This is the perfectly creamy, warming vegan pumpkin soup recipe you need this Autumn. My pumpkin soup recipe is dairy-free and such a comforting way to spend a cool evening in front of the fire for dinner.
What says Autumn better than pumpkin soup? I am a total soup person, and this incredible vegan recipe checks all the boxes for a fall delight.
Hello, fall! I adore this season with its array of colors, cooler temps, and produce filling the farmer’s market. And naturally, I love pumpkin anything. (I don’t even limit it to fall and winter.) But one thing I really love is a good pumpkin soup recipe, specifically a vegan pumpkin soup. It’s healthy, filling, comforting, and warms you up when the weather is chilly.
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How to Roast Fresh Squash
Most of the pumpkin we consume at this time of year comes from cans…am I right? It’s one of the easiest ways to add pumpkin to a recipe. But I implore you to try roasting fresh pumpkin. It’s inexpensive as well as superior tasting to canned. Did you know that most canned pumpkin may not even contain real pumpkin?! Crazy!
Pumpkin roasting options
There are a few options when it comes to roasting the pumpkin for this pumpkin soup recipe. One is to halve the pumpkin, scoop out the seeds and roast the halves. Make sure to cut the pumpkin from the stem down, so that it’s easy to scoop the seeds out.
The other option is to peel and cube the squash, like a butternut squash. It’s totally up to you. I usually opt for the first one because it’s super easy.
Buying the Best Pumpkin
When looking for a pumpkin, there are quite a few options out there. Sugar Pie pumpkins are wonderful for roasting. Their small size is more manageable than those giants used for carving, even though those big guys can be roasted too.
Another of my favorite varieties of pumpkin is the kabocha variety. I find their knobby appearance charming + decorative, and the flavor is fantastic too. And like I said, you can certainly substitute any winter squash here. Use your favorite or whatever is available in your area.
What Makes This a Vegan Pumpkin Soup
A traditional pumpkin soup recipe uses milk or heavy cream as the base. My vegan pumpkin soup recipe uses canned coconut milk to achieve the same creamy result. Your tastebuds won’t notice the missing cream, meanwhile your gut will welcome the benefits from the coconut milk! 93% of coconut milk’s calories come from fat. I love using coconut milk for its healthy fat benefits, as it helps break down the carbs + fiber in other foods (like pumpkin).
Pumpkin Soup Recipe
Although pumpkin is the main attraction in this soup, I want to talk about a few other key ingredients. Roasting the pumpkin with the onions and garlic helps infuse the flavors better before blending. Nothing beats fresh roasted garlic!
Now let’s talk about this Colima Sea Salt™. There’s a reason salt is such an important part of just about any recipe. It enhances the flavor of our food and if you’re using the right kind of salt, we can also get trace minerals from the salt we use. This salt is 100% all-natural, unrefined, and hand-harvested to retain 80 essential minerals.
Finally, I use avocado oil for this recipe because of its ability to withstand high heat. The pumpkin needs to be roasted at 425 degrees F, which is too hot for olive oil. Avocado oil on the other hand, still holds together at this temp, making it a perfect oil for this soup recipe.
Other Vegan Soup Recipes
Love the idea of not having dairy as the base for your next soup? I’ve got you covered. Here are a few of my fav vegan soup recipes; all taste tested and family approved!
- Minestrone Soup
- Carrot Ginger Soup
- Vegetable Barley Soup
- Coconut Thai Soup
- Bell Pepper Soup
- Split Pea Soup
- Vegan Potato Soup
Vegan Pumpkin Soup
Ingredients
- 2 baking pumpkins sugar pie pumpkin or another winter squash, about 4-4.5 pounds
- 2 tbsp avocado oil divided
- 1 yellow onion peeled and cut into thick slices
- 5 garlic cloves unpeeled
- 13.5 oz coconut milk
- ½ cup vegetable stock if needed
- Sea salt to taste
- black pepper
- optional spices or herbs see notes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Carefully cut open the pumpkins with a sharp chef's knife and a steady cutting board. Scoop out the seeds and discard or save for another use.
- Rub the pumpkin halves with a little of the avocado oil. This keeps them from drying out during roasting. Toss a little more avocado oil with the onion and garlic. Arrange everything on the baking sheet. Sprinkle with the Colima Sea Saltâ„¢. (The pumpkins do better being set cut-side down on the baking sheet.) Place in oven to roast for 30-35 minutes, or until pumpkin is tender. The tip of a sharp paring knife should pierce through the pumpkin easily. Remove from oven and let cool slightly before handling.
- Scoop the cooked pumpkin flesh from the skins. Place into the jar of a blender. It should measure about 4 1/2 to 5 cups of pumpkin. Add the onion to the blender. Peel the garlic and add it to the blender too. Add a pinch of Colima Sea Saltâ„¢ and pour the can of coconut milk into the blender. Puree until smooth. If the soup is too thick, add a little water or broth until desired texture is reached. If desired, season according to the directions in the recipe notes.
- If the soup isn't hot enough, pour into a saucepan and heat gently before serving.
- Garnish and serve immediately. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one week.
Notes
- Toasted Pepita + Herb Garnish: heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a skillet and add 1/2 cup pepitas plus 1 tablespoon finely minced fresh herbs (rosemary, sage, and thyme), toast lightly and remove from heat. Garnish soup.
- Curry Coconut: 1 tablespoon Thai or Indian curry paste/powder (to taste), serve with a scoop of brown rice on top, and a sprinkling of toasted coconut
- Immune Booster: add 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger, 2 teaspoons ground turmeric, 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, and pinch of cayenne
- Mexican-spiced: add 1 teaspoon each – dried oregano, ground cumin, and chili powder; top with chopped fresh cilantro
- Savory + Sweet: add 1 medium diced green apple or pear to pan when roasting pumpkin; add 2 tablespoons fresh herbs, finely minced (sage, rosemary, and thyme)
- Maple Spice: roast everything tossed with maple syrup, add 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, and top with maple candied pecans
I LOVE this recipe. It’s delicious and makes my house smell amazing!
Makes the whole house smell like fall!
Can’t wait to try this with my homemade pumpkin puree! Love the color.
It’s such a beautiful fall color!
This is the perfect recipe for a cold evening. Can’t wait to make this one!
It really is the perfect warm winter dish!! We hope you enjoy it 🙂
Already have everything to make this soup, can’t wait to give it a try! Pumpkin is my favorite
That’s so great you already have everything at home to make this soup. Let us know how you like it once you give it a try!!!
I love how simple + delicious this recipe is. Add the salt + pumpkin seeds on top + it’s AMAZING!!
Thank Amanda! We are so happy that you love this recipe so much!!!
I actually made this soup last year and really liked it! It was a little intimidating at first, but I am trying to eat more “seasonal” and this was all about that! I forgot all about this soup until you sent the email this morning. Maybe this time I’ll try one of the seasoning tweaks you suggest to change it up.
I am so glad that our email inspired you to try our seasonal tweaks to change things up. Let us know what you think once you give them a try!
I have made this recipe four times now as it has become a favorite. The very first time I made the recipe I used the small cooking pumpkins. The soup was delicious! Then, I used acorn and butternut squash because I wasn’t able to find the small pumpkins. The soup was still delicious! My husband loved the acorn squash the best. Thank you to all who made this recipe come to life!
That is so great!! So glad that you still loved this recipe trying different ingredients!
P.S. to my above post – did a bit more research after discovering the pumpkin I use is Dickinson Pumpkin which is a pie pumpkin. Looks like Libby’s may be the manufacturer of this particular pumpkin. The brand here in Canada is E.D. Smith and is 100% Dickinson Pumpkin.
Thanks, Jane!
IHi Amanda – I read the Huffington Post article to which you referred and am puzzled as to why you would refer us to an article on pumpkin pie filling which doesn’t make any reference to plain pumpkin. Here in Canada pumpkin pie filling is pumpkin which has spices included but plain p umpkin, which I assume would be the base of your soup recipe is just pumpkin. The ingredient in the brand I buy is 100% pure pumpkin and is, in fact, a product t of the U.S.!
Can I substitute butternut squash for pumpkin?
You sure can, Louise!
My partner unfortunately doesn’t like coconut – (it’s his only flaw lol). How coconut-y is this soup in the end? Would it work if I substituted almond milk for the coconut milk? Thanks!
Hey Madeline- You can def swap the coconut milk for almond milk. It would be less sweet, but more earthy and nutty. Yet I think it would delicious!
This recipe looks amazing Lindsey! i can’t wait to get my hands on some pumpkins and make it myself. Thank you for sharing and educating us about sea salt too— I learned so much and def love a great salt company. Ava Jane’s sounds like they got it right!
It’s so good, Lindsey really outdid herself!
I grow pie pumpkins every 2-3 years and can it myself. So what I get I know is 100% pumpkin. I have tried other pumpkins and I do not consider them editable. One year I had invited my family to a vegan Thanksgiving. I had baked a big pumpkin that I had stuffed with the pumpkin stuffing all as outlined in a Mother Earth News magazine. It was the worst tasting thing any of us had ever eaten. The pumpkin looked good and smelled good but it and its stuffing ere terrible! Then I learned about pie pumpkins. They actually taste like the pumpkin in a can, only better!
Hi Eileen,
YES! Sugar or pie pumpkins are definitely what you’re looking for in this recipe! While your Thanksgiving sounds amazing – pumpkins you use for carving are definitely not as yummy.
Apparently the FDA does not see any difference between pumpkin and other squash… the industry had determined that pumpkin isn’t so flavorful on its own and so most canned pumpkin is really canned squash of some sort. And it has been that way for a while now.
Thanks for sharing, Jodi!
Could you explain the remark above “And did you know that most canned pumpkin may not even contain “pumpkin?!“ You dropped that bomb and just left it there. What does it contain? My canned pumpkin lists the ingredients as ….pumpkin. And that’s it.
Hi Margery,
It’s kind of scary, but most canned pumpkin is actually a different variety of squash. While we love squash, it’s just scary that a company can actually fill those cans with a different vegetable than advertised. You can learn more in this Huffington Post article here…