Honey Roasted Pumpkin Soup

Honey roasted pumpkin soup is one of those perfect dishes for an autumn midweek dinner. With less than 10 minutes of prep, the oven does most of the work while you enjoy your evening. Roasting the pumpkin with honey brings out a sweet, nutty flavour, while fresh thyme fills the kitchen with an incredible aroma. It’s an easy recipe that delivers proper comfort food on a cold, wet evening.

Autumn is the Season of Comfort Food

As summer comes to an end and the nights begin to draw in, it’s easy to feel a little low. But darker evenings also bring the chance to make our homes feel extra cosy — and for me, that always starts at the table.

Gone are the hot evenings where I don’t feel like eating anything at all, and welcome to the cooler evenings where warm, hearty food comes back in the kitchen. Autumn is the season of comfort food, and it brings three things I look forward to every year: mushrooms, blackberries, and of course, pumpkins.

Ingredients Breakdown

Pumpkin

Of course, pumpkin is the main ingredient of the soup. You can pick any variety you want for this. My personal favourite is the Hokkaido, also known as the Red Kuri squash. I love them because they have a strong chesnut flavour, and the skin is thin enough that it doesn’t need peopling so your soup will have a very deep orange colour. The Butternut squash would be a close second favourite for me. 

Honey

Baking the pumpkin in honey will add a hint of caramel and really help the pumpkin deepen in colour. If you want a vegan option, pumpkin roasted in maple syrup is also amazing. You’ll want a runnier one if possible because it is covers the pumpkin more evenly.

Thyme

Fresh thyme balances the sweetness with an earthy fragrance. You could swap it with sage for a different, yet equally autumnal taste.

You can roast it on the stem and remove them before blending, or strip the leaves from the stem before roasting. I find that most of the flavour is absorbed by the vegetables during the roasting process anyway. 

Onion and Garlic

The savoury backbone of the soup, roasting them together with the pumpkin will soften their flavours. 

Keep the garlic in the skin for roasting. It will stop it from burning and becoming bitter, and after it has been removed from the oven, you can squeeze the garlic out of the skin like a sweet, garlicky toothpaste. 

Olive Oil

Olive oil helps everything caramelise in the oven, keeping the pumpkin from drying out and encouraging those golden edges that deepen the flavour. Other oils can be used, but a good olive oil is hard to beat.

Vegetable Stock

The stock will turn our pumpkin mash into a smooth, sippable soup. Chicken stock would work too if you eat meat and want a little meaty flavour in the final soup. 

Cream (Optional)

Pumpkin soup is already creamy as is, but if you want it even creamier and more indulgent, a swirl of cream will do just that. You regular cream, or a vegan alternative like oat. 

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan). This ensures the pumpkin caramelises rather than steams.
   
   
2. Prepare the vegetables: Peel the pumpkin (unless using one where you don’t need to) and cut into 2cm cubes. Peel and roughly chop the onion, but leave the garlic cloves in their skin.
   

3. Season and roast → place everything in a bowl and add the olive oil and honey. Give it a good stir to ensure it is all evenly coated. Put it all in a baking tray, then season with salt and pepper, and scatter the thyme. Roast for 40 minute (stirring once or twice) until the pumpkin is tender and lightly caramalised.
   

4. Squeeze the garlic from its skins once cool enough to handle. Discard the thyme sprigs, as they’ll have given their flavour already.
   
   
5. Blend the soup → transfer the roasted pumpkin, onion, and garlic into a saucepan. Deglaze the baking tray with the stock, then add that to the saucepan. Blend with a stick blender until silky smooth. If you have one, a jug blender will make a much smoother texture.
   

6. Adjust the flavour by stirring in cream (if using), then taste and season again. A pinch of nutmeg or extra thyme leaves can lift the flavour.
   
   
7. Serve and garnish → ladle into bowls and finish with a swirl of cream, some croutons or roasted pumpkin seeds, and a side of crusty bread and butter. 

Honey Roasted Pumpkin Soup

This honey roasted pumpkin soup is the perfect autumn comfort food. With just 10 minutes of prep and the oven doing most of the work, it’s simple, warming, and full of flavour.

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Total Time 50 minutes mins

Course Autumn, Savory Dishes

Servings 2

Calories 230 kcal

Ingredients  

• 500 g pumpkin,peeled deseeded, cut into chunks
• 1 onion roughly chopped
• 2 cloves galric unpeeled
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp honey or vegan alternative
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 500 vegetable ml stock
• 50 ml cream optional
• Salt and black pepper, to taste

Instructions 

• Preheat oven to 200°C (180°C fan).
• Peel and chop the pumpkin into cubes, roughly chop the onion, and leave garlic cloves in their skins.
• Place pumpkin, onion, and garlic in a bowl. Add olive oil and honey, stir to coat evenly, then spread onto a baking tray. Season with salt and pepper, scatter over thyme, and roast for 40 minutes, stirring once or twice, until tender and caramelised.
• Once cool enough to handle, squeeze roasted garlic from its skins and discard thyme sprigs.
• Transfer roasted vegetables to a saucepan. Deglaze the baking tray with stock, then pour into the pan. Blend with a stick blender until smooth, or use a jug blender for an even silkier texture.
• Stir in cream if using, taste, and adjust seasoning.
• Serve hot, garnished with cream, roasted pumpkin seeds or croutons, and a side of crusty bread and butter.

Notes

• Vegan / Dairy-Free → swap honey for maple syrup or agave, and use coconut milk instead of cream.
• Gluten-Free → the soup itself is naturally gluten-free, just serve with gluten-free bread if needed.
• Storage → keeps in the fridge for up to 3 days.
• Freezing → freeze in airtight containers for up to 3 months; defrost overnight and reheat gently with a splash of stock or water.

Keyword autumn pumpkin soup, creamy pumpkin soup, easy pumpkin soup, honey roasted pumpkin soup, roasted pumpkin soup recipe