Making pumpkin soup from scratch is easy. I was mildly horrified to read recently about pumpkin soup made with canned pumpkin! Why? Pumpkin soup is very easy to make from scratch using fresh pumpkin. Serve it with some crusty bread and it can be a whole meal in itself.
Now the thing about making pumpkin soup using fresh ingredients is that your end result will only turn out as well as your piece of pumpkin will allow.
You know how sometimes pumpkin can be sweet and delicious and other times it can be bland with very little taste? If you make your soup with pumpkin that doesn’t have much flavour, your soup is going to turn out bland as well.
So, how do you tell if the pumpkin is going to taste nice? The tricky thing is – you can’t really! When choosing a cut portion of pumpkin from the supermarket, look for a piece with a nice, uniform, bright orange colour, that will give you the best chance in buying nice tasting pumpkin.
But unfortunately, in my experience anyway, even the best looking pieces of pumpkin can sometimes be lacking in flavour.
Pumpkin Soup With A Twist - Pumpkin And Corn Soup
To combat this, when making pumpkin soup I usually add some sweet potato into the mix.
Even then, I still sometimes find the soup to be a little bland and lacking in flavour and that is when I resort to using my secret weapon for fixing bland pumpkin soup – a can of creamed corn!
Try it – you’ll find even the most tasteless, bland pumpkin soup suddenly becomes delicious by just adding a can of creamed corn.
Here’s how to make pumpkin soup from scratch:
Chop up your pumpkin (and sweet potato if using).
You’ll also need some diced onion and a clove of minced garlic (leave out the garlic if you don’t like it).
Begin by heating some oil in a large saucepan. (I’m using my Tefal 45-in-1 because it has a handy “soup” function, but you can also easily make this on the stovetop).
Add the onion and garlic (if using).
Cook for 1-2 minutes until the onion starts to become see through.
Then add the pumpkin, sweet potato (if using) and stir through the onion and garlic.
Pour in the chicken (or vegetable) stock.
Turn the heat down to low and let it simmer for 30-40 minutes. If using the Tefal 45-in-1 use the “Soup” function with the lid closed – the machine will run for 40 minutes and alert you with a beep when it’s done.
Then it’s just a simple matter of blending/pureeing the soup until smooth and creamy. A handheld stick mixer works best for this but, if you don’t have one, you can transfer the mixture to a regular blender – just be extra careful though as it’s hot!
Now for the taste test. If your pumpkin soup tastes sweet and delicious, you’re good to go! Serve with a dollop of cream, if you wish, and enjoy!
If, however, your pumpkin was not as flavourful as you would have liked and your soup has turned out a little bland, time to add my secret ingredient!
Return to a low heat and stir the creamed corn through.
Serve with some crusty bread – we love it with homemade sourdough bread.
Pumpkin Soup Recipe
Easy Pumpkin Soup From Scratch
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 brown onion diced
- 1 clove minced garlic optional
- Approximately 1 kg pumpkin skin removed, cut into smallish chunks
- ½ a sweet potato skin removed, cut into small chunks (optional)
- 1 litre chicken stock or vegetable if you prefer
- 1 can of creamed corn optional
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large saucepan, soup pot, or Tefal 45-in-1.
- Add onion and garlic (if using) and cook, stirring for 1-2 minutes.
- Add the pumpkin pieces (and sweet potato if using) and stir through.
- Add the stock and bring to a simmer.
- Simmer for 30-40 minutes until the pumpkin is very soft. (If using the 45-in-1, close the lid and select the soup function. The machine will cook for 40 minutes and alert you with a beep when it is done.)
- Once cooked, use a handheld stick blender (or regular blender if you don’t have a stick blender) to puree the soup until smooth and creamy.
- Taste the soup - season if necessary.
- If the soup is lacking in flavour, add the can of creamed corn to add sweetness and taste.
- Return to low heat and stir the creamed corn through the soup.
- Serve with a dollop of cream if desired and/or crusty bread.
- Enjoy!
On a cold Winter’s night, nothing beats a warm and hearty bowl of homemade soup and, as far as soup goes, it doesn’t get much easier than making homemade pumpkin soup from scratch.
And, if it all goes wrong and it turns out you’ve cooked a flavourless piece of pumpkin, easily fix your pumpkin soup by adding my secret ingredient – a can of creamed corn.
