Home > Recipes > > Pumpkin Soup with Apple & Spices
by Michelle
October 19, 2021
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4.79 (19 ratings)This Pumpkin Soup with Apple & Spices is everything you love about fall, all in one convenient bowl. And it gets better—it’s also one of the easiest soup recipes I’ve ever made!
I have been wanting to try a pumpkin soup for what feels like forever, and finally got around to doing so. When I started poking around for recipe inspiration I saw a lot of similar-sounding recipes with pumpkin and spices, but then I stumbled on this one. It immediately stood out from the others because it included apple as a main ingredient, and I knew this would be the pumpkin soup recipe to try.
It turned out fabulous – the tartness of the apples was a perfect balance to the pumpkin. Throw in all of the additional ingredients, and this soup is absolutely bursting with fall flavors.
In addition to the incredible flavor and heartiness of the soup, this is one of the quickest soups I have ever made. From the time I unpacked the groceries to when I was ladling myself a bowl, less than an hour had passed. Usually, soups with this much flavor simmer for hours; being able to whip this up so quickly makes it a perfect weeknight meal, or one for last-minute company.
What You’ll Need
Many of the ingredients in this pumpkin soup recipe are pantry staples, so your shopping list should be a short one! Here’s what you’ll need:
- Olive oil
- Onion
- Granny Smith apples
- Kosher salt – Kosher salt has larger crystals than table salt, so if you’re using table salt instead, start with a smidge less, then taste and add more if needed.
- Vegetable stock – Vegetable stock isn’t the same as broth; broth is unseasoned. If you use broth, season the soup to taste.
- Natural no sugar added applesauce – AKA unsweetened applesauce.
- Ground white pepper
- Ground sage
- Dried thyme
- Ground nutmeg
- Canned pumpkin – Make sure you use pumpkin puree, not pie mix.
- Brown sugar
- Heavy cream
What is the difference between white and black pepper?
White pepper has a distinctive flavor that’s sharper and brighter than your everyday black pepper, and it pairs well with earthy flavors like pumpkin. Although you can use black or pink pepper, I recommend using white pepper in this soup because it adds a certain something that makes the recipe special.
How to Make Pumpkin Soup
I promised you an easy soup, and you’ll see that this recipe delivers! It’s great for those busy fall evenings when you want a cozy dinner that comes together fast.
Sauté the onion and apples. Heat a Dutch oven or large stock pot over medium heat. Add the olive oil and once it’s shimmering, add the onion, apples, and salt. Cook until the onions are soft and translucent, about 7 minutes.
Bring the soup to a boil. Pour in the vegetable stock, then add the applesauce, white pepper, sage, thyme, and nutmeg. Bring the soup to a boil and continue to cook until the apples are tender, about 5 minutes.
Finish the soup. Reduce the heat to medium. Stir in the pumpkin and brown sugar and continue to cook for 10 to 15 more minutes. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup until it’s smooth, or use a blender to blend the soup in batches. Add the cream and heat over low; add more cream or water if you’d like the soup to be thinner. Remove from heat and ladle the soup into bowls.
Tips for Success
This pumpkin soup is a cinch to make, but following these tips will help you get perfect results every time.
- Don’t use regular applesauce. If you do, the soup will be cloyingly sweet. Look for an applesauce that lists only apples as the ingredient.
- Want to substitute something for the heavy cream? Readers have reported using yogurt, coconut milk, and half-and-half with success.
- Use freshly ground nutmeg if you can. No worries if all you have on hand is ground nutmeg in a jar, but fresh nutmeg really complements the fall flavors in this pumpkin soup.
Serving Suggestions
Here are a few ideas for garnishing and serving pumpkin soup:
- I tossed some pumpkin seeds on top of the soup, but I also think some dried apple slices would be delicious as well!
- If you happen to have fresh sage on hand, you can thinly slice it and fry it in butter until it’s crisp, then use that as a garnish.
- Homemade croutons are amazing in a creamy soup like this.
- Serve with Cheddar Bay Biscuits, Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad, or Homemade Cornbread. Pumpkin soup is also great with a classic grilled cheese sandwich!
How to Store & Reheat Leftovers
Pumpkin soup will last in the fridge for up to 5 days or can be frozen for up to 2 months. To save space, I like freezing soups in large freezer bags so they can be laid flat and stacked.
To reheat, simply spoon the amount of soup you would like to eat into a pot and warm over medium heat on the stove until it reaches your desired temperature. You can also reheat soup in the microwave. For this, spoon the soup into a bowl, cover it with a plate and reheat it until warm. Pause halfway through to stir the soup. I always recommend covering a soup when reheating in the microwave to avoid splattering.
Creamy Pumpkin Soup
Yield: 8 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes mins
Cook Time: 30 minutes mins
Total Time: 45 minutes mins
An easy, creamy pumpkin soup recipe with apple, onion, and savory seasonings. A perfect hearty meal for chilly fall evenings!
4.79 (19 ratings)
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Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small onion, diced
- 2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and diced
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) kosher salt
- 6 cups (1.41 l) vegetable stock
- ⅔ cups (133.33 g) natural no sugar added applesauce
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) ground white pepper
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) ground sage
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) dried thyme
- ¼ teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) ground nutmeg
- 30 ounces (850.49 g) canned pumpkin
- ¼ cup (55 g) brown sugar
- ½ cup (119 ml) heavy cream
Instructions
Heat a Dutch oven or large soup pot over medium heat. Add the olive oil and heat until it shimmers. Add the diced onion, apples and salt. Saute until onions are translucent, about 7 minutes.
Add the vegetable stock, applesauce, white pepper, sage, thyme and nutmeg. Bring to a boil and cook until apples are very tender, about 5 more minutes.
Add the pumpkin and brown sugar and cook for 10 – 15 minutes over medium heat.
Use an immersion blender to blend soup until it's smooth. (You can also use a blender to blend the soup in batches.)
Add the cream to the soup and heat through over very low heat. (You can add more cream or water, if desired, to thin out more.)
Remove from heat and serve. Garnish with sliced pumpkin seeds or dried apple slices.
Notes
- Applesauce: Be sure to use unsweetened applesauce or else the soup will be too sweet.
- White Pepper: White pepper has a distinctive flavor that’s sharper and brighter than your everyday black pepper, and it pairs well with earthy flavors like pumpkin. Although you can use black or pink pepper, I recommend using white pepper in this soup.
- Heavy Cream: You can substitute yogurt, coconut milk, or half-and-half.
- Garnish Recommendations: Pumpkin seeds, dried apple slices, fresh sage (plain or fried), or homemade croutons.
- Serving Suggestions:Serve with Cheddar Bay Biscuits, Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad, or Homemade Cornbread. Pumpkin soup is also great with a classic grilled cheese sandwich!
- Storage: The pumpkin soup can be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Freezing Instructions: The pumpkin soup can be frozen in an airtight container (or freezer bag) for up to 2 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight then reheat on the stovetop over low heat or in the microwave stirring halfway through the heating time.
Calories: 176kcal, Carbohydrates: 28g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 8g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 3g, Cholesterol: 20mg, Sodium: 865mg, Potassium: 324mg, Fiber: 5g, Sugar: 19g, Vitamin A: 17173IU, Vitamin C: 8mg, Calcium: 52mg, Iron: 2mg
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
Photography by Mihaela Sebrek.
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49 Comments on “Pumpkin Soup with Apple & Spices”
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Jessica Taylor — Reply
I made this Pumpkin Soup with Apple & Spices yesterday, and it was a hit! The touch of herbs I added from herbafrost.be took it to the next level. Thanks for sharing this gem of a recipe, Michelle.
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Joy — Reply
Eating this as I type — so delicious! Thanks for the well written recipe.
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Louann — Reply
This soup was a big hit! The changes I made were using bacon drippings for the olive oil, chicken stock instead of vegetable and coconut milk for heavy cream. Very flavorful, easy to make and very little prep time. Using a vitamix makes the soup velvety smooth!
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Wendy — Reply
This sounds absolutely wonderful! I discovered pumpkin soup when I lived in Australia and have 2 recipes, one basic, one with Thai flavours which I love. Such a substantial and hearty soup for this time of year. Yours sounds amazing with the combination of apples as well as those spices and so easy, using pureed pumpkin which I wasn’t aware is available. Definitely on my to-try list soon!
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Debby Isaacson — Reply
Do you think it would still be good without blending? No blender here. Does it freeze well?
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ELIZABETH — Reply
I made this soup a few years ago and this Fall I had to make it again. It’s so delicious and well spiced! My mom says it’s the best soup she’s ever had – she said that the last time I made it too. I love it!! So satisfying on a cold autumn or winter day. :)
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Melody — Reply
This was pretty good, but I felt like it was missing something, so I added some cinnamon and it tasted complete. Just about a teaspoon give or take.
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Ry — Reply
Made this tonight… it wasn’t bad, but… I couldn’t finish my bowl. I should have clued in when my husband asked why my pumpkin soup was green. I used galas instead of granny smiths, and although a little lemon juice helped, it was just too much sage/thyme for my tastes. I think it needs more nutmeg and less of the others.
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Cwayezaugg — Reply
I made this soup tonight, it was great, made it with fresh pumpkin honey instead of sugar and coconut milk instead of cream.
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Melody — Reply
That sounds good. I’ll have to try that next time. I don’t know if I’d use coconut milk, though. I just added a bit of cinnamon.
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faye — Reply
Hi Michelle, could you cook this in a slow cooker?
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Michelle — Reply
Hi Faye, It’s a pretty quick soup, and I would recommend doing the sautéing step on the stovetop. I think after that you could probably transfer to a slow cooker if you’d like.
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Beth — Reply
I made this today and it was too sweet for me. I did a quick internet search and after seeing some other similar recipes I added some cumin and chili powder. Made all the difference to me. Thanks for the recipe!
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Elizabeth — Reply
I just made this soup and it is wonderful!! So warm, spicy, and filling. It tastes just like Fall should. I should have used less pepper though because it was really spicy, but it was perfect otherwise. I saw that some people used pumpkin pie spice so I will try that next time too, and maybe add a little more nutmeg. It made a pretty big batch too, so I can enjoy this for the rest of the week. Thank you so much for the delicious recipe!!
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Jen — Reply
I just made this, minus the brown sugar. I also used half and half, and an apple from our neighbors tree. Wow. Yum! I haven’t even eaten a whole bowl yet but I’m going to bring a crockpot full of this to my next family get-together. Thanks for posting! Yum :-)
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Mia — Reply
I made this last night and it was a big hit. It’s more savory than I expected, but had a smooth, comforting flavor and was excellent with pumpkin seeds added in for a little more texture. And it took about an hour start to finish! I served with a quiche and a cranberry walnut salad.
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janice buvel — Reply
Just made for dinner, added Jimmy Dean sage sausage, de-lish. WINNER!!!
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Mikol — Reply
This sounds delicious! I have never made pumpkin soup, and like you, after reading a dozen+ recipes, this one with apple is the one I am going to try.
One question though…if I want to use fresh pumpkin, how much do I need to substitute for the canned?? Thanks!-
Michelle — Reply
Hi Mikol, You would need to make your own pumpkin puree (there are some sources online that can walk you through it) and then use the same amount called for in the recipe.
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morri — Reply
I made this for dinner today. It tasted much like my beloved apple & cider soup, only more mild and creamy, and, of course, more pumpkin-y. I added much more nutmeg (over 1/2 tbsp), as it sort of disappeared in the soup, which was a shame, because it’s such a wonderful spice. I served it with chopped scallions and roasted pumpkin seeds. I loved it so much that I could just dive into the soup headfirst, but my husband kept saying that it was pretty good, but still needed a little more of something (he perked up when I suggested that it was probably bacon :).
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Lillian — Reply
I thought the granny smith flavor was too much; I had gala apples I was using for a stuffed mushroom recipe, I think I would have preferred that. Otherwise, this was a really good recipe. :)
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Katt S. — Reply
I made this soup last night and it was great! Next time I will cut down on the white pepper and I used three apples and cooked shredded carrots with the onion and apple. I also used a little bit of pumkin pie spice along with the other spices. It is a wonderful fall soup and is very easy to make. It could be made with fresh pumpkin and butter nut squash as well.
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Erica — Reply
I made this soup tonight and it was delicious. My only substitutions were that I used fat free Greek yogurt instead of cream, and I used fresh sage instead of dried. I had serve yourself garnish options of chopped scallions, low-fat sour cream, diced apples and toasted pumpkin seeds. It was a success!
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Alice — Reply
Hello! In the uk you can’t buy pumpkin in cans! How many grams of real pumpkin would i use to replace the cans in this recipe? i must eat this soup!!
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Michelle — Reply
Hi Alice, The gram equivalent of 30 ounces, which according to a quick conversion in Google, is about 850 grams.
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Kita — Reply
I just realized I have never tried pumpkin soup before. I must change that asap!
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Priyanka — Reply
Yummy…stunning color and super tempting
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Sarah K. @ The Pajama Chef — Reply
i love the sound of this! i make a pumpkin soup that’s definitely on the creamy/savory side, but i like the idea of trying it a little sweet too.
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Jenn@Baking Jenn's Blog — Reply
This looks yummy!
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angshink — Reply
WONDERFUL! I made this for dinner tonight. Super easy and VERY good! My children liked it also. I wanted to note that a few days ago I had pumpkin soup at a luncheon. It was wonderful as well. It had curry in it. After I made the soup as the directions say above I added curry powder to taste. If you like curry you may want to try adding some to this soup. Fabulous!
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Stephanie @ Eat. Drink. Love. — Reply
This soup looks like fall in a bowl! So yummy!
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Angie — Reply
Thanks for using my recipe as inspiration. I am very humbled!
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tom@morethanpepper — Reply
much better than a pillowcae full of sugar
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Melissa — Reply
I was just thinking I needed a new soup recipe for lunches. This looks perfect! Bookmarking to make tomorrow! :)
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CouponClippingCook — Reply
Only 15 minutes for prep and 30 minutes to cook….this sounds easy and delicious. Love the idea of the granny smith apples in it too.
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Brooks at Cakewalker — Reply
Michelle, the timeliness of this post is perfect…over the weekend I harvested the pumpkins I had growing in the yard! Now I’ll have a “go to” recipe. Your Mom’s remark about how hearty it was without protein or other accoutrements is reflected in how delicious looking the photographs depict the soup. Brava!
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What a fabulous fall soup! I’m on a pumpkin kick and have been for a while…and I don’t see it ending anytime soon either :) Perhaps this soup will have to make an appearance this fall!
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Steve @ The Black Peppercorn — Reply
looks great! I love pumpkin soup and made one a couple weeks ago. Fall season has some great flavours!!
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Patti — Reply
Yay! just told my husband over lunch that I thought I’d use our “volunteer pumpkins” for some soup tonight! so…here I go! Sounds so yummy for a grey fall day! Can’t wait to try it…Thanks.
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Leah from Sweet and Sour Showers — Reply
I absolutely LOVE pumpkin soup and can’t wait to try this recipe with the apples. A word of caution to anyone who uses the blender – let the soup cool a little bit b/c the blender could explode from too much heat. Believe me, I speak from experience! Highly recommend an immersion blender. :)
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Penny Wolf — Reply
I just baked a savory bread pudding in a pumpkin and it was great. I was thinking about pumpkin soup to be next. I am not sure. Maybe I should start with chunks of pumpkin in chili first…Your recipe looks very healthy.
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Liz @ Microwave Goddess — Reply
Sounds wonderful!
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Alicia at AliGirl Cooks — Reply
This looks delicious. A great Fall soup :)
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What a great recipe! Two of my fall favorites in one recipe!! I love that it’s a quick recipe too!! This would go great on a cool fall evening!!
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Lauren at Keep It Sweet — Reply
This does sound wonderful, what a perfect fall soup!
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Katrina — Reply
This soup sounds lovely. I need to try this soon!
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angela — Reply
Now I’m sure the house would smell delicious making this soup. The flavors and aromas of Fall are so “feel good.”
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Deveny — Reply
Yum! This looks amazing. I’ve been wanting to make pumpkin soup, but I haven’t found a recipe that has what I’ve been looking for…..until now. This looks like a perfectly spiced up version of a pumpkin soup I make for my son. Can’t wait to try it.
