Easy Roasted Pumpkin Soup Recipe VIDEO
Easiest to Make Ever
You are gonna love me for this one! What’s better than throwing some vegetables on a pan, roasting them, throwing them in a blender and eating?? This roasted pumpkin soup recipe really couldn’t be easier unless you just ate the veggies raw. And it’s a SOUP!
Roasting: Such Great Flavor
An activity that you really want to get into your life is roasting — if you don’t already. And with most of us facing that colder weather, it’s really nice to be able to turn on the oven and let some things cook (and warm up our house), right? I know I love it.
If you’ve been watching my YouTube videos, you’ll know I’ve been roasting a lot of mushrooms lately to get in my G-BOMBS… (it’s super important to eat mushrooms every day!)…and now it is starting to be the weather where I crave roasted everything all the time.
When you roast vegetables, it concentrates and multiplies their flavor…it’s like putting them on steroids. If you’ve ever had a roasted carrot, as compared with a raw one…or better yet a roasted tomato as compared with a raw one…you know what I mean. Picture that flavor in your mind…
Then imagine making a soup where every ingredient is roasted…flavor explosion!
Roasting actually creates caramelization (mmm) in the foods, as well as creating that browning on top. Caramelization is a chemical reaction in cooking which brings out a nutty, sweet flavor as the sugars in the foods are broken down.
Basically, it equals yum, and when you do it to vegetables it makes them oooohhh-so-palatable.
I highly suggest, for those of you who aren’t Super Veggie Fans yet — start with roasting. You’ll turn into veggie lovers WITH THE QUICKNESS!!!
Which Pumpkins to Use
The kind of pumpkins you want to use are called sugar pumpkins. These aren’t the big ones you see at the store for carving, those tend to be more stringy and they aren’t as sweet as the smaller ones.
Trust me, you want to use the smaller ones for this recipe.
The ones I used I found at Whole Foods, and they were organic, but feel free to use whatever you can find where you live. It’s worth the effort to find sugar pumpkins as opposed to regular, carving pumpkins.
What to Do With the Pumpkin: Tools Needed
The YouTube video I made above shows you exactly what to do with the pumpkin, so you won’t go wrong…but basically you’re going to cut the pumpkin in half, scoop out the strings and the seeds and discard (or wash and save the seeds for another use) and roast the pumpkin by laying it cut side down in a glass dish and adding water up to 1/4 inch.
You roast it in high heat until the skin starts to bubble or you can stick a knife or fork easily into the skin.
Watch the video to see a cool thing that I totally didn’t expect while roasting it myself… :D Ha!
Great for the Holidays…and 100% Nutritarian!
This soup would make a fabulous appetizer or even part of the main course at your holiday parties. Thanksgiving, Christmas, or whatever else you celebrate!
It’s so creamy, nutritious and super delicious, that I bet you no one will even know that it’s 100% Nutritarian. You’ll be filling your friends’ and family’s bellies with tons of micronutrients and they will be none the wiser!
Sneaky nutrition is an important thing to attempt at time when everyone is thinking of the sweets, treats, creams, sauces and meats. :P
Other Flavors You Could Add
I love this soup exactly the way it is. But I do realize that my tastebuds are completely dialed into the whole Nutritarian thing too, meaning I think maybe sometimes I can’t relate with the Standard American Diet eater anymore. I also love to keep things simple when possible, and with only 4 ingredients, this soup hits that mark.
That being said, even though I think this soup doesn’t need anything added (those roasted veggies tho!), you can feel free to add any spices or seasonings that you love or you know your family will love.
Add combinations like cinnamon and nutmeg or thyme and oregano. Cumin and ginger…the possibilities are endless! Try not to add any sweeteners or salty spices. See what you can do with other flavors and get creative! Pumpkin soup is so versatile because it can go either sweet or savory.
Or keep it simple!
Add Some Beans for Bulk
When I make a soup that is composed of only vegetables, I typically think that it needs some beans. Chalk it up to my Inner Nutritarian. There are a lot of times when I just want to keep it simple though, like for this soup.
But the problem with that is sometimes, depending on how you eat that day, having a soup like this can leave you hungry an hour later if you don’t pair it with enough other foods (like the huge salads the size of my torso that I’m always eating lol). And that’s just annoying to get so hungry so soon!
A suggestion that might work for you is to add some white beans to the soup when you’re in the blending stage. That way you get the creaminess and fiber from the beans, while adding a very mild flavor component. It’s up to you!
Freezing Is So Easy
Whenever I make soups (embarrassingly demonstrated on my YouTube channel), I tend to make WAYYYYY too much. It’s definitely a superpower of mine, aka a gift/flaw that always ends up giving me way more food than I could possibly eat before it goes bad. But this also ensures, if I take the the right steps, that I can have lunch for the next 3 weeks if I need it.
That’s where freezing comes in.
Oftentimes, I get lazy, let the soup cool completely, and then I’ll just throw it into whatever freezer safe container I have allowing for room for expansion when it freezes.
However, when I’m feeling super industrious, I’ll do my favorite trick which allows for maximum efficiency of space in my freezer. I will put the leftover cooled soup in a large freezer gallon ziplock bag. Then I take a small cookie sheet and lay the soup on there, flat, to freeze.
Once it’s frozen, I just pile it up in the place where I keep all my soups. And I use the best amount of space without wasting corners here and there. And I can easily pile other freezer items on top of them. Here’s what that looks like in my freezer right now:
A Quick Tip About Thawing
Just a note for when you’re thawing, to put the square bag in a big bowl as well, because sometimes those bags get holes in them while being rustled around in the freezer, and you don’t want to have thawing soup slowly spilling all over your counter.
Not that that’s ever happened to me or anything…
Aaaaaaand here’s the recipe:
- 1 sugar pumpkin (about 5-6 inches diameter), cut in half, seeds and strings removed
- 1 head garlic, unpeeled and wrapped loosely in foil, but with no holes
- 2 small sweet onions, cut in half
- 4 large carrots, scrubbed if organic, peeled if not, chopped into large pieces
- 2-3 cups water
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large glass baking dish, place pumpkin halves cut side down. Add ¼ inch water to the bottom of the dish.
- In another large glass baking dish, lightly spray or wipe with oil. Place onions cut side down on bottom of dish. Add carrots.
- Add both glass dishes and foil-wrapped garlic in the oven for about 45 minutes. Check items periodically to make sure they don't burn, or are cooked enough. Watch my video to see how I suggest they come out for maximum flavor! Remove everything from the oven.
- Open the garlic foil and cut the garlic head in half lengthwise.
- Into a large blender, squeeze the garlic out of the cloves and discard the papery skins. Add the carrots. Squeeze the onions form the outer layer of peeling and drop into the blender, discarding the outer onion layer and peel. Scoop out and add the pumpkin flesh, discarding the peeling. Add adjusted amount of water to desired consistency. Blend until smooth. Serve hot!
Looks yummy, but needs salt and a dollop of sour cream. I know – that defeats the vegan, low sodium thing, sorry!
Hey Lois, you are more than welcome to modify any of my recipes to your personal preferences! :D xoxox
Tried your hot/ cold salad loved ! Am anxious to try this with fall coming😍I LOVE YOUR YOU TUBE VIDS!
SOOO happy Deidra!! Thanks for coming here to let me know!!! <3
Hi Cheri, how much cumin cinnamon ginger or other flavors would add im not good with measurements. …ttysoon Deanna
Ps I LOVE All the great info💓
Yes Deanna, great question. Hmmm. Let me estimate this to start, and you can tweak as you go. For one full recipe of this, I’d start with 1 tablespoon cumin plus 1 teaspoon nutmeg or allspice and go from there. I like a lot of spices myself, so you can cut back if they are too much as well. I’ve never used spices with this one because it find it to be so flavorful on it’s own from the roasting, too, so maybe try it plain first and the tweak next time :) <3
Trying today for the first time hope it’s a hit with the family
Sounds good. Thank you
I hope so too Lynn!! Thanks
Hi there could I use butternut squash instead of pumpkin
Thanks
Yes you can!
Hi! Maybe a really dumb question, but here goes: since pumpkins are not in season, now, can I use pumpkin from a can and still get good nutrition?
Great question! Yes it would still be ok. 👌🏻
Hi Cheri – beginner nutritarian/ 1st time challenger here 🙂
Thanks for all your hard work on the June 2019 group challenge! I signed up with the intention of losing weight and getting more ideas for meals and you did not disappoint!!!
I absolutely loved today’s smoothie!!!
Keep up the great work!!!
Eeee Linda, I’m so glad!! Yay! Thank you for letting me know! You keep up the great work too!
:)
Why does the pumpkin need to be roasted in 1/4 inch of water compared to roasted without the water?
I like to heat soups like this up, add beans if I want to at the time of serving and pour over greens, including lettuce. Sometimes I’ll add raw onion or scallions, tomato and/or mushrooms for a complete Gbombs meal (absent the berries.)
Interesting soup recipe! One of my all time favorite soups is Pumpkin Ginger Soup. I’m gonna dig up that recipe and compare. I do know my recipe has ginger and cinnamon in it, which are good for the immune system this time of year. I like the roasting of veggies here. I will probably do a combo soup. Seeing Fernando’s question as I write this. The water keeps the cut ends of the pumpkin from totally caramelizing and sticking to the bottom of the dish. Water also helps steam the pumpkin. However, according to Williams Sonoma, you don’t have to use water at all. Just be sure to place the pumpkin halves on parchment paper.