This ginger spiced pumpkin soup is the perfect way to get in the mood for Fall. It’s really easy to make and full of wholesome ingredients. With fresh pumpkin, onions, carrots, celery, garlic, and ginger, it’s not short on flavor!
Pair the pumpkin soup with a nice piece of bread for a light, yet satisfying dinner.
If you’re still in the mood for soup, try this delicious creamy vegetable soup or this creamy butternut squash soup. If you want something a little more hearty, try this easy Southwestern steak soup and, if you have some time on your hands, this Cuban chicken soup is amazing. Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 Small Onion, diced
- 2 Carrots, diced
- 1 Celery Rib, diced
- 1 Garlic Clove, grated or minced
- 1 teaspoon Fresh Ginger, grated or minced
- ½ teaspoon Coriander
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
- 2½-3 pounds Baking Pumpkin, seeded, peeled and cut into 1-2 inch pieces
- 4 cups Vegetable Broth
- Pumpkin Seeds, for garnish optional
Prep Work
Peeling pumpkin can be a little tricky. It’s oddly shaped and has super-thick skin rendering a peeler useless. Here is how I make quick work of pumpkin peeling.
- Scoop out the seeds and the stringy flesh. The best way to do this is with a large sturdy spoon.
- Cut the pumpkin into several large chucks.
- The pumpkin is much more manageable if it’s cut into pieces. Make sure there’s a side that can sit flat on the cutting board.
- Cut off a thin section of the peel at a time.
Once the pumpkin is peeled, cut each chunk into 1-2 inch pieces for the soup.
Prepare the rest of the ingredients. Dice the onions, carrots and celery. Grate or mince the garlic and ginger and measure out the spices.
Having everything prepped and ready to go will ensure that cooking goes smoothly. You don’t have to worry about the onions burning while you’re mincing garlic. This technique is called mise en place, which means “put in place” or “everything in its place”, and I use it all the time.
Yes, I dirty extra bowls, and there is some time dedicated just to prep. But once it’s done, I can move through a recipe without stress, which makes cooking a real pleasure! If you’re new to cooking, or not particularly fond of it, try using a mise en place and see if it makes (your) cooking better.
Make the soup
Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions, carrots and celery, cook gently for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
Add the garlic, ginger, coriander, salt and pepper to the pot, cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add the pumpkin and vegetable broth and stir. Raise the heat to high; bring the soup to a boil, lower heat to medium to medium-low and cover.
If the soup is boiling too vigorously, lower the heat a bit so too much liquid doesn’t evaporate. Cook the soup for about 25 minutes or until the pumpkin and carrots are so tender they break apart easily when gently pressed with a wooden spoon or fork.
Remove the pot from the heat. Process the soup with an immersion blender in the pot. If you don’t have an immersion blender, use a blender. Do not fill the blender to the top with hot liquid, process in batches.
Return the pumpkin soup to the pot and warm through, if needed.
Taste the soup and season with more salt and pepper, if needed. Serve the ginger spiced pumpkin soup and garnish with a few pumpkin seeds, if desired. Enjoy!
Cook’s notes
Don’t add too much salt to the soup to start. The vegetable broth contains salt already, you can always add more at the end, if needed. Just as a reference, I added a pinch at the end, but salt is always a matter of taste.
Serves 4
Ginger Spiced Pumpkin Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 Small Onion diced
- 2 Carrots diced
- 1 Celery Rib diced
- 1 Garlic Clove grated or minced
- 1 teaspoon Fresh Ginger grated or minced
- ½ teaspoon Coriander
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
- 2½-3 pounds Baking Pumpkin seeded, peeled and cut into 1-2 inch pieces
- 4 cups Vegetable Broth
- Pumpkin Seeds for garnish optional
Instructions
- Seed and peel the pumpkin.
- Cut the peeled pumpkin into 1-2 inch pieces.
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions, carrots and celery, cook gently for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add the garlic, ginger, coriander, salt and pepper to the pot, cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly.
- Add the pumpkin and vegetable broth and stir. Raise the heat to high; bring the soup to a boil, lower heat to medium to medium-low and cover. If the soup is boiling too vigorously, lower the heat a bit. Cook the pumpkin soup for about 25 minutes or until the pumpkin and carrots are so tender they break apart easily when gently pressed with a wooden spoon or fork.
- Remove the pot from the heat. Process the soup with an immersion blender in the pot. If you don’t have an immersion blender, use a blender. Do not fill the blender to the top with hot liquid, process in batches. Return the pumpkin soup to the pot and warm through, if needed.
- Taste the soup and season with more salt and pepper, if needed.
- Serve the ginger spiced pumpkin soup and garnish with a few pumpkin seeds, if desired.