Pumpkin and Sweet Potato Soup

Smooth, creamy, and warming, this delicious Pumpkin and Sweet Potato Soup is the perfect meal to celebrate the fall season. This recipe is super easy to make--all you have to do is roast sugar pie pumpkin (the same pumpkin that’s used for puree) and sweet potatoes, blend them up with a few other ingredients to add depth of flavor, and heat on the stove for a few minutes.

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Hey Internet, I asked you two years ago if there was any soup quite as autumnal as my butternut squash carrot ginger soup… now it may have a competitor.

This pumpkin and sweet potato soup is so simple yet flavorful. And let me tell you, it is THiCK!

When you stir your spoon through this baby, it holds it’s shape. This makes it filling and delicious.

If you want it thinner all you have to do is mix in a bit more broth--or you can make it ultra creamy by adding some canned coconut milk. Yum.

But let’s talk about how awesome this soup is. First of all… that flavor combo? Perfect. Just fabulous.

Second, we could take a shortcut and use canned pumpkin puree and canned sweet potato puree… but I wanted a LOT of flavor.

Roasting both the pumpkin and sweet potato gives a LOT of flavor to the soup. I promise it’s worth the annoyance of cutting and seeding the pumpkin.

Which is honestly kind of fun. AND you get awesome pumpkin seeds out of it that are just begging to be roasted and sprinkled on top of the soup.

You can also use any other winter squash you’d like.

OK, let’s move on to what you’ll need. Not too much, honestly.

What You’ll Need

• 4-ish pounds of Sugar Pie Pumpkin: So while you can use other squash for this like butternut, acorn, or kabocha squash, I definitely do not recommend using a giant carving pumpkin that one would use for jack-o-lantern because they’re not very fleshy, sweet, or flavorful. Sugar pie pumpkins are moderate in size, pack a lot of flesh (and seeds!), and are nice and sweet.
• 4 medium to large sweet potatoes: Any kind of sweet potato or yam will work. You could lower the sweetness of the soup by substituting some yukon gold or white potatoes instead, if you prefer.
• A large yellow onion: Yellow or sweet onions are perfect in this--we’ll saute them with some garlic to infuse a lot of flavor in the soup. A white onion is fine too, but keep in mind it has a little more bite and less sweetness than a yellow or sweet onion.
• Garlic: I mean… you know me. If it’s a savory recipe, there’s probably garlic in it. I restrained myself to 3-4 cloves this time. And this makes a LOT of soup.
• Vegetable broth: I used reduced sodium vegetable broth here because I prefer to add my own salt, but use what you’ve got. Vegan chicken broth would also be tasty here, but I think veggie broth works just fine.
• Rubbed sage and thyme: Use whatever herbs you’d like! I think rubbed sage and thyme go very well with these flavors.
• Sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper: Add to taste
• Cayenne pepper: I added just a pinch to add a tiny bit of heat, but feel free to leave out if you prefer.
• The juice of a small lemon: Added at the end, a little bit of lemon just brightens up the flavors.

How to Make Pumpkin and Sweet Potato Soup

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit (218 degrees Celsius and line a two half sheet baking trays with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.
• Start by processing the pumpkin. It can be a pain in the neck. Use a large sharp knife to chop the pumpkin into quarters, cutting around the stem. If you’re having a hard time cutting it, try microwaving it or baking it for a few minutes to soften it. You don’t need to peel the pumpkin now--you can remove the skin after it’s roasted.
• Remove the innards and set aside. You can separate the seeds from the membrane while they roast, but you don’t want to roast the seeds at the same time since they’ll burn at a higher temperature. I find grapefruit spoons to be really useful for this task.
• Cut the pumpkin into smaller crescents (easier to peel later) and add to a baking tray. I don’t like mine to dry out, so I recommend you rub them with a little bit of grapeseed oil or spray them with vegetable broth. If opting for the broth, I’d cover the tray in tin foil so they stay moist and the broth doesn’t evaporate. Season the pumpkin with sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper.

• Slice the sweet potatoes lengthwise into halves or quarters, then add those to a different tray. Add oil or broth and season the same way. Cover if using broth.
• Bake at 425 degrees Fahrenheit (218 degrees Celsius) for approximately 35-45 minutes or until both pumpkin and sweet potatoes are easily pierced with a fork. Let cool enough to handle and remove the skin.

• While the pumpkin and sweet potatoes are cooking, take this opportunity to saute onions until they are translucent (over medium high heat, about 4-5 minutes), then add the garlic and saute another minute. Set aside.
• Blend everything--you’ll likely need to do this in batches. I have a 64 oz blender and I did it in two batches. So if doing in batches, add half the peeled pumpkin, half the peeled sweet potatoes, half the onion and garlic mixture, and half of the spices and broth. If you want an ultra silky smooth texture, you can add a splash of oil but I didn’t think this was needed. I blended my soup for about 1 minute per batch. If you only have an immersion blender, you can add everything to a big pot and blend until smooth that way.
• Add all the blended ingredients to a large pot and cook for 10 minutes over medium heat (with a lid on… it will bubble and because of how thick it is it can kind of get everywhere if you don’t cover it) until everything is nice and hot.
• The 10 minutes while it cooks are perfect for roasting the seeds. Spread the cleaned seeds out in a single layer on a parchment paper lined baking tray. If they’re a little wet when you season them you don’t need oil to make it stick. I just put salt and pepper on mine but use what you like. Roast for about 10 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit (177 degrees Celsius), stirring at the halfway point. Once they cool, you can store these in a jar on the counter. Or your stomach.
• Serve pumpkin and sweet potato soup warm with crusty bread, a sprinkle of seeds, a little fresh thyme or sage, and a grind of black pepper. Enjoy!
• Refrigerate leftovers up to 5 days in an airtight container. It also freezes quite well.

Other Great Vegan Fall Soups

Looking to be warmed up? I love soup season--which for me is any time of year, except for maybe 90+ degree weather, hah. I envy those who can tolerate soup in those temperatures.

• Vegan Beef Stew
• Vegan Stew with Dumplings
• Butternut Squash Carrot Ginger Soup
• Vegan Potato and Leek Soup
• Vegan Cream of Chicken Soup
• Vegan Matzo Ball Soup
• Hearty Lentil Vegetable Soup

Anything Else?

As always, I hope you love this recipe--I know I do, and Mr. Zardyplants does too.

We had a lot of leftovers from testing this recipe a few times to make sure it was perfect for you, and every day we were excited to eat more of the leftovers--it is quite a feat to make Mr. Zardyplants like leftovers so much!

This Pumpkin and Sweet Potato Soup is:

• Cozy
• Autumnal
• Creamy
• Sweet AND Savory
• Luscious
• THICK
• Rich
• Satisfying
• And perfect for dinner, meal prep, or a holiday meal. It’s a crowd pleaser!

Let me know in the comments below if you make this recipe or tag me @Zardyplants on Instagram so I can see your beautiful recreations! If you tag me on IG, I will share your post in my stories :)

Also, one quick request: if you love how this recipe looks or tastes, please leave me a 5-star rating and a nice comment–ratings help more people find my recipes which helps me keep providing them! Thank you!

<3 Liz

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