Vegan Pumpkin Bisque with Homemade Vegetable Stock
I went to the grocery store to shop for ingredients for this recipe and I was horrified at the laundry list of ingredients I saw in store bought vegetable broth/stock. I can’t tell you the last time I bought vegetable broth but I guess it’s been a while. Back when I didn’t read food labels apparently. I was expecting to see a list of ingredients similar to what I’m used to seeing in chicken broth but, you know, no chicken. The worst thing I see listed in chicken broth is natural flavors. Not the worst thing out there, but not the best either. Well the list of ingredients for store bought vegetable broth was WAY worse. Sugar, maltodextrin, yeast extract, vegetable oil, food coloring, and more. I couldn’t bring myself to buy any. Of course when I got home and looked on Amazon I found a ton of brands I would actually purchase. But I wanted to make this recipe ASAP, so I couldn’t wait two days for Prime and I didn’t feel like driving a half hour to Whole Foods either. If you have vegetable broth on hand that you like, feel free to use it (2 quarts/8 cups) in this recipe. You can ignore the Homemade Vegetable Stock ingredients as well as step 1 of the recipe. It’ll cut your cooking time way down. This was the first time I ever tried making vegetable broth. It wasn’t hard, by any means, but it just added a lot of extra time to this recipe. To be expected because good things take time! And this homemade vegetable stock is delicious!
To the vegans of the world: I am sorry that I’ve been ignoring you. It’s just that I’ve been a meat eater my whole life, so it’s the first thing I think of when it’s time to make a meal for myself. I’m a meat and potatoes gal through and through, and honestly I don’t see that ever changing. Mostly the potatoes part, so maybe there’s hope for me after all. But! It’s never a bad idea to eat more vegetables. Not that there are a ton of vegetables in this particular recipe (other than the stock of course), but you get the point, hopefully. I’m definitely making it a priority to create more vegetarian and vegan recipes in the near future. In the interest of being a well-rounded home cook, it will be great to develop those skills a little better. Maybe I’ll find something new I love!
My best friend Jess started a vegan skincare company, Black Orchid Skincare, a few years ago. I told Jess only recently about my blog, because I wanted it to look presentable when she saw it for the first time. It’s no secret that it’s been a bit of a rocky road to reach the point I’m at right now. I’m finally proud enough to start sharing it with the world. But I digress. Ever since I told Jess about my blog she’s been sharing really helpful tips and tricks she’s learned from starting and managing her own business over the past few years. Not that what I’m doing is a business, but I’m hopeful that this continues to grow and it turns into something bigger than it is today. She mentioned maybe doing guest posts on each others’ sites, and my first thought was…uh oh. I have approximately one vegan recipe on my blog to date. And it’s for sauteed kale. Every vegan on the planet knows how to saute some kale, so I decided it was time to put my thinking cap on. So that’s when this recipe was born. My very first purposefully vegan recipe. Thanks Jess for your inspiration! Thanks even more for your helpful tips over the past few weeks!
But also sorry for creating a recipe that you can’t eat yourself. Silly coconut allergy. I’m trying over here okay?!
Vegan Pumpkin Bisque with Homemade Vegetable Stock
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Make the Homemade Vegetable Stock: heat 1 tbsp avocado oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. When hot, add all of the Homemade Vegetable Stock ingredients to the pot except the salt and water and stir to coat the vegetables with the oil. Cook for 7-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until vegetables start to soften. Add the salt and the filtered water. Stir and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for 30 minutes. Strain through a colander into a medium bowl and set aside; discard vegetables.
- Make the Pumpkin Bisque: use the same large soup pot over medium heat. Add 1 tbsp avocado oil and, when hot, add the onion and garlic. Cook for 7-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onion has softened.
- Add the nutmeg, cinnamon, Homemade Vegetable Stock, and 2 cans pumpkin. Stir to combine. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Use an immersion blender in the pot to blend the soup.
- Add the coconut milk, nutritional yeast, and a hefty pinch of sea salt. Stir to combine for 1-2 minutes. Ladle into bowls, serve hot, and enjoy!
