickly as possible.
Note: if you do put this soup away while it is still hot, do not seal it shut into an airtight container until it is cool. If you seal it while it is still hot it will go bad!
This soup is great for meal prep because it keeps for four days in the fridge. We made it on a Thursday and didn’t have it for dinner until Monday night. I reheated it in the Dutch Oven until it was simmering.
I like to doll up the soup so that it has a little variation in flavor and texture. There are lots of options. Today I used chives, pepitas and a drizzle of reserved cashew cream.
Other ideas that would compliment the flavors and texture of the soup nicely are hemp seeds, dry harissa powder, minced red onion, croutons or shredded baby arugula.
To see if the pumpkin is tender, you can press a fork right through the skin into the flesh, or you can press down on the skin with your fingertips. If the flesh is soft to the touch it is ready. A pumpkin this size will take 45 minutes to 1 hour to become tender, depending on how fresh it is.
Transfer the soup to a heavy-bottom saucepan. Bring to a simmer over low heat, stirring often. DO not boil.
You can make this with full-fat coconut milk which is a common trick for Paleo Pumpkin Soups. Note that coconut milk has a much more distinct flavor that would change this soup.
More Recipes to Try
- Yes, really, this 15 Minute Thai Pumpkin Soup is done that fast!
- This Harvest Vegetable Soup is comfort in a bowl.
- If you’ve never tried pumpkin risotto, you have to try my Brown Rice Pumpkin Risotto. It’s super easy to make and healthy because it’s made with whole-grain rice.
At Healthy Seasonal Recipes, we specialize in cooking with fresh veggies and creating weeknight meals. Sign up HERE to get more produce-forward dinner ideas for FREE! If you make this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and review. I would love to hear what you thought! Happy Cooking! ~Katie
PrintRoasted Pumpkin Soup
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 12 cups 1x
Description
Roasted Pumpkin Soup made with a whole cooking pumpkin, onion, celery, cinnamon and nutmeg. At the end add maple syrup and cream. Can be made vegan and dairy-free if desired.
Ingredients
- 1 2 1/2 to 3 pound pie pumpkin, stem removed, cut in half and seeds scooped out
- 4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 large sweet onion, diced
- 3/4 cup sliced celery
- 3/4 cup diced carrot
- 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
- Pinch cayenne
- 1/4 cup white wine
- 6 1/2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
- 3/4 cup heavy cream (or 1/2 cup raw cashew pieces plus 1.5 cups broth) *see note
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup, preferably dark
- 4 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- Optional garnishes: chopped chives, toasted pumpkin seeds
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment or foil.
- Place pumpkin cut-side-down on the prepared baking sheet and transfer to the oven. Bake until the pumpkin is fork tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Allow to cool cut side up on the baking sheet. Scoop the flesh from the pumpkin with a large kitchen spoon. Discard skin.
- Meanwhile, heat oil in a heavy bottomed large soup pot or Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add onion, celery, carrot and garlic and cook stirring often until the vegetables start to brown, 7 to 10 minutes.
- Sprinkle cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, pepper and cayenne over the vegetables and stir to coat. Cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add white wine and simmer until the wine is almost completely evaporated.
- Add 6 ½ cups broth to the vegetables and spice mixture and bring to a gentle boil over high heat. Reduce heat to maintain a simmer, and let cook until the celery is completely soft, about 5 minutes. Hold off the heat until the pumpkin is soft.
- Meanwhile, if using cashew cream instead of heavy cream, puree cashews and the remaining 1 ½ cup broth in a blender until as smooth as possible. Reserve 2 tablespoons cashew mixture for garnish.
- Add the roasted pumpkin to the broth mixture and return to a simmer over medium-high heat. Puree with immersion blender or in blender in two batches until smooth. Use caution when pureeing hot liquid! Sir in heavy cream or cashew mixture, maple syrup and vinegar. Serve hot drizzle with reserved cream and cashew cream and garnish with chives and pumpkin seeds if using.
Notes
Heavy Cream vs Cashew Cream: Depending on your preference this soup can be made with either heavy cream or cashew cream. If using heavy cream, stir 3/4 cup into the soup in step 7. If using cashew cream puree the cashews with 1 1/2 cups broth in step 6.
To Make Ahead: Can be made up to four days ahead. Freeze up to two months.
- Prep Time: 25
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Soup
- Method: Roasting and Stove Top
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 cups
- Calories: 212
- Sugar: 15 g
- Fat: 8 g
- Saturated Fat: 1 g
- Carbohydrates: 23 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 3 g
This soup is AMAZING!! and I don’t normally like pumpkin soup. I must admit that I was a bit dubious about the cider vinegar at first, but the recipe is absolutely made by it. I could eat it all the day long, and did have around two bowlsful last night, after just making it
That’s so great to hear! Thank you!
Thank you for this incredible recipe! I did not use the white wine or maple syrup and it still tasted amazing. We will be using this from now on as our go to.
This looks so smooth and creamy!
Hi Heather! I love a creamy soup too! Thanks so much!