This creamy pumpkin soup brings all the best fall flavors together in one bowl. Made with pumpkin puree, carrots, onion, and warm spices, it’s topped with crispy bacon and crunchy croutons for a dish that’s rich and cozy.
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Holly’s Recipe Highlights
- Flavor: Warm spices with a sweet-savory balance from the pumpkin, onions, and broth along with smoky bacon create the perfect fall flavor.
- Time-Saving Tip: Use pre-chopped veggies or frozen onion and carrot mixes.
- Recommended Tools: An immersion blender is the best way to get the lumps out right inside the pot.
- Serving Suggestions: This pumpkin soup recipe is perfect as a starter for holiday feasts or a main with bread for dipping.
Ingredient Tips and Easy Swaps
- Pumpkin: I use canned pumpkin, but you can use blended roasted fresh pumpkin if you have it. When shopping, be sure the label on the can reads “puree” and not “pie filling.”
- Vegetables: Other squash varieties like butternut or acorn squash can be added. Carrots add a touch of sweetness, but sweet potatoes can be swapped in if you’d like!
- Soup Base: Heavy cream, broth, and butter make the base for this pumpkin soup. Swap in coconut milk as a dairy alternative.
- Spices & Seasonings: Bay leaf, thyme, nutmeg, salt, and pepper round out the flavor profile. Add a teaspoon of DIY pumpkin spice or ginger for warmth.
- Bacon: Cooked bacon makes a salty complement to this sweet and savory soup. Diced ham or sliced smoked sausage are also excellent.
How to Make Pumpkin Soup
- Cook bacon and set aside for garnish. Cook vegetables in bacon fat.
- Combine broth & seasonings, then pumpkin purée and cream and simmer (see recipe below).
- Blend the soup until smooth. Then garnish and serve.
Storing Leftovers
Keep leftover pumpkin soup covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Freeze portions in zippered bags for up to 8 weeks. Reheat on the stove to medium heat.
More Pumpkin Recipes You’ll Love
Did your family love this Pumpkin Soup? Leave a comment and rating below.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 slices bacon cooked and chopped
- 2 tablespoons bacon drippings or butter as needed
- 1 medium onion diced
- ½ cup shredded carrot about 1 medium carrot
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 2½ cups chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme or ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream plus extra for garnish
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley divided
- ½ cup croutons optional garnish
Instructions
- In a soup pot over medium-high heat, cook the bacon until crisp. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate, leaving 2 tablespoons of fat in the skillet. If the bacon grease is less than 2 tablespoons, add butter to make up the difference.
- Reduce the heat to medium and add the onion. Cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in the carrot and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute more.
- Add the chicken broth, brown sugar, bay leaf, thyme sprigs, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Bring to a boil, then reduce to low heat and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes.
- Add the pumpkin and cream and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Discard the bay leaf and thyme stems, and using an immersion blender or hand blender, puree until smooth.
- Stir in 1 tablespoon of parsley and pour into soup bowls. Garnish with cream, croutons, crumbled bacon, and remaining parsley.
Notes
- To use fresh pumpkin, cut a small sugar pumpkin in half and remove the seeds. Brush with olive oil and bake 35-40 minutes at 350°F until tender. Scoop out the flesh and puree in a food processor.
- If you don’t have an immersion blender or a hand blender, puree the finished soup in a regular blender. Be sure not to seal the blender tightly as the steam needs to escape.
- Do not swap in milk, as it can potentially curdle in hot soup. Heavy cream (or even coconut milk) is the best dairy to use in this recipe because the high-fat content keeps it from separating.
- Leftover soup will keep in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, and in the freezer for 8 weeks.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 286 | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 51mg | Sodium: 1034mg | Potassium: 430mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 19856IU | Vitamin C: 11mg | Calcium: 77mg | Iron: 2mg
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Appetizer, Lunch, Soup
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Do you think adding shredded chicken to the final product would taste good?
I haven’t tried it but I do think it would be great. Let us know how it goes.
Easy and delicious!
I’ve tried several pumpkin recipes, and this one is by far the best one I’ve found. This pumpkin soup is SO delicious!! Even my husband, who hates vegetables soups, likes it. Thanks for sharing Holly!
Glad you enjoyed it Rosa!
Easy peasy and delicious. My family loved this recipe and will definitely make again.
Need a veggie version
Can this be cooked in crockpot?
I have only made this recipe as written John. Let us know if you try it in the slow cooker!
Sounds delicious
Do I remove bay leaf and thyme sprigs before purée?
Yes, both should be removed before pureeing.
I made this with all coconut milk. My husband is dairy sensitive. You got your seasonings perfect! I will definitely be repeating this. Thank you.
This soup is absolutely fantastic. My kids loved it so much. Thanks for sharing!
So happy to hear that Laura! Glad your whole family enjoyed it.
We just made this with a roasted sugar pumpkin and it was AMAZEBALLS!
Oooo, sugar roasted pumpkin! That sounds amazing Kasey!
Assume so, but is the 2 Tablespoons of parsley fresh? Thank you.
You got it Anna!
Could you get away without adding sugar to the recipe? If so, what would you suggest as a good substitute?
Hi Elizabeth, we have only made this recipe as listed but you should be fine to omit the brown sugar if necessary.
This soup is good, though I found the flavor to be rather light. I added ginger, extra salt and pepper, garlic salt, red pepper chili flakes and a bit of lemon juice and then it was fabulous! For some reason, my soup was really thin at first as well so I let it simmer for an additional 10 minutes after pureeing everything. Thank you for the delectable taste of fall!
Those additions sound delicious Ashley! So happy you enjoyed it.
This sounds so delish! But I am on a strict diet…gotta get my cholesterol in check. If I sub yogurt for the cream in the recipe…what result can I expect? Has anyone tried this?
As long as it doesn’t boil/simmer I think it should be fine. It’ll change the flavor slightly and add a bit of tang which I think might be nice with the sweet flavor of pumpkin! Let us know how it goes!
Great flavor and texture made this soup quite delicious! I used one spicy chicken sausage in place of bacon and had to add a little of the butter to sauté the onions. I also used your pumpkin purée recipe to add it fresh. The flavor bits were perfect along with a drizzle of truffle oil on top with cooked sausage bits. Yum – thanks for sharing.
That sounds delicious Sherry! You’re welcome and I’m so glad you love the soup!
So this is delicious, starter, I added a splash of wine to the simmer. Simmered carrots, onions, bacon grease, added butter and a spash of olive oil to recipe. Added white wine to the simmer. Simmered in the bay leaves, added a dash of ginger, cumin, tumeric, on top of the spices you referred to.,, and a lot of red pepper flakes to make it spicy sweet. Followed most of the same recipe and added a dollup of sour cream at serving time. . Delicious, thank you for the recipe.
Sounds delicious Susan, glad you enjoyed it!
A perfect recipe
Thank you Melonie :)
Absolutely delicious! My family loves pumpkin soup and I think this is the best I have made. This will be my go to from now on!
I’m so glad you loved it Sharon!
What a perfect soup for Fall. Thank you for sharing the recipe! I can’t wait to try it!
Enjoy!!
WHAT is the serving size, and how many servings does this delicious recipe make??
This recipe makes 4 servings, each serving is approximately 1 cup.