Cozy up with this sweet and velvety pumpkin and carrot soup. It’s made from roasted veggies, which give it a depth of flavor. The sweetness of carrots and pumpkin is balanced with the nuttiness of the pumpkin seed oil and pumpkin seeds.

Roasting the vegetables rather than cooking them in water gives a soup a much richer and denser flavor. Vegetables contain a high percentage of water; boiling them will dilute the flavor, whereas roasting them extracts some of their water, intensifying their flavor.

This is a rich and dense soup with a velvety texture, which is perfect for colder months. The depth of flavor comes from roasting the vegetables, which enhances their natural sweetness. To further enhance the taste and add a touch of comfort, we garnish the soup with pumpkin seed oil and pumpkin seeds.

Making a soup by pre-roasting the veggies is a clean way to create a flavor-packed dish. Minimal chopping is required; just divide the pumpkin into two to four pieces, remove the seeds, peel the onion, cut the carrots into large chunks, and remove the top of the garlic bulb. After roasting, cleaning the pumpkin and garlic becomes remarkably simple. To prepare the soup, add the roasted veggies to a pot along with stock, then blend everything together using an emulsion blender. Voila, you just made a delicious and comforting pumpkin and carrot soup!

This vegan soup recipe contains six different fresh plants, which is a good way to eat a balanced diet. New science shows that we should be eating 30 different plants each week.

What makes this the best pumpkin and carrot soup and why you’ll love it

It’s a mouthful – Being on the thicker side, this soup has a velvety texture that gives you comfort in every mouthful.
Sweetness – The roasted carrots, onion, and pumpkin give this soup the recognisable autumnal sweetness.
Healthy – Full of fiber, beta-carotene, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals. This soup is health on a spoon. Yellow and orange foods, which are the main ingredients of this pumpkin and carrot soup, are known for their numerous health benefits – see more information here.
No mess – Roasting the veggies means less mess in the kitchen. Soup veggies also means less cutting including no cutting and frying the onion.
Ginger kick – A touch of fresh ginger adds a freshness and a spicy note that balances the sweetness of the soup and adds a zing to every spoonful.

Ingredients

Pumpkin – The star of the dish, providing a creamy base. We are using Hokkaido pumpkin, but butternut squash would also work.
Carrots – Orange carrots are the main ingredient of this soup.
Ginger – Fresh ginger gives a spicy kick to the soup.
Onion – Yellow or white onion deepens the soup flavor.
Garlic – Whole bulb of roasted garlic will provide a lovely contrast to the sweetness from pumpkin and carrots.
Pumpkin seed oil – Adds a rich, nutty flavor and velvety texture to every spoonfull.
Stock – Creates a flavorful foundation for the soup. We are using vegetable stock. We always make sure to get one without flavor enhancers, which are known for having negative effects on our health.
Turmeric – Ties in the flavors with its earthy notes. We love using turmeric with all orange and yellow veggies and legumes.

How to make the pumpkin and carrot soup

Roasting the veggies

Line a baking tray with a parchment paper.
Preheat the oven to 200 Celsius (400 Farenheit).
Slice a pumpkin in half and spoon out the seeds.
Sprinkle some salt on top and place on the tray.
Slice the carrots into a two cm (one inch) thick rings and place on the tray.
Peel an onion, wrap it in cling foil, and place on the
Cut off the top of a garlic bulb and wrap it in aluminum foil. Place it on the baking tray.
Bake for 40 minutes. The pumpkin and carrots should be easily pierceable with a fork.

pumpkin and carrot soup ingredients on a baking tray

baked pumpkin and carrot soup ingredients on a baking tray

Making the soup

Heat up a pot on medium-high.
Add a tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and half a teaspoon of turmeric and fry it until it turns red.
Add stock to the pot and season it.
Spoon out the pumpkin, it should be very buttery at this point, which would make it easy to separate it from the skin. The pumpkin skin is also edible, but we prefer to only use the pumpkin flesh, because that results in a creamier soup texture.
Add the carrots, and the onion to the pot.
Unwrap the garlic and press it at the bottom of the bulb (where the roots are) to squeeze the meat out. Place the insides of the bulb in the soup.
With an emulsion mixer, blend the soup until it’s creamy. If you find it too thick, add more water or stock.

Assembly

Add two or three ladles of soup to a plate or a bowl.
Garnish with a tablespoon of pumpkin seed oil.

Recipe variations

Orange is the warmest colour – Replace the Hokkaido pumpkin with any other pumpkin or squash. You could even use sweet potatoes.
Reduce – Some ingredients can be left out if needed. Not a fan of ginger – leave it out, the soup will still taste amazing.
No bake – If you do not have an oven, you can cook the veggies as well. For most flavor, first fry the onion and turmeric, then the garlic. Peel the pumpkin and slice it into cubes before adding to the soup. Cut the carrots into cubes as well. Add it to the pot and cook until the pumpkin and carrot are easily pierceable with a fork.
Make it crunchy – You could add some pumpkin seeds or croutons for an extra bite or crunch. Our savory granola also makes a fantastic topping – see the Savory granola recipe here.
Keep it fatty – A soup like this is quite comforting and satisfying on its own, but to take it to the next level, garnish it with something fatty. We are using pumpkin seed oil, but olive oil, cream, or coconut milk are also great choices.
Make it spicy – Hot chili peppers would add a lovely kick to this soup. Add a pinch of cayenne pepper, a whole chili pepper in the soup, or a few chili flakes for more heat.

Storage

This soup will keep in the fridge in an air-tight container for five days. It will even come better over time, as the flavors will become more blended.
This pumpkin and carrot soup freezes really well. Freeze it in an airtight container and defrost it in a microwave, or by leaving it at room temperature for a few hours.

If you like this recipe, you’ll love our Gochujang pepper and honey roasted butternut squash and Swede steaks. For more roasted vegetable recipes, see our Cabbage steaks with vegan nacho sauce.

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Happy cooking, and thank you for stopping by!