Instant Pot Pumpkin Soup

Step 1: Gather the Pumpkin Soup ingredients

This thick and creamy pumpkin soup uses a few simple ingredients. Sweet onion and garlic sautéed in butter, pumpkin puree, and vegetable stock are flavored with traditional fall spices and lightly sweetened with dark brown sugar. Heavy cream is then added after cooking to make this soup nice and creamy.

• Butter: Sautéing the sweet onion and garlic in butter adds a great sweet and creamy flavor to the soup.
• Pumpkin Puree: I use a large 29 ounce can of pumpkin puree. Make sure to get pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie mix.
• Sweet Onion and Garlic: A sweet onion and 2 cloves of garlic add some wonderful flavor to this soup.
• Cinnamon, Nutmeg, and Ginger: Nothing says fall more than the combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger.
• Vegetable Stock: I use unsalted vegetable stock to give this soup a rich savory flavor.
• Dark Brown Sugar: I love the deep, complex flavor of dark brown sugar and just a couple of tablespoons gives this soup the perfect amount of sweet to complement the savory.
• Heavy Cream: Adding heavy cream after cooking gives the soup a much creamier consistency.

Step 2: Warm up the Instant Pot

Select the ‘Sauté’ function on the Instant Pot and, using the ‘Adjust’ button, adjust the heat level to ‘Normal’. Allow the pot to warm up until the front panel reads ‘Hot’. Adjusting the heat level to ‘Normal’ helps us avoid burning the milk solids in the butter.

Step 3: Melt the butter

Add the butter to the pot and, using a spoon or spatula, move it around the pot to help it melt quicker. Sometimes, when the pot is very hot, the butter will begin to pop and splash as the butter melts. When this happens, I just place a silicone splatter guard over the liner until it settles down.

Step 4: Sauté the onion and garlic

Once the butter has melted, add the chopped onion to the pot and sauté for 4 to 5 minutes until the onion starts to turn soft and translucent. Then add the minced garlic and cook for another minute or two.

Step 5: Add the spices

Next add the cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger to the pot and mix them into the onion and garlic. Allow the spices to cook in the onions for about a minute so that they start to release their wonderful aromas and flavors.

Step 6: Add the vegetable stock, brown sugar, and salt

Hit the ‘Cancel’ button to turn off the ‘Sauté’ function and then add the vegetable stock, dark brown sugar, and salt to the pot and give everything a good stir.

Step 7: Add the pureed pumpkin

Finally, before closing the pot, spoon the pureed pumpkin into the center of the pot and do not mix it into the stock.

Step 8: Close the Instant Pot and set the cook time

Close the Instant Pot and set the pressure release valve to the ‘Sealing’ position. Select the ‘Soup’ function and then set the cook time to 10 minutes on ‘High Pressure’. Allow for a 5-minute natural pressure release and then release any remaining pressure from the pot.

Step 9: Puree the Pumpkin Soup

Once all the pressure has been released, open the Instant Pot and puree the pumpkin soup using an immersion blender. Continue blending until the soup is smooth.

Step 10: Add the heavy cream

Add the heavy cream to the pot and continue blending until it is fully mixed into the soup.