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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?
I’m 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 it’s the weather.
But today were are talking soup. And Thanksgiving!
I have always wanted to make soup and serve it in roasted pumpkins. It’s 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 it’s 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 good… and addicting. You will not be able to stop after just one handful, which is kind of ok since they are pretty healthy. Don’t fret about the word fried because they are not fried at all. Really, they’re just toasted in a skillet. It’s 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 you’re 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. Let’s just say I will never again mess with any of the boy’s “Thanksgiving Foods”.
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, it’s cute food that’s 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, don’t 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
Servings: 4 Servings
Calories Per Serving: 636 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
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 400° 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.
Whatever way you choose you won’t go wrong.
I made this soup for a witchy sister’s Halloween dinner party and the response was phenomenal! I am not the biggest fan of squash or pumpkin as a soup but you wouldn’t even know that with this soup. Probably one of the best pesto recipes I’ve ever made and will continue to use. I honestly can’t wait to serve this again at our party this year since it was such a big hit✨
That is so amazing! Thank you for trying this recipe Whitney! So glad you all loved it! xTieghan
What kind of pumpkins are used to serve the soup?
HI! I like to use sugar pie pumpkins (mini pumpkins). Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much! xTieghan
Hi This looks so delicious. I’m a reporter for Good Morning America and we’d love to share your recipe and pics with your permission/credit for our readers!! Please email me if interested!
Hey Kelly! That is fine with me, you have my persimmon. Thanks so much!
Can you remake the soup, refrigerate it and heat it up to put in pumping next day?
HI! Yes, that will work great! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much! xTieghan
How much much mashed pumpkin should we use for the soup?
I would say about 2 1/2 cusp mashed pumpkin. Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe. Thank you! 🙂
Oh I think this recipe is the bomb. Cant wait to try it.
Thank you!
Hi, I know that if one uses an acorn squash for the bowl it can be eaten skin and all, can the same be done for these pumpkin bowls?
Hi Matt! Yes, you can eat the pumpkins skins, but most people prefer to discard them. I personally enjoy them, so it’s really just preference. Let me know if you have questions. Hope you love the soup!
es, you can eat the pumpkin bowls, but most prefer to not eat the skin. That said, I personally like the skin. So it’s personal preference.
what does 1 in large pumpkin mean?
Just 1 sugar pie pumpkin. Please let me know if you have questions. Hope you love the soup!
Well the mornings and evenings are starting to get cold here and my sage plant is begging for some use… it’s still too early for sugar/pie pumpkins. Do you think I could use canned pumpkin? How much would you recommend? Do you think the health food store would have the raw pumpkin seeds? Or Ian there a good substitute? Thanks! Hoping to make this tonight.
So I made this, and it turned out delicious! I subbed 2 cans of organic pumpkin, skipped the pumpkin seeds. It tasted a little flat (maybe because I didn’t make fresh roasted pumpkin), so I sautéed a whole chopped onion and added it to the soup then used immersion blender. I used 1/2 tsp cayenne, think it was a bit too hot, may use 1/4 tsp next time! Also added probably twice as much fresh thyme. Will definitely put in the recipe book to make in the fall. 🙂 LOVE the pesto.
SO glad you enjoyed it. Thank you!
Hi Alia, canned pumpkin will be great. I would use 2 (14 ounce) can. And yes, the health food store will have shelled pumpkin seeds (pepitas). Hope you love the soup!
This is definitely going on the menu for Thanksgiving dinner. We will be at our son’s home and will have a vegetarian meal. It is always good, BUT Mom will have turkey and dressing fixed at home!
Sounds like an awesome Thanksgiving! I hope you and your family have a great time and love this soup! Thanks!
Loved the flavors of this soup! It’s very creative and fun! Is it supposed to be thick? Mine was kinda thin, I used two pie pumpkins bc I couldn’t find sugar. Would you recommend a way to make it thicker? Thank you so much for sharing!
Hey Will! It should be thicker than say a brothy soup, but not so thick that it is like mashed potatoes, so somewhere in the middle. To thicken it up, just simmer on the stove for 15-20 minutes or until it thickens. That should works great! Let me know if you have any other questions. Thank you! 🙂
Made this soup! First of all, love love love the adorable presentation too! A couple things I disliked… :/ The 1hr 15 min to make this is nowhere near the time it takes. Generally I give myself like 3x’s the time it says because KIDS but this time, I actually prepped made the purée the night before after everyone was in bed. I think I easily spent almost an hr just cleaning out the 5 pumpkins. (The large sugar pumpkin then the 4 for serving) Overall, I spent roughly 3.5 hrs not counting the time switching back and forth between different types of food processors and doing dishes and cleaning up. Otherwise, it’s actually like 5 hrs I SWEAR lol
If I make this again I’d do half the recommended amount of cats me. We love food w/ a kick but I wound up only doing about 3/4tsp cayenne to start w/ and it was still pretty strong. Wasn’t too spicy for me but my Mother is a little sensitive too so she wound up being unable to take more than a few bites. Think the other flavors would have shined more if I used less caysnne. I enjoyed the pumpkin seeds by themselves (again wish I had used half the spicy seasoning and we do love a kick usually!) but I’d serve the soup next time w/ out the seeds. They became chewy in the soup. (Don’t think we fried them quite long enough so we kept putting them for a few min in the toaster oven to make them more crisp and that really helped but still got chewy in the soup.) Loved the pesto. I kinda want to make it again and use it as a chicken pasta dish. Maybe make a light cream base before pouring in the pesto? Mmmm! Overall, it was still good and definitely a beautiful presentation. Just wish the pumpkin would have shined a tiny bit more.
THANK YOU! So happy you loved the soup and the presentation. Thanks so much for all the tips and feedback. Maybe I can work on a way to help the pumpkin shine a little more. Let me know if there is anything I can help with or if you have questions. Thank you! 🙂
I have a question, and forgive me if it’s been answered already: for the pumpkins, do you put the whole pieces in the food processor or do you have to peel off the skin? I’ve never actually cooked pumpkin before so I’m a little nervous about ruining everything. I definitely want to make this for Thanksgiving this year, and that’s also my birthday weekend, so I don’t want it to go wrong! 🙂
For the ‘garlic’…
Do you mean 1 head of roasted garlic? OR we can substitute 1 clove of raw garlic?
Hey Emma, you can sub in 1 clove of raw garlic. Please let me know if you have questions. Thanks!
Would the taste be off if I substituted sweet potatoes for pumpkin? If not, what would the amount needed be? I know this is a pumpkin soup, and I ADORE pumpkin, but my boyfriend does not (sigh). He does love sweet potatoes however, as do I, and I think they might work well with the other flavors and ingredients (sage pesto and the buttery sweetness of the sweet potatoes sounds heavenly). Could you give me your thoughts? Or any other suggestions?
Hey Pam,
I think sweet potatoes will be great! I would bake three-4 medium sweet potatoes, remove the skin and then puree them. Hope that helps and let me know if you have any other questions! Happy Holidays 🙂