Roasted Garlic Sage Pesto Pumpkin Soup with Spicy Fried Pumpkin Seeds
I almost forgot about this soup.
Well, not really I just realized that I better get it posted.
Time is a running out. I mean jeez (or geez?? I never know), Thanksgiving is a week from Thursday! Yikes.
Do you guys have you menus planned yet?
I kind of hope they are not totally planned since I have a few more Thanksgiving recipes coming your way. I feel so late to the game, especially since my family has somehow completely skipped over Thanksgiving and moved on to Christmas. I think it’s the weather.
But today were are talking soup. And Thanksgiving!
I have always wanted to make soup and serve it in roasted pumpkins. It’s kind of the cutest Thanksgiving recipe ever if you ask me. I mean really, pumpkins were made for serving soup out of them.
I realize this soup has a lot going on, but it is all good stuff.
There is sage pesto that is maybe one of the tastiest pestos ever. Sage + roasted garlic + pistachios + blue cheese = one darn good pesto. I was a little worried the sage would be too strong in pesto, so I also added parsley and I think it was the perfect ratio. And it is so festive. It would be perfect for crackers and cheese or even over pasta for Christmas.
And then there is the pumpkin seeds, which should be added as a topper to almost everything.
Seriously, these salty seeds are so good… and addicting. You will not be able to stop after just one handful, which is kind of ok since they are pretty healthy. Don’t fret about the word fried because they are not fried at all. Really they are just toasted in a skillet. It’s a little faster than roasting, but just as good.
Now, I know that if you are having like twenty people for Thanksgiving that giving each person their own pumpkin bowl is not really realistic. Unless of course you are super Thanksgiving woman and rule the kitchen. In this case, I totally envy you.
Obviously you can serve the soup in regular old bowls and it will still taste just as good, but if you are doing a smaller Thanksgiving, do the pumpkin bowls. People will be SO impressed and trust me, impressing people is a good thing. Especially at Thanksgiving. Not easy to do with my crowd!
But really, what are you guys making?
I have not planned a single thing yet.
Do you guys do traditional or something new every year?
I am kind of for tradition believe it or not. When it comes to the holidays traditions rule for me.
But I do like putting a twist on things, which my family hates.
One year I tried to make roasted garlic mashed potatoes and boy was that a giant mistake. Let’s just say I will never again mess with any of the boys “Thanksgiving foods”.
I still hear about those roasted garlic potatoes, which by the way were awesome in my opinion.
Anyway, this soup is Thanksgiving in a bowl, and so festive and cute. And cute food that is actually good, score!
These could be served as the perfect first course (wow them right off the bat!) Or as an appetizer served in shot glasses. Or just let them shine in all their orange glory as a full fledge side dish.
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Roasted Garlic Sage Pesto Pumpkin Soup with Spicy Fried Pumpkin Seeds
By halfbakedharvest
Course: Soup
Cuisine: American
Keyword: garlic, pumpkin, thanksgiving
This soup is Thanksgiving in a bowl, and so festive and cute. And cute food that is actually good, score!
Ingredients
- 1 large sugar or pie pumpkin cut half and seeds removed and reserved (plus 4 small ones if you are making the pumpkin bowls)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- salt and pepper
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 small shallots chopped
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme chopped
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup coconut milk + 1 cup water or 2 cups water
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper or more or less to your liking
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
Sage Pesto
Fried Pumpkin Seeds
- 1 tablespoon coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon flour
- reserved pumpkin seeds from above
- 1 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- lots of salt to your tasting
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
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Cut your pumpkin in half or into fourths and reserve the pumpkin seeds for later. Place the pumpkin on a baking sheet and rub the pumpkin with 1 tablespoon olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Chop off the top portion of the garlic head to reveal cloves. Peel any excess paper/skin off from the bulb of garlic. Pour about a teaspoon of olive oil on top the garlic cloves and cover with foil. Roast both the pumpkin and garlic together on the same baking sheet for 45 minutes, or until the pumpkin is fork tender and the garlic golden brown and soft. Remove from the oven and allow everything to cool five minutes. Squeeze garlic out of the paper skin into a small bowl and mash well with a fork, set aside.
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Grab the pumpkin and add it to a food processor (or mash extremely well) and puree with 1 cup of the chicken broth, puree until completely smooth.
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Heat a large pot over medium heat and add the butter and shallots. Saute the the shallots until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the thyme and cook another 30 seconds. Add the pumpkin puree, remaining chicken, coconut milk, water, cayenne, nutmeg, maple syrup and crushed red pepper. Bring the soup to a low simmer and simmer 15-20 minutes.
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While the soup cooks make the pesto. Add the roasted garlic, parsley, sage and pistachios to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until finely chopped and then stream in the olive oil. Add the cheese and pulse a few more time until combined. Season with salt and pepper.
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To fry the pumpkin seeds. Add the reserved pumpkin seeds to a bowl and toss with 1 tablespoon coconut milk and 1 tablespoon flour. In a small bowl combine the chipotle chili powder, pepper and brown sugar. Place a skillet on the stove top and set to medium heat, add the olive oil. Once the oil is hot, add the pumpkin seeds into the pan, but be careful! Stir the pumpkin seeds around in the skillet with a spoon or spatula continuously until they expand and start to brown. Once the seeds are browned remove from the skillet and place on a paper towel to drain. Toss with the chili powder and a good pinch of salt. Taste and season accordingly.
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To assemble the soup, ladle the soup into bowls (or your roasted pumpkins) and top each bowl with a dollop of pesto, a sprinkle of pumpkin seeds and if desired drizzle with coconut milk. Start slurpin!
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To make the roasted pumpkin soup bowls. Remove the tops of the pumpkin and scoop out the seeds. Rub the insides of the pumpkins with olive oil, salt and pepper. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 20-30 minutes or just until soft to touch but not falling in.
What ever way you choose you won’t go wrong.
It is traditional here. Not that it is my choice because I really am not a big fan of this type of food. There is ham, turkey, chicken and dressing casserole, green beans, cream corn, creamed potatoes or oven roasted potatoes, mac and cheese, sweet potato casserole, and cole slaw. Lots of starches, but something for everyone I guess. Lots of dessert too.
We go to our sons next door. Our daughter in law’s parents and her brother that lives in CO are there also. We all have a good time though. We are a close family.
Sounds like a really great Thanksgiving, Charlotte! You are lucky to have your family so close!
These bowls are so cute! I recently discovered your blog because every delicious thing I clicked from interest brought me here. Everything looks so delicious! Although Thanksgiving has passed here (Canada), I will definitely be making these soon!
Awe, thank you so much!! You are so sweet, Jessica! Hope you love the soup!
Gaaahhhhh those little pumpkins are the cutest! LOVE!
Thanks Katrina!
UGH those pumpkin bowls! Every soup ever should be served in a pumpkin bowl! 😉 That pesto is driving me crazy…and the pumpkin seeds with the soup…it all looks so wonderful!
Thanks Julia!
This soup is gorgeous! I have yet to have the patience to serve soup in anything that isn’t a bowl–which is lame, I know. But this would make such an impressive dinner at this time of the year! Love all the pictures Tieghan!
Thank you, Laura!!
What a gorgeous soup! Perfect as a “the-week-before-thanksgiving” meal 😉
Thanks Ashley!
First, this soup. You are right, pumpkins are made for serving soup. And it adds so much creaminess. Second, your mashed potatoes made me laugh! It sounds JUST like me … I wanted to mash hummus into our mashed potatoes, but like you said, you just don’t mess with the boy’s thanksgiving foods. You just don’t. That’s okay, I’ll come have pumpkin pesto soup and garlic mashed potatoes in the closet with you;)
Ha! Let’s do it! LOL!
Thanks Mary!
Oh my goodness! This looks amazing!!!
Thank you, Robyn!
This soup is so… adorable. And that dollop of pesto in the pumpkin soup = best. idea. ever.
Thanks Stephanie!!
Love the pumpkin bowls! I always try and stir things up just a little for thanksgiving. Maybe one new side dish with some pancetta? Otherwise, all hell breaks loose and fanily members miss their mashed potatoes and stuffing!
Haha! My family is the same way. LOL! Thanks Liz!
What a great presentation, those pumpkin bowls are awesome! I love the flavors going on in this soup, complimentary, yet distinct. I can’t wait to try it out!!
Thank you, Anna! I hope you love it!
This soup sounds amazing! And I’m certain my life needs a lot more sage pesto in it pronto. What really makes this soup is the presentation….stunning! We mostly stick with traditional favorites on Thanksgiving, plus one or two “new” sides.
Yes, more sage pesto! 🙂
Thanks Kelli!
The pumpkin bowls! Be still my heart. Tieghan, these are fantastic! I have to make pumpkin soup one of these days. Haven’t done it yet.
Our thanksgiving is traditional. Always at my parents’ house with all the fixings: turkey, candied sweet potatoes (my fave!), homemade pumpkin pie, apple/sage stuffing, green bean casserole, homemade cranberry bread, the works! I’m making my mini pecan tarts this year for it. My mom is demanding them 🙂
Thanks Sally!!
Your Thanksgiving sounds pretty awesome. I love tradition and the sweet potatoes are my favorite too! Although, I think your pecan tarts might wine as my favorite part to the meal! 🙂
This soup needs to be dinner tonight and those pumpkin bowls – the cutest!
Thanks Laura!
Oh, these are so clever!! I want a big ol’ bowl of this!!
Thanks so much, Lauren!
The presentation on these is gorgeous! Beautiful work!
Thank you, Sophia!
I can not say no to cute food and these pumpkin bowls are the definition of that! Plus the soup looks so perfect for almost Thanksgiving! Yum!
Thank you so much, Taylor!
Besides those adorable pumpkin bowls, I can’t stop staring at this creamy, dreamy and spicy soup, Tieghan! It looks so comforting and delicious. Perfect for brisk fall nights!
Thank you, Georgia! I love soup on a cold night!
I can’t get over your pumpkin bowls! Really. I can’t get over them. I can’t. They’re just perfect.
And the soup looks awesome, of course! Fabulous presentation, as always. 🙂
Pinning!
Thanks so much, Abbie! And for pinning too!
I love that this soup is served in a little pumpkin!
Thank you, Laura! It is really fun!
Those pumpkin bowls are so cute-I love this! And the pumpkin seeds sound super good.
Thanks so much, chelsea!
I love that you paired spicy pumpkin seeds with the soup. Such a great idea. Really beautiful pictures too.
Thank you, Anne!
I’ve been making a TON of soup recently… there’s something so comforting about squash or soups. Love the creaminess from the coconut milk. Will have to make this for my dairy-free (allergy) friend.
Thanks Brian! I just realized this is dairy fair! Just swap the blue cheese for goat cheese!
Awww these pumkin soup bowls look so cute! Love the creamy soup with the garlic sage pesto…SHould taste amazing!
Shobha
Thank you!
Oh my gosh this is gorgeous!!! I want this soup right now (and I haven’t even had breakfast yet)…
These are beyond gorgeous. I want one right now.
Thank you so much, Shaina!
I made this for our soup course for Thanksgiving and I could have made a meal out of it! It was light but with complex flavors that made me question whether or not I really wanted turkey! We’ve always done pumpkin soup for turkey day, but it’s always so heavy. This was the perfect alternative. We have some picky eaters in our family, so I served the pumpkin seeds and pesto on the side, that way everyone could customize the soup to their liking. Everyone enjoyed it! It’s going to become a staple in future thanksgiving dinners for sure 🙂
SO happy to read this!! Thanks for making the soup!
I just emailed you this question, but wanted to put it here too. I am making this soup for 16 later this week and can’t do that many pumpkins so I want to take a shortcut and use canned pumpkin. How many cups would your recipe call for do you imagine? I have googled to find out how much pumpkin puree is in a small sugar pumpkin, but not much luck. I am also making this IN THE PUMPKINS this weekend, but can’t do it for the 16. Thanks and LOVE your site!!
Hey Amy!! I just answered you email!
Let me know if you did not get it. 🙂
I want to use canned pumpkin as well and need to know how many?
Could you please let me know about how many cups of pumpkin purée I need?
Thanks 🙂
I would use 1 1/2 to 2 cups of canned pumpkin. That should work great!
Hope you love this!
Hello from Aus! I really love your blog, this soup is the first thing I have made and it was delicious! 🙂 Thanks for sharing all your recipes! Looking forward to cooking my way through your blog! 🙂
Quick question about this recipe: do you peel the pumpkin prior to roasting, or scoop the flesh away from the skin before putting it in the food processor? Or do you leave the skin on?
I like to scoop the flesh away from the skin and then add the flesh to the food processor. No skin goes into the food processor. Hope you love this soup! 🙂
Looks yummy! Quick questions. Need to sub something for the pistachios and flour due to allergies. Please advise what to use to sub and how much. I make my own pesto and have used pine nuts and cashews. Can’t use peanuts, walnuts or pistachios. Thanks!
Hi! I would either pine nuts or cashews, both will work great. As for the flour, you can just leave that out. Hope you love this soup and please let me know if you have any more questions.
Thanks for the response. Will try them!
I just made this today (minus the bowls since I’m not entertaining), it’s delicious! The pesto is very bitter…is that normal? It’s gotta be the sage, maybe I’ll use less next time.
I also used a little scout of sour cream on top rather than more coconut milk….yummmmm!
Hey Chris!! So happy you loved this, but I do not remember my pesto being bitter. Was your sage fresh?
Thanks again!
This looks amazing! I really want to try it this year. Will the soup turn out okay if you make it the night before and warm it up before Thanksgiving dinner?
Hi Anna! That works great! 🙂
This looks fantastic! I am also having 16 for thanksgiving – but I thought this would be great for the night before. Since my guests are all coming in from out of town, I don’t want to spend a lot of time cooking for non-turkey day. Can I make this ahead of time and freeze it? I might make it this weekend just cuz I don’t think I can wait to try it! 🙂
Hi Trish! Yes, this is great to make ahead and freeze. Just don’t freeze the soup in the pumpkins. I would roast those just before serving. Let me know if you have ANY questions. Happy to help!
Thanks and I hope the soup is a hit!
Hi! I’m using this for a school assignment and I was wondering approximately how much soup this makes? I know it says 4 servings, but do you have a general idea of how much a serving is or how much the soup makes?
Thanks so much!
HI Amelia!
I want to say around 4-5 cups of soup. Hope the recipe is a hit! 🙂
Can this be made ahead of time & put in the freezer?
Yes, but don’t put the roasted pumpkin in the freezer. Just roast the pumpkin before serving. Hope you love this!
What type of coconut milk are you using? I have everything from fat free unsweetened (50 calories per.cup) to full fat with tons of calories in just one can. There is a middle ground that is light, but still maybe approx 120 calories per 1/3 cup x 6 in a can (still a lot). But I want to get the flavor correct if I am going to make it for Thanksgiving / company.
I am German and married to an American, so this will be my first Thanksgiving 🙂 This recipe sounds amazing. I think I’ll try this… Since we have a lot of people coming over, I think I won’t be able to make the small pumpkin bowls, but I kinda want to get a big pumpkin and serve it in this (like in a pot) and then everyone can get as much as they want 🙂
After roasting the pumpkin, do you scrape out just the fruit or put the skin and all into the food processor?
Thanks, this sounds delicious!
You want to scrape out the flesh of the pumpkin and discard the skin. Hope you love this soup!
I need to substitute canned pumpkin how many do I use?
Hey Gina! I would use one (29 ounce) can. Hope you love the soup!
I actually followed this recipe with roasted butternut squash (and roasted seeds!) because the flavors sounded so good & it was delicious! 🙂 Still would like to try with pumpkin & bowls when I can find some sugar pumpkins!
Can leftover soup and/or pesto be frozen? It’s awesome. Thanks so much.
yes, that works great, just thaw overnight in the fridge. Thanks!
And would you recommend for or against substituting the coconut milk with flax or almond milk? Dietary issues in the family… Thank you again!
This sounds lovely. Going to give this a go. thanks for sharing this recipe.
Simon
Would the taste be off if I substituted sweet potatoes for pumpkin? If not, what would the amount needed be? I know this is a pumpkin soup, and I ADORE pumpkin, but my boyfriend does not (sigh). He does love sweet potatoes however, as do I, and I think they might work well with the other flavors and ingredients (sage pesto and the buttery sweetness of the sweet potatoes sounds heavenly). Could you give me your thoughts? Or any other suggestions?
Hey Pam,
I think sweet potatoes will be great! I would bake three-4 medium sweet potatoes, remove the skin and then puree them. Hope that helps and let me know if you have any other questions! Happy Holidays 🙂
For the ‘garlic’…
Do you mean 1 head of roasted garlic? OR we can substitute 1 clove of raw garlic?
Hey Emma, you can sub in 1 clove of raw garlic. Please let me know if you have questions. Thanks!
I have a question, and forgive me if it’s been answered already: for the pumpkins, do you put the whole pieces in the food processor or do you have to peel off the skin? I’ve never actually cooked pumpkin before so I’m a little nervous about ruining everything. I definitely want to make this for Thanksgiving this year, and that’s also my birthday weekend, so I don’t want it to go wrong! 🙂
Made this soup! First of all, love love love the adorable presentation too! A couple things I disliked… :/ The 1hr 15 min to make this is nowhere near the time it takes. Generally I give myself like 3x’s the time it says because KIDS but this time, I actually prepped made the purée the night before after everyone was in bed. I think I easily spent almost an hr just cleaning out the 5 pumpkins. (The large sugar pumpkin then the 4 for serving) Overall, I spent roughly 3.5 hrs not counting the time switching back and forth between different types of food processors and doing dishes and cleaning up. Otherwise, it’s actually like 5 hrs I SWEAR lol
If I make this again I’d do half the recommended amount of cats me. We love food w/ a kick but I wound up only doing about 3/4tsp cayenne to start w/ and it was still pretty strong. Wasn’t too spicy for me but my Mother is a little sensitive too so she wound up being unable to take more than a few bites. Think the other flavors would have shined more if I used less caysnne. I enjoyed the pumpkin seeds by themselves (again wish I had used half the spicy seasoning and we do love a kick usually!) but I’d serve the soup next time w/ out the seeds. They became chewy in the soup. (Don’t think we fried them quite long enough so we kept putting them for a few min in the toaster oven to make them more crisp and that really helped but still got chewy in the soup.) Loved the pesto. I kinda want to make it again and use it as a chicken pasta dish. Maybe make a light cream base before pouring in the pesto? Mmmm! Overall, it was still good and definitely a beautiful presentation. Just wish the pumpkin would have shined a tiny bit more.
THANK YOU! So happy you loved the soup and the presentation. Thanks so much for all the tips and feedback. Maybe I can work on a way to help the pumpkin shine a little more. Let me know if there is anything I can help with or if you have questions. Thank you! 🙂
Loved the flavors of this soup! It’s very creative and fun! Is it supposed to be thick? Mine was kinda thin, I used two pie pumpkins bc I couldn’t find sugar. Would you recommend a way to make it thicker? Thank you so much for sharing!
Hey Will! It should be thicker than say a brothy soup, but not so thick that it is like mashed potatoes, so somewhere in the middle. To thicken it up, just simmer on the stove for 15-20 minutes or until it thickens. That should works great! Let me know if you have any other questions. Thank you! 🙂
This is definitely going on the menu for Thanksgiving dinner. We will be at our son’s home and will have a vegetarian meal. It is always good, BUT Mom will have turkey and dressing fixed at home!
Sounds like an awesome Thanksgiving! I hope you and your family have a great time and love this soup! Thanks!
Well the mornings and evenings are starting to get cold here and my sage plant is begging for some use… it’s still too early for sugar/pie pumpkins. Do you think I could use canned pumpkin? How much would you recommend? Do you think the health food store would have the raw pumpkin seeds? Or Ian there a good substitute? Thanks! Hoping to make this tonight.
So I made this, and it turned out delicious! I subbed 2 cans of organic pumpkin, skipped the pumpkin seeds. It tasted a little flat (maybe because I didn’t make fresh roasted pumpkin), so I sautéed a whole chopped onion and added it to the soup then used immersion blender. I used 1/2 tsp cayenne, think it was a bit too hot, may use 1/4 tsp next time! Also added probably twice as much fresh thyme. Will definitely put in the recipe book to make in the fall. 🙂 LOVE the pesto.
SO glad you enjoyed it. Thank you!
Hi Alia, canned pumpkin will be great. I would use 2 (14 ounce) can. And yes, the health food store will have shelled pumpkin seeds (pepitas). Hope you love the soup!
what does 1 in large pumpkin mean?
Just 1 sugar pie pumpkin. Please let me know if you have questions. Hope you love the soup!
Hi, I know that if one uses an acorn squash for the bowl it can be eaten skin and all, can the same be done for these pumpkin bowls?
Hi Matt! Yes, you can eat the pumpkins skins, but most people prefer to discard them. I personally enjoy them, so it’s really just preference. Let me know if you have questions. Hope you love the soup!
es, you can eat the pumpkin bowls, but most prefer to not eat the skin. That said, I personally like the skin. So it’s personal preference.
Oh I think this recipe is the bomb. Cant wait to try it.
Thank you!
How much much mashed pumpkin should we use for the soup?
I would say about 2 1/2 cusp mashed pumpkin. Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe. Thank you! 🙂
Can you remake the soup, refrigerate it and heat it up to put in pumping next day?
HI! Yes, that will work great! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much! xTieghan
Hi This looks so delicious. I’m a reporter for Good Morning America and we’d love to share your recipe and pics with your permission/credit for our readers!! Please email me if interested!
Hey Kelly! That is fine with me, you have my persimmon. Thanks so much!
What kind of pumpkins are used to serve the soup?
HI! I like to use sugar pie pumpkins (mini pumpkins). Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much! xTieghan
I made this soup for a witchy sister’s Halloween dinner party and the response was phenomenal! I am not the biggest fan of squash or pumpkin as a soup but you wouldn’t even know that with this soup. Probably one of the best pesto recipes I’ve ever made and will continue to use. I honestly can’t wait to serve this again at our party this year since it was such a big hit✨
That is so amazing! Thank you for trying this recipe Whitney! So glad you all loved it! xTieghan
Do you scoop out any of the flesh from the bowls before serving?
Hey Sarah! I leave the flesh in the bowls and do not scoop any out. You can spoon some of the flesh out as you eat the soup. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan ??
Made this soup for a few friends and it was a big hit. Used canned pumpkin. I don’t think the pumpkin seeds added much to the soup and will delete the next time. Parsley/sage pesto was fabulous and added a deeper dimension to the soup. Pumpkin soup bowls – adorable! Thank you for the recipe!
Thank you for trying this! xTieghan
I made this with pumpkin in the fall and it was to die for!!! Wondering if I could make w butternut instead since I have TOO much on hand from winter farm share…
Yes! That is so amazing to hear! Thank you so much Alicia! xTieghan
Following your recipe, I made the soup last night and I must say my family enjoyed it. Thanks for the recipe.
Thank you so much Kiwi! I am really glad this turned out so well for you all! xTieghan
Made this tonight and to try and simplify I did a packaged basil pesto. It was not as think and kinda got lost in the flavor. But this dish was still so yummy. Topped it with fried salami and gorgonzola. Thank you for sharing your dish.
Thank you so much for trying this one, Alicia! I am really glad it turned out so well for you! xTieghan
Do you know the nutritional details for this recipe- like the net carb count and calories?
Hi Penny! I am really sorry, but I do not. I hope you try this recipe still! xTieghan
I loved this soup. I never follow recipes completely but almost did on this one! I had coconut cream already open so used that instead of coconut milk and also did not puree the pumpkin before putting in soup. Instead used immersion blender after insta pot. Used fresh stock. The pesto was the best. Loved it. It does take some time to put it all together. Thank you for this recipe!
I am really glad this recipe turned out so well for you, Renee! Thank you so much for trying this one! xTieghan