Every November, the bins on my street fill up with whole pumpkins. Slightly saggy, a little singed inside, faces still grinning. It always feels like a waste, because a pumpkin is a big, cheap vegetable that can feed a family for days. The catch is that not every pumpkin is worth eating, and the one you carved is not always the one you should cook.
So here is my plan for this Halloween: buy one pumpkin for the doorstep and one for the pot, or carve a fresh one and cook the insides the same day. Then make a proper pumpkin soup, the thick, deep-orange kind, not the thin watery stuff that gives the dish a bad name. Below is the recipe I make every autumn, plus five other ways to use up every last scrap.
First, a Word on Your Jack-o’-Lantern
The big orange pumpkins sold for carving are bred to be large and easy to hollow out, not for flavour. Their flesh is pale, stringy and very wet. You can eat them, and the soup below will rescue a lot of that blandness, but you will get far better results from a dense eating variety such as crown prince, kabocha, a small sugar pumpkin or even a plain butternut squash.
Food safety matters more than flavour here. If your pumpkin has been carved and sat out for a few days, with a candle burning inside, do not cook it. Cut flesh at room temperature spoils quickly, and soot and wax are not ingredients. My rule is simple: cook the flesh you scoop out on carving day, and compost the lantern itself after Halloween.
Easy Pumpkin Soup Recipe
The secret to a good pumpkin soup recipe is getting rid of water and building flavour. Pumpkins can be as much as 90% water, which is why so many soups taste flat. Felicity Cloake makes this point well in her Guardian method for pumpkin soup, which roasts the flesh and turns the peel and seeds into a quick stock. I borrowed that peel-stock trick a while ago and have used it ever since. My version is a little simpler and a bit more garlicky.
Ingredients (serves 4 to 6)
- About 1.5 kg pumpkin or winter squash
- 3 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for roasting
- 1.5 litres vegetable or chicken stock
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 carrot and 1 celery stick, finely diced
- 3 garlic cloves, sliced
- 1 tsp ground cumin or a pinch of chilli flakes (optional)
- Salt, pepper and a little nutmeg
- A knob of butter and a few sage leaves to finish (optional)
Method
1. Roast the pumpkin. Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan), 390F or gas 6. Peel the pumpkin, keeping the peel, then scoop out the seeds and set a handful aside. Cut the flesh into even chunks, toss with oil and salt, and roast on one or two trays for about 40 minutes, until soft and browned at the edges. Do not crowd the tray, or the pumpkin steams instead of roasting.
2. Make a quick peel stock. While the pumpkin roasts, put the peel and stringy seed pulp in a pan with the stock, bring it to the boil and simmer gently for about 30 minutes. Strain and throw the scraps away. It sounds fussy, but it adds a real pumpkin flavour for almost no effort.
3. Build the base. Warm the olive oil in a large pan over a medium-low heat. Add the onion, carrot, celery and a pinch of salt, and cook slowly for 10 to 15 minutes until soft and sweet but not brown. Stir in the garlic and spice for the last minute.
4. Simmer and blend. Add the roasted pumpkin and most of the strained stock. Simmer for about 10 minutes, then blend until smooth with a stick blender, or let it cool slightly before using a jug blender. Add more stock or water until it is as thick as you like. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg, and taste. If the pumpkin was bland, a squeeze of lemon helps more than extra salt.
5. Finish it properly. Melt the butter until it smells nutty, throw in the sage for a few seconds, and spoon it over each bowl. Scatter over the roasted seeds (see below). A spoonful of yoghurt or grated parmesan is lovely too.
The soup keeps for 3 to 4 days in the fridge and freezes well for about 3 months. It is one of those dishes that tastes better the next day.
5 More Ways to Cook Your Halloween Pumpkin
1. Crunchy Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
Rinse the seeds, pull off the pulp and dry them thoroughly on a tea towel. Toss with a little oil, salt and smoked paprika, then roast at 180C for 10 to 15 minutes, shaking the tray once. Watch them closely at the end, because they go from golden to burnt quickly. They make a great snack and a better soup topping.
2. Pumpkin Pasta Sauce
Blend a couple of handfuls of roasted pumpkin with a ladle of pasta water, a little garlic, parmesan and black pepper. Toss through short pasta like rigatoni. It is creamy without any cream, and it takes about as long as the pasta does to cook.
3. Pumpkin and Chickpea Curry
Fry onion, garlic, ginger and curry paste, add chunks of raw pumpkin, a tin of chickpeas and a tin of coconut milk, then simmer until the pumpkin is tender. Finish with spinach and lime. Carving pumpkins work surprisingly well here, because the spices do the heavy lifting.
4. Roast Pumpkin Hummus
Blitz a cup of roasted pumpkin with a drained tin of chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, garlic and olive oil. It is sweeter than regular hummus and a great colour for a Halloween party table.
5. Pumpkin Puree for Baking
Roast or steam any leftover flesh, blend it until smooth and leave it in a sieve for an hour to drain. Freeze it in portions and use it later for muffins, pancakes or a pumpkin loaf. Draining is the important part, because watery puree makes heavy, gummy bakes.
If you want more cold-weather cooking ideas, our round-up of 30-minute weeknight dinners for winter pairs nicely with a big pot of this soup in the fridge.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you eat a carving pumpkin?
Yes, if it is fresh and has not been sitting out after carving. The flesh is watery and mild, so roast it first to concentrate the flavour, and do not eat a lantern that has been outside with a candle in it for days.
What is the best pumpkin for soup?
Dense varieties such as crown prince, kabocha, sugar pumpkin or butternut squash give a sweeter, thicker soup than big carving pumpkins.
Why is my pumpkin soup watery and bland?
Pumpkin can be up to 90% water. Roasting the flesh instead of boiling it, and using a stock made from the peel, fixes most of the problem.
Can I freeze pumpkin soup?
Yes. Cool it quickly, freeze it in portions and use it within about 3 months. Add any cream, yoghurt or cheese after reheating.
