Slow Cooker Pumpkin Soup

Luscious and creamy Slow Cooker Pumpkin Soup is the perfect hands-off meal for fall. It’s vegan, gluten free, and so comforting!

This recipe has been inspired by Yankee Candle’s new fragrance Warming Pumpkin & Vines from the Well Living Collection. This harmonious collection containing 20 unique fragrances features a nature-inspired palette and fragrances that embraces every mood.

You know it’s time to indulge in winter squash recipes once the cold weather of fall and winter rolls in. While I love a classic butternut squash soup, this Slow Cooker Pumpkin Soup is the real winner of the “perfect fall recipes”. It’s made with not one, but FOUR types of winter squash! Which is all the more to warm you from head to toe.

The nutritional benefits of this vegan pumpkin soup make it one of a kind. Pumpkin is a fantastic source of vitamin A (to help your eyesight) while the butternut, acorn, and delicata squash fill it with additional vitamin C and fiber. It also checks off all of the allergen boxes: dairy free, gluten free, nut free, oil free, and low carb.

It’s smooth, naturally creamy (without the cream), easy to make, and full of warm spices. This pumpkin soup is the ultimate fall recipe!

Make sure to get your hands on a few extra cans of pumpkin puree while they’re abundant during fall and winter. You’ll need it to make my Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies, Pumpkin Walnut Bread, and other healthy pumpkin recipes!

More about the recipe below. First let’s talk Fall!

How to ease into Fall season

Seasons are just wonderful gifts from nature! There is so much beauty that comes with each and every season and what better way to welcome it than by embracing it’s gifts. By all means, go full on home decorating, pumpkin carving and pie baking!

Personally I love the warm and vibrant colors of the season. The smell of autumn pumpkin and spices such as cardamon, nutmeg, all spice and vanilla are a delightful way to surround myself with the best energy of Autumn, which is why I am loving the Warming Pumpkin & Vines fragrance from the Yankee Candle Well Living Collection.

Every new season gives us an opportunity to reflect and create pockets of moments that brings us joy with the people we love, and I have always found it so important to create a welcoming space where we can fully embrace our time together.

What does your ideal welcoming space looks like?

I invite you to check out Yankee Candle Well Living Collection containing 20 unique fragrances named after the feeling that you intend to bring in to your space, including my favorite Fall picks Warming Pumpkin & Vines and Reviving Pomegranate & Cedarwood.

This collection of fragrances is made with essential oils blended with coconut and soy wax and is meant to inspire, rejuvenate and renew by aligning your energy and your space for moments spent together.

Cooking is another way to embrace the Fall season. Eating seasonal foods is good for the earth, good for me and for my pocket at well. Let nature’s gifts nourish you from the inside out by consuming foods that are in season, full of nutrients, most flavorful and abundant.

This delicious slow cooker pumpkin soup is the perfect kick start of the season. My easy dump-and-go recipe requires very little hands on. Once you get the squashes and remaining ingredients added to the pot simply walk away and come back to a one-step-ready soup that’s delicious and nourishing!

Ingredient notes

• Pumpkin puree – I used a can of organic pumpkin puree to bring a bit of ease to this recipe. However, you can substitute it for peeled and chopped pieces of fresh pumpkin (a sugar pumpkin is best!).
• Winter squash – Butternut, acorn, and delicata squash are cooked alongside the pumpkin, filling every spoonful with earthy and sweet flavors (plus, a ton of vitamins and minerals). 
• Vegetable broth – If you don’t need the soup to be vegan, you can use chicken broth or bone broth instead.
• Shallots, garlic, and ginger – For a baseline of warm, savory flavors.
• Cinnamon – If you can, use a cinnamon stick to infuse as much warmth into the pumpkin soup as possible.

How to make pumpkin soup in a slow cooker

Making soup in the slow cooker is not only a foolproof method that doesn’t require any babysitting, but it will fill your home with the aromas of winter! Here’s how it’s done:

Step 1: Peel and chop the squashes in half. Scoop out the seeds, then chop them into chunks.

Step 2: Add the chopped squash and the rest of the ingredients to the slow cooker. Cook on High for 4 hours or on Low for 8 hours.

Step 3: Remove and discard the cinnamon stick and thyme sprig when the soup is ready.

Step 4: Use an immersion blender or regular blender to puree the soup until the texture is creamy and smooth. Serve in bowls with salted pumpkin seeds on top and enjoy!

Variations

• Use fresh pumpkin instead – Swap the canned pumpkin for half of a peeled, chopped, and deseeded sweet pumpkin.
• Use potatoes instead of squash – Feel free to use peeled and chopped sweet potatoes as a replacement for the butternut, delicata, or acorn squash.
• Roast the squash ahead of time – Roasting the squash in the oven first will give this soup added layers of deep, luscious flavors.
• Add more warm spices – Like nutmeg, cloves, allspice, curry powder, coriander, cumin, or smoked paprika.
• Make it extra creamy – Once the soup is pureed and smooth, stir in a can of full fat coconut milk. That creamy element is so divine!

Storing and freezing

Store the cooled soup in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. It also freezes well for up to 3 months!

The texture will be slightly thicker upon reheating. Feel free to stir in an extra splash of broth, water, or coconut milk to help loosen it up.

Looking for more comforting soup recipes?

• Instant Pot Carrot Soup
• Easy Homemade French Onion Soup
• Chicken Wild Rice Soup
• Curried Carrot Soup
• Instant Pot Cabbage Roll Soup