This is an easy pumpkin soup recipe made from fresh pumpkin, flavored with spices and thickened with vegetables. A healthy pumpkin soup recipe that’s full of flavor without cream or flour!
This creamy pumpkin soup recipe with just 114 calories is so full of rich flavors and super easy to cook that it could become your most favorite soup for the fall season. The vegan pumpkin soup is flavored with mild spices and simple vegetables with roasted pumpkin seeds and croutons strewn around for that perfect balance in taste and texture. It is gluten-free, too if you choose not to add croutons.
Reasons why this Pumpkin Soup recipe is the best
Easy – This recipe uses simple ingredients that you’ll already have in your refrigerator or pantry.
Delicious – Cumin and juicy roasted peppers add an amazing flavor to the soup that can get you addicted.
Healthy – Pumpkin is naturally creamy, so you don’t need to add soup thickeners like flour or cornstarch to give body to the soup.
Full of fibre and nutrients– In this pumpkin soup recipe, carrots and roasted peppers are added along with onions and garlic that make it fibre-rich and nutrient-dense.
Aids weight loss – A bowl of this pumpkin soup with some wholemeal bread for dunking can keep you satiated for long, so this is a must-have soup recipe when you’re trying to lose weight.
You might also want to try this mashed pumpkin recipe that may help you in your weight loss goals.
What you’ll need for the vegan Pumpkin Soup recipe
Pumpkin (Japanese pumpkin has been used here, but any pumpkin is good enough)
onions, garlic, carrot, yellow bell pepper– add flavor, nutrition and body to the soup. (healthy alternatives to cream or flour). You won’t really require stock or broth for this recipe, since it already has enough flavors to make you drooling for more!
cumin powder– the spice in this soup that makes all the difference.
some roasted pumpkin seeds and homemade wholemeal croutons for garnishing.
Peeling the pumpkin
Do you find it hard to peel the pumpkin? I always do. Through repeated trials, I finally managed to figure out an easy way to do it. Halve the pumpkin, scoop out the seeds and roast the pumpkin halves with cut side down in the oven at 180 degrees C for 20 minutes. After it cools down, it becomes easy to peel. Roasting for a limited time also enhances the flavor of the soup. I don’t roast the pumpkin all the way until it gets fully cooked because I feel the pumpkin loses some of its flavor and becomes a little dry when roasted.
If you can peel fresh pumpkin easily, you can skip the roasting step and cook diced pumpkin with other vegetables. But do roast the bell pepper. You may not want to miss the flavor.
I’ve tried quite a number of different combinations of cooking the pumpkin soup, and this recipe tastes the best. You’ll have to try it to believe. Don’t forget to tell me about it in the comments section after you make this soup.
Roasting the bell pepper
The bell pepper/ capsicum can be roasted along with the pumpkin, since it takes roughly the same time, if you’re using a 1 kg pumpkin and a medium-sized bell pepper. Roast the capsicum as a whole so that the juices remain in the cavity which can (and should) be used. Peel and halve the pepper carefully so as to “catch” the juice within and chop roughly. Keep aside.
How to make the healthy pumpkin soup
Roughly dice onions, garlic, carrot and the peeled pumpkin into chunks. Add 3 and a half cups of water, bring it to a boil and simmer until the vegetables become soft, about 10 minutes. Cool and blend along with roasted and chopped bell pepper, ground cumin, salt and pepper using. Alternatively, you can use a stick blender.
roast pumpkin & pepper 
peel & dice pepper 
Peel & dice pumpkin 
Boil pumpkin with onions, garlic & carrots and cool 
Blend with roasted bell pepper, reheat and garnish with croutons and pumpkin seeds
The spice for pumpkin soup
The secret of this recipe lies in the roasted pepper and the spice – cumin powder. So don’t skip those ingredients, if you want an awesome pumpkin soup.
Roasting the pumpkin seeds
As soon as you turn off the oven and remove the pumpkin and pepper, spread out a handful of pumpkin seeds on a baking sheet and leave it in the oven until toasted, for about 10 minutes. By the time you blend the soup, the pumpkin seeds would be ready for garnish.
Wholemeal croutons
Croutons are so easy to make and are made of healthier wholemeal bread that you wouldn’t think of using the store-bought one (which is most definitely made of white bread unless otherwise specified), after reading this. Dice whole-wheat bread slices into 1/2 inch cubes. Heat butter (or olive oil for a vegan recipe) in a frying pan and stir the bread cubes until golden brown on all sides.
Love this soup recipe? You might want to try more healthy soups:
cream of cabbage soup without the cream
vegan cream of asparagus soup.
Minestrone soup with Asian spices
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Easy pumpkin soup | how to make pumpkin soup
Ingredients
- 1 kg pumpkin Japanese or any other
- 1 bell pepper/ capsicum medium sized, yellow or orange
- 1 carrot
- 1 onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 3 1/2 cups water
- salt and pepper to tasteeee
- 3 tablespoons pumpkin seeds
Croutons (optional)
- 1 tablespoon butter or oil
- 3 slices wholemeal bread
Instructions
- Preheat the oven at 180 degrees C. Halve the pumpkin and scoop out the seeds. Roast the whole bell pepper and pumpkin halves with the cut side down in the oven at 180 degrees C for 20 minutes. After it cools down, the pumpkin becomes easy to peel and slice. Chop into small chunks. Peel the bell pepper and slice, 'catching' the juices trapped within. Keep aside.
- Spread out the pumpkin seeds on a baking sheet and place in the warm oven (after turning off) for 10 minutes until toasted.
- Slice onion, garlic, and carrot. Add water/ stock and boil along with chopped pumpkin. Once the liquid comes to a boil, let simmer for 10 minutes or until the vegetables become soft.
- Turn off the heat. Add the sliced bell pepper with the juices, ground cumin, salt and pepper and blend using a stick blender. Or cool and blend using a regular blender.
- For the croutons, chop the whole-wheat bread slices into 1/2 inch cubes. Heat butter (or oil for a vegan recipe) in a frying pan and stir the bread cubes on medium heat until golden brown on all sides. Do it in batches so as not to overcrowd the pan.
- The pumpkin seeds would be ready by now. Pour the soup into bowls and garnish with croutons and the toasted pumpkin seeds.
Video
Notes
- The cumin powder and roasted pepper give a unique flavor to the pumpkin soup, so do not skip those steps.
- Make-ahead option: This pumpkin soup can be refrigerated for 3 days and frozen for a month. Refrigerate or freeze in sealed containers and reheat as and when necessary.
- Leftovers: Store leftovers in a sealed container and use within 3 days.
- This recipe is naturally vegan and gluten-free without the croutons. (the nutrition information below does not include the croutons)
More healthy soup and pumpkin recipes
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Love this golden soup brimming with freshness & flavor.
Happy to hear that you love the soup! Thank you!
I love pumpkin soups and I have a favorite recipe of mine.. never tried one with peppers and cumin… You got me, now I have to try yours ! YUM!
Please do, I would love to hear from you!!