I am calling it now – June is the month of soup! Comfort food is all I want to eat now that the temperatures have dropped and winter is truly here. Steaming bowls of Pho from my favourite Vietnamese place. Chicken Noodle Soup to soothe my never-ending cold (three weeks and counting). And thick and comforting Roasted Pumpkin and Carrot Soup that feels like a warm hug.

If you can’t tell by now, I’m not generally a winter person – Sydney doesn’t even get that cold. Your girl has never even seen snow! My hands and feet are always freezing and it gives me a little pang of sadness to see the sun set before 5pm. But cold nights are always improved with a big bowl of soup.

I’ve made a variation on this soup probably a dozen times in the last few years. Sometimes I will use sweet potato and carrot instead of pumpkin. Or a combination of all three! Roasting the vegetables gives the soup a lovely complex flavour. You don’t even have to peel the veggies! When the pumpkin is cooked, you can just scoop it out of the skin. It’s definitely worth roasting if you have the time, but if you need dinner in 15 minutes flat, then just let your Instant Pot or pressure cooker do all the work. Soup comes together soooo easily, and is even quicker than Uber Eats!

Pumpkin and carrot are high in beta-carotene, which gives them their orange colour. Your body turns this into Vitamin A, which helps your immune system. I’ve already had 2 pretty bad colds this year and the winter season has barely begun. Sounds like I need another bowl of soup!

This time my secret ingredient was a whole clove of garlic, roasted with my veggies. I wrap it up in foil with a little drizzle of olive oil and magic things happen as it cooks. The flavour gets super sweet and more-ish. In the past, to get the level of sweetness I wanted, I have added some honey or maple syrup but this gave me flavour and sweetness all in one ingredient!

Garlic was one of the first vegetables to be used as medicine and it is amazing for your cardiovascular system and immune system. I think trying to keep your immune system strong in winter is one of the best things you can do.

My Pumpkin and Carrot Soup is gluten free, dairy free and vegan if you use vegetable stock. It’s so hearty, satisfying and healthy, but can still meet everyone’s dietary needs. You could even replace 1 cup of stock with coconut milk if you want it even more creamy. The flavours would be so delicious together.

I used a homemade chicken stock in my soup. It’s such a handy staple to have in the freezer and it uses up leftover bones and veggies that would otherwise be thrown out. Leave me a comment below if you’d like to see a post about how to make stock from scratch!

Since I already had the oven on to roast my vegetables, I decided to make a batch of crispy spiced chickpeas to scatter over the top of my soup. I often make them to eat as a snack or to go into a warm salad. This was the first time I had tried them with a soup but it won’t be the last. I love that they add a crunchy texture and lovely flavour. The spices I used on the chickpeas mirrored the spices in the soup so they were perfect together. You could also add a swirl of pesto or coconut milk to the the soup when you serve it.

If you make this Pumpkin and Carrot Soup or any of my other recipes please be sure to leave a comment, give them a rating and tag me on Instagram! I absolutely love seeing photos when you guys make my recipes!! I look forward to making many more soups as winter goes on (and on and on…)

Related Post: Pumpkin Cauliflower Mac and Cheese

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Pumpkin and Carrot Soup with Roasted Chickpeas

Cold nights are always made better with soup! My Pumpkin and Carrot Soup with Roasted Chickpeas is comforting and healthy (gluten free, dairy free and can be made vegan).

Course Dinner, Soup

Keyword Simple Dinners, Soup, Winter

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 55 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Servings 4

Ingredients

• 1 400g can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon sumac
• 2 kg butternut pumpkin (squash), seeds removed and chopped into large pieces
• 6 carrots, halved lengthways
• Salt and pepper
• Thyme
• 1 head garlic
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, extra

Soup

• 5 cups vegetable or chicken stock (homemade if possible)
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon sumac

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 180°C (350°F) and line two baking trays with non-stick baking paper. On the first tray, spread out the chickpeas. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus some salt and pepper, the garam masala, cumin and sumac. Massage with your hands to ensure all the chickpeas are coated in the oil and spices.

2. On the other tray, place the pumpkin and carrots. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Season with salt, pepper and thyme. 

3. Take a piece of aluminium foil and place a head of garlic in the center. Drizzle with the extra 2 tablespoons of olive oil and wrap up to enclose. Place onto the tray with the pumpkin and carrots and put both trays in the oven.

4. Roast for 30 minutes and then remove the tray with the pumpkin and carrots. Leave the chickpeas in the oven for an additional 15-20 minutes.

5. Scoop the flesh out of the pumpkin if you like – it will be really easy to do this once it’s cooked. Unwrap the roasted garlic and squeeze the cloves out of the skins. Place the roasted carrots, pumpkin and garlic into an Instant Pot or pressure cooker. Add the stock, garam masala, cumin and sumac. Cook on the Soup setting for 10 minutes.
6. Remove the chickpeas from the oven and set aside.

7. Release the pressure on the Instant Pot. Transfer to another heatproof bowl. Use a stick blender to blend the soup until completely smooth and season to taste. Serve hot in bowls, topped with roasted chickpeas and fresh thyme.