Easy Vegan Pumpkin Soup (Without Coconut Milk)

Recipe Difficulty: Easy

Recipe Tags:

• The BEST Vegan Pumpkin Soup
• Easy Pumpkin Soup
• Pumpkin Soup without Coconut Milk
• Pumpkin Soup with Canned Pumpkin

My Pumpkin Soup Recipe Notes
I had an abundance of canned pumpkin hanging out in my cupboards which inspired this soup. I can't think of a more appropriate soup to make in the fall or winter months, when pumpkin spice everything is showing up everywhere you look. I have an affinity for soup making, a passion even. This recipe is easy, and INCREDIBLY delicious.

My Pumpkin Soup is:

• creamy (read below for the secret ingredient!)
• healthy
• flavourful
• spiced with fresh ginger, cinnamon, coriander & cumin
• sweetened with maple syrup
• Gluten Free
• Dairy Free

The creamy factor comes from pumpkin seed butter!!! I feel sort of proud this idea came to me haha. I saw the pumpkin seed butter in the organic section at the grocery store knowing I was making this soup then I quickly connected the dots. I add peanut butter to my African Peanut Stew so I figured this would be perfect. It is! I also add fresh ginger, and as mentioned above.... cinnamon, coriander, cumin & maple to flavour the soup. I think you could add curry powder or whatever spices you prefer really. I'm happy with how mine turned out, though. 

Serve this soup with crusty multigrain bread, or if you want a treat, some buttery biscuits. 
I find the soup rich in the best way. Smaller portions might be nice as a starter or if you want it as the main meal, round it out with your favourite salad. 

For garnish, toasted pumpkin seeds. I don't want anything else. I tired a sprinkle of parsley, and it just detracted from the awesomeness of the soup. It needs nothing else. Toast some pumpkin seeds, chop them up, c'est tout.   

My Tips For Pumpkin Soup Sucess!!! A bit lengthy, but have read through, I'm sharing what I know and my approach to creating great flavour. XOXO

1. Make this pumpkin soup the day before you plan to serve it. It needs time for the flavours to meld. Same day soup is never as good!
2. You don't want it to be too thick. So often people serve their soups so thick it is more like a vegetable puree, not a soup. Add water as needed. It doesn't want to be watery thin, it will still be a thick and creamy soup, but just saying, I am super picky about the final consistency. (of course, to each their own​)  If you add too much water, no problem, you just gently simmer it until it reduces again. 
3. The day after you make it, reheat the entire soup. You'll probably add a splash of water as it thickens in the fridge. Give it a taste for balance. I ended up adding another squeeze of lemon (the right amount of acid is so important; it will cut the richness and act like salt to enhance flavour). I wanted more ginger, I was out of fresh, so added 2 tsp dried. Also added another 1/4 tsp coriander which is a spice that adds brightness as well. I find this type of tweaking quite necessary most of the time in soup making. 
4. Use a homemade veg stock. I just fill a stock pot with scraps of veg that I save in my freezer. I add water and simmer for about 45 minutes. Strain and reserve liquid. I don't share a recipe because this is a zero-waste method of cooking. Typically, I have scraps of onion, celery, garlic, carrot, mushroom, parsley, thyme, & tomato in the bag. It makes a huge difference when you cook with homemade stock vs store bought, and it really is a simple process. Also, a good tip is, when your freezer bag is full of scraps you can make the stock, strain, and then reduce the stock down significantly simply by simmering it until there is less in the pot. Then, you can transfer it to a container and store in the freezer. This will save you a lot of freezer space. You can reconstitute it by adding water back to the concentrated stock when you're ready to cook with it. Sometimes I use it as a super concentrated veg broth though, it lends flavour that you just can't get by using generic stuff from the store. If we want to enjoy incredible flavour and eat healthy, it's 100% possible. Attention to these details is sometimes key to make that happen. Best part, it isn't hard.

Can I freeze this Pumpkin Soup?

YES! This pumpkin soup freezes beautifully. For reheating, I just thaw it either in the fridge overnight, or for awhile on the counter. I often plop a container of frozen soup into my pot with a few splashes of extra water. The trick is to keep the heat low and to thaw the soup slowly as it heats up again. Give it a stir here and there. Adjust your consistency with some water as needed. 

Pumpkin Soup Recipe

Yield: 3 L   
Serves: 6-8 people

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 - 2 celery stalks, chopped (I used two mine were small)
• 1-2 carrots, chopped (again I used two because small)
• 6 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 2 inch piece of ginger, chopped
• 1/4 tsp chili flakes
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp coriander
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 x 796 ml canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
• 6 - 8 cups veg stock
• 4 cups water (more as needed to thin to desired consistency)
• 250 g pumpkin seed butter
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• S & P

Method:

1. Heat veg oil over moderate heat in a large soup pot. Sweat onion, celery & carrot until softened. Season with S & P
2. Next add ginger, garlic & chili flakes. Stir around for a few minutes.
3. Add cinnamon, coriander and cumin. Stir around a couple more minutes.
4. Add pumpkin, veg stock & water. Stir until pumpkin is evenly mixed in. Season with more S & P. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer.
5. Stir in pumpkin seed butter, lemon juice & maple syrup. 
6. Use an immersion blender to blitz the mixture until completely smooth. 
7. Let soup gently simmer and reduce about 30 minutes or until desired consistency. If it is too thick add a bit more water. 
8. Taste and adjust seasonings. Cool & refrigerate to serve next day for best flavour.
9. Spoon pumpkin soup into bowls. Garnish with toasted pumpkin seeds.
10. ​Serve with a side of crusty bread or biscuits.