The Best Homemade Pumpkin Sausage Soup for Fall
This pumpkin sausage soup is a hearty meal that’s warm and comforting and loaded with fall flavors. Made with pumpkin, apples, nourishing autumn herbs and savory breakfast sausage, it’s the perfect healthy dish for a chilly fall day.
As the main chef in our kitchen, my menus often focus on fresh foods of the season. There’s certain recipes that get tucked away for a bit and brought back with delight as the days fade from one season to the next.
The warm summer winds are now cold blustery days filled with warm coziness inside our homes. More hours of darkness lend themselves to a slower pace of life and warmer, richer meals from our stovetops.
Pumpkin sausage soup is one of those meals Luke and I both look forward to when the hectic days of summer blend to autumn. It’s the perfect quick, one-pot meal that’s made smooth and creamy with nourishing broth and milk. Perfectly paired with apples, fennel and savory herbs like sage and thyme, there’s lots of healthy fiber and the flavor is honestly sensational.
The breakfast sausage meatballs add a delicious source of protein and a side of sourdough bread easily sops up the last bit of soup in the bowl. Needless to say, this recipe is soon to be a classic favorite during the fall and winter months!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Full of Flavor and Healthy Ingredients – Fresh, homegrown pumpkin is the base of this soup, while apples add a hint of sweetness. Fennel, sage, thyme and rosemary perfectly release their aromatic essences to add a beautiful herbal bouquet of flavors. These herbs along with onions and garlic also offer immune boosting benefits. A homemade broth takes this soup to a whole other level of delicious.
Quick and Easy – The hands on prep time for this recipe is minimal from start to finish. Either grab your fresh pumpkin from the freezer or open a can of pumpkin puree, chop the onions, garlic and apple and measure out the remaining ingredients. Roll out the sausage into meatballs and within ten minutes dinner is cooking. And with only two dishes needed for cooking, clean up is fast.
Versatile – As the winter goes on, I tend to substitute some of the ingredients depending on what’s in the freezer. Instead of apples, I’ll use frozen rhubarb. It doesn’t affect the taste, it adds fiber and Vitamin C and uses up what I have in the freezer. Perhaps an orange and its zest would be great? With a little creativity, there’s so many possibilities!
Helpful Hints for the Perfect Pumpkin Sausage Soup
- The recipe calls for pre-made breakfast sausage, but you can make your own with plain ground pork. Or use ground beef if you don’t have either on hand. Mix the ground meat with 1 teaspoon each fennel, sage, thyme, rosemary and salt.
- The soup comes to a boil fairly quick. Keep a close eye on it and turn the heat off once the vegetables are soft enough to puree. Over cooking breaks down the healthy nutrients in the vegetables and herbs.
- This recipe can easily be turned into a vegan version. Simply omit the meat and serve with crusty bread and a side of sautéed vegetables or fruit. Instead of butter and milk, use coconut oil and a can of coconut milk.
- Use a stainless steel saucepan to cook the soup if you’re going to puree with an immersion blender. Otherwise you run the risk of damaging the coating on any other pan like an enameled cast iron Dutch oven.
How to Make Pumpkin Sausage Soup
What You’ll Need
- Pumpkin – I use pumpkin either fresh cut or pulled from the freezer, but two cans of store-bought pumpkin puree works as well. Be sure to get regular puree and not pumpkin pie mix.
- Apples – Any apple variety adds a perfect hint of sweetness. Use whatever you have on hand whether it’s applesauce, fresh apples, frozen, fermented, etc. For this batch, I used fermented apples and it turned out amazing.
- Breakfast Sausage – A pre-made store-bought package works great, but you could also use regular unflavored pork or ground beef. Simply add herbs and spices to make your own sausage seasoning to control the ingredients. Any other ground meat like venison or turkey works as well.
- Broth – A store-bought box is good for this recipe, but I do encourage you to make your own. It’s easy and homemade broth is more nutritious and flavorful.
I teach you how to make your own broth here in this post.
For a full list of ingredients, see the recipe card below.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Shape the sausage into meatballs and place in a cast iron skillet or baking dish. Bake for 30 minutes.
While meatballs are baking, melt the butter in a medium-sized stainless steel saucepan. Add the onion and garlic and sauté until soft and fragrant.
Next, add the herbs and salt. Stir together and cook for another two minutes.
Add the pumpkin, apples and broth and simmer on medium heat until soft and tender.
Use an immersion blender to puree the soup. Or transfer to a regular blender to puree.
To finish, slowly add the milk and stir until creamy. Serve and enjoy.
For another pumpkin recipe, try my Easy Pumpkin Hand Pies with Honey Icing.
Learn how to cut a whole, fresh pumpkin.
FAQ’s
What’s the secret to make the best pumpkin sausage soup?
The correct balance of herbs and letting them simmer long enough to infuse their flavors with the pumpkin and apple are key to this delicious soup.
Is this soup freezer friendly?
Yes, double this recipe to put a batch in the freezer for a quick weeknight meal. Let it cool before scooping into jars or freezer bags. If freezing in jars, leave about 2 inches of head space to avoid jar breakage.
What side dishes should this soup be served with?
It’s a healthy stand alone meal all on its own, but for an additional side, serve with homemade sauerkraut for an extra nutrient boost. Or saute another vegetable like green beans and warm up a slice of bread or chunk of crusty boule.
If you make this recipe and love it, come back and leave it a 5-star review! Any comments or questions, leave them in the comments below. Tag me with your photos on Instagram @beckybuttlesamericana.
“Thou dost cause the grass to grow for the cattle, and plants for man to cultivate, that he may bring forth food from the earth and wine to gladden the heart of man, oil to make his face shine and bread to strengthen man’s heart.” Psalm 104:14-15
Happy Fall and Thanks for Stopping by my blog! -Becky
The Best Pumpkin Sausage Soup
This pumpkin sausage soup is a hearty meal that's warm and comforting and loaded with fall flavors. Made with pumpkin, apples, nourishing autumn herbs and savory breakfast sausage, it's the perfect healthy dish for a chilly fall day.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground breakfast sausage
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 medium sized onion
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 teaspoon fennel (or 1 tablespoon fresh)
- 1 teaspoon sage (or 1 tablespoon fresh)
- 1 teaspoon thyme (or 1 tablespoon fresh)
- 1 teaspoon rosemary (or 1 tablespoon fresh)
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 3 cups fresh pumpkin or 2 cans pumpkin puree
- 1 cup chopped apple
- 2 cups broth
- 1 1/2 cups milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Shape the sausage into meatballs and place in a cast iron skillet or baking dish. Bake for 30 minutes.
- While meatballs are baking, melt the butter in a medium-sized stainless steel saucepan. Add the onion and garlic and sauté until soft and fragrant.
- Next, add the herbs and salt. Stir together and cook for another two minutes.
- Add the pumpkin, apples and broth and simmer on medium heat until soft and tender.
- Use an immersion blender to puree the soup. Or transfer to a regular blender to puree.
- To finish, slowly add the milk and stir until creamy. Serve and enjoy.
Notes
- The recipe calls for pre-made breakfast sausage, but you can make your own with plain ground pork. Or use ground beef if you don't have either on hand. Mix the ground meat with 1 teaspoon each fennel, sage, thyme, rosemary and salt.
- The soup comes to a boil fairly quick. Keep a close eye on it and turn the heat off once the vegetables are soft enough to puree. Over cooking breaks down the healthy nutrients in the vegetables and herbs.
- This recipe can easily be turned into a vegan version. Simply omit the meat and serve with crusty bread and a side of sautéed vegetables or fruit. Instead of butter and milk, use coconut oil and a can of coconut milk.
- Use a stainless steel saucepan to cook the soup if you're going to puree with an immersion blender. Otherwise you run the risk of damaging the coating on any other pan like an enameled cast iron Dutch oven.
