I just love pumpkin season, and this Pumpkin Bisque is rich with all of the spices that taste like Autumn. You know pumpkin season starts around Halloween and ends on Thanksgiving. Jumping the gun on this just doesn’t work. Who wants a pumpkin latte in August?? I seriously read somewhere that Starbucks ran out of pumpkin already and it wasn’t even Halloween at the time. WHY? Well let’s just focus on this thick and creamy soup that you can enjoy whenever you want because it’s made from scratch. Ok, well, not totally scratch because I used canned pumpkin. Trader Joe’s canned pumpkin has ‘a more authentic pumpkin taste compared to the three other brands,’ as noted in this comparison study. I will agree that this does taste more authentically pumpkin than some other canned pumpkin that tastes like sweet potatoes mixed with butternut squash….which is probably true.
Oh yeah the bacon in here is seriously amazing and took this bisque to another level completely. I don’t eat bread but I did put some croutons on this…who eats soup without croutons? It makes it way more fun. Someday I’ll find carb-free croutons, but until then I’m a rule breaker.
This smells so amazingly fantastic…it’s really the best part of cooking this soup. Get a good stock pot. Once the onions are halfway there, add the spices: cumin, allspice, smoked paprika, cinnamon, and a bit of cayenne to give it a tiny kick. A tiny one.
Don’t let the brown color fool you. Once you add the cream it turns into a deep shade of yummy orange. Can this be any more Autumn or what?
This golden orange color, paired with the smell that will emanate from that stockpot is incredible. The herbs and spices alone are almost shocking to put into a soup…I mean, they are the herbs that you put in pumpkin pie, not soup. But they totally work and are not overbearing.
Song for the Prep: All the Ghosts in Your House by Oranges Band
Yeah this band was fronted by Spoon’s old touring bass player, Roman Kuebler and hailed from Baltimore. Now you know. I read that he sang on a few songs on Girls Can Tell and sat in on a few numbers on Kill the Moonlight. Oh Spoon. This song is off the album Nine Hundred Miles of Fucking Hell from 2001. Loves it.
Pumpkin Bisque with Bacon and Chives
- November 4, 2021
- 45 min
- Print this
Ingredients
- 6 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled
- 1 15 oz can pumpkin puree
- 3 C soup stock (vegetable or chicken)
- 3 T butter
- 1 medium white onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 T brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp allspice
- 1/4 tsp cumin
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 C heavy whipping cream
- Chives, chopped for garnish
- Croutons, for garnish
Directions
- Step 1
- Cook the bacon first, let cool, and then crumble. Set aside for garnish.
- Step 2
- In a stock pot, heat the butter and then add the onions. Let them cook for about 5 minutes and then add the garlic, brown sugar, smoked paprika, cinnamon, allspice, cumin, and cayenne. Stir and cook for about 5 more minutes.
- Step 3
- Add pumpkin puree with the stock and remove from heat. Use an immersion blender to smooth it out, or transfer to a blender to puree and return to the pot.
- Step 4
- Let simmer for 10 minutes and then add the heavy cream, salt, and pepper.
- Step 5
- Serve with croutons, bacon bits, and chives.
This recipe is loosely based on How Sweet Eats’ recipe for pumpkin soup with grilled cheese croutons and Food & Wine‘s recipe for creamy pumpkin soup.
