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I almost forgot about this Roasted Garlic Sage Pesto Pumpkin Soup.
Well, not really I just realized that I better get this posted.
Time is running out. I mean jeez (or geez?? I never know), Thanksgiving is a week from Thursday! Yikes.
Do you guys have your menus all planned out yet?
Iโm hoping not, since I have a few more Thanksgiving recipes coming your way. I feel so late to the game, especially since my family has somehow completely skipped over Thanksgiving and moved on to Christmas. I think itโs the weather.
But today were are talking soup. And Thanksgiving!
I have always wanted to make soup and serve it in roasted pumpkins. Itโs kind of the cutest Thanksgiving recipe ever, if you ask me. I mean really, pumpkins were made for serving soup out of them, right?
I realize this soup has a lot going on, but it is all good stuff.
There is sage pesto, which is maybe one of the tastiest pestos ever. Sage + roasted garlic + pistachios + blue cheese = one darn good pesto. I was a little worried the sage would be too strong in the pesto, so I also added parsley. I think it was the perfect ratio. and itโs so festive. It would be perfect for crackers and cheese or even over pasta for Christmas.
And then there are the pumpkin seeds, which you should add as a topper to almost everything.
Seriously, these salty seeds are so goodโฆ and addicting. You will not be able to stop after just one handful, which is kind of ok since they are pretty healthy. Donโt fret about the word fried because they are not fried at all. Really, theyโre just toasted in a skillet. Itโs a little faster than roasting, but just as good.
Now, I know that if you are having like twenty people for Thanksgiving that giving each person their own pumpkin bowl is not really realistic. Unless of course you are Super Thanksgiving woman and rule the kitchen. In this case, I totally envy you.
Obviously, you can serve the soup in regular old bowls and it will still taste just as good, but if youโre doing a smaller Thanksgiving, do the pumpkin bowls. People will be SO impressed, and trust me, impressing people at Thanksgiving is a good thing. Not easy to do with my crowd!
But really, what are you guys making?
I have not planned a single thing yet.
Do you guys do traditional or something new every year?
I am kind of for tradition believe it or not. When it comes to the holidays, traditions rule for me.
But I do like putting a twist on things, which my family hates.
One year I tried to make roasted garlic mashed potatoes. That was that a giant mistake. Letโs just say I will never again mess with any of the boyโs โThanksgiving Foodsโ.
I still hear about those roasted garlic potatoes, which by the way were awesome in my opinion.
Anyway, this soup is Thanksgiving in a bowl, and so festive and cute. Plus, itโs cute food thatโs actually delicious, score!
These could be served as the perfect first course (wow them right off the bat!) Or as an appetizer served in shot glasses. Or just let them shine in all their orange glory as a full-fledged side dish.
Lastly, if you make this Roasted Garlic Sage Pesto Pumpkin Soup, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, donโt forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Roasted Garlic Sage Pesto Pumpkin Soup with Spicy Fried Pumpkin Seeds
Ingredients
- 1 large sugar or pie pumpkin, cut half and seeds removed and reserved (plus 4 small ones if you are making the pumpkin bowls)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- salt and pepper
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 small shallots, chopped
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 1 cup water
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or more or less to your liking
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- 1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes
Sage Pesto
- 1 clove head garlic, or you may sub 1 raw garlic
- 1 cup fresh parsley
- 1/2 cup fresh sage
- 1/4 cup shelled pistachios
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese, if you do not like blue cheese sub feta or parmesan
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
Fried Pumpkin Seeds
- 1 tablespoon coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon flour
- reserved pumpkin seeds from above
- 1 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- lots of salt to your tasting
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ยฐ F.
- Cut your pumpkin in half or into fourths and reserve the pumpkin seeds for later. Place the pumpkin on a baking sheet and rub the pumpkin with 1 tablespoon olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Chop off the top portion of the garlic head to reveal the cloves. Peel any excess paper/skin off from the bulb of garlic. Pour about a teaspoon of olive oil on top of the garlic cloves and cover with foil. Roast both the pumpkin and garlic together on the same baking sheet for 45 minutes, or until the pumpkin is fork tender and the garlic golden brown and soft. Remove from the oven and allow everything to cool five minutes. Squeeze the garlic out of the paper skin into a small bowl and mash well with a fork, set aside.
- Grab the pumpkin and add it to a food processor (or mash extremely well) and puree with 1 cup of the chicken broth, puree until completely smooth.
- Heat a large pot over medium heat and add the butter and shallots. Saute the shallots until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the thyme and cook another 30 seconds. Add the pumpkin puree, remaining chicken, coconut milk, water, cayenne, nutmeg, maple syrup, and crushed red pepper. Bring the soup to a low simmer and simmer 15-20 minutes.
- While the soup cooks make the pesto. Add the roasted garlic, parsley, sage, and pistachios to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until finely chopped and then stream in the olive oil. Add the cheese and pulse a few more times until combined. Season with salt and pepper.
- To fry the pumpkin seeds. Add the reserved pumpkin seeds to a bowl and toss with 1 tablespoon coconut milk and 1 tablespoon flour. In a small bowl combine the chipotle chili powder, pepper, and brown sugar. Place a skillet on the stovetop and set to medium heat, add the olive oil. Once the oil is hot, add the pumpkin seeds into the pan, but be careful! Stir the pumpkin seeds around in the skillet with a spoon or spatula continuously until they expand and start to brown. Once the seeds are browned remove them from the skillet and place them onto a paper towel to drain. Toss with the chili powder and a good pinch of salt. Taste and season accordingly.
- To assemble the soup, ladle the soup into bowls (or your roasted pumpkins) and top each bowl with a dollop of pesto, a sprinkle of pumpkin seeds, and if desired drizzle with coconut milk. Start slurpin!
- To make the roasted pumpkin soup bowls. Remove the tops of the pumpkin and scoop out the seeds. Rub the insides of the pumpkins with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 20-30 minutes or just until soft to touch but not falling in.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
Whatever way you choose you wonโt go wrong.
Is the coconut milk sweetened or unsweetened ?
Hi Carol,
I like to use unsweetened coconut milk for this recipe. Please let me know if you have any other questions!
I used a pie pumpkin that ended up being about 3 pounds after removing the seeds. I also removed the pumpkin skin after I roasted it before I purรฉed it, because I hate the texture of the skin (it peels right off after roasting). I wasnโt a fan of the seeds, but I feel like that might have been a failure on my part. Overall very tasty!
Hi Jess,
Happy Sunday! Thanks so much for taking the time to comment, I am so glad to hear this recipe turned out nicely for you!
Hello Tiegan,
When first finding this recipe, I was very excited to try it out especially as the feedback from those who have already made it are so positive.
I am making this recipe for the first time, and I am running into a lot of issues with measurements. I am neurodivergent and I really need very specific directions to feel confident in any project but especially cooking where I struggle a lot. I am hopeful you are able to give me a bit more direction and clarity. So here are my questions:
1) Once the pumpkin is roasted and pureed how many cups of liquid should it yield? I would like to make sure the pumpkin I bought was large enough. Expanding on this point it would be extremely helpful to know what constitutes a “large pumpkin” if you could provide an estimated weight. This way I can weigh the pumpkin in the store before purchasing.
2) When the 2 shallots have been chopped, what cup equivalent should I be working with? Currently this looks like far too much shallot. I am a little nervous my ratios will be off.
3) I am using the entire bulb of garlic or a single clove? The recipe seems very clear in the whole bulb (multiple cloves) being roasted and use, however in the comments you have instructed others to use one clove.
Would like to make this recipe but I do not understand what you mean by the first ingredientโฆ. โOne large sugar or pie pumpkinโ? Does this mean just one large pumpkin? How large is large? And about how many ounces of pumpkin would suffice for the recipe? Thanks!
โPie pumpkinโ is a specific type of pumpkin. You can usually find them in the produce section of the grocers store. Theyโre much smaller than Halloween pumpkins (like a grapefruit)
making this for Canadian Thanksgiving tomorrow.
Can I roast the Pumpkin Bowls a day in advance?
Hi! Happy Thanksgiving! Yes that should be fine! xT
Hi Tieghan, could I use beef broth with this recipe or would it ruin it?
Hi there! I haven’t ever used beef broth with this recipe so I can’t say for sure! xT
hey. i’d really like to make this recipe – but using a pie pumpkin is unrealistic for me. i imagine i can easily replace the fresh roasted pumpkin puree that the pie pumpkin results in for step #3, but because your recipe doesn’t include the weight of the pumpkin / how many cups of puree you should have at the end – I’m unsure on proportions. I’m going to take a gamble and see how this soup turns out – but in the future – how would I go about substituting the pie pumpkin w canned pumpkin? (how much should i be using)
Hi Anna,
I would suggest using about 4 cups of pumpkin puree. I hope this recipe turns out well for you, please let me know if you have any other questions! xx
Hi! This recipe calls for one clove head garlic. Is that a whole head of garlic or one clove?
Thanks!
Hi Reaghan,
For this recipe, you will want to use 1 clove of garlic:) Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xx