That Spicy Chick

Hearty Pumpkin Chicken Soup

This Hearty Pumpkin Chicken Soup is warming, comforting, and incredibly cozy! It’s loaded with feel-good and wholesome ingredients like corn, asparagus, butter beans, shredded chicken, and rice. It’s also wonderfully spicy, naturally gluten-freecreamy (without using any heavy cream), and ultimately the BEST fall soup ever!

Pumpkin Chicken Soup in bowl with crispy bacon pieces, yogurt, chopped coriander.

Hello friends!

It’s safe to say that I’m in full swing soup mode now that the weather has gotten cooler here. And I am absolutely loving sitting down to all the warming and cozy bowls of goodness that I’ve been inhaling these past few weeks!

Today, I’ve got magic in a bowl to share with you, and I am super excited about it!

This Hearty Pumpkin Chicken Soup is kind of like Spicy Mexican Chicken Tortilla Soup, but sans the tortilla chips and spicy tomato broth. Instead, this pumpkin soup boasts a robust, velvety, rich and creamy spicy Pumpkin broth. It’s chockfull of delicious and wholesome ingredients and made with plenty of veggies, shredded chicken, and tender rice. ❤️

Pumpkin Chicken Soup in dutch oven with a ladle holding the soup over the bowl.

Most importantly, it’s super easy to make because it’s mostly hands off and made in just ONE POT! Easy + nutritious + unbelievably delicious + less dishes to wash? Sign me up! 🙋‍♀️🙋‍♀️

I’m convinced that this is the ULTIMATE and BEST fall soup, and I think you are going to love it! 🤗

Pumpkin Chicken Soup garnished with chopped coriander, yogurt, and crispy bacon pieces in a white round bowl.

HERE’S WHAT’S GOING ON IN THIS HEARTY PUMPKIN CHICKEN SOUP:

  • Shredded Chicken: The chicken breasts are cooked in the soup itself so you don’t have to fuss with too many dishes to wash up after cooking the soup! Win! 🙌
  • A cozy and comforting creamy pumpkin broth: It’s made with mostly everyday ingredients. And you probably already have them on hand or in your pantry already! It’s also made with single cream, not heavy cream. So you’re getting a creamy and rich soup without the extra calories and fat! AND since it’s made with canned pumpkin puree, you can skip roasting one from scratch and have this soup on your table in no time! 💃
  • Plenty of feel-good and wholesome veggies! We’ve got sweet corn, butter beans, asparagus, and also aromatics like garlic, onion, and fresh red chilies. Mega nutrition boost + flavor BOMB! 👊
  • Rice: We’re truly making this a One Pot Wonder with all your carbs, protein, and veggies in one hearty and heavenly bowl! ❤️
  • And GLORIOUS TOPPINGS!!! Cooling yogurt, crispy bacon pieces, shredded cheese, and freshly chopped coriander! YUM TOWN. 😋

Who’s ready to make some tasty Hearty Pumpkin Chicken Soup?!

Pumpkin Chicken Soup in bowl with crispy bacon pieces, yogurt, chopped coriander. Pot with Pumpkin Chicken Soup in the back.

HEARTY PUMPKIN CHICKEN SOUP INGREDIENTS

Ok, first up is our ingredients shopping list! To make this delicious soup, you will need some everyday ingredients and a couple of pantry staples.

  • Chicken: I used boneless and skinless chicken breasts. But feel free to use boneless and skinless chicken thighs if you have it on hand instead.
  • Unsalted Butter: For cooking the soup in.
  • Aromatics: Just some garlic, onion, and ginger.
  • Veggies: Sweet corn (or regular corn) kernels and asparagus.
  • Red Chilies: For some heat! You are welcome to adjust the number of chilies you add based on your heat preference. If you prefer to make this soup mild, feel free to deseed or omit the chilies entirely. I personally love the addition of chilies because it makes this soup extra warming!
  • Canned Pumpkin Puree: Our hero ingredient in this soup! I opt for canned pumpkin puree because it’s convenient and available to purchase in most supermarkets and grocery stores. But if you live in Asia, you may need to visit an international supermarket in your locality to find this. If you can’t find it easily where you live, you can purchase it online.
  • Beans: I used a can of butter beans, aka white lima beans. But feel free to use canned black beans, cannellini beans, mixed beans, or any other beans you like!
  • Liquids: Low sodium chicken broth and water, and some cooking cream to make the soup nice and creamy!
  • Spices & Seasonings: Freshly cracked black pepper and kosher salt as always, and ground cayenne, crushed red chili flakes, and ground cinnamon to give the soup its warming flavorful taste!
  • Brown Sugar: To balance out the heat.
  • Rice: Either medium or long grain rice will work. Feel free to use brown rice if you prefer to make this soup even healthier than it already is!
  • Optional toppings: Greek or plain yogurt, sour cream, chopped coriander, shredded cheese, cooked crispy bacon pieces
Two diagonally placed bowls of Pumpkin Chicken Soup garnished with chopped coriander, yogurt, and crispy bacon pieces.

HOW TO MAKE HEARTY PUMPKIN CHICKEN SOUP

To make this delightful and filling soup, we’ll start with our prep work:

Chop the onion, garlic, ginger, red chilies, and asparagus. Clean and pat-dry the chicken breasts with paper towels. Drain and rinse the can of butter beans in a strainer and set aside.

Then measure out the cooking cream, corn kernels, rice, and water in separate measuring cups.

Finally, combine all the spices in a small bowl – the freshly cracked black pepper, kosher salt, ground cayenne, crushed red chili pepper flakes, ground cinnamon. Cover the bowl with cling wrap or a small plate (to prevent all the spices and seasonings from blowing everywhere).

Two diagonally placed bowls of Pumpkin Chicken Soup garnished with chopped coriander, yogurt, and crispy bacon pieces. Two spoons on the side of bowls.

Now that we’ve got all our prep work out of the way, making this soup is pretty straightforward and easy. Simply…

  1. Sauté the onion, aromatics, and asparagus: Heat unsalted butter in a large Dutch oven or stockpot over medium-high heat. Once the butter has melted and is frothing, add the onion and garlic. Sauté for until the onion has softened, and then add the red chilies (if using), ginger, and asparagus. Sauté for a minute or two until fragrant.
  2. Add all the ingredients (except the rice) into the pot: Add the chicken breasts, pumpkin puree, low sodium chicken broth, cooking cream, water, corn, butter beans, the spices and seasonings in the bowl, and brown sugar. Stir to combine, then lower the heat to medium and cover. Simmer for about 18-25 minutes, or until the chicken has cooked through. (Note: the time for cooking the chicken will vary depending on how thick your chicken breast pieces are).
  3. Shred the chicken and cook the rice: Once the chicken breasts are fully cooked and no longer pink on the inside, use tongs to carefully transfer them to a chopping board and add the rice to the soup. Shred the chicken with two forks, while stirring the soup periodically to ensure that the rice doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot.
  4. Combine everything: Transfer the chicken back to the pot and stir to combine. Simmer uncovered for the 3-5 minutes or until the rice has cooked through. Then switch off the heat.
  5. Serve! Ladle the soup into individual bowls and top with dollops of Greek or plain yogurt (or sour cream), chopped coriander, shredded cheese, and cooked crispy bacon pieces.

Now sit down, relax, and enjoy your bowl of hearty and cozy pumpkin chicken soup!

Soup in bowl topped with crispy bacon pieces, yogurt, chopped coriander and a spoon on top of bowl.

By the way, you’re welcome to top your soup bowl with any of your other favorite toppings! 👌

Soup in bowl with crispy bacon pieces, yogurt, chopped coriander and spoon inside bowl.

VARIATIONS

  • Use store-bought rotisserie chicken: Buy a rotisserie chicken on your way home from work and shred the meat with two forks. This way you don’t have to wait for the chicken to cook through in the soup itself and can add it to the pot when you add everything else in step 2 (except the rice). Cover and simmer for 10-12 minutes, and then add the rice. Then just cook until the rice is soft and fully cooked, then serve!
  • Use leftover chicken: You can also use leftover shredded chicken if you have some in your fridge/freezer. Thaw it in the fridge first if frozen, and then ditto the above.
  • Make it vegetarian: Simply omit the chicken and use veggie broth! Just simmer all of the other ingredients for 10-12 minutes, and then add the rice. The soup will be done once the rice is fully cooked.
  • Make it vegan/dairy-free: Ditto the above, and omit the cooking cream or replace with coconut milk. The soup tastes wonderful with or without the cream. But the addition of coconut milk is lovely and gives it a nice Thai twist!
  • Make it gluten-free: No adaptation is required! All the ingredients in this soup are naturally gluten-free.
Two diagonally placed bowls of soup garnished with chopped coriander, yogurt, and crispy bacon pieces. Two spoons on top of a blue floral printed napkin on the side.

IS THIS SOUP FREEZER-FRIENDLY?

Yes! Cool the soup in the fridge and then transfer it to freezer safe containers. You can store the soup in the freezer for up to three months. To reheat, thaw in the fridge overnight and reheat in a pot on the stovetop, or in a dish/bowl in the microwave.

Two diagonally placed bowls of soup garnished with chopped coriander, yogurt, and crispy bacon pieces.

CAN I MAKE THIS SOUP FOR MEAL PREP?

You sure can! The soup will stay good in the fridge for 3-5 days.

Spoon holding up a bite of soup with chicken, rice, coriander, yogurt, and a crispy bacon piece.

MORE FALL SOUPS

Looking for more soups & chowders to make this fall? Below are some of my favorites, and some even have noodles! ❤️

Spoon holding up a bite of Pumpkin Soup with chicken, rice, bacon, yogurt, and coriander. A bowl of Pumpkin Chicken Soup garnished with crispy bacon pieces, chopped coriander, and yogurt.

MADE THIS RECIPE? If you make this recipe, leave a comment below and let me know how you liked it! Take a photo and tag it with @thatspicychick on Instagram and hashtag it #thatspicychick and I’ll be sure to share your masterpiece!

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Pumpkin Soup with Chicken and Rice

Pumpkin Chicken Soup garnished with chopped coriander, yogurt, and crispy bacon pieces in a white round bowl.

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This Hearty Pumpkin Chicken Soup is warming, comforting, and cozy! It’s loaded with feel-good and wholesome ingredients like corn, asparagus, butter beans, shredded chicken breasts, and rice. It’s also wonderfully spicy, naturally gluten-freecreamy (without using any heavy cream), and ultimately the BEST fall soup!

  • Author: Lavina
  • Prep Time: 15
  • Cook Time: 45
  • Total Time: 1 hour
  • Yield: 6-8 1x
  • Category: Dinner
  • Method: Simmer
  • Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 Chicken Breasts (about 400g), boneless, skinless – cleaned and pat-dried with paper towels
  • 2 TBLS Unsalted Butter
  • 67 Garlic cloves – minced
  • 1 medium Yellow Onion – diced
  • 58 Red Chilies (optional), to taste and deseeded for less heat if you like – chopped
  • 1.5-inch chunk Ginger – grated
  • 78 spears Asparagus –  cut into 1.5-inch pieces
  • ¾ cup Corn or Sweet Corn Kernels (use 1 cup if using frozen as it will settle into the cup once it defrosts and will actually end up being 3/4 cup)
  • 1 15 oz. can (425 grams) Pumpkin Puree
  • 1 15 oz. can (425 grams) Butter Beans (or any canned beans of your choice) – drained and rinsed
  • 4 cups/32 oz. Low Sodium Chicken Broth
  • 200ml Cooking/Single Cream
  • 1.5 cups Water
  • 1 TSP freshly cracked Black Pepper, to taste
  • 2 TSP Kosher Salt (use half the amount if using table salt), to taste
  • 1 TSP ground Cayenne, to taste
  • 1 TSP Crushed Red Chili Pepper Flakes, to taste
  • 1.5 TSP ground Cinnamon
  • 2 & ¼ TSP Brown Sugar
  • ½ cup uncooked Medium or Long Grain Rice
  • Optional toppings: Greek or plain yogurt, sour cream, chopped coriander, shredded cheese, cooked crispy bacon pieces

Instructions

Prep:

  1. Prepare all the ingredients: Chop the onion, garlic, asparagus, and red chilies. Clean and pat-dry the chicken breasts with paper towels. Drain the can of butter beans, rinse, and set aside. Measure out the cream, corn kernels, rice, and water, and set aside. Combine all the spices in a small bowl – the freshly cracked black pepper, kosher salt, ground cayenne, crushed red chili pepper flakes, ground cinnamon. Cover and set aside.

For the Hearty Pumpkin Chicken Soup:

  1. Heat unsalted butter in a large Dutch oven or stockpot over medium-high heat. Once the butter has melted and is frothing, add the onion and garlic. Sauté for 2-3 minutes until softened, then add the red chilies, ginger, and asparagus. Sauté until fragrant – about 1-2 minutes.
  2. Add the chicken breasts, pumpkin puree, low sodium chicken broth, cooking cream, water, corn, butter beans, the spices and seasonings in the bowl, and brown sugar. Stir to combine, then lower the heat to medium and cover. Simmer for 18-25 minutes or until the chicken has cooked through. (Note: the time for cooking the chicken will vary depending on how thick your chicken breast pieces are).
  3. Once the chicken breasts are fully cooked and no longer pink on the inside, use tongs to carefully transfer them to a chopping board and add the rice to the soup. Shred the chicken with two forks, while stirring the soup periodically to ensure that the rice doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot.
  4. Transfer the chicken back to the pot and stir to combine. Simmer uncovered for the 3-5 minutes or until the rice has cooked through, then turn off the heat.
  5. To Serve: Ladle the soup into individual bowls and top with a few dollops of Greek or plain yogurt (or sour cream), chopped coriander, shredded cheese, and cooked crispy bacon pieces. Feel free to add any of your other favorite toppings!

Notes

  1. If using store-bought rotisserie chicken to save time: Shred the meat with two forks. Add it to the pot when you add everything else in step 2 (except the rice). Simmer for 5 minutes and then add the rice. The soup will be done and ready to serve once the rice is fully cooked.
  2. If using leftover chicken to save time: You can also use leftover shredded chicken if you have some in your fridge/freezer. Thaw it in the fridge if frozen first. Then add it to the pot when you add everything else in step 2 (except the rice). Simmer for 5 minutes and then add the rice. The soup will be done and ready to serve once the rice is fully cooked.
  3. To make this vegetarian: Omit the chicken and use veggie broth. Just simmer all of the other ingredients (step 2) for 10-12 minutes, and then add the rice. The soup will be done once the rice is fully cooked.
  4. To make this gluten-free: Every ingredient in the soup is naturally gluten-free, and no adjustment is required.
  5. To make this dairy-free: Omit the cooking cream. The soup tastes delicious with or without the cream!
  6. To freeze: Cool the soup in the fridge and then transfer it to freezer safe containers. You can store the soup in the freezer for up to three months. To reheat, thaw in the fridge overnight and reheat in a pot on the stovetop, or in the microwave for 2-3 minuter until hot throughout.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 large bowl
  • Calories: 663
  • Sugar: 89g
  • Sodium: 750.8mg
  • Fat: 13.8g
  • Saturated Fat: 7.2g
  • Unsaturated Fat: 2.4g
  • Trans Fat: 0.2g
  • Carbohydrates: 116.2g
  • Fiber: 8.6g
  • Protein: 22.7g
  • Cholesterol: 60.8mg
Two diagonally placed bowls of Pumpkin Chicken Soup garnished with chopped coriander, yogurt, and crispy bacon pieces. Two spoons on the side of bowls.

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