It's soup season! Cozy up with a bowl of Pumpkin Potato Soup with garlic herb sourdough croutons. It's super easy to make, can be adjusted to your liking and whatever ingredients you have on hand, and is loaded with healthy veggies. Comfort food in a bowl!
More hearty potato soup recipes: Potato Dill Soup
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This pumpkin potato soup has a subtle curry flavor without being overpowering. I add 2 teaspoons of curry powder for the whole pot of soup, which is just enough to give it a nice "hmm what's in here that is so good?!" flavor. It's not spicy (though you can certainly change that), and it's very kid-friendly.
I serve this soup with garlic herb sourdough croutons. That sourdough flavor goes so well with the subtle sweetness of pumpkin in this soup, especially if I let the croutons soak up the soup for a minute before eating them. Yum!
Other crispy toppings that go well with this soup would be roasted pumpkin seeds, pepitas, roasted watermelon seeds, or crackers.
More pureed soup recipes: Potato Turnip Soup
What kind of pumpkin to use
The short answer is: use whatever pumpkin you have on hand, or whatever is available at your grocery store. For a time-saving shortcut, you can buy diced pumpkin from the grocery store.
But if you're shopping for pumpkin for this soup, here are some tips: a sugar pumpkin or pie pumpkin will give this soup a subtle sweetness. A kabocha squash will give this soup a nice savory flavor and it's a little starchier. Butternut squash will also work as a substitute for pumpkin and will also add a little sweetness to this soup.
I usually just grab a quarter or half pumpkin wrapped in cellophane from the grocery store. It's much more manageable than cutting into a whole large pumpkin.
Whatever pumpkin you use, make sure you peel it for this soup.
More savory pumpkin recipes: Moroccan Chicken and Pumpkin Stew
More Fall soups you MUST try: Roasted Butternut Leek Soup
Ingredients
For the soup:
- 1 yellow onion (or any onion you have on hand), finely diced
- 2 ribs celery, chopped
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil (or olive oil)
- 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons yellow curry powder, or to taste (I recommend an Indian or yellow Thai curry powder here. Curry paste will work well too. If curry is not your favorite, you can omit the it and use a teaspoon of Italian seasoning instead.)
- 1.5 lb pumpkin, peeled and cubed into 1-inch pieces
- 1.5 lb potatoes, peeled or scrubbed clean and cubed into 1-inch pieces (it's your choice whether to peel. My potatoes are from a local organic CSA farm, so I leave the peels on.)
- 3.5 - 4 cups vegetable broth (I used 4 cups)
- optional: salt and pepper, to taste
- herbs (cilantro or parsley) and other garnishes for serving, such as paprika or cayenne powder, pepitas, crackers, or sourdough croutons
For the sourdough croutons:
- 2 cups stale sourdough bread, diced into ½-inch cubes
- oil sprayer with olive oil (or about ½ - 1 tablespoon olive oil)
- salt, to taste
- garlic powder, to taste
- Italian seasoning, to taste
More creamy soup recipes: Coconut Curry Butternut Squash Soup
Equipment
- Soup pot
- Immersion blender or regular blender
- Wooden spatula
- Cutting board, measuring cups and spoons
More Fall soup recipes: Sweet Potato Sausage Soup
Instructions
Make the croutons:
If you want to make sourdough croutons while the soup is cooking, get started on these first: Preheat oven to 325F. In a medium bowl, spray the cubed bread pieces with olive oil (or drizzle with olive oil). Season to taste with salt, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning and mix thoroughly to distribute the seasonings. Arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake at 325F for 15-20 minutes, or until crispy and dried out. The exact roasting time will depend on how dry your bread is and how big your croutons are.
Make the soup:
Sauté the diced onion and chopped celery in coconut oil over medium-low heat for about 8-10 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent burning. You want the onion to just start to brown but not burn. Do NOT skimp on this step because it adds a lot of flavor to the soup.
Add the minced garlic and curry powder and sauté for 1 minute.
Add the pumpkin, potato, and broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until the potatoes are fully cooked and easily pierced with a fork. You can simmer covered or uncovered, it's your choice. Just make sure the veggies stay covered by the broth.
Use an immersion blender to puree the soup to your liking. You can leave it a little chunky or blend it until completely smooth. Give it a taste and season with salt, pepper, or more curry powder to taste.
Serve hot, garnishing with a sprinkle of smoked paprika or cayenne pepper, fresh herbs, and your choice of crispy toppings, such as pepitas, croutons, roasted pumpkin seeds.
More creamy soup recipes: Butternut Squash Beet Soup
Recipe variations
→ Not a fan of curry? Skip it and add Italian seasoning instead. If going for Italian seasoning, I recommend swapping the oil from coconut oil to olive oil.
→ Make it creamier. Use 3-3.5 cups of broth to cook the veggies, then stir in a little heavy cream or unsweetened coconut milk after blending.
→ Make it spicy: Add cayenne pepper to the soup.
→ Make it heartier: Stir in cooked lentils or chickpeas before blending (like my butternut squash lentil soup).
→ Add other veggies: Carrots, sweet potatoes, parsnips, can be used to substitute some of the pumpkin or potatoes. I typically don't add carrots or sweet potatoes to a pumpkin soup because there's enough vitamin A from the pumpkin. But use whatever you have on hand!
More creamy Fall soups to try: Sweet Potato Leek Soup
If you enjoyed this recipe, let me know with a comment and a star rating below. And don't forget to share it on Facebook and save it on Pinterest for later!
Pumpkin Potato Soup with Sourdough Croutons
Ingredients
- 1 yellow onion - finely diced
- 2 ribs celery - chopped
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil - (or olive oil)
- 2-3 cloves garlic - minced
- 2 teaspoons curry powder - adjust to taste. Yellow Thai curry paste will work too.
- 1.5 lb pumpkin - peeled and cubed into 1-inch pieces
- 1.5 lb russet potatoes - peeled or scrubbed clean and cubed into 1-inch pieces
- 3.5 - 4 cups vegetable broth - (I used 4 cups)
- optional: salt and pepper - to taste
- herbs (cilantro or parsley) - and other garnishes for serving, such as paprika or cayenne powder, pepitas, crackers, or sourdough croutons
- 2 cups days-old sourdough bread - diced into ½-inch cubes
- oil sprayer with olive oil - (or about ½ - 1 tablespoon olive oil)
- salt - to taste
- garlic powder - to taste
- Italian seasoning - to taste
Special equipment
- Soup Pot
- Immersion blender or regular blender
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F.
- In a medium bowl, spray the cubed bread pieces with olive oil (or drizzle with olive oil). Season to taste with salt, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning and mix thoroughly to distribute the seasonings.
- Arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake at 325F for 15-20 minutes, or until crispy and dried out. The exact roasting time will depend on how dry your bread is and how big your croutons are.
- Sauté the diced onion and chopped celery in coconut oil over medium-low heat for about 8-10 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent burning.
- Add the minced garlic and curry powder and sauté for 1 minute.
- Add the pumpkin, potato, and broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until the potatoes are fully cooked and easily pierced with a fork. You can simmer covered or uncovered, it's your choice. Just make sure the veggies stay covered by the broth.
- Use an immersion blender to puree the soup to your liking. You can leave it a little chunky or blend it until completely smooth. Taste and add salt, pepper, or more curry if you like.
- Serve hot, garnishing with a sprinkle of smoked paprika or cayenne pepper, fresh herbs, and sourdough croutons.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information displayed is an estimate and not to be used as dietary or nutritional advice. Consult a nutritionist or dietician for nutritional info based on the exact ingredients you use.
Kate
Wednesday 23rd of October 2024
Cozy, comforting soup. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. The croutons are a must!