Creamy pumpkin soup, lightly spiced with cinnamon and ginger, is my favorite comfort food on chilly evenings.
Although fall began a few weeks ago, the season’s true weather has only just arrived: cooler temperatures, lower humidity, and the kind of jeans-and-hoodie days that call for a warm, satisfying bowl of soup.
I wasn’t always a soup enthusiast. As a child I stuck to chicken noodle and little else, but over time I’ve come to appreciate a broader range: bisques, chowders, and creamy purees are all appealing now. I’ll try almost anything at least once.
When I planned my first Thanksgiving in 2008, I wanted a soup as the starter. Around that time I tasted squash-and-pumpkin soup for the first time and loved it. I found a highly rated cream of pumpkin recipe on AllRecipes and served it as the first course — everyone enjoyed it. I posted about it on my blog nearly two years later, and it has remained the first soup I make each autumn.
Each time I prepare this soup I tweak the seasonings and technique to improve the flavor. Below is the version I use most often. It yields about six main-course servings or eight first-course portions. I frequently double the recipe and freeze some for later; if you double it, use a large stockpot to give the soup room to cook. I like to serve it with a warm, crusty loaf of French bread.
Pumpkin Soup
Ingredients
- 1 cup finely chopped yellow onion (about half of a medium onion)
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 29 oz low-sodium chicken broth (two 14½-oz cans)
- 15 oz pumpkin puree
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon ground allspice
- ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ¼ cup packed brown sugar
- ½ cup half-and-half
- ½ cup 2% milk
Instructions
- In a large saucepan or stockpot, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Sauté the chopped onion for 2 to 3 minutes, until tender. Add one can of chicken broth, stir, and bring to a boil. When boiling, cover the pan, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Remove the pan from heat and puree the onions and broth until smooth using an immersion blender. Alternatively, cool the broth slightly and puree in batches in a blender, then return the mixture to the saucepan.
- Stir in the remaining can of broth, the pumpkin puree, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, black pepper, cayenne, and brown sugar. Mix until everything is well combined and the sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil, then cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the half-and-half and milk until fully incorporated. Adjust seasoning to taste. Ladle into bowls and serve with crusty French bread if desired.
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Recipe adapted from AllRecipes.com.