This quick and easy Pumpkin and Sweet Potato Soup recipe combines the wonderful sweetness of pumpkin and sweet potato with a gentle touch of spice and chilli heat. The result is a delicious and nutritious meal that can be on the table in under 30 minutes! (No pumpkin? No problem! You sub with butternut squash – it’s just as delicious!)
A quick, easy and nutritious meal…
On chilly days there’s nothing quite like a pot of homemade soup bubbling away on the stove, gently filling the air with sweet warmth and a touch of spice.
One of the great things about homemade soup is it’s such a quick, easy and nutritious meal. And this easy Pumpkin and Sweet Potato Soup recipe ticks all those boxes: it can be on the table in under 30 minutes and it’s packed with nutritional goodness, thanks to the pumpkins and sweet potatoes, which are both good sources of Vitamins A and C, minerals and fibre.
Better still, this delicious soup freezes really well, so you can cook up a big batch and fill your freezer with individual portions – meaning you have a ready source of nutritious homemade ‘ready meals’ any time you don’t have the time or energy to cook.
How to make Pumpkin and Sweet Potato Soup
Pumpkin and Sweet Potato Soup is very quick and easy to make!
All you need to do is gently fry onions, garlic, chilli and spices. Then add the chopped pumpkin and sweet potato chunks, vegetable stock, salt and pepper. Simmer for 15 minutes, then blend until completely smooth. Finally, ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with pumpkin seeds.
(Full recipe in the recipe card below.)
How to cut a pumpkin
Don’t be daunted by cutting up your pumpkin – it’s much easier than it looks!
All you need to do is:
- Cut the pumpkin into large wedges using a big knife
- Use a large spoon to remove the seeds and stringy bits
- Cut the wedges into slices
- Cut off the skin
- Cut the slices into cubes
Best kind of pumpkin for soup
You use any kind of pumpkin or squash to make this Sweet Potato and Pumpkin Soup. You can even use a carving pumpkin! (Carving pumpkins don’t tend to have the best flavour, but the sweet potato, spices and other flavours in this soup will help compensate for that.)
However, for best results, I recommend using what is sold as a ‘culinary pumpkin’ – these are the type of pumpkin that are bred to have the best flavour, so will give you the most flavoursome soup.
Can’t find a pumpkin?
If you can’t find a pumpkin for this recipe (or when it’s not pumpkin season), you can use butternut squash instead. Butternut squashes are typically easier to get hold of and this soup is just as delicious made with butternut squash!
What to serve with pumpkin and sweet potato soup?
This Pumpkin and Sweet Potato Soup is delicious served with crusty bread – especially homemade bread!
What to drink with pumpkin and sweet potato soup?
Aromatic white wines, such as Pinot Grigio, Riesling, Gewurztraminer or Viognier are the best choice to go with the sweet and spicy flavours in this soup. A Chardonnay or Chenin Blanc would also work quite well.
I don’t recommend pairing red wine with this soup but a fruity rosé would work OK.
Make it your own…
This delicious pumpkin and sweet potato soup is very easy to adapt to your own preferences and/or what you have in your kitchen. You could…
- Use curry powder or curry paste instead of the chilli and spices
- Use cayenne pepper or chilli powder instead of the chilli flakes
- Use butternut squash, carrots or parsnips instead of the pumpkin
- Use butternut squash, carrots or parsnips instead of the sweet potato
- Add 100g (3½oz) red lentils at the same time as the pumpkin and sweet potato
- Use chicken stock instead of the vegetable stock (if you don’t need this to be vegan)
- Replace half the stock with coconut milk for a more creamy pumpkin soup
- Add 50ml (¼ cup) coconut cream in at the end
- Add 50ml (¼ cup) double (heavy) cream in at the end (if you don’t need this to be vegan)
What to do with leftover soup?
Place any leftover soup in an airtight container in the fridge, where they will keep for up to 3 days.
To reheat, tip into a saucepan, along with a small splash of water. Reheat over a medium heat until piping hot all the way through.
Alternatively, you can reheat this soup in the microwave.
Can you freeze soup?
Soup is such a great ‘fill the freezer’ recipe… I usually make a double quantity of this soup. We eat half freshly made and half I divide into individual portions and freeze for a near instant meal when I’m in a hurry or have no energy to cook! Far healthier (and cheaper!) than a ready meal or takeaway.
Place the cooked and cooled soup in a lidded container in the freezer, where it will keep for up to 3 months. (Or freeze in individual portions, for maximum flexibility.)
Reheat as above.
If you like this recipe…
…you might also like:
Easy Pumpkin and Sweet Potato Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 onions diced
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon dried chilli flakes (or to taste)
- 500 g sweet potatoes cut into 1cm / ½inch cubes (see Note 1)
- 500 g pumpkin cut into 1cm / ½inch cubes (see Note 2)
- 500 ml vegetable stock (from a cube is fine – I used 1 x Kallo organic vegetable stock cube)
- Salt and pepper to taste (See Note 3)
- Pumpkin seeds for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Place the olive oil and diced onions in a fairly large saucepan and gently fry the onions for 4 minutes, with the lid on, until softened but not brown. Stir occasionally.
- Add the garlic, garam masala, cumin and chilli flakes and fry for 1 more minute on a low heat, stirring frequently. Add a small splash of water if it gets too dry.
- Add the chopped sweet potato and pumpkin, vegetable stock, salt and pepper and turn up the heat. Bring to the boil, then turn the heat right down and simmer for 15 minutes with the lid on, or until the sweet potato and pumpkin cubes are quite soft.
- Tip the soup into a blender and blitz until completely smooth. PLEASE TAKE CARE AS THE SOUP WILL BE VERY HOT! (See Note 4.)
- If necessary, return the blended soup back to the saucepan and warm back up to your desired temperature. You may also wish to check the seasoning at this point too. If the soup is a little thick for your tastes, add a little extra water at this point to achieve your desired consistency.
- Ladle the soup into bowls and serve with homemade bread.
Notes
- Peeling sweet potatoes can be a bit of a pain. A little hack to speed things up is to cut the sweet potato into thick disks, then place each disk (flat side down) on your chopping board and chop the skin off using a knife, cutting downwards all the way around each disk. I find this far quicker and easier than peeling!
- For best flavour, use a culinary pumpkin. Peeling and cutting a pumpkin is not as hard as it sounds! Scroll up to see step by step instructions and photographs.
- I prefer to only add black pepper to this soup, as the salt content of the stock cube makes this soup salty enough for my tastes.
- If you prefer, you can use a stick blender or potato masher - or leave the soup un-blended.
- Suitable for freezing.
- Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.
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