The fall season is the perfect time to start making soup! This Instant Pot Pumpkin Soup is a simple dish. It is a creamy and smooth soup that warms you up on a cool, crisp day.
The addition of coconut milk adds a luxurious velvety consistency to your bowl of Instant Pot Pumpkin Soup. In under 30 minutes you will love how easy this dish comes together.
What is Pumpkin Soup?
Pumpkin Soup is a creamy and flavorful soup made from a puréed pumpkin base. Its warm and comforting flavor is enhanced with a variety of aromatics and spices like garlic, onion, thyme, nutmeg, cinnamon, and clove. It's traditionally topped with pumpkin seeds, and served in autumn.
Jump to:
- What is Pumpkin Soup?
- Why You Will Love Instant Pot Pumpkin Soup
- Ingredients
- Substitutions and Variations
- How to Make Pumpkin Soup in an Instant Pot
- More Recipes You Will Love
- How to Store Pumpkin Soup
- What to Serve with Pumpkin Soup
- Top Tip
- Frequently Asked Questions About Making Instant Pot Pumpkin Soup
- More Recipes You Will Love
- Instant Pot Pumpkin Soup Recipe
Soup lover?! Make sure you try our Roasted Butternut Squash and Garlic Soup, Crockpot Split Pea or our Turkey and Veg Soup.
Why You Will Love Instant Pot Pumpkin Soup
- Simple and Easy: With just a few ingredients, you can easily whip up this delicious fall staple and have dinner on the table in no time.
- Creamy and Comforting: There's nothing better than cozying up with a warm, comforting bowl of creamy soup.
- Flavourful: The array of flavors come together to complement one another, creating a uniquely warm and earthy profile.
Ingredients
This recipe uses canned pumpkin, some fresh vegetables and a variety of spices to
result in a flavorful bowl of warmth. The ingredients come together beautifully in the
Instant Pot making the creation of this dish easy and low effort.
See the recipe card below for the exact quantities of each ingredient.
- Yellow Onion: This adds a mild sweet onion flavor.
- Unsalted Butter: This allows you to control the salt content, while also cooks the onion.
- Vegetable Broth, Low Sodium: Acts as the broth for the soup, while controlling the salt content. This can be exchanged for any variety.
- Canned Pumpkin Puree: This is just a simple time saver.
- Fresh Garlic: Fresh garlic is a great base for building flavor.
- Fresh Ginger: A little ginger goes a long way, this adds a burst of spiciness.
- Dried Thyme: This is the first of warm spices that make the dish sing.
- Ground Nutmeg: Another warming and nutty spice.
- Ground Cinnamon: This adds a bit of sweetness to compliment the pumpkin.
- Ground Clove: More warming spice.
- Canned Coconut Milk, Full Fat: This adds the luxurious silky texture.
- Sea Salt: A milder flavor enhancer, and allows you to control the salt level.
- Ground Black Pepper: This adds a subtle heat to the dish.
For this recipe, you'll want to have on hand an Instant Pot, spatula, measuring cups and spoons and an immersion blender.
Substitutions and Variations
If you are looking to give your soup a spicy kick, here are some helpful tips for you to change this Instant Pot Pumpkin Soup.
- Curried Pumpkin Soup: Make this Pumpkin Soup into a Curried Pumpkin Soup. As you blend the soup, add curry powder little by little, tasting as you go.
- Thai Red Curry: Simply sauté 2 tablespoons of red curry paste in ½ cup of olive oil over medium heat. Once the curry paste is beautifully fragrant, add to your Instant Pot and continue our step-by-step guide. This flavor pairs perfectly with coconut milk.
- Chicken or Turkey Stock: You can use whatever stock you have on hand as they offer minimal flavor in this dish. Our homemade Slow Cooker Turkey Stock is a great base for this soup.
How to Make Pumpkin Soup in an Instant Pot
While I believe anything is possible if you put your mind to it, this is an easy recipe with minimal effort and maximum flavor.
Using the Sauté feature, melt butter with yellow onion and stir. Add vegetable broth, pumpkin puree, garlic, ginger, thyme, nutmeg, cinnamon, and clove and seal the lid.
Ensure the valve is closed and use the Manual setting for 8 minutes. When the timer is complete carefully open the valve with the quick release feature. Puree the soup until smooth, then add in coconut milk and seasonings.
Hint: Don’t sweat the small stuff, your knife cuts don’t have to be perfect by any means. In the end, the soup will be blended, and no one will spot any imperfections.
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How to Store Pumpkin Soup
Storing this soup is even easier than making it! Allow the soup to cool completely before moving onto the next steps.
- Refrigerator: Once cooled, transfer to an air-tight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
- Freezer: This soup freezes well, making it the perfect recipe for double-batch meal prepping. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months in a freezer safe container.
- Reheating: Pumpkin Soup can be reheated in the microwave or in a saucepan on the stove top, especially if it is being reheated from frozen.
What to Serve with Pumpkin Soup
This recipe is great for an easy lunch or a light dinner. Serve with fresh crusty bread and a salad to turn this into a deliciously easy meal. You can also add your own toppings to elevate the cozy flavours in this soup:
- Cream or Olive Oil: A drizzle on top of your soup is not only a visually appealing garnish, but adds some subtle flavor.
- Toasted Pumpkin Seeds: The perfect accompaniment to pumpkin soup.
- Croutons: Adds a nice crunch.
- Fresh Herbs such as Thyme or Parsley: Herbs add a fresh and earthy flavor.
- Crispy Bacon: A crumble of crispy bacon is a deliciously salty addition.
- Red Pepper Flakes: Turn up the heat on your soup with a sprinkle or two of red pepper flakes.
Top Tip
While we suggest a specific amount of onion and garlic, this is an easy way to modify
the dish slightly. If you love garlic - add a little more!
Frequently Asked Questions About Making Instant Pot Pumpkin Soup
Yes, you can use fresh pumpkin. Peel and cube the pumpkin into small pieces, and make sure it is fork tender prior to pureeing. Canned pumpkin is quicker, but fresh pumpkin always adds a more rich flavor.
Heavy cream would be the closest substitute for the same creaminess as coconut milk, but any type of cream or milk will work well.
Carrots, sweet potatoes, or butternut squash pair very well with pumpkin and bring a natural sweetness to the soup.
Substitute the unsalted butter in this recipe with olive oil to make it fully vegan.
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Instant Pot Pumpkin Soup Recipe
Equipment
- Instant Pot
- Immersion Blender
- Spatula
- Measuring Cups and Spoons
Ingredients
- 2 large yellow onion diced
- 2 tablespoon butter, unsalted
- 5 cups vegetable broth low sodium
- 1-29 ounce can pumpkin puree
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger chopped
- 2 teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground clove
- 2 cups coconut milk, canned full fat
- 1 tablespoon sea salt optional
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper optional
Instructions
- Turn on the Sauté feature on the Instant Pot and melt butter with yellow onion and stir for about 5 minutes.
- Add vegetable broth, pumpkin puree, garlic, ginger, thyme, nutmeg, cinnamon, clove and seal the lid. Ensure the valve is closed and use the Manual setting with the timer set for 8 minutes. When the timer is complete carefully open the valve with the quick release feature.
- Using an immersion blender, puree the soup until smooth (or until it reaches the consistency of your choosing).
- Add in coconut milk, sea salt and ground pepper and stir.
- Garnish with pumpkin seeds.
Notes
- Don't be shy about adding your seasoning. Pumpkin on its own is very mild, but the salt and variety of spices help bring out its flavor. The ingredients come together beautifully in the Instant Pot, resulting in a delicious bowl of warmth.
- Always ensure that your valve is properly sealed before using your Instant Pot. If the quick release feature is intimidating, you can wear an oven mitt, or allow it to naturally release all or part of the way.
- If you do not have full fat canned coconut milk, you can substitute heavy cream. This would be the closest match in terms of creaminess but any type of cream or milk will work well.
Nutrition
We would be so grateful for you to leave us a rating and review on any recipes you try. If you make any alterations, let us know how they turned out.
Cara Leonard says
Cannot wait for cooler weathers to try this one!
Eva Filer says
Such a simple recipe, I hope you love it!
Eva Filer says
This is such a great way to mix up flavors any time of year (thanks to the canned pumpkin). Smooth and creamy soup is so perfect on the cooler nights but you can make this whenever you want a lighter dish.
Lisa says
This recipe sounds amazing! I can't wait to try it out.
Eva Filer says
When I first tried to create this one, I was not a huge pumpkin fan, but all these flavors together just work so well. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I do.