Creamy Pumpkin Soup with Gruyere Grilled Cheese

We packed a lot of pumpkin into meals this week! Pumpkin muffins, pumpkin pasta, pumpkin pizza, pumpkin soup - we did it all. A BIG standout - this Creamy Pumpkin Soup with Gruyere Grilled Cheese. Last night was our first Saturday night at-home in weeks, and we made the most of it. We decided a simple soup and getting our house holiday ready was the Saturday night we wanted, and I’m so glad I have this sweet dinner together to remember our first time decorating our new home for Christmas. And we made the most of it! Fancy cocktails, a cozy, comforting soup, and all of our Christmas decorations. And of course the TV fireplace. A great way to spend a Saturday night in, cook side by side, and just celebrate soup season.

It’s my favorite when me + Jordan can both take part in the cooking process. Music in the background, both of us chopping + opening cans of whatever + seasoning + stirring. And some yummy cocktails to sip on as we do it all - it’s my favorite kinda at-home vibe. And that’s exactly what we did. Anytime we’re doing anything grilled cheese related - I’m putting him on the job. He helped me prep the soup, I handled the seasoning + making sure I didn’t burn it, and he handled our grilled cheese. He did the whole mayo on the outside instead of butter (apparently it’s the key to a perfect grilled cheese), and I quite enjoyed that!

 

Putting a whole grilled cheese on top of a bowl of soup was one of the best parts of this meal!

 

The soup is SO simple to make, and honestly that was a selling point this weekend. We chored all day, and wanted something yummy for dinner, but not too much of a project. This fit the bill. Some garlic, onion, and a can of pumpkin. It’s pretty much all you need! Blending up just the onion + garlic with the pumpkin gives the soup the perfect consistency. It thickens up just enough to have that perfect creamyness without being too watery.

We took some inspo from Pinterest, and chopped up our grilled cheese to be the cutest little croutons. And damn they were good. The bread is crispy + buttery, and perfectly soaks up the soup. The texture, the flavor, the satisfaction of having a little piece of grilled cheese in every bite - very satisfying!

And the cheese choice - gruyere. Like literally - couldn’t have been better. It’s salty + punchy, and it just tastes so good with the creamy pumpkin. The real selling factor is how melty the gets. The perfect stringy consistency that has that endless stretch, almost to the point where you’re lifting the spoon way higher than necessary just to break that cheese string. It just feels like that how a grilled cheese should be.

A 10/10 soup that was simple to put together, and in this instance that meant ample time to do some pre-dinner cocktail-ing at home. A “will absolutely make this again” kinda dinner.

 
 

For the soups

  • 4 slices of bacon, sliced into lardons

  • 4 cloves of garlic, smashed

  • 1/2 a sweet onion, chopped

  • 1/2 tsp paprika

  • 1/2 tsp brown sugar

  • 1/4 tsp cumin

  • 1/8 tsp nutmeg

  • Salt + pepper

  • 1 can of pumpkin

  • 4 c. chicken broth

  • 1/2 c. half and half

  • Sourdough of French boule slices

  • Shredded gruyere cheese

  • Butter or mayo

  • Fresh chives, thinly sliced

  • Red pepper flakes (for serving)

Place a large Dutch oven over medium heat.

When the cast iron has heated up, add in the bacon and cook until crispy. Remove the bacon pieces with a slotted spoon, and add in the onion and garlic to cooked in the rendered fat. Cook for about 10 minutes - until the onions are tender. Add in the spices, the brown sugar, and a pinch of salt + pepper, stirring to combine. Add in the pumpkin + broth, stirring until you have a smooth mixture. Turn off the heat and use an immersion blender to blend the garlic + onion with the pumpkin + blending until not chunks are left. Return to medium low heat, cooking for 10 minutes uncovered, then turn the heat to low and cook another 10 minutes covered. Stir in the cream and let the soup continue to sit over low heat.

Move to making the grilled cheese. Place a skilled over medium heat. Spread one side of each slice of bread with butter or mayo (we used mayo, and loved it!), and place half of the slices in the skillet with the prepared side down. Top with shredded cheese, about a 1/4 cup of cheese on each slice, and then top with the remaining bread slices. Cook until browned + crispy, and then flip the sandwiches to toast on the other side.

Remove your finished grilled cheeses, and cut each sandwich into crouton size squares.

Ladle soup into bowls, topping each bowl with bacon pieces, 1 sandwich worth of croutons, and some chives. Add some red pepper flakes for a little heat, and you’re set!

Lesley ZehnerComment