Comforting, soul-warming and healthy, this Creamy Pumpkin Spice Soup delights your palate with the warm fall flavours of pumpkin spice. Packed with savoury, fibre-rich vegetables, a touch of sweet orange juice, and the warming flavours of cinnamon and ginger, this creamy soup is full of cozy fall vibes. Make it for dinner on a casual weeknight, serve it as a memorable starter for a fall dinner party, or dress it up for Halloween night. It’s as popular with little ghosts as it is with big goblins!
The idea for this soup recipe came to me in the post-Thanksgiving days, when I still had pumpkin pie on my mind – and a fridge full of leftover Thanksgiving ingredients. After a weekend of indulgence, I was craving something lighter, but wasn’t ready to give up the cozy warmth and luxurious flavours of rich fall foods. Staring at the leftover pumpkin purée, leeks, carrots, oranges, ginger and cinnamon, the idea for this creamy pumpkin spice soup popped into my mind. While this soup was initially created to use up leftovers, now I make sure I have the ingredients on hand throughout the fall so I can make this delicious soup on repeat all season long. I even make it now for Thanksgiving weekend, without waiting for leftovers! This soup is creamy in texture, but a fun fact is that contains no cream. The smooth silky texture comes from the puréed vegetables combined with a healthy dose of evaporated milk. It’s very high in nutrients and relatively low in fat, and packed with balanced pumpkin spice flavour. Top it with a swirl of yogurt, a dash of hot sauce and a sprinkle of pumpkin seeds for a warming meal you’ll want to make again and again, straight through until spring!
What goes in Creamy Pumpkin Spice Soup?
Gather up the post-thanksgiving ingredients in your fridge and transform them into this soul- warming soup! Add the following ingredients to pantry staples such as olive oil, butter, kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Leek: I put chopped leek in my cornbread and sausage stuffing, so I always have one or two leeks hanging around in the post Thanksgiving days. Leeks are masterful hiders of dirt, so to clean them properly I slice them first, then rinse them in a colander under cool running water.
- Celery and Carrot: These kitchen workhorses are combined with the leek to make a type of mirepoix, which forms the base of this soup. They add both a subtle sweetness and full body to the soup. For quicker cooking, I like to dice the carrots and celery, instead of coarsely chopping.
What is Mirepoix (meer-PWAH)? Mirepoix is a fundamental part of French cooking that forms the base of many sauces, soups and stews. It is usually made up of chopped onion, carrot and celery, cooked long and slow in fat. The long, slow and low cooking process doesn’t allow for browning, so the vegetables develop a delicate savoury flavour and slight sweetness, instead of stronger caramel flavours that tend to develop during browning.
- Fresh Ginger: Fresh ginger delivers more robust flavour than powdered ginger, but if you don’t have fresh ginger on hand, you can substitute with 1 tsp of dried powered ginger. To keep fresh ginger at the ready, place a good-sized piece of ginger root in a resealable bag, squeeze out all the air, and store it in the freezer. When you need it, remove the frozen ginger from the bag, use a vegetable peeler to scrape off the skin from the amount needed, then finely grate it on the small holes of a box grater, or using a microplane. Simply return the unused portion of the ginger to the freezer promptly so it doesn’t thaw, until you need it again. Ginger can be frozen in a sealed bag for up to 2 months. An added benefit of freezing fresh ginger? Ginger root grates more easily and neatly when frozen, making this freezer method a win-win.
- Fresh Garlic: Garlic adds a savoury note to offset the sweetness of some of the other vegetables. Look for heads of garlic that have tightly attached papery skin and are hard when squeezed.
- Tumeric: The list of health benefits associated with turmeric is long, and it seems that many health experts encourage us to add more of this spice to our diets. Other benefits of turmeric include its very delicious taste and beautiful sunny yellow colour.
- Cinnamon: We couldn’t call something “Pumpkin Spice” without the addition of cinnamon! Synonymous with fall and pumpkin spice everything, cinnamon offers complexity to this pumpkin soup and a warm, spicy undertone.
- Tomato Paste: A little tomato paste goes a long way in adding deep savoury flavour. Since only 2 Tbsp are needed, look for tomato paste sold in a tube so you don’t have to open a whole can for a small amount.
- Pure Cooked Pumpkin Purée: This recipe calls for pure cooked pumpkin purée, which is not the same thing as pumpkin pie filling. If you prefer, you can cook your own fresh pumpkin and blitz it into a purée, but canned pumpkin also works like a charm. In fact, I first made this recipe to use up extra canned pumpkin leftover from making pumpkin pies. Now when I have leftover pumpkin, this pumpkin spice soup is my go-to way to use it up. Mind you, my kids would lobby for this use for leftover pumpkin, and you would never go wrong with Pumpkin Bread with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting either!
- Evaporated milk: Evaporated milk is a great replacement for heavy cream when you want the richness of cream but not the extra fat. Evaporated milk is a dairy product, typically sold in cans in the baking section of the grocery store. It is made by removing about half of the water from milk, leaving behind a creamy, rich, nutrient-dense liquid. If you don’t have evaporated milk, you can definitely substitute cream in this recipe.
- Orange juice: A little orange juice adds additional flavour and subtle sweetness to this pumpkin soup. Freshly squeezed juice offers a brighter flavour, but bottled juice works as well.
- Honey: This soup deliciously balances cozy pumpkin spice flavours with a creamy texture and savoury vegetable flavour. To round it out, just a little honey is added at the end for a delicate sweetness.
- Homemade or good quality store bought stock: This soup is great made with chicken, turkey or vegetable stock Use homemade stock which easily allows you to control the amount of salt, or use a good quality store-bought low sodium broth. Here’s my recipe for Homemade Golden Chicken Stock
SERVING SUGGESTIONS
A slice of good bread is all that is needed, though sometimes I really like dipping Healthy Oven Roasted Rutabaga Fries in this soup. The whole thing – the creamy pumpkin spice soup and the rutabaga fries – seems so indulgent, but in actual fact it’s all very healthy, and very, very delicious. If you need something more substantial than soup and fries, I’d suggest making Hot Garlic Butter Ham and Cheese Sliders to go along side. A kale and apple salad would be nice too. If you’re working with Thanksgiving leftovers, then a turkey, cranberry and brie panini would be just the thing.
DRINK PAIRINGS
When choosing a wine to go with this soup, you need something that can handle the “spice” side of the pumpkin spice flavours. I’d reach for a drier Pinot Gris from the Alsace region, or a Gedwürtraminer with some spice notes or maybe an off-dry Chenin Blanc. For a fun fall cocktail, the apple flavours and ginger beer in this Bourbon Apple Cider Cocktail are the perfect compliment to Creamy Pumpkin Spice Soup.
Creamy Pumpkin Spice Soup
Warm up on a chilly fall day with this creamy pumpkin spice soup. Filled with good-for-you vegetables and warming fall spices, this velvety smooth soup is healthy comfort food at its best!
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 1 leek, white and light green parts only, chopped
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 2 large carrots, peeled and diced
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1 1/2"-2" piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 Tbsp tomato paste
- 1 cup pure cooked pumpkin purée (from a can or homemade)
- 4-5 cups homemade or low sodium chicken, turkey or vegetable stock
- 1 cup evaporated milk
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 2 tsp honey
- plain Greek yogurt, sriracha and pepitas for garnishing (optional)
Instructions
- In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil and butter over medium heat. Add the leek, celery, carrot, salt and a few cracks of black pepper. Sauté, stirring frequently, until the vegetables start to soften, about 8-10 minutes. If the vegetables start to brown, reduce the heat.
- Add the ginger and garlic, and sauté 30 seconds, just until fragrant. Add the turmeric and the cinnamon, and stir to coat the vegetables in the spices. Stir in the pumpkin purée and the tomato paste, and cook, stirring frequently, until the colour starts to darken, about 2 minutes.
- There should be a medium-brown, cooked-on coating of spices, pumpkin and tomato paste on the bottom of the pot. Deglaze the pot by adding one cup of the stock and using a spatula or wooden spoon to scrape up the brown bits. Stir in 3 more cups of broth, cover the pot and bring the soup to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer gently, about 15 minutes, until the vegetables are very tender. Remove from heat and purée until smooth with an immersion blender. Stir in the evaporated milk, orange juice and honey. If soups seems too thick, add additional broth, 1/4 cup at a time, until desired consistency is reached. Adjust salt, pepper and honey to taste. Gently reheat and serve, garnished with plain Greek yogurt, sriracha and pepitas, if desired.
RECIPE NOTES
- This pumpkin spice soup can be served as soon as it is made, but it’s even better when made ahead as the flavours meld and get better over time. Make the soup up to 5 days in advance, and store in a covered container in the fridge. Stir the soup well and reheat gently before serving.
- Canned pumpkin makes this soup simple to prepare, but if you wanted to make this soup with fresh, roasted pumpkin, preheat your oven to 400F. Cut a small sugar pumpkin in half and scoop out the seeds. Brush the cut surfaces with a neutral tasting oil such as grapeseed oil, then place the pumpkin halves cut side down on a baking sheet. Roast for 25-35 minutes (depending on pumpkin size) until tender when pierced with a sharp knife and cut surfaces are browning. Allow the pumpkin to cool slightly, then scoop out the flesh and purée in a food processor.
- To make this soup into a work of edible art, mix plain Greek yogurt with a little milk to thin it out slightly, then pour it into a squeeze bottle. Make a semi circle of yogurt on the surface of the bowl of soup. Drizzle a little bright red sriracha on the surface of the soup, then use a skewer to swirl the yogurt and sriracha into the soup. Sprinkle a few pumpkin seeds over the surface and serve. The soup also looks pretty with a drizzle of yogurt and a sprinkling of fresh chopped chives.
- To decorate this pumpkin spice soup for a Halloween themed meal, thin plain Greek yogurt with a little milk, then pour it into a squeeze bottle. Starting in the middle of the bowl and working your way outward, make a spiral of yogurt on the surface of the soup. To create a spider web effect, use a skewer to draw lines from the centre of the soup to the edge of the bowl, like spokes on a wheel. Cut black olives into rounds and slivers and place on the surface in the shape of a spider.
