This beautiful Pumpkin Soup with Roasted Mushroom Garnish can be adapted and made with carrots, butternut squash, sweet potatoes or dressed up for a Thanksgiving Soup Recipe.

I love having a few really nice, really basic recipes in my recipe box that are able to change flavors with ingredients that I find fresh at the market each season. This Pumpkin Soup with Roasted Mushroom Garnish is one of those recipes.

The soup is perfect for "cozy nights in" or dressed up with garnishes and served when "company" is coming. It is one of my favorite Thanksgiving Soups when made with pumpkin or butternut squash (don't forget kabocha) and perfect for Spring Brunch at Easter when made with bright flavors like carrots and ginger.

My Healthy Thai Carrot and Ginger Soup version of this recipe was featured on Mother's Niche.com . It takes this soup recipe and trades the pumpkin for carrots and adds fresh Thai flavors. You can visit my blogging friend, Kristina, on her blog to see how similar these recipe are.

You can easily turn this recipe into weight watchers pumpkin soup.

How to Easily Change Flavors in this Pumpkin Soup Recipe

Change the pumpkin to any hard, gourd type squash such as butternut squash, acorn squash, kabocha squash or root vegetable such as carrot or parsnip.
Weigh the vegetable to equal the 2 to 2 ½ pounds mentioned in the recipe.
Remove the thyme and garlic or any flavors that may not compliment the new vegetable and replace it with desired flavors such as lemongrass, ginger, chili powder, cumin, etc...
Choose a creamy ingredient to replace the coconut milk such as cream, almond milk, Mexican crema, etc...
Change the mushroom garnish for soup with a complementing garnish such as pepitas with chipotle avocado, sour cream, etc...

It is easy to change the flavor of this soup!

Mushroom Garnish for Soup Thanksgiving Soup Recipe

You can use other changes to to this pumpkin soup to make it easier and faster.

Another easy change is to make this pumpkin soup with canned pumpkin puree. Just skip the step of cutting, roasting and pureeing the squash and add the canned puree and brown it with the sauted celery an

Easy Time Saving Tips for Making Pumpkin Soup

Use canned pumpkin puree instead of fresh pumpkin, squash or carrot, etc...
Skip the "roasting" and "puree" steps by using 32 ounces of canned puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling) instead of 2 pounds fresh vegetable.
Add the canned pumpkin to the pot with the sauted onions and celery and herbs. Saute for a few minutes more to heat and caramelize the pumpkin. Then, continue with the recipe as directed.
If using fresh vegetables, cut the ends and stems off and pierce all over with a fork. Microwave for 3 to 4 minutes while the oven is heating to desired temperature. Cool enough to handle and cut into pieces and remove the seeds.
Microwaving the vegetable first will reduce the roasting time and make it easier to cut and peel the hard vegetables.
Use an immersion blender (or "stick blender") instead of a regular blender for faster preparation AND faster clean up

Pumpkin Soup with Roasted Mushroom Garnish

Sandy

This is one of my favorite Fall, Winter or Thanksgiving soups. The recipe can be easily changed from pumpkin to squash to carrots and from Southwest to Asian by changing the herbs and chiles. To save time, use 32 ounces of canned pumpkin puree.

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Prep Time 20

Cook Time 30

Total Time 50

Course Soup

Cuisine American Southwest

Servings 6

Ingredients

2 pounds fresh pumpkin, butternut squash or carrots roasted
4 tablespoon vegetable oil divided
1 medium onion diced
½ cup celery diced
1-2 sprigs fresh thyme
2 tablespoon jalapeno or Fresno chile minced
2 cloves garlic minced
2 teas salt divided
4 cups low sodium chicken or vegetable stock
1 ¼ cups coconut milk or cream
¾ cup shiitake or cremini mushrooms thinly sliced
2 to 3 tablespoon vegetable or chile oil
1 teas salt
½ teas white pepper or finely ground black pepper
2 to 3 tablespoon lemon juice optional to preserve color

Instructions

Remove seeds and stems from pumpkin, squash or peeled carrots. Cut into manageable pieces and toss with 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Roast at 400 degrees until fork tender. Cool. Remove peels and puree.
Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in the bottom of a large pot. Add the onion, celery and thyme. Cook and stir 3 minutes or until the onions are translucent. Stir in the garlic and chile “stir fry” for two minutes.
Add the puree to the pot, cook and stir until well combined, about 1 minutes. Season with one half of salt and pepper. Remove sprigs of thyme.
Add the stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the temperature and simmer about 20 minutes. While the soup is cooking, roast the mushrooms, directions below.
Allow soup to cool some. Blend small batches of soup in a blender or blend with an immersion blender until the soup is smooth and no chunks remain.
Return to the pot and stir in coconut milk or cream. Bring to a simmer and reduce heat and keep warm.
While soup is simmering, toss mushroom in chile or vegetable oil. Season with salt and black pepper then, roast in a 450 degree oven until they brown and begin to crisp.
Spoon soup into a serving bowls or cups and garnish with roasted mushrooms.