This creamy pumpkin soup combines canned pumpkin, coconut milk, herbs, and bacon to create a rich, flavorful meal that comes together in minutes in the Instant Pot.
This Instant Pot pumpkin soup is the perfect way to welcome in Fall. It’s warm, creamy, comforting, and so satisfying – just what you’d want on a chilly day.
Pumpkin Soup Ingredients
- 8 ounces of bacon
- 2 cups of chicken broth
- 2 15-ounce cans of pumpkin puree
- 2 14-ounce cans of full-fat coconut milk
- 1 -1 1/2 teaspoons of sea salt, to taste
- 1 teaspoon of dried rubbed sage
- 1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon of ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
- Fresh sage for garnish (optional)
How do you make Pumpkin Soup in Instant Pot?
Making this soup is a total breeze, just follow the steps below:
- Cook the bacon. First, you’ll use the ‘saute’ function on your Instant Pot to cook 8 ounces of bacon. Once it is crisp, remove it from the pot and set aside.
- Cook the soup. Once you’ve removed the bacon, add the pumpkin, coconut milk, chicken broth, and spices and whisk to combine. Place the lid on the Instant Pot, make sure it is sealed and set it to cook for 7 minutes.
- Release the pressure and stir in the lemon juice. Once the soup is done cooking, you can either let the pressure release naturally or release it manually. Then, you’ll stir in the lemon juice, taste for seasoning, and serve the soup topped with bacon and fresh cracked black pepper.
Tips for Making Creamy and Flavorful Pumpkin Soup from Puree
If you’ve made pumpkin soup before, you may have found it bland and watery. If that’s the case, don’t worry! We’ve got you covered with this recipe.
- Make sure you’re using a thick pumpkin puree. Our top tip for making sure your pumpkin soup is creamy and thick starts with the pumpkin puree itself. While we opted for canned pumpkin puree because it is easiest to use, you can also use homemade pumpkin puree. Whichever route you choose, the key is to make sure your puree isn’t too watery. If you’re starting with a homemade pumpkin puree or you feel that your canned puree is a little bit on the watery side, we recommend reducing the amount of broth in this recipe by one half cup, then increasing at the end as needed to get to your desired thickness.
- Add full-fat coconut milk. Canned, full-fat coconut milk is key to giving this pumpkin soup its thick and creamy consistency. Don’t skimp for light or boxed coconut milk!
- Don’t be afraid to season. When you’re cooking soup on the stove, the liquid evaporates throughout the cooking process and concentrates the flavor of the dish. In the Instant Pot, this doesn’t happen – meaning you need to season more. For this reason, we also recommend tasting the soup for seasoning after you’ve cooked the soup and adding more salt, etc if needed.
- Use bacon. There aren’t many dishes that bacon doesn’t improve, and this creamy pumpkin soup is no exception! The bacon grease helps give the soup richness and a slight smokiness, and the added bacon on top serves as another source of texture and flavor.
What to serve with Easy Pumpkin Soup?
Pumpkin soup can be a filling meal on its own, but it is also great alongside a winter vegetable slaw, with grilled cheese or crusty french bread, or, if you prefer a more protein-heavy meal, it makes a great side dish for roast chicken or pork loin. Whichever way you serve it, we hope you love this soup!
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Instant Pot Pumpkin Soup
This pumpkin soup comes together with just a few ingredients to make the perfect cozy fall meal!
Ingredients
- 8 ounces bacon
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 2, 15 ounce cans pumpkin puree
- 2, 14 ounce cans of full-fat coconut milk
- 1 -1 1/2 teaspoons coarse sea salt to taste
- 1 teaspoon dried rubbed sage
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice or about 1 lemon
- Fresh sage for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Set your Instant Pot to ‘saute’ mode, then add the bacon to the pot and cook until crisp. Remove the bacon from the pot and set aside, then drain the bacon grease from the pot.
- Add the chicken broth to the pot and whisk to scrape up the browned bits from the bacon, then add the pumpkin, coconut milk, 1 teaspoon salt, sage, ginger, and pepper and whisk to combine.
- Place the lid on the Instant Pot and make sure it is sealed, then set to cook for 7 minutes. Once the timer goes off, you can either release the pressure manually or let it release naturally.
- Stir the lemon juice into the soup and taste for seasoning, then add more salt and pepper, if needed. Serve with crumbled bacon and fresh chopped sage, if desired.
Recipe Notes
- If using homemade pumpkin puree, reduce the amount of broth by 1/2 cup.
- To make on the stovetop: make the bacon in a pot on the stove, then remove it from the pan. Add all ingredients other than lemon juice to the pot, then cover and let cook for 15-20 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice and taste for seasoning, then serve with bacon and fresh sage.
Nutrition
Calories: 355kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 33g | Saturated Fat: 23g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.04g | Cholesterol: 20mg | Sodium: 569mg | Potassium: 511mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 16558IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 50mg | Iron: 5mg
Soo dang easy and soo incredibly tasty. I added some fresh thyme and sage, plus an extra lemon because I love citrus. Then I topped it off with a dollop of sour cream. This soup comes together so quickly and it’s comforting and fresh.
We’re so glad you loved this one, Rachel! Thank you for sharing this with us!
Fantastic! So easy to make and just hits the spot! Love, love love. Another F&F recipe added too the recipe box of FAVORITES .
We’re so glad, Chelsey!
I made this last night, and it was really good. Although the recipe doesn’t say (and the author has not responded to questions about it), I did pour off the bacon grease after cooking the bacon. It definitely would have been too greasy to leave it in!
One helpful tip is to chop (or use kitchen shears to cut) the bacon into small-ish pieces. It will cook and become crisp so much faster! Served the leftovers for lunch today, tossing in some cooked chicken for one pot lunch. Yum!!
Thanks, Ali! Draining it was the right thing to do – I’ve updated the recipe card to reflect that!
Super tasty!! It was definitely a very thin liquid consistency so I added some cornstarch to thicken it up but other than the slight modification it was great!
Glad you enjoyed it, Shannon!
What is the setting for the instant pot?
You’ll just cook the soup on the “manual” or “high pressure” setting!
Do you drain the bacon grease or keep it in the Instant Pot?!?
I was wondering the same thing. I don’t mind leaving it in, but don’t want to make the soup too greasy if it’s not supposed to be left in there.
Yes, drain it! I just fixed the recipe card. Thank you all for catching that. Kourtney – I don’t know how I missed your comment last month…I’m so sorry!
I’m new to the Instant Pot but made this recipe tonight. Simple and delicious!
So glad you loved it, Sarah! Thank you for sharing this with us!
What would you relate the coconut milk with for a coconut allergy? Could I make this on the stove and just use half and half? Thanks!
Yes, that’ll work great, Vanessa!
This is literally the best pumpkin soup/best thing I’ve ever made! It was such a hit with friends too! I love how easy it was to cook and perfect paired with a salad!
So glad you enjoyed it, Stephenie – thanks for commenting!
This soup was tasty. It was quite a bit thinner in consistency then the picture. I will be making this again for sure. It goes great with grilled cheese.
The flavors go great together and what a quick meal! But the time in the instant pot was way too long – the coconut milk had curdled under all that heat. I think in the future I will just heat up gently on the stove, either the whole batch or the serving I need for that day.