This hearty pumpkin and sweet potato soup is comforting and packed with flavor. With roast pumpkin and sweet potato, it's budget-friendly and simple to make.
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Is there anything more comforting than a bowl of thick, warming soup on a crisp Autumn (Fall) or Winter's day? What about a big bowl of hearty pumpkin and sweet potato soup that's vegetarian and vegan, packed with flavor, budget-friendly And super simple to throw together?
The secrete to adding depth of flavor to this otherwise fairly simple soup is to roast the pumpkin and sweet potato first. Yes it's an extra step but honestly you throw the vegies in the oven to roast up and become all soft and delicious. You can then do something else while the vegies are roasting. By the time the vegies are done there's very little extra cooking needed to finish off the soup.
The other surprising addition to this soup is a can of chickpeas, sometimes also known as garbanzo beans. The chickpeas add extra healthy vegie protein to this soup (don't worry you can't taste them) and help thicken it up. It's so thick you can Almost stand up a spoon in it, almost! so it's a great option to take to a family meal or bring a plate (pot luck). If you like your soup a little less hearty you can add a little water or stock to thin it out.
Serve it with chunks of my air fryer garlic bread or damper with lashing of butter for the perfect cozy night in.
Ingredients
Pumpkin: I use Kent pumpkin in this soup as they are in season at the moment and they roast up beautifully. Another great option would be butternut pumpkin, also called butternut squash. Whatever type of pumpkin you use make sure it's one that's yummy when roasted on its own.
Sweet potato: I use orange sweet potato in this recipe, but you could use golden or even purple if you like.
Brown onion: regular brown onion is fine for this recipe. You could also use white or red onion but it will be sweeter.
Chickpeas: also known as garbanzo beans. A tin of drained low salt chickpeas is a surprising addition to this soup but trust me on this. You can't taste the chickpeas but they help thicken the soup and give it a great plant based protein and vegie boost. It's preferable to use low salt chickpeas if you can get them so as not to make the soup too salty. If you can only get regular chickpeas try to use a low salt vegetable stock instead if you can.
Vegetable stock: some good quality vegetable stock will add flavor without too much salt. If you are vegan make sure you look out for vegan stock. I used good quality stock cubes in this recipe, made up to 4 cups of stock (1 liter).
Ground cumin: some ground cumin adds some wonderful savory notes to this soup.
Ground nutmeg: nutmeg is such a classic spice to pair with pumpkin. It adds both flavor and a little sweetness. You could use cinnamon instead if you prefer.
Cayenne pepper: a little cayenne pepper adds some heat and depth of flavor without making it too hot.
Optional garnishes:
Pepitas: also known and pumpkin seeds. Lightly toasting the seeds gives some extra roasty flavor and texture to this soup.
Flat-leaf parsley: a little finely chopped parsley makes a great garnish and adds a pop of color and flavor to this soup.
How to make pumpkin and sweet potato soup:
Preheat the oven to 430°F (220°C/200°C Fan forced). Cut the skin off the pumpkin and chop it into medium sized chunks. Pop it into a bowl and drizzle it with some good quality olive oil.
Put the sweet potato directly onto a large baking tray. There is no need to chop, peel or oil the sweet potato, you roast it whole in its skin, to easy! Spread the oiled pumpkin out on the tray between the sweet potato, spacing them out so none of them are touching. Bake in the oven for 45 mins, or until pumpkin is starting to roast around the edges and the sweet potato is soft when you stick in a sharp knife.
Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly. Peel the cooked sweet potato, taking extreme care not to burn your fingers. The skin should peel easily off the cooked flesh.
Peel and dice the onion. Boil the water and make up the stock cubes into four cups (1 liter) in a heat-proof jug. Heat a stockpot and add a good lug of good quality olive oil. Add the chopped onions and cook for a few minutes until soft and starting to caramelize. Add the ground cumin, nutmeg and cayenne pepper and stir for a few seconds until it's fragrant.
Add the cooked pumpkin and sweet potato and vegetable stock. Use a potato masher to mash the pumpkin and sweet potato. Add the drained chickpeas and a good grind of black pepper.
Use a stick/immersion blender to carefully blend the soup until the desired consistency is reached. I like my soup a little chunky, but you can blend it a bit more until it's smoother if you prefer.
Cover with a lid and heat for a further five to ten minutes.
How to serve
To serve this roast pumpkin and sweet potato soup ladle into bowls and top with some toasted pumpkin seeds and finely chopped parsley. You could also add a drizzle of good quality olive oil or a little sour cream. Serve with some of my air fryer garlic bread on the side to round out the meal. Delicious!
How to store
This soup will store well in a covered container in the fridge for four to five days. Due to the fact it's so thick it transports well if you are taking it to a potluck or family meal. It freezes well in a covered container for two to three months.
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📖 Recipe
Pumpkin and sweet potato soup
Ingredients
- 1.75 lbs (800gms) pumpkin
- 1.75 lbs (800gms) sweet potato
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium brown onion
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper
- 4 cups (1 liter) vegetable stock
- 1 tin (15oz/ no added salt chick peas (garbanzo beans)
Optional garnish
- ¼ cup pumpkin (pepita) seeds
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 430°F (220°C/200°C Fan forced).
- Cut the skin off the pumpkin and roughly chop it into smallish chunks. Put the pices into a bowl, drizzle with olive oil and give them a good toss to coat the chunks.
- Put the sweet potato whole onto the edges of a large baking tray. Spread the pumpkin chunks out between the sweet potato.
- Bake for 45 minutes or until the pumpkin in starting to caramelize around the edges and the sweet potato is soft when you stick a sharp knife into it.
- All to cool, then carefully peel the skin off the sweet potato. It should come off quickly and easily but be careful not to burn your fingers.
- Peel and dice the onion. Drain the tin of chickpeas. Heat up a drizzle of olive oil in a stock pot. Cook the onions in the pot until lightly caramelized. Add the nutmeg, cumin and cayenne pepper and stir for several seconds until fragrant.
- Add the vegetable stock sweet potato, pumpkin and chickpeas. Lightly mash the soup.
- Use an immersion blender to blitz the soup until smooth, taking extreme care not to splash yourself.
- Cover with a lid and simmer for a further ten minutes or so, stirring frequently to prevent it from catching.
Optional garnish
- Dry roast the pumpkin seeds in a frying pan. Finely chop the parsley and sprinkle on top. Serve with some of my air fryer garlic bread. Delicious!
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Shilpi & Etienne says
Two of our favourite vegetables - Pumpkin and sweet potatoes! Completely agree about roasting these first to get maximum flavour! We in fact would happily eat this soup anytime of the year;)