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This easy pumpkin soup recipe with canned pumpkin puree is so flavorful and perfect for a simple fall lunch or dinner. Or, serve it as a delicious addition to your Thanksgiving dinner.
I made the most delicious pumpkin soup with canned pumpkin for the very first time a few years ago. In fact, when I told my family that I wanted to make pumpkin soup, they weren’t impressed — at all. They love sweet pumpkin recipes, and they thought that soup was a little much.
Now, I make this easy recipe for homemade pumpkin soup in my Dutch oven every fall, and my family absolutely loves it. Serve it with crusty bread for a light meal or as part of your Thanksgiving meal! The flavor is light and bright. It’s not sweet or heavy at all, and there is no pumpkin spice or cream.
Table of Contents
Ingredients
Here’s what you need to make it. Full amounts are in the printable recipe card below.
- Canned pumpkin puree — Make sure you get a can of pure pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling for this savory soup! We use Libby’s canned pumpkin or Sprout’s canned pumpkin
- Chicken broth — or vegetable broth
- Onion — yellow or white onion
- Butter — or olive oil for dairy free/ vegan option
- Seasonings — sea salt, ground black pepper and dried sage
- Lemon juice — brightens the soup and enhances the pumpkin flavor
- Fresh parsley — The parsley is optional, but it just gives the soup another layer of flavor.
How to Make Pumpkin Soup with Canned Pumpkin
This easy savory pumpkin soup starts out with sautéed onions, butter, canned pumpkin and chicken stock. It gets a little more flavor from a few spices and a little burst of freshness from lemon juice and fresh parsley. First, melt butter in a large pot or Dutch oven. Then add the onions and cook until soft.
Add the can of pumpkin and the spices. Stir, and cook over low heat until the pumpkin is warm. This simple step will release fabulous flavor from the spices and the pumpkin.
Pour in the chicken broth and lemon juice, and stir. Then, cover and let the soup simmer over medium heat until it’s nice and hot. The soup takes about 5 minutes to cook until it’s heated through.
How to Blend Soup without a Blender
I use an immersion blender to puree the soup before serving, and it’s probably my favorite part of the whole process. This is how you make creamy pumpkin soup without cream! Be sure to turn off the stove, blend the soup in short bursts and keep the bottom of the blender at the bottom of the pot. It takes about 2 minutes for the soup to thicken and get creamy.
Storage and Reheating
Store leftover soup in the refrigerator in an airtight container. It keeps fresh for 3-4 days. You can freeze pumpkin soup without milk or cream in a zip top freezer bag or freezer safe container for up to 3 months for best taste.
Because there is no heavy cream in this creamy pumpkin soup, it freezes and reheats well without separating. Just warm individual portions in your microwave or on the stove.
Recipe Tips
If you don’t have an immersion blender or stick blender, you can transfer soup to a regular blender and puree soup in small batches. It’s not a required step but it does make the pumpkin soup a lot smoother and creamier, too.
The lemon juice is what really makes this easy pumpkin soup taste so good. So whatever you do, for best flavor, don’t skip it!
Variations
You can serve this easy savory pumpkin soup as is or add some Parmesan cheese or a little bit of cream at the end if you want. Top with pumpkin seeds for the perfect finishing touch!
Add a can of drained and rinsed white beans for added protein, thicker soup and extra creaminess without dairy. Then, blend soup with the immersion blender.
Sage substitute — Use marjoram, thyme or poultry seasoning in place of sage. Either way, it’s just a wonderfully delicious fall soup. Think comfort food!
Use homemade pumpkin puree from sugar pumpkins or pie pumpkin in place of the can. You’ll need about 2 cups of fresh pumpkin puree.
You can also make pumpkin soup in the Instant Pot.
More Pumpkin Recipes with Canned Pumpkin
Try my easy pumpkin pie dip for a delicious sweet treat. I also recommend these pumpkin cheesecake bars and my family’s favorite easy pumpkin muffins with applesauce. For more pumpkin recipes, try my roasted pumpkin seeds and check out even more delicious fall recipes.
Easy Pumpkin Soup with Canned Pumpkin
Ingredients
- ¼ cup finely chopped white onion
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 15-oz can pureed pumpkin not pumpkin pie filling!
- 1 32-oz box low sodium chicken stock
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon dried sage
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- chopped parsley optional
Instructions
- In a large, heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, saute onions in butter on medium heat until soft and translucent
- Stir in the pumpkin, sea salt, ground black pepper and dried sage and cook until warm
- Add the chicken broth and lemon juice, stir, cover, and cook on medium heat until hot and heated through
- Turn heat to low, or turn heat off and remove pot, and use immersion blender to puree soup until smooth
- Garnish with fresh parsley before serving
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I hope you like this libby’s canned pumpkin soup recipe as much as we do. If you do try this recipe, please leave a star rating and comment.
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This delicious soup recipe was first published in 2016 and updated in 2023.
I wanted this recipe a little more spicy so I added a 1/2 teaspoon ginger and a little cardamom along with the sage. I had no onion so I used 1/2 tablespoon onion powder and skipped the blender. I also substituted 16oz coconut milk for 1/2 the chicken stock to make it thicker. At the end, I added a couple tablespoons agava to sweeten it up slightly. I love the original recipe because it was so simple and so easy to change to my taste. And I didn’t have to cook a whole pumpkin!
Simple and tasty! Looks like homemade! Will be making this again for the fall season!