Vegan Pumpkin Soup Recipe (Without Cream)

Name: Vegan Pumpkin Soup Recipe (Without Cream)
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 3 ½ cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pire filling); 2 tablespoon olive oil; 1 brown onion (diced); salt to taste; black pepper to taste; 3 garlic clove (about 1 tablespoon); 1 teaspoon ground cumin; ½ teaspoon cinnamon; ½ teaspoon curry powder (or turmeric); 2 ½ cup vegetable broth; 1 teaspoon maple syrup or honey; 1 cup full-fat coconut milk

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This vegan pumpkin soup is one of the best comfort foods for any season! It is non-dairy and tastes delicious with both pumpkin and butternut squash. All you need is a handful of simple ingredients and 30 minutes to make this cozy fall-inspired silky smooth sweet pumpkin soup.

If you like creamy soup, you should definitely give these recipes a try: Healing Carrot Ginger Turmeric Soup.

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Ingredients
Instructions
Tips
Serving Suggestions and Toppings
Freezing And Storing Instructions
FAQs
Easy Pumpkin Recipes
More Soup Recipes
Recipe
Comments

Ingredients

Fresh Pumpkin - is the star main ingredient of this recipe! If it's the pumpkin season, you are in luck! I always prefer using fresh produce rather than canned products. Any regular pumpkin will do but if you have your favorite sweet pumpkin variety available, this is the best choice here.

I love to use a very sweet type of pumpkin, which is usually deep orange color on the inside and tastes great in creamy soups. In different regions, the names and types may vary but Muscade de Provence pumpkin is my go-to.

It has a bright deep orange color and incredible sweet pumpkin flavor. This pumpkin is also the best for any pumpkin bread or muffins! As an alternative, butternut squash is always very, very much the best foolproof option for soups, stews, chilis, and curries.

My few comments on the ingredients + don't forget to read the Tips section!

The full recipe and ingredients can be found in the recipe card below this post.

Instructions

Heat up a little olive oil in a large pot (or Dutch oven) over medium heat and once the oil is hot, saute onion until softened, and then add in garlic.

Stir in the spices, salt, and black pepper and saute for a couple minutes more until the spices open up and the garlic becomes fragrant.

Pour in the broth, and pumpkin puree.

Reduce the heat to medium-low and let simmer for 10-15 minutes. Stir in maple syrup and coconut milk.

If you want the soup to be a more creamy texture blend the soup in a regular blender or immersion blender (quicker) and let simmer for 2-3 minutes more.

Taste for seasoning again and serve warm with a little olive oil drizzled on top, sour cream, yogurt, fresh herbs, and crushed red pepper flakes.

Tips

Don’t have enough pumpkin or no pumpkin at all? For a quick fix, use canned pumpkin puree (such as Libby's) or substitute the pumpkin with butternut squash, acorn, or kabocha squash. Another veggie alternative is to use sweet potatoes and carrots.
If making your own pumpkin puree, don't throw away the seed and roast them in the oven with some honey and cinnamon.
Dairy-free pumpkin soup - I like to use full-fat coconut milk as my go-to dairy substitute for soups. It will give slightly a thicker texture but any coconut milk you have available will be fine too. For non-vegan soup, cooking cream is suitable, just don't boil it to prevent curdling.
Use a standalone high-power Blender for an ultra silky smooth soup. For easier cleanup, a good handheld immersion blender is fine too.
The texture of this soup is thick but still easily pourable. The soup will thicken after it cools completely. To thin it out add warm water or veggie broth when reheating.
Make your own pumpkin puree. An easy recipe for how to roast pumpkin in the oven. Layout the diced pumpkin (about 1-inch cubes) on a baking tray (in one layer) lined with parchment paper and sprinkle with salt and pepper along with a drizzle of vegetable oil. Bake at 370 F for 30-45 minutes or until soft and slightly golden brown. Once roasted, and cooled, transfer the pumpkin to a food processor and pulse until smooth and creamy. Easy! And don't forget to keep the pumpkin seeds. You can roast them and use them in many recipes or enjoy them on their own.
Other veggies you could add to the soup (either steamed or roasted): carrots, sweet potato, butternut squash, parsnips, root veggies, and potato. Blend them until smooth before adding to the soup.
Vegetable broth - A good vegetable broth makes a huge difference. If possible, use a low-sodium broth for less salt content. I like to cook my own sometimes with a prepacked soup vegetable mixed from the store (A mix of celery, carrots, parsnip, onion). Well, that is a fresh flavor right there! For non-vegetarian dishes, use chicken broth instead.
Pumpkin is naturally quite sweet, especially Muscat Squash, but I like a little more sweetness to it by adding honey or maple syrup. This will go in last, and you can taste for flavor in the end if you need any extra sweetness at all.

Serving Suggestions and Toppings

What to serve with pumpkin soup? The best way to serve this creamy soup is with plenty of toppings and some crusty bread.

For a more fulfilling dinner, serve any kind of green salad on the side such as Lemon Kale Caesar Salad (with or without the chicken).
For kids I'd recommend making a side portion of these yummy healthy zucchini fritters. Or if you have extra pie pumpkin, make these Air Fryer Pumpkin Fries instead.
Garnishes such as croutons, parmesan, fresh herbs, nuts and seeds are an essential component of any creamy-based vegetable soup.
A crusty bread or gluten-free crackers, cornbread muffins are one of my favorites too.
I like to serve this soup with gluten-free croutons, caramelized nuts vegan parmesan or shredded vegan cheese, pumpkin seeds (pepitas), and plenty of fresh herbs (cilantro, parsley, basil).

Topping Ideas

A few of our favorite toppings for this vegan pumpkin soup recipe include:

Vegan parmesan cheese
Crushed red chili flakes
Plant-based sour cream or yogurt
Vegan shredded cheese (especially vegan ''cheddar'')
Toasted nuts and seeds
Pico de Gallo or a simple side salad
3 ingredient Guacamole
Tortilla strips or corn chips
Fresh herbs

Freezing And Storing Instructions

Store the soup in a glass airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Any leftover soup can be reheated in the microwave or on the stove over medium-low heat. Just don't boil it.
After refrigerating, the soup will thicken even more. Add some vegetable broth or warm water to thin it out when reheating.
I don't recommend freezing the pumpkin soup as it may separate after thawing and the texture will not be the same as fresh. For the best flavor consume the soup on the same day or latest the next day.

FAQs

How do you thicken cream of pumpkin soup?

For a thicker consistency pumpkin soup you could add less vegetable broth in this recipe and/or add more of the puree or mashed vegetables. If you want an extra thick soup make a cornstarch slurry. Stir 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of water and stir it in the soup towards the last minutes (about 10 minutes) of cooking. Pour it in slowly and make sure soup is not very hot. Simmer stirring until soup has thickened to your liking.

Will cream thicken pumpkin soup?

Yes, you can stir in heavy cream (cooking cream) to the soup towards the last minutes of cooking time over lower heat and simmer on low until the soup thickens. You can also add sour cream, which will add some flavor too, and thicker style yogurt to the soup. All these ingredients should go in last and the soup should simmer on low without taking it to a boil which may result in curds and separation.

Easy Pumpkin Recipes

Check out ALL PUMPKIN recipes.

More Soup Recipes

ALL SOUP recipes.

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