What's Inside: Roasted pumpkin soup recipe without cream, made with simple yet flavorful ingredients, caramelized to perfection to amplify the fall flavors.
This roasted pumpkin soup is a perfect, dairy-free appetizer or side dish. You can even make it part of your next Thanksgiving dinner.
In Panama, you can find pumpkins all year long. I understand you can find it mainly in the US in the fall. No worries, I'll share substitutions so you can make it all year round at home and pair ideas to transform it into a complete meal.
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In Spanish, pumpkin is called zapallo or calabaza. You can find it in beef or chicken soups, not traditional sancocho.
It's also called "Crema de Calabaza or Zapallo" because of its creamy consistency. This is not a traditional Panamanian recipe, but you can get all these fall ingredients that complement each other all year round.
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❤️ Why You'll Love This Recipe
- It's easy to make, follows a few ingredients, and most steps are hands-off.
- Great way to use in-season produce.
- Add your favorite protein for a filling meal.
- Use it as a base to make pasta sauce, an easy way to reduce leftovers.
📋 Ingredients & Substitutions
To make this simple pumpkin soup recipe, you'll need the following:
- Fresh pumpkin: the main ingredient of the recipe. I find kabocha and calabaza pumpkin varieties in Panama, so you can substitute these or even butternut squash.
- Avoid using pumpkins used for carving. You can use canned pumpkin if you don't have enough time to roast the veggies.
- Onion: flavor amplifier and, when roasted, will have a sweeter flavor.
- Gala apple: adds a touch of sweetness that also balances the dish.
- Carrot: helps with color and adds additional flavor to the soup.
- Oil: You can use olive oil since it will be used for the roasting.
- Aromatics: fresh thyme, garlic powder. You can use fresh garlic cloves and roast them with the rest of the ingredients.
- Salt & black pepper for seasoning.
- Low sodium chicken broth: can substitute with vegetable broth or water for a vegan option. Chicken stock or beef will provide additional umami to this healthy soup.
- Optional ingredients: sunflower seeds and parmesan cheese used for garnish. Check out the toppings section for more ideas.
As for utensils, you'll need a chopping board, a knife, a baking sheet, a blender, and a medium saucepan.
Now that you have gathered your ingredients, let's go through the step-by-step process together.
Baking Sheets
Perfect kitchen utensils that can be used in different ways. Bake in them and even use them to set up a dredging station.
📝 How To Make Pumpkin Soup Without Cream
- Preheat oven to 350° F.
- Place the cubes on a baking sheet, and add the olive oil, 2 sprigs of thyme, garlic powder, pepper, and a little salt.
- Mix until all ingredients are covered in olive oil and the seasonings, and roast for 25 minutes or until the pumpkin is soft and dark orange.
💡 Tip: To verify that the pumpkin is soft, prick it with a knife, and if it goes in and out without resistance, it is ready!
- Let cool for 5 minutes. Then, transfer all the roasted vegetables to a blender, add the chicken broth, and blend until smooth.
- Pour the soup into a saucepan and let it simmer for 5 minutes over low heat. Rectify the salt and pepper.
- Serve your delicious and colorful roasted pumpkin soup hot and garnish with thyme, sunflower seeds, and Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!
🫙Store & Reheat
Fridge: Once cooled, store it in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Freezer: If you have Souper cubes, store them in 1-2 cup portions for easier thawing later. Or you can separate it into freezer ziplock bags, removing any air and closing them correctly.
Either way, it will last about 4 months. Label the container with the date and content. When ready to use, thaw them in the fridge overnight before heating.
Stove: Place the soup into a saucepan, cover, and cook on medium-low heat or until heated.
Microwave: Place it in a microwave-safe bowl, add a tablespoon of water or chicken broth, and heat until piping hot (about 2-3 minutes, depending on the watts of your microwave).
👩🏽🍳 Expert Tips
- When cutting the pumpkin, be careful and use a sharp knife. Cut in half and then on wedges. From there, cut in cubes. Remove the skin with a vegetable peeler from the small cubes.
- The pumpkin tends to cook a little faster when it is smaller; for this reason, it's better to chop it into cubes.
- Chop the ingredients into a similar size so it cooks evenly.
- A way to tell if the pumpkin is ready is by simply pricking it with a fork, which should pass through easily.
- When blending hot ingredients, blend in batches so the blender doesn't overflow.
- You can also use an immersion blender to puree the soup, add all the veggies to the saucepan and the chicken broth, and blend away.
❓FAQ
Yes, you can use canned pumpkin. Make sure it is 100% pumpkin puree, NOT pumpkin pie filling.
You'll need 2-3 (15oz) cans to substitute the fresh pumpkin. Also, skip the roasting and saute the onion and the aromatics in some oil in the saucepan. Then, add the pumpkin puree and the chicken stock. Let it cook for about 5 minutes, and then blend it using a regular or immersion blender.
Add less broth or cook it longer as it reaches your desired consistency. Or use a slurry (mix 1-2 teaspoons of corn starch with the same amount of water) and add to the soup mixing while adding it.
🔖 Recipe Variations
- Want it spicy? Add some chili flakes when heating up in the saucepan.
- Curry Pumpkin Soup: Add 2 teaspoons curry powder when roasting, then add half coconut milk when blending.
- Add some butter before heating the soup, bringing out more flavors.
- Love cheese? Add about ¼ cup of feta cheese or cream cheese before blending.
- Add more flavor by making a sofrito with onion, garlic, and bell peppers, then add before blending the soup.
- Fall flavors: Add some cinnamon, nutmeg, or cloves, just a little, to bring out the flavors in the soup.
- Vegan pumpkin soup: Substitute chicken stock with vegetable stock and omit the parmesan cheese.
- Love texture? Add some toasted pumpkin seeds on top.
🍽 What To Serve With Cream Pumpkin Soup
Add a few more carbohydrates and protein to make it a complete meal. You can serve it with some of the following:
- Garlic bread
- Grilled cheese sandwich
- Roasted chicken salad
- Rotisserie chicken and croutons you can add directly to the soup.
- Check out this article for other ideas on what to serve with pumpkin soup.
Pumpkin Soup Toppings:
- Fried green plantains or patacones
- Olive oil
- Croutons
- Toasted seeds (pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds)
- Fresh herbs (culantro, thyme, basil, parsley)
- Cheese (crumbled queso fresco, grated parmesan cheese)
The serving size of this healthy pumpkin soup is about 1- 1½ cups per person. It can be served as an appetizer, side dish, or main dish if you make it a complete meal.
What to do with leftovers?
Transform this easy pumpkin soup into a pumpkin pasta sauce! Cook your pasta as regular.
Then, in a small saucepan, add butter, 1/2-3/4 cup of the soup, 1/4 cup cream cheese, and 1/4 parmesan cheese. Season with some nutmeg, salt, and pepper.
To thicken pumpkin sauce, let it cook over medium heat until it has reached your desired consistency. Add the cooked pasta and serve with your favorite protein.
Make it Fancy: Add it to a baking dish, top with mozzarella cheese, and broil until bubbly!
If you have tried this roasted pumpkin soup without a cream recipe or any other recipe on Nashi Food, remember to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below! We love to hear about your cooking experience.
Roasted Pumpkin Soup
Ingredients
- 2 pounds Pumpkin, cubed
- 1 Medium yellow onion, chopped into quarters about 1 cup
- 1 Medium gala apple, cubed about 1 cup
- 1 Small carrot, chopped about 1/2 cup
- 1 Tablespoon Olive oil
- 3 sprigs Fresh thyme, 1 sprig will be used for decoration
- 1/2 teaspoon Garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, more if needed
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 2½ cups low sodium chicken broth
- optional: sunflower seeds and parmesan cheese, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F.
- Place the cubes on a baking sheet, and add the olive oil, 2 sprigs of thyme, garlic powder, pepper and a little salt.
- Mix until all ingredients are covered in olive oil and other seasonings and roast for 25 minutes or until the pumpkin is soft and becomes a dark orange color.
- Let cool for 5 minutes, then transfer and blend all the roasted vegetables and the chicken broth in a blender
- Pour into a saucepan and simmer for 5 minutes over low heat, rectify salt and pepper.
- Serve hot and garnish with thyme, sunflower seeds and Parmesan cheese.
Vicky @ Avocado Pesto says
Perfect soup for a rainy day for sure! And love the addition of gala apples! I am sure that elevates the flavor even further!
Sarah says
This sounds like a perfect fall dish and a great alternative to a butternut squash soup! Can't wait to give it a try!!
Glamorous Glutton says
The addition of the apple in this dish is a great idea. Perfect for autumn and so tasty. GG
Amy | The Cook Report says
I love soups made from roasted vegetables, it gives everything such an amazing flavour!
Lisa Bryan says
I'm craving all things pumpkin right now and this soup sounds delicious!