This One Tray Roasted Pumpkin Soup with Gruyère Croutons is one of those dishes that will come to your rescue in the cold autumn and winter months. It’s simple, everything is cooked in a baking tray and it’s perfect for meal prep. Roasting the vegetables makes it extra creamy and flavourful and the Gruyère croutons are there to make it even more irresistible. They not only give it a crunchy touch, but the saltiness of the cheese also balances the sweetness of the pumpkin. Simply delicious!
I love vegetable soups and I always have some in the fridge (or freezer), especially during cold seasons as they are perfect for warming up your body and soul. A couple of weekends ago we were back in the Pyrenées and my partner’s 96-year-old grandfather gave me a pumpkin and onions from his vegetable garden, and you guessed it, time to make pumpkin soup (plus other pumpkin recipes to use it all lol).
I made my Creamy Pumpkin Pasta Sauce, Pumpkin Risotto, Roasted Pumpkin Salad, and Warm Roasted Pumpkin Lentil Salad – by the way, let me know in the comments if you’d like me to share any of these recipes 🙂 ). But anyways, today’s star of the show is this roasted pumpkin soup. We make it very often at home, especially if we turn on the oven to cook something else so we make the most of it (when we don’t want to or can’t turn on the oven, we always fallback to this 30-Minute Butternut squash soup instead).
And on the oven topic, let’s make the most of it today by making croutons (which also last forever in an airtight container). When I saw the ones Jeri from Whisper of Yum made for her mushroom soup, it gave me the idea for these Gruyère croutons and oh my! You can omit them if you want a gluten-free and lactose-free recipe, the soup itself is already delicious. But if you have guests without any diet restrictions, I recommend that you do not skip them, cause everybody always want more.
Important note: unopened pumpkin keeps well for a long time, so don’t hesitate to buy a few pumpkins (or butternut squash) while they’re still in season. I keep them in a dark and dry spot at home, so when I can’t find them in the supermarket anymore, boom, I pull one out from my pantry.
One Tray Roasted Pumpkin Soup with Gruyère Croutons Ingredients
With just a handful of ingredients you will just get an incredible result! Some notes about the ingredients you will need for the soup:
- Pumpkin: it’s the heart of the soup, but you can also use butternut squash. They taste best when they’re in season, so if you’re wondering what to do with all your autumnal pumpkin, make soup! I always look for varieties that are sweet and meaty so I wouldn’t use for instance delicata squash for this dish as it doesn’t have so much flesh.
- Onion: it adds flavour. You you can also combine it or replace it with leeks. If you use leek, cut it into thick chunks so it doesn’t get burnt.
- Stock: it makes the soup richer in flavour. If you are vegan or vegetarian, opt for vegetable stock. If you’re not on a special diet, opt for chicken broth (I wouldn’t use beef stock as it could be too overpowering). Another option is using water, which I use frequently because I don’t always have stock on hand.
- Spices and seasonings: they add depth of flavour to the soup. Personally, I find that nutmeg and pepper go very well with pumpkin, along with aromatic herbs like rosemary, thyme, and sage. Today in particular I have opted for rosemary because it’s what I have in my urban herb garden.
- Extra virgin olive oil: it’s needed for the pumpkin and onion to roast properly, both in terms of texture and flavour. I usually use it to drizzle it over the top.
Gruyère Croutons Topping
The Gruyère croutons are the special touch of this soup and what makes it even more irresistible (if possible). Something crunchy always goes great with vegetable soups in my opinion, And if we add some cheese to the equation… This is next level!
Besides the cheese croutons, I usually drizzle the soup with yoghurt (if I have Greek one, I dilute it with a bit of milk) and olive oil and crack some black pepper. If you’re vegan, you can swap the yoghurt with coconut milk or go for a non-dairy yoghurt).
More Topping Options
- Crunchy spiced chicpeas.
- Bacon. You can bake it together with the vegetables and then cut it into small pieces, or cut it into small pieces and sauté it in a pan.
- Cheddar or Gruyère cheese. With crunchy bacon and some finely chopped chives it’d be to die for.
- Seeds or nuts, like the pumpkin seeds (or pepitas) I used in the 30-Minute Butternut squash soup or the roasted hazelnuts I used in the One-Tray Creamy Cauliflower Soup.
How to Make this One Tray Roasted Pumpkin Soup Recipe
This roasted pumpkin soup is so easy to make, it’s hard to believe that something so good could come out of it.
- We start by preparing all the vegetables, which we will place on a baking tray.
- Then season them with salt and pepper, add the herbs we like the most if we want, drizzle with olive oil – don’t be stingy but no need to create an olive oil swimming pool either-, and into the oven about 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, let’s make the croutons, which need less time to bak and thus it’s not necessary to prepare them in advance. We cut the bread into cubes, mix it with salt and olive oil and finally cover it with as much cheese as we want. In parallel, bring the stock to a boil.
- Remove the veggies and croutons from the oven and blend the vegetables with the stock. Start with less and then add more until you get your preferred texture.
And voila, in no time this One Tray Roasted Pumpkin Soup with Gruyère Croutons is ready.
How to Store Pumpkin Soup
This roasted pumpkin soup is perfect for meal prep or for batch cooking, so make more and store it for later.
Fridge: Place the cooled soup in an airtight container or jar, and store for up to 5 days in the fridge.
Freezer: Place the cooled soup in an airtight container, jar or freezer-safe bag. Store for up to 2 months in the freezer.
To Reheat: thaw the soup either in the fridge the day before or on the counter for about 2 hours. Then simply reheat in a pot or in the microwave. If you see that there are lumps once thawed (that doesn’t usually happen with pumpkin, but just in case), blend the soup again to return it to its delicious silky smooth texture.
More Vegetable Soups You’ll Love
- 30-Minute Butternut squash soup (no oven involved)
- 30-Minute Mushroom Soup
- One-Tray Creamy Cauliflower Soup
If you make this One Tray Roasted Pumpkin Soup with Gruyère Croutons recipe, be sure to leave a comment and rate it. Hearing from you is everything! Oh, and don’t forget to tag me on Instagram, I absolutely love seeing your creations. Happy cooking!
One Tray Roasted Pumpkin Soup with Gruyère Croutons
Ingredients
Soup
- 1.2 kg pumpkin - or butternut squash, peeled and diced
- 350 g onion – cut into large pieces
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp black pepper
- 3 sprigs of rosemary - just the leaves, thyme or sage also work well
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 1 l stock - chicken or vegetable, or even water (more or less to taste)
- Nutmeg - optional
Croutons
- 100 g bread
- 1/2 tsp salt
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 30 g Gruyère - grated. Emmental would do too
Garnish
- Yoghurt - cream or coconut milk, see notes
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 220ºC no fan (200ºC with fan).
- In a baking tray (I line it with parchment paper so that afterwards washing it is easier) put the pumpkin and the onion. Season with salt and pepper, add the rosemary and drizzle with olive oil. Mix well and bake for 30 minutes. The pumpkin should be soft and the onion pieces should have started to brown around the edges.
- Meanwhile, bring the stock to a boil and prepare the croutons.
- Cut the bread into cubes (I cut the bread into slices first and then I tear it apart with my hands to get the cubes, it’s okay if they are irregular), put them on another baking tray and mix them with the salt and olive oil. Sprinkle the cheese on top (you can add more if you like) and bake for 10-15 minutes until the cheese has melted and the bread is crunchy.
- At this point, the vegetables should be ready. Remove them from the oven and blend them with half the stock. Add more stock little by little to adjust consistency to taste. Taste and adjust saltiness.
- Serve in a bowl or shallow plate and garnish with the croutons, a swirl of yoghurt, a drizzle of olive oil and freshly ground black pepper. Enjoy!
Notes
- If you have Greek yoghurt, dissolve it with a bit of milk so it’s pourable.
Did you make this recipe?
Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and tag @paulasapron on Instagram and hashtag it #paulasapron.