Is Canned Pumpkin Actually Better Than Fresh For Soup?

Pumpkins and soup are two quintessential fall favorites — and, when they come together, they create a perfectly slurpable, seasonal transition of flavors and textures to carry you in and through the colder months. The only catch is you're going to have to clean, roast, and puree an entire pumpkin to get there. That is, unless you grab canned pumpkin puree. While slightly sweeter in flavor, the convenience of canned pumpkin puree beats fresh every single time. But, it actually has benefits for the actual taste, texture, and appearance of your soup, too.

If you take a bowl of fresh pumpkin puree and put it next to a serving poured straight from the can, there are some pretty obvious differences you can pick up on just by looking at them. Fresh pumpkin puree is usually lighter in color, with a visibly looser texture. While the ingredients are essentially the same, the canned puree will have a noticeably darker appearance due to the way its processed or the variety of pumpkin it's made from. While colors can range depending on the variety of canned pumpkin puree you prefer, the one thing that will remain the same is its consistency. Compared to the light and fluffy fresh puree, the regular canned variety is thick and smooth. While there are ingredients you can reach for to enhance the texture of your soup, when you opt for canned pumpkin puree over fresh, it will come out creamier — and with much less effort involved.

With canned pumpkin puree, making pumpkin soup doesn't have to be hard — nor does it have to taste any different. In fact, it can taste better. Using canned pumpkin puree is not only a time and effort saver, but it will contribute to the overall texture of your soup, making it creamier, thicker, and smoother. While it's far from the only ingredient in pumpkin soup, none of the others have to add to your prep time either. For instance, you can instantly amp up the flavors of your pumpkin soup by adding in a tablespoon or two of white miso paste. The beauty of miso is that, just like pumpkin, it can work with both sweet or savory flavors.

While most of your savory pumpkin soups will start with some form of aromatics such as onions, and garlic — there's really no reason why you can't use the powdered forms instead. That will at least save you some chopping time. Sweeter recipes can easily be amplified with a bit of maple syrup and your a classic pumpkin spice combination of nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger. Vegetable or chicken broth is usually added to the base to both add flavor and thin it out, while everything from cream to coconut milk or tahini can be added to your favorite fall soup to help thicken it back up. Then, garnish it with pumpkin seeds and call it a day.