Low FODMAP pumpkin soup
Vegetarian/vegan, easily made dairy free and nut freeServes 4-7 (depending on the liquid added)Monash have recently (as of November 2024) lowered the threshold for Japanese/Kent pumpkin. It is low FODMAP in 75g serves and up to 161g serves per person. In 162g serves, it contains moderate amounts of fructans. It is still the pumpkin variety that you can eat most of on the low FODMAP diet. Another thing to keep in mind is that you don't need to change anything if you have been eating pumpkin without issue prior to this change.*This recipe uses Australian tablespoons which are 20ml as opposed to the more common 15ml. Use ml for international accuracy.
Ingredients
- 1.5 kg piece of Kent or Japanese pumpkin (weighed after peeling) (see notes for FODMAP update)
- 60ml (3 tablespoons)* olive oil
- 20 g peeled and chopped ginger
- 1/2 - 1 teaspoon asafoetida powder optional (mimics garlic and onion flavour)
- pinch of salt, to your tastes
- freshly cracked black pepper, to your tastes
- pinch of cinnamon (optional)
- pinch of chilli flakes I used Aleppo (optional)
- 750-1000ml (3-4 cups)* low FODMAP stock (add more if you add beans or like a thinner soup)
- 2 tablespoons* peanut butter (optional)
Optional:
- 250g canned chickpeas or butter beans (see notes)
- 1-2 starchy or all rounder potatoes, if you like a thicker soup
- 1 batch garlic infused oil, for drizzling (see notes)
Instructions
For a roasted pumpkin soup:
- Preheat the oven to 200C/400F and line a baking tray.
- Cut the pumpkin into larger pieces, leaving the skin on. Rub the skin with 1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil and place it on the baking tray, skin side up, and into the oven. Bake until cooked though (this will depend on how large the pieces are but budget for around an hour or more). Once cooked, remove the skin and proceed with the ginger cooking step.
For a regular pumpkin soup:
- Cut the pumpkin into even cubes. I find slightly larger cubes easier to blend at the end if you’re using a stick blender.
- Preheat the oil in a large soup pot over a low-medium heat. Add the ginger and cook for a couple of minutes until fragrant. Add the asafoetida powder and cinnamon (or any spices/woody herbs you’re using) and cook a minute more until they’re fragrant, too.
- Add the pumpkin pieces and stir to coat. Add the 3 cups (750ml) of stock and stir again to pick up any caramelised bits from the bottom of the pot. I recommend capping it at 3-4 cups (750-1000ml) of stock and adjusting at the end if you prefer a thinner soup – a thick soup can be corrected but a thin soup is a lot harder to fix. On that note, wait to salt the soup until the end when the flavours have melded and you can determine how salty it is already. You might not need any if you used a salty stock. Add the beans here, if you're using them.
- Cook for 10-15 minutes for the roasted pumpkin soup, and 20-30 for the regular. Keep in mind that the secret to a good soup is uniformly cooked vegetables that will blend smoothly so don’t rush the cooking process.
- When the pumpkin is completely cooked through, take it off the heat. Add the peanut butter, if you’re using it. Using whatever blending tool you have on hand, blend the soup until smooth. Adjust for seasoning, and add a little extra liquid (plant milk, regular milk, cream or stock) if you want a thinner soup.
- Keep in mind: a Nutribullet doesn’t have a steam escape valve so you can’t blend a hot soup in one. I recommend a stick (immersion) blender for soup, because you have a lot of control and can season it as you go. That said, you could also use a Vitamix if you have one (I don’t).
- To finish, garnish with whatever you fancy (I used crème fraiche, Aleppo chilli oil, honey toasted pepitas and lemon zest for most of the photos ) and serve.
- Keeps well in the fridge for a few days and also freezes well.
Notes
- To be on the safe side, I like to get about 2kg pumpkin for this soup. This accounts for the weight of the skin and seeds being removed.
- Ginger adds a layer of flavour that is missing without any onion or garlic. It's optional but deliciously simple.
- Monash have recently (as of November 2024) lowered the threshold for Japanese/Kent pumpkin. It is low FODMAP in 75g serves and up to 161g serves per person. In 162g serves, it contains moderate amounts of fructans. It is still the pumpkin variety that you can eat most of on the low FODMAP diet. Another thing to keep in mind is that you don't need to change anything if you have been eating pumpkin without issue prior to this change.
- I will keep this recipe live because people enjoy it, but I have also developed a low FODMAP version that uses far less pumpkin. Low FODMAP pumpkin soup
- If you choose to add beans, keep in mind the ratios. A 400g can of beans contains approximately 250g beans once drained. Butter beans are FODMAP friendly in 32g serves per person, so the soup will need to serve 7. Chickpeas are FODMAP friendly in 42g serves, so the soup will need to serve 6.
- The neat thing about beans is that the starches will thicken the soup once blended, meaning you can add more stock or liquid.
- Other ways to bulk up a serve are adding some chopped carrots or potatoes, extra pumpkin, or by serving it with bread.
- I love making my infused garlic oil and making croutons or garlic infused chilli oil with it.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!