Easy Slow Cooker Pumpkin Soup

Velvety slow cooker pumpkin soup that’s perfect for the fall. A super easy, two-step slow cooker recipe: all you have to do is chop the vegetables and blend the soup.

This slow cooker pumpkin soup recipe is the soup to make this fall! Why will you love it?

• Seasonal and economical: A creamy pumpkin soup is the best fall soup there is! And using seasonal and simple ingredients is always a great way of saving some cash.
• Easy: Only two steps: chopping and blending! Just a little prep time, dump the ingredients in the slow cooker, and come back a few hours later to blend everything.
• Creamy, comforting, spicy…

And if you love pumpkin soup as much as we do, check out the Pumpkin Ginger Soup, the Sweet Potato and Pumpkin Soup, the Vegan Roasted Pumpkin Soup, or the Butternut Squash and Red Pepper Soup.

Recipe ingredients

• Pumpkin:
  • I always recommend using a Hokkaido; it is the best-flavored sort there is. And the best part is that it doesn’t need peeling (that will save you a lot of time and work). The best next thing is butternut squash, it tastes just as great, BUT it does need peeling.
  • If you can’t get hold of any of these two, you can use another sort; make sure it is a flavorful one, for instance, sugar pumpkin.
  • Don’t use the huge Halloween pumpkins; they are tasteless. Leave them for decoration purposes only.

• Other vegetables: Carrots, potatoes, onion, and garlic cloves.

• Spices: Red chili flakes, dried rosemary, fine sea salt (or Kosher salt), and ground black pepper.  

• Vegetable broth or stock. Made from a cube is fine. Chicken stock is great as well.

• Heavy cream: I like the richness it adds, but it is not mandatory for the soup's creaminess. The vegetables are enough to make the soup creamy, even if you use milk or single cream instead of heavy cream.

Step-by-step instructions

• Halve the pumpkin and remove its seeds (1) (See Expert Tips). Cut it into thick slices first. If using any pumpkin or squash other than Hokkaido, peel it.
• Cut it into cubes (2).

• Peel and chop all the other vegetables: onion, garlic, potatoes, and carrots. (3).

• Place all the vegetables and remaining ingredients (except for the cream) into the slow cooker.

• Slow cook for 5 hours on low. Check: the veggies should be perfectly tender. If they are not, give them another 30-60 minutes.
• Once cooked, blend the pumpkin soup with an immersion blender (See Expert Tips).
• Adjust the taste with salt, pepper, and chili flakes if necessary. To lift the flavor, add a little bit of freshly squeezed lemon juice or 1-2 teaspoons of balsamic vinegar.

Alternative spices and toppings

Spices

You can use other spices to change the flavor of this easy slow cooker pumpkin soup.

• Use cayenne pepper or chili paste for more heat. Always used to taste.
• Replace the rosemary with other dried herbs (thyme, bay leaves, etc.) or a dried herb mixture (like Herbs de Provence or Italian herbs).
• Replace the rosemary with 1 tablespoon of curry powder and some brown sugar (about 1-2 tablespoons), 1-2 tablespoons maple syrup, or honey. Add only a little sweetener at the beginning and adjust the taste once the slow cooker soup is cooked.

Toppings

• A handful of roasted pepitas or sunflower seeds
• An extra swirl of heavy cream or coconut milk
• Homemade croutons
• Potato croutons
• Other fresh herbs
• Feta topping like in the recipe for the Pumpkin Orange Soup (with Feta Topping)
• Another kind of cheese, like grated Parmesan, Gouda, or Cheddar
• Crispy bacon pieces
• Cooked chicken breast cubes
• Shrimps cooked with garlic or chili

Expert Tips

• Seeds: Check if the shells are empty or not. If they are not empty (they often are), you can roast the pumpkin seeds and enjoy them as a snack.

• Blender: When blending hot soups or other hot liquids, it’s preferable to use a stick blender to avoid the risk of the blender’s lid exploding.
  • However, if you are careful, you can also use the blender. Let the soup cool a little and blend it in batches. Place a folded clean towel on the blender and hold it steady. Increase the speed gradually. Transfer the blended soup to a pot and repeat with another batch.

• Thin the soup: If it seems too thick, you can thin it a little by adding some vegetable broth, milk, or cream. Don’t thin it with plain water; that will make the dish lose some of its flavors.

Recipe FAQ

How to serve slow cooker pumpkin soup?

• Serve it immediately or reheat it with any of the toppings suggested above.

• First course: The dish makes a great first course for any fall or festive menu. It will be enough for about 8 people if you serve it as a first course.

• Main course: If you serve it as a main it will be enough for about 4 people. Serve with fresh crusty bread or/and a salad. Try it with our Spelt Bread (No-Rise, No-Knead Bread), Oat Bread without Yeast, Flaxseed Bread, Easy Yogurt Soda Bread, or Buckwheat Bread.

• Serve a salad on the side. How about the Loaded Tuna and Feta Salad, a green salad with Yogurt Dressing or Raspberry Vinaigrette, Tomato, Avocado and Mozzarella Salad, a more filling Ancient Grain Salad, or a Deviled Egg Pasta Salad?

• And talking about deviled eggs, make some and serve them with pumpkin soup. Try our Mexican Deviled Eggs with Avocado, the Tuna Deviled Eggs, or the Romanian Deviled Eggs (with Liver Pate).

More pumpkin or butternut squash recipes

Easy Slow Cooker Pumpkin Soup

Velvety slow cooker pumpkin soup that’s perfect for the fall. A super easy recipe made in two steps: all you have to do is chop the vegetables and blend the soup.

5 from 1 vote

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Course: Soup

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 5 hours hours

Servings: 4

Calories: 299kcal

Author: Adina

Equipment

• ▢
  Slow cooker
• ▢
  Immersion blender

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients 

• ▢ 1 kg pumpkin 2.2 lbs, Note 1
• ▢ 1 onion large
• ▢ 2 garlic cloves
• ▢ 2-3 carrots 150 g/ 5.5 oz
• ▢ 450 g potatoes 1 lb
• ▢ ½ teaspoon red chili flakes
• ▢ 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• ▢ 1 teaspoon fine sea salt or Kosher
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• ▢ 1 liter vegetable stock 4 ¼ cups, Note 2
• ▢ 125 ml heavy cream ½ cup
• ▢ 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice OR 1-2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar, optional
• ▢ fresh parsley optional

Instructions

• Chop pumpkin: Halve the pumpkin and remove the seeds. Peel if necessary (Hokkaido pumpkin doesn’t need peeling, any other sort does). Cut the pumpkin into cubes.
• Peel and chop the onion, garlic, carrots, and potatoes.
• Fill the slow cooker: Place all the chopped vegetables, red chili flakes, rosemary, salt, pepper, and vegetable stock into the slow cooker.
• Cook for 5 hours on low. Check: the vegetables should be tender. If they are not, give them another 30-60 minutes.
• Blend the soup with an immersion blender (Note 3).
• Stir in the cream.
• Adjust the taste with salt, pepper, and red chili flakes. To lift the flavor, add a little lemon juice OR balsamic vinegar (to taste).

Notes

1. I recommend Hokkaido pumpkin or butternut squash. Otherwise, ensure you use another flavorful pumpkin sort.
2. Sub with chicken stock.
3. When blending hot soups or other hot liquids, it’s preferable to use an immersion blender (Amazon affiliate link) to avoid the risk of the blender’s lid exploding. However, if you are careful, you can also use the blender. Let the soup cool a little and blend it in batches. Place a folded kitchen towel on the blender and hold it steady. Increase the speed gradually. Transfer the blended soup to a pot and repeat with another batch.

Nutrition

Calories: 299kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 36mg | Sodium: 1627mg | Potassium: 1508mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 27449IU | Vitamin C: 51mg | Calcium: 108mg | Iron: 3mg

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