Spicy Roast Pumpkin Soup

Name: Spicy Roast Pumpkin Soup
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 70 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: American, British, Nordic
Ingredients: 1 medium pumpkin, chopped and deseeded (around 1.2 kg); 2 tbsp olive oil; 1 large onion, chopped; 3 cloves garlic; 2 small chillies, deseeded and finely chopped; 5 cups vegetable stock; 1/2 tsp chilli powder; 1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika; salt and pepper to taste

by Cory Varga

Updated 21 December 2024

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Autumn is my favourite season and with it comes my favourite pumpkin soup recipe: a creamy, spicy roasted pumpkin soup that's vegan, healthy and delicious. It's only gently spiced to give it a little extra warming kick for the cold season. It's the pumpkin that is the star attraction for this soup.

Vegan spicy roasted pumpkin soup

You'll love this spicy pumpkin soup because it's dairy-free, gluten-free and fully vegan. I use low-sodium vegetable stock so it's an all-rounder great meal for everyone. It's super healthy as it's basically a creamy vegetable soup with lots of flavours.

Eat it during autumn and keep the recipe for those cold winter days when you need a little extra warmth around the fire. I love eating it with crusty bread on the side. For this recipe, I'm going to tell you exactly what ingredients you need, how to make this super simple roasted pumpkin soup and how to crip any bread you might have in the house.

You can absolutely keep the soup refrigerates and enjoy the leftovers the second day. Basically, this is an easy fall soup that needs just a few items from your pantry. But first, let's talk about the pumpkin.

Vegan chilli pumpkin soup served with a bowl with crusty bread

Ingredients for the spicy roasted pumpkin soup

Obviously, you're going to need pumpkin for this soup and with so many varieties to start with, which one will you buy? I'm a huge Hokkaido pumpkin fan so that's what I tend to use in almost all my pumpkin recipes. I use Hokkaido pumpkin for my pumpkin tacos as well as my pumpkin pasta.

If you make this recipe during fall, I strongly recommend that you get your pumpkin from a local farmer's market. They taste so much better and are packed with that sweet, earthy flavours we love so much. Always go for a nice and bright pumpkin. After all, that's the veggie that's about to become your meal. Yum!

Alright, since the pumpkin is the star attraction of this recipe, you don't need much else. You'll need some low sodium vegetable stock, an onion, a couple of chillies, smoked paprika and some garlic. That's it. It's the chillies that give it that spicy, warming kick. And one I really love in the winter. You've probably already made my spicy carrot soup or the spiced tomato soup, but the idea is the same. To have a little warmth.

As a replacement, if you can't deal with chillies, you can use an inch of fresh ginger instead. Of course, the taste is going to be a little different but you will still have a spiced pumpkin soup.

Hokkaido pumpkins in a large crate

How to make spicy roasted pumpkin soup

You're going to start by preheating your oven. Get a roasting tray ready.

Cut the pumpkin using a sharp knife. Be careful with it as pumpkins are quite tough. I like to roast my pumpkin with the skin on because there is much goodness in the skin. And once you roast them, the skin is not tough or chewy anymore.

Right, remove all seeds from the pumpkin and cube the pumpkin. Add the little cubes to the roasting tray and drizzle with a little olive oil, salt, pepper and some chilli powder.

Roast in the centre of the oven for around 45 minutes until the pumpkin is fully roasted, and a bit brown at the edges.

In the meantime, heat a little olive oil in a soup pan. Add the chopped onion and fry until translucent. Add the chilli flakes, smoked paprika and garlic and fry for another couple of minutes until you can smell the gorgeous aromas.

Add the roasted pumpkin, mix a couple of times then add the vegetable stock. Add salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for around 20 minutes.

Remove from heat and using a handheld mixer, blend the roasted pumpkin soup until it becomes all creamy. Serve it with some fresh parsley and some extra chilli flakes if you like it really spicy.

Vegan chilli soup with crusty bread

Tips for making the best ever spicy roasted pumpkin soup

Fresh pumpkin - It goes without saying that you should use fresh pumpkin. No canned pumpkin business for this soup.

Pumpkin options - I love Hokkaido pumpkin but you can also use butternut squash if you prefer it. It tastes delicious either way. I posted a seasonal guide to see what type of pumpkin you can find available.

Chilli - Use fresh chillies for the best flavours. You can deseed them if you want a warming spiced soup which is not too hot. Leave the seeds if you want a proper spicy pumpkin soup.

Low sodium vegetable stock - I use little cubes which dissolve in hot water. I always purchase a vegetable stock that is a little lower in sodium.

Paprika - Always go for smoked paprika for this soup. It's what gives it that perfect autumn flavour and smell. If you cannot find smoked paprika, go for sweet paprika instead. Make sure to use Hungarian Grade I sweet paprika if possible.

Salt - If you want extra smokiness, add smoked salt to the soup. You won't regret it. It's my new favourite ingredient in the kitchen.

Crusty bread - Let's face it, creamy roasted pumpkin soup tastes so much better when accompanied by crusty bread. Here's how to make the best ever crusty bread at home. Slice some bread and prepare a couple of garlic cloves. Heat up a little olive oil in a pan together with the garlic. If you some sprigs of fresh thyme even better, add them to the pan. Add the bread slices and let them fry for a few minutes until they become crusty and golden. Turn once to make sure you crisp them on both sides. Serve immediately and sprinkle some sea salt on top. Enjoy!

Looking for more soup recipes? Try this leek and potato soup, or my famed kale and bean soup, a delicious cream of potato soup, thick yellow pea soup or sour cabbage soup.

This recipe has been developed entirely by Yuzu Bakes. Any resemblance with other recipes is purely coincidental.