Name: Creamy Pumpkin Soup
Total time: 45 min
Ingredients: 3 tablespoons unsalted butter; 1 small white onion, chopped; 1 garlic clove, minced; 1 tablespoon firmly packed light brown sugar; 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground cinnamon; 1/4 teaspoon white pepper; 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg; 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper; 1 (15-ounce) can pure pumpkin puree; 3 cups low-sodium vegetable broth; Kosher salt; 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream; Crème fraîche, for garnish (optional)

Creamy Pumpkin Soup

5.0

(9)

8 Reviews

This creamy pumpkin soup is even better if it's made a day ahead of time. Just refrigerate overnight, reheat on the stovetop, and garnish immediately before serving.

By Emily Farris

Updated on May 20, 2023

Active Time:

20 mins

Total Time:

45 mins

Yield:

6 servings

Silky smooth and delicately spiced, this pumpkin cream soup is one of those fantastic recipes that yields an amazingly delicious dish with very minimal effort. Produce-wise, all there is to prep is a small white onion and a single garlic clove. Though you'll want the size of each to be fairly uniform so they cook evenly. Everything is eventually getting pureed together, so your chop job needn't be aesthetically perfect. And while there are definitely dishes that command the use of a fresh pumpkin, this is not one of them. Just be sure to buy a can of pure pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling.

Speaking of spices, this soup has a fairly subtle spice backdrop — and that's all the more reason to use fresh ones! Spices don't go bad in the cabinet per se, but their flavor does diminish over time. Do take care to use freshly grated nutmeg here if possible; ground nutmeg pales in comparison to whole, both in intensity and in overall flavor. Grating is made especially easy with a microplane.

As with most soups, this one will benefit from being made ahead of time, giving the flavors a chance to meld as it sits.

Ingredients

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 small white onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 (15-ounce) can pure pumpkin puree
3 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
Kosher salt
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
Crème fraîche, for garnish (optional)

Directions

In a large pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Once the butter is just beginning to brown, add the onion and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the garlic, sugar, cinnamon, pepper, nutmeg, and cayenne pepper and cook for 3 minutes. Stir in the pumpkin puree and broth, season with salt, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes. Stir in the cream and let cool for 10 minutes.
Transfer the soup to a blender (or use an immersion blender in the pot) and puree until smooth. If needed, add additional water or broth to reach desired consistency. Return the mixture to the pot or a large saucepan. Serve warm and drizzle with crème fraîche.