Yes, I’m just as excited as you are for fall pumpkin goodies. While I love a good sweet pumpkin dessert or drink, I also love using it in savory dishes. This spicy soup gets its bold flavor from pumpkin (of course), spicy chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, and fresh cilantro. If you haven’t noticed by now, we’re crazy about spicy food in my household.

Not only are pumpkins delicious, but they’re packed full of vitamins and minerals too. They’re well known for they’re vitamin A content, and are a good source of fiber, vitamin C, vitamin E, and potassium. There’s nothing better than food that both tastes great and has health benefits!

I’m always a fan of using up what you have on hand. If you have bell pepper at home, use that instead of poblano pepper. If you have mushrooms, throw them in. If you have a can of beans or chickpeas, add that to the mix. If you have some leftover meat to eat, throw that in.

I kept this version simple. But, we’ve added other things to it before, including chorizo, sausage, various veggies, and leftover shredded rotisserie chicken.

Ingredients:

• 2 cans pumpkin (NOT pie mix, just pure canned pumpkin)
• 1 quart vegetable or chicken broth
• 1 cup milk, half and half, heavy cream, or unflavored nondairy milk
• 2 fresh poblano peppers, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, diced
• 1 TB honey
• 1-2 chipotle in adobo sauce (depending on how spicy you like it!
• 1-2 TB lime juice (to taste)
• Optional toppings: a sprinkle of fresh cilantro, fresh chopped avocado, mexican or cheddar cheese, and/or dollop of sour cream

Method:

1. Saute pepper, onion, and garlic in small amount of oil in medium pot until softened, about 5-10 minutes.
2. Add pumpkin, honey, broth, milk, chipotle, and lime.
3. This only needs to simmer for about 5 minutes, since the flavor comes out easily with the chipotle peppers.
4. Add toppings of choice and enjoy! Serve with tortilla chips if desired.

Play with this dish and add things you like! We love adding uncured chorizo sausage to it when it’s on sale. The choice is yours!