I can’t tell you how many times I licked the spoon making this Vegan Pumpkin Soup. I’m surprised there was any left to style up!
What makes this Pumpkin Soup stand out from the crowd?
Firstly, it’s the method. Roasting the pumpkin, cauliflower, onion and garlic first really accentuates the natural sweet flavour of the vegetables.
A good stock. If you can use homemade, or store bought but fresh, this is best for flavour. If you’re not vegan, chicken stock is good too.
The toppings. No soup is complete without a good soup topper in my book. Of course you don’t need to add the toppings, but it’s so totally worth it guys. The crumbles of sweet vacuum packed chestnuts and a drizzle of this super easy winter vegan pesto makes all the difference to the flavour.
Note: This recipe makes more pesto than you will need, approx 1/3 of a cup, so store any leftovers in a Tupperware in the fridge for up to 5 days and use on another recipe.
Who is this Pumpkin Soup Suitable for?
VEGAN: This roast pumpkin soup is vegan friendly.
KETO / LOW CARB: Pumpkin and chestnuts are allowed on a keto diet. To keep the carbs low, just use 1 chestnut per serve.
SUGAR FREE: No sugar or sweeteners were added to this recipe.
EXTRA ADD INS:
Crispy tofu is great on top too if you’re really going for it.
If you’re not vegan, you might like to experiment with using butter instead of olive oil and adding some cooked chorizo or bacon.
Vegan Pumpkin Soup with Chestnuts and Winter Pesto
INGREDIENTS
- 450 g pumpkin, peeled and seeds removed
- 200 g cauliflower
- 1 small onion, cut into wedges
- 2 cloves garlic, skin on
- 2 tbsp coconut or olive oil (I like Coconut Merchant)
- 900 ml vegetable stock
- 1/2 - 1 tsp salt, to taste
- 1/3 tsp cracked black pepper
- 75 g chestnuts, chopped
Winter Pesto
- 20 g kale, stalks removed
- 1 sprig rosemary, leaves only
- 4 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 garlic clove, roasted like above
- 90 ml olive oil
- 25 g pine nuts
- Good pinch - 1/4 tsp salt, or to taste
Method
- Preheat the oven to 220C / 200 fan.
- Chop the pumpkin into 2cm cubes. Place the pumpkin, onion and garlic (including the clove for the pesto) on a greaseproof lined baking tray. Toss in 2 tbsp of olive oil and roast for 35 minutes until soft.
- After 28 minutes add the pine nuts to one corner of the tray and roast for 7 minutes until slightly golden. Remove the tray from the oven when cooked.
- Remove the skin from the garlic and add the 2 of the roasted cloves to a saucepan along with the pumpkin, onion, stock, salt and pepper. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 15 minutes.
- Add the vegan pumpkin soup to a high speed blender and blitz until smooth. Alternatively, you can use a stick blender.
- Place the winter pesto ingredients in the small bowl of a food processor or use a stick blender (along with the toasted pine nuts and 1 roasted garlic clove) and blitz until smooth.
- Serve the Vegan Pumpkin Soup with chopped chestnuts and a drizzle of winter pesto.
- Leftover pesto can be stored in an airtight tupperware in the fridge for up to 5 days or frozen for 2 months.
