I made this recipe using butternut squash instead of pumpkin, and it turned out great! It is very spicy (I think I went a little overboard on the "pinch of cayenne"), but luckily my husband and I both love spicy food.

This is a wonderful recipe for these gray, rainy Fall days.

Hey, my husband and I tried this soup for a small dinner party. We halved the recipe and it was great! We didn't have any coriander, so we just added a pinch more of every other spice (esp cayenne), and we loved it. Thanks!

Great soup! We didn't have time (or the will) to blend it and it still turned out wonderfully. A nice way to use those cans of pumpkin that have been in the pantry for years...

Oh boy, this ought to be grrrrreat....!!!

Made this last night and it is quite good. I did not do the addition of brown sugar and heavy cream at the end to keep the fat/calories down and I couldn't find any ground coriander so I used some cumin ('cause I like it...) and it turned out just fine. It's creamy and tastey without being heavy like cream-type soups are want to be. I can't wait to see how it goes over with my family tonight.

Lovely! Made this for a fundraiser at work and it went like crazy. I was heavy on the spices to great effect, and also added some fresh grated ginger with the onions. Lastly, I added the cream (without mixing) to each portion seperately at serving time, which made for nice presentation. Highly recommended!

I make a similar pumpkin soup.
I use butternut pumpkin and some sweet potato; the two work beautifully together.

I made this soup tonight it's great. I added a half of a yellow Jamaican scotch bonnet pepper to the pot. WOW!

I made this soup in a double batch for a church soup dinner. Everyone loved it. The cream and the brown sugar elevated the flavor profile. It was outstanding.

This soup is sooooo good! The first time we had it, we cooked for several guests. They all loved it too. We made it again today but used Red Onions vice the Yellow Onions and in my opinion, it was better. My cooking style differs in that after I finished Step 1 (softening onions and adding spices), I transferred them and added everything else into a crock pot (minus the milk and cream). I then used a hand blender until everything went smooth. Finished it off by pouring in the milk and cream. A pinch of Cayenne Pepper was a mandatory requirement in this household but the extra salt was not at all needed.

I made this soup exactly as the recipe calls for except I used low sodium chicken broth. It was incrediably bland. I had to doctor considerably using salt much more spice and then try to bring out the pumpkin flavor with traditional pumpkin pie spices. I finally had a soup that was acceptable but hardly exceptional.

Note from Elise: if you cut back on the salt, you have to up all the other spices.

Thanks Elise, I sort of just kept adding them in, would you suggest amounts, also how much sea salt do you think I should add. I'm fairly salt sensitive so I try to stay away from soups etc with a lot of salt already in them-- I like to add it myself.

Mandy

Note from Elise: I always just add spices and salt to taste. Also, taste your spices before putting them in. Spices do grow old and as they age they lose their potency. A good rule of thumb is to replace any spices or herbs that are over a year old, unless they are still in the pod, so to speak, like cardamom, cloves, or nutmeg, or whole pepper. Spices before they are ground will usually last longer than the ground spices.

Just made this soup. It's delicious -- perfect for Halloween Eve!

Vegans gotta eat too! This soup is flat-out delicious and I decided to switch it up for a few of my omnivoric friends. First, I used a butter alternative (i.e. Earth Balance Spread)and vegetable broth without a problem. In order to cut out the cream and milk I substituted coconut milk (full fat works best!) The coconut milk added a natural sweetness to the recipe so I cut out the brown sugar. In the end I ended up with a soup that was fast, easy, cheap, healthy and vegan safe. Yum.

Big Hit! Made this for a Potluck for a finicky crowd (members of local gourmet club), they loved it,commented on it's merits all evening and wanted the recipe (the best compliment).

Made this recipe exactly as directed (skipping the optional cayenne), except that I omitted the pumpkin seeds on top. Everyone absolutely LOVED it.

For my own portion, I chose to add a dollop of sour cream at the table, which looked attractive when swirled through the surface with the tip of a knife.

I also found, to my surprise, that the soup even tastes good STONE COLD out of the refrigerator.

We skipped the cayenne and added more red pepper flakes, and we tried a 1/4 cup of orange moscat champagne vinegar to offset the sweetness. It was really quite nice.

If I did this again, I'd puree the onions and garlic before making the broth, it would make it easier both in checking texture and in cleanup.