This Paleo Bacon Pumpkin Soup is totally dairy free and made creamy with coconut milk. It is the perfect healthy and comforting winter meal that still feels indulgent!

This bacon pumpkin soup is fall in a bowl! It features creamy pumpkin, crispy bacon, sage, and plenty of warm spices for the perfect comforting meal.

Soup is usually an after-thought for me. I love soup but I donโ€™t always remember how much I love it until Iโ€™m eating it. When Iโ€™m eating it, itโ€™s usually because Iโ€™m sick or my Aunt Susie in Seattle made a batch of her creamy kale soup.

While I happily slurp spoonful after spoonful of the warm, cozy, liquid meal, I think to myself, โ€œI need to make soup more often.โ€

Itโ€™s a good thought.

Itโ€™s a good thought until Iโ€™m in my kitchen and I donโ€™t know where to begin. Iโ€™m an expert at slow-cooker braised beef dishes, chili, and anything baked, broiled, or fried. So when Iโ€™m staring at my pantry and refrigerator, debating on what to cook, I default on my expertise. Soup is out the window before it really had a fighting chance.

Not today!

Today Iโ€™m making a dedicated post to bacon pumpkin soup.

Creamy Paleo Bacon Pumpkin Soup

As promised, this is the 2nd of my 2 pumpkin recipes for the year โ€ฆor at least for October. Iโ€™m thinking pumpkin needs to make a reappearance in December. Thoughts?

Creamy Paleo Bacon Pumpkin Soup

This soup is mind-blowingly delicious. I crisp some pancetta in the soup bowl and use the grease as a base for the creamy bacon pumpkin soup. After the other ingredients make harmonious savory Fall magic happen, I sprinkle bowls of the warm orange yumminess with the crispy bacon bits. OH man is it tasty.

hands holding a bowl of Creamy Paleo Bacon Pumpkin Soup

Thanks to my Austin for his fabulous man hand modeling.

While I know there is no shortage of great pumpkin soup recipes out there, I highly recommend you give this one a try. Itโ€™s filling, comforting, perfectly spiced, and really ridiculously good for you.

Ready for the recipe?

To start, snag an 8 oz package of pancetta. Bacon chopped up will work too.

Toss it into a large pot on medium/high heat. After the pancetta (aka bacon) has gotten nice and crispy and you think itโ€™s finished cooking, spoon out the meat bits and set them aside on a paper towel/plate.

Creamy Paleo Bacon Pumpkin Soup | Fed and Fit-7

Donโ€™t be afraid. This is not a science experiment. THIS is homemade chicken broth. “How and why” โ€ฆis that what youโ€™re thinking?

Homemade bone broth is extremely simple to make. Even better, the health benefits are long and convincing. Why does it look like chicken jello? Thatโ€™s because itโ€™s full of great natural gelatin. Homemade bone broth can help you in your fight to heal a leaky gut and is a tremendous source of calcium that our bodies can actually put to use.

I make my broth by putting an entire free-range organic chicken in my crockpot. I throw in some veggies/spices (celery, carrot, bay leaf, garlic, apple cider vinegar) and cover in water. Let it cook on low overnight and BAM! Youโ€™ve got a homemade superfood AND tasty moist chicken thatโ€™s great for shredding and eating in lettuce tacos. Read more about the benefits here. A mug of homemade bone broth each morning has allowed me to stop taking my glucosamine chondroitin! Whoop!

Back to the bacon pumpkin soup. Add 2 cups of chicken broth (free-range store bought works too …do I sound like Ina Garten?) to your pot. As it heats, the globs will melt. I promise.

Creamy Paleo Bacon Pumpkin Soup | Fed and Fit-8

Pumpkin time! Grab about 29 oz of canned pumpkin. Add it to the pot.

Creamy Paleo Bacon Pumpkin Soup | Fed and Fit-11

Shake then pour in two 14 oz cans of full-fat coconut milk. I recommend you leave just a little of the coconut milk behind so that you can do a fun Jackson Pollock-ey swirl in your bowls โ€ฆfood art!

Creamy Paleo Bacon Pumpkin Soup | Fed and Fit-13

Now that weโ€™ve got all the major ingredients in the bowl, letโ€™s season it up.

Add ยฝ tsp of ground ginger to the pot. Then add ยฝ tsp of kosher salt and ยฝ tsp of ground cloves.

Whisk all the ingredients together and let it simmer on medium/low for about 15 minutes.

Creamy Paleo Bacon Pumpkin Soup | Fed and Fit-20

If youโ€™d like to add even more flavor, grab some fresh sage. Carefully give it a chop and set aside.

Creamy Paleo Bacon Pumpkin Soup | Fed and Fit-22

Spoon your soup into bowls then drizzle with the leftover coconut milk. Remember your crispy pancetta (bacon) bits! Do you have any left? I made the mistake of โ€œtaste testingโ€ a couple. Taste testing when Iโ€™m hungry never turns out well. I almost ate them all. Here are the lucky few to make it in a bowl!

Sprinkle the bacon in the bowl. It will probably sink โ€ฆdonโ€™t stress. Now you have the fun of diving for crispy bacon bits. Which is very similar to diving for bacon bits in a salad. I know you.

Creamy Paleo Bacon Pumpkin Soup

Garnish with some sage (if you like) and enjoy.

Creamy Paleo Bacon Pumpkin Soup

PS. This soup reheats fabulously. Itโ€™s especially tasty, in fact, with a nice cold glass of cheap chardonnay and some trashy reality TV.

Creamy Paleo Bacon Pumpkin Soup

5 โ€” Votes 2 votes
By Cassy
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes
Total: 25 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
This bacon pumpkin soup is fall in a bowl! It features creamy pumpkin, crispy bacon, sage, and plenty of warm spices for the perfect comforting meal.

Ingredients  

  • 8 ounces pancetta or bacon
  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • 29 ounces canned pumpkin
  • 2 14 ounces cans of full-fat coconut milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
  • fresh sage chopped {optional}

Instructions 

  • Crisp the pancetta or bacon in a large pot. Remove the bacon and set aside. Add the broth, pumpkin, coconut milk from 1 and ยพ cans, ginger, salt, and cloves. Let it simmer on medium/low for 15 minutes.
  • Serve warm in a bowl topped with a drizzle of remaining coconut milk, crispy bacon, and fresh sage.

Nutrition

Calories: 269kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.04g | Cholesterol: 20mg | Sodium: 564mg | Potassium: 406mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 16006IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 42mg | Iron: 3mg

Additional Info

Course: Soup
Cuisine: American
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 269
Keyword: paleo pumpkin soup, pumpkin soup

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About the Author

Cassy Joy Garcia, NC

Cassy Joy Garcia, a New York Times best-selling author, of Cook Once Dinner Fix, Cook Once Eat All Week, and Fed and Fit as well as the creative force behind the popular food blog Fed & Fit.


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36 Comments

  1. it all seemed to be going well until you used canned pumpkin…..(that doesnt seem paleo to me…) Why not used fresh roasted pumpkin? You’re introducing BPA and any other chemicals from that can! Why even use the great chicken stock you made then?

    1. Hi Eric! Thanks for your note. You’re welcome to use fresh roasted pumpkin in the soup – that sounds delicious. There are now some BPA-free, organic pumpkin puree available that I’ve gravitated towards in recent months. Using the homemade chicken stock and the canned pumpkin together is along the lines of “don’t throw the baby out with the bath water.” Making small positive changes will influence small positive results. The convenience presented by a recipe of this sort helps many readers commit to making those small changes.

    1. You could definitely use heavy cream! It might be rich, but it would definitely be delicious.

  2. SOOO GOOOOD oh goodness! I found the recipe yesterday and have been looking forward to making it for dinner all day! I had all the ingredients on hand and was in the mood for something fall and this is so good! I’m usually weird about foods that aren’t spicy but the flavor combination here with the bacon is killer! I’m someone who loves pumpkin and bacon together so this was perfection. I love following you on instagram and seeing all the fun and delicious parts of your life! Now I’ll have to go and make everything!! ๐Ÿ™‚

  3. Question – did you make the bone broth with the entire chicken? I’ve been wanting to make some, but it sounds so much better to make it with a whole chicken so that you get the meat and the broth too. Was the broth just the liquid leftover? Or did you use the bones after taking the meat off the chicken? So many questions haha ๐Ÿ™‚ Also this looks incredible!

    1. I’d say so! It’s made from whole, natural ingredients that are conventional grain, dairy, and refined sugar free ๐Ÿ™‚

  4. Do you know if almond milk or regular milk would work instead of the coconut milk?

  5. I just made this for dinner and it is delish! I made it exactly as the recipe states but did not add the optional sage (I’m not a big fan of sage). My DH also really liked it. This has just been pinned on my Pinterest Paleo board so I can easily find the recipe and make this wonderful soup again in the future. Thanks for the fantastic recipe!

  6. Just made it, exactly as the recipe said-absolutely fabulous and easy. Thank you!!

  7. I’m not a big fan of bacon (I actually can’t even stand the smell of it) but this picture is beautiful and I may try it with a turkey alternative!

  8. Looks amazing. Thanks for sharing your great chicken jello recipe. I wanted to know how to make that … and I happen to have two such birds chillin’ in my freezer. ๐Ÿ˜€

    1. Nice! It’s so easy and so, so good for you. Always happy to share ๐Ÿ™‚

    1. Acorn squash sounds like a delicious substitute! Great idea!