Creamy, sweet and savoury creamy pumpkin soup made with oven-roasted pumpkin, bacon and miso broth for that hint of umami flavour. A standalone soup? or maybe for dipping your cheesy breads? or maybe drizzle it over some cold noodles? Decisions, decisions.
It’s been a very wet and rainy Spring this year and with each passing day I can slowly feel that dreary mood creep up on me. When I’m feeling this way I usually turn to easy to make comfort foods to cheer me up. Then again, I think comfort foods should be had all year round.
This creamy pumpkin soup is full of flavour. From the toasted salty bacon to the sweetness from the pumpkin all pulled together with a umami packed miso broth. I like to top this creamy pumpkin soup off with a dallop of sour cream and chives (or scallions) to it a hint of creaminess to it (as if it needed more creaminess :P) but don’t take my word for it – try it out to see for yourself! 🙂
INGREDIENTS
For this creamy pumpkin soup, most ingredients can be found at your local grocery store.
If miso is tricky to find, you can usually find it at an Asian grocery store, at a specialty gourmet shop or online.
Types of Miso
There are many types of miso out there, and here are a few differences between them:
- White Miso (Shiro Miso) – Typically made with soy beans and rice and has a light and mild flavour and is slightly sweet.
- Yellow Miso (Shinshu Miso) – Typically made with soy beans and barley. It has a stronger flavour than white miso but not as strong as red miso. (no affiliate link available as I could not find one online that was a reasonable price.)
- Red Miso (Aka Miso) – Typically made with with soy beans, barley and grains with a longer fermentation process and has a stronger flavour and is more saltier with a stronger umami flavour.
- Awase Miso (Mix of red and white miso) – This is a blend of red and white miso.
At the end of the day, go with your gut with what type of miso to use. If you are new to miso and are not sure which one to pick then I’d start with the white or yellow miso. Once you start to try them you will start to find your preference naturally. They all taste fantastic. 🙂
For this recipe, I used red miso but that is only because I enjoy a stronger flavour of miso. You can switch this up with any type of miso.
Substitution for Pumpkin?
For this creamy pumpkin soup, you can substitute any type of squashes in it’s place and it will work just as well since they all have the same consistency and sweetness.
PUTTING IT TOGETHER
Roast the Pumpkin in the Oven
- Preheat the oven to 350F (177C).
- Drizzle oil on the pumpkin
- Set the pumpkin on a oven safe pan and roast it in the oven for approximately 1 hour or until it is soft and you can insert a knife into it easily.
Chop Your Ingredients
Once the pumpkin is done roasting in the oven, let it cool for a few minutes before handling it.
- Chop up all your ingredients and set them aside.
Saute them in a Pot
- On medium heat, add the oil and butter into a pot
- Once the butter has melted add in the bacon and brown it – approximately 1-2 minutes
- Add in the garlic and onions and saute them until it is soft – approximately 5 minutes
- Add in the pumpkin to brown and melt – approximately 10-12 minutes
Note: Do not worry if you see brown bits on the bottom of the pan or if the pumpkin sticks to the bottom. Keep scraping the brown bits – this is flavour and it will melt into the soup once we add in the liquid. - Add in the miso and toast it for 1-2 minutes
- Add in 1 cup of broth and scrape up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan
- Once the brown bits have been scraped off, add the rest of the broth and reduce the heat to low heat and simmer it for 15 minutes
Blitz!
- Once the ingredients are all soft, using a blender (or hand blender), blitz the pumkin soup until it is smooth and creamy.
- Taste the the soup and add salt to taste
- Top with garnishes and enjoy!
This may sound weird but something we do around here that you may enjoy is serve the creamy soup with noodles! You will need to cook the noodles as per package directions and then run the noodles under cold water to stop the cooking process and to rinse out the excess starch. Then once the creamy pumpkin soup is done, we just added a handful of noodles into the soup – voila a meal!
Do you have rituals and weird tips you’d like to share? We’d love to hear or see, tag us with #pupswithchopsticks! It’s always so interesting to see how others around the world enjoy their foods. 🙂
Happy Experimenting!
Creamy Miso Bacon Pumpkin Soup
Ingredients
- 2-3 lb pumpkin (approximately 3-4 cups)
- 4 cups meat ( or vegetable broth)
- 6 slices bacon (chopped)
- 4-5 cloves garlic (finely minced)
- 1 large onion
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 2 1/2 tablespoons miso
Toppings (Optional)
- sour cream
- fresh bacon bits
- chives or green onions (finely chopped)
- cayenne pepper (a pinch)
Instructions
Roast the Pumpkin
- Preheat oven to 350F (177C)
- Drizzle oil on the pumpkin
- Set the pumpkin on a oven safe pan and roast it in the oven for approximately 1 hour or until it is soft and you can insert a knife into it easily
Chop Your Ingredients
- Once the pumpkin is done roasting, set it aside to cool for a few minutes before handling it.
- Chop up all your ingredients and pumpkin and set them aside
Saute them in a Pot
- On medium heat, add the oil and butter into a pot
- Once the butter has melted, add the bacon and brown it for 1-2 minutes
- Add in the garlic and onions and saute them until soft for approximately 5 minutes
- Add in the pumpkin to brown melt for approximately 10-12 minutes Do not worry if you see brown bits on the bottom of the pan or if the pumpkin sticks to the bottom. Keep scraping the brown bits – this is flavour and it will melt into the soup once we add in the liquid.
- Add in the miso and toast it for 1-2 minutes
- Add in 1 cup of broth and scrape up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan
- Once the brown bits have been scraped off, add the rest of the broth and reduce the heat to low and simmer it for 15 minutes
Blitz it in a Blender
- Once the ingredients are soft, using a blender (or hand blender), blitz the soup until smooth
- Taste the soup and add salt to taste
- Top with garnishes and enjoy!
Nutrition
All calories and info are based on a third party calculator and are only an estimate. Actual nutritional info will vary with brands used, your measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
Disclaimer: We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites, however I provide these links to make items easier to find if you cannot purchase this locally and I would never recommend anything I don’t own myself or highly recommend. I would prefer you buy your items locally if possible to support your local shops (and chances are they are cheaper locally as well!) 🙂
Gina says
This recipe screams comfort beautiful colors and I love miso!
Joyce says
You’re too kind! 🙂
Amanda says
Looks fantastic. I never would’ve thought of mixing those flavors together, but reading this, it looks like they’re a match made in heaven!
Joyce says
Definitely one of my fave flavour pairings! Sweet, salty and umami all wrapped up in a creamy soup!
Monica | Nourish & Fete says
This sounds and looks delicious! I have been on a big butternut squash kick lately, and especially love that flavor paired with bacon – I may have to give it a try subbing that for the pumpkin!
Joyce says
Yes! I have done that and it works beautifully!! 😀