Pumpkin Bisque is creamy, flavorful, and perfect for fall! Made with only a few simple ingredients, this recipe is quick and easy to make but loaded with flavor and elegant enough for company. Easy to make vegetarian.
Fall means soup season in my kitchen, and Pumpkin Bisque is such a quick and easy dinner or side dish. Just a few pantry ingredients are needed for this simple recipe packed with pumpkin, garlic, onions, chicken broth, shredded cheese, and nutmeg. It’s hearty, filling, and the perfect comfort food!
What Makes This Recipe So Good
Butter: Healthy fats are important, and a little bit of grass-fed butter is the perfect way to get those fats! You can always substitute olive oil, avocado oil, or another neutral oil here.
Onion: Onion is in most recipes because it brings amazing flavor with it!
Garlic: Much like onions, garlic has a fantastic flavor that works in almost anything. No fresh garlic? Try garlic powder in a pinch.
Chicken broth: For a vegetarian diet, you can switch this to vegetable broth.
Canned pumpkin: I don’t often use canned ingredients, but pumpkin is perfect from a can! Check your can and get the option with the least additional ingredients. Fresh pumpkin also works here but is a LOT of work.
Salt: A little salt will help bring out the natural flavors of the pumpkin and help the other seasonings stand out!
Nutmeg: I don’t love nutmeg but a pinch can really bring out that fall flavor of the pumpkin in this soup. A little goes a long way here!
Pepper: Pepper brings a little background spice to this recipe, but not so much it overpowers the delicate pumpkin flavor.
Heavy whipping cream: This plus the pumpkin is what makes the soup so extra creamy! You can use an alternative milk or coconut cream for this, but you could also skip the cream completely!
Shredded cheese: I love a little creamy, melted cheese in my bisque, but it’s not required. Use a vegan cheese or no cheese if you’re trying to make this recipe dairy-free!
How to Make Pumpkin Bisque
Start by sautéing the onion in butter and add the garlic when it’s almost translucent.
Then, add the broth, pumpkin, and seasonings and simmer.
Once cooled slightly, transfer your ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. Now back to the pan!
Add the heavy cream and heat through before adding the shredded cheese. Mix everything together and serve! It’s that easy!
Garnish with chives, more shredded cheese, or a drizzle of cream!
Top Tips for Making
- Be sure to add the garlic about 30 seconds to a minute before adding the broth and pumpkin. You want it to get slightly roasted and fragrant but not burnt, which happens in a flash with garlic!
- Once you add the cream, you only need to heat everything to serving temperature. No rapid boil here! Milk and cream are notorious for boiling over if not watched, and this is no exception. Once the soup is perfect temperature for eating and melting cheese, you’re done!
More Delicious Pumpkin Recipes
- Pumpkin Seed Butter
- Healthy Pumpkin Muffins
- Pumpkin Ice Cream
- Vegan Pumpkin Pie
- No-Bake Pumpkin Cookies
- Vegan Pumpkin Cheesecake
Pumpkin Bisque
Equipment
- Dutch oven
- Blender
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 2 14-ounce cans solid-pack pumpkin
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Pinch ground nutmeg
- Pinch black pepper
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup shredded cheese Gouda, white cheddar, or gruyere
- 2 tablespoons chives chopped, for garnish, optional
Instructions
- In a dutch oven, sauté the onion in butter until tender and translucent. Add the garlic and cook another minute.
- Stir in the broth, pumpkin, salt, nutmeg, and pepper. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes. Cool slightly.
- In a blender, process soup in batches until smooth. Return all soup to the pan. Stir in heavy cream and heat through.
- Add shredded cheese and stir until melted.
- Garnish each serving with chives, additional shredded cheese, or a drizzle of heavy cream.
How about a nondairy version. It gets frustrating to find these recipes and they are loaded with dairy.
You can absolutely swap out the dairy products for plant-based ones! We haven’t made this vegan, but we’d love to hear how it turned out if you do! We like Ripple half and half and Miyoko’s vegan butter.