Crockpot Canned Pumpkin Soup

I developed this recipe several years ago when my niece started college. She wanted some healthy, plant-based recipes she could make in her crockpot. I was happy to oblige. I usually make pumpkin soup with fresh pumpkin, or other squash, but this seemed like it might be more practical for people without access to fresh squash or without the room to store fresh squash. I remembered the origins of this recipe and thought it might be a nice recipe to share with school starting. It can easily be expanded to feed more people by using a larger can of pumpkin or multiple cans of pumpkin.

Crock Pot Canned Pumpkin Soup

1 15-oz can organic pumpkin

1 tablespoon ground flax seeds

2 stalks celery

1 medium carrot

1 medium onion

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried rosemary

½ teaspoon chili powder

½ teaspoon ground ginger

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

¼ teaspoon ground cardamom, optional

2 ½-3 cups vegetable stock*

2 medium tomatoes

½ cup almond milk**

Toasted shelled pumpkin seeds, optional

Toasted shelled sunflower seeds, optional

Finely dice celery, carrot, and onion.

Place pumpkin, celery, carrot, onion, herbs and spices in a crockpot. Stir in vegetable stock. Cover. 

Cook on low heat setting for 6-8 hours or on high heat setting for 3-4 hours.

Stir in almond milk. Cook until just heated through.

Stir in tomatoes.

Ladle into bowls. Sprinkle with seeds, if desired.

* Even though I prefer to use homemade vegetable stock because I can control what's in it, store bought stock will also work, particularly if freezing stock isn't an option.

** I prefer using homemade almond milk,  store bought almond milk will also work. Note, you could use another nutmilk if you prefer though I think almond works best. I have used walnut milk and hazelnut milk when I didn't have almond milk available.

Note: I use organic ingredients whenever possible.