Pumpkin & Goat Cheese Bisque

This rich and creamy Pumpkin Goat Cheese Bisque will warm you up on a cold night.

It also freezes and reheats well, so it lends itself well to meal-prep.

Originally Posted: Jan. 10, 2025

Total Time: 10 min prep + 30 min roasting (optional) + 45 min simmering + 5 minutes blending = 1 – 1.5 hours total

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Intro

It may be a strange thing to say, but of all the video games I’ve played, none have the potential to make me hungrier than Zelda games, especially when it comes to soup.

One day maybe about 10 years ago, I stumbled across this recipe from The Geeky Chef for “Yeto’s Superb Pumpkin and Goat Cheese Soup”, based on a recipe you make while navigating a dungeon in Twilight Princess. It sat there saved in my Pinterest for several years before I finally got around to trying it out.

After making a few changes and variations, I finally settled on a favorite. So here’s my riff on The Geeky Chef’s original recipe.

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Background for This Version

The Geeky Chef’s author, Cassandra Reeder, originally posted this recipe to her blog in 2008. Later, she released her first cookbook in 2015 (I believe I have the 2020 edition myself, and I highly recommend it).

There are some slight variations between the two versions; you can make infinite variations on a soup after all. I took cues from both versions of the recipe, and from there I added a few of my own twists. Some of these twists were inspired by experience from making my Pumpkin Sausage Soup.

One major change I almost always make is to use canned pumpkin instead of whole sliced kabocha or sugar pumpkin. I figure it’s easier for most people to find year-round these days, unless you live near an Asian market that sells kabocha. I also think that it’s less work.

I’ve also found that the juice of one lemon really brightens up this soup and helps balance the richness and tanginess of the goat cheese.

Original Geeky Chef Blog Ingredients

I’ve put the differences in bold:

• 2 lbs. Kabocha or Pumpkin
• ¾ cup White Onion
• 4 cloves Garlic, cloves cut into quarters
• 4 ½ cups fish stock (alternative: chicken or vegetable stock)
• ½ cup Goat Cheese
• 1 ¼ cups cream (optional)
• Fresh Basil
• ¼ cup Olive Oil
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 Salmon Filet (any fish will do) (optional)

Revised Geeky Chef Book Ingredients

When writing the recipe version for the book, she seems to have revised it slightly. Mainly, she increased the garlic slightly and specified using a whole medium onion rather than dicing an onion and measuring out ¾ cup. Much easier to follow.

• 2 lbs. Kabocha or Pumpkin
• 1 medium White Onion
• 5 cloves Garlic, cloves cut into quarters
• 4 ½ cups fish stock (alternative: chicken or vegetable stock)
• ½ cup Goat Cheese
• 1 ¼ cups cream (optional)
• Fresh Basil
• ¼ cup Olive Oil
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 Salmon Filet (any fish will do) (optional)

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Ingredients (My Version)

As stated above, I like to use canned pumpkin instead of whole pumpkin because I think it’s easier to find and easier to work with. I also like to substitute fish stock for Better Than Bouillon Lobster Stock, which gives the soup a really rich flavor. I skip the optional fish filet.

I also like to use several fresh herbs (sage, rosemary, thyme) based on my experience with my Pumpkin Sausage Soup.

• 2 (15oz) cans Pumpkin
  • 2 lbs. of diced kabocha, pumpkin, or butternut squash could work here, too.
• 1 medium White Onion
• 4 – 6 Garlic Cloves
• Oil (as needed)
• 4.5 cups Better Than Bouillon Lobster Stock (or substitute with your choice of fish stock)
• 20 leaves fresh Sage
• 4 sprigs fresh Rosemary
• 6 sprigs fresh Thyme
• ½ cup Goat Cheese (or about 2.5oz or 75g)
  • In the past, I’ve used a small tub of goat cheese crumbles that maybe came to 4 – 6oz.
  • Using a 10oz log of goat cheese (which I mistakenly did one time) renders a very thick sauce instead of a soup, and would probably be great on pasta.
• 1-¼ to 2 cups Heavy Cream
• Juice of 1 Lemon
• Fresh grated Nutmeg, to taste
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Fresh Basil, for garnish (I skip this a lot)

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Note: A Mistake I Made One Time, and Lessons Learned

On the left is a 10oz log of goat cheese I decided to use one time. This is the wrong amount for this recipe. On the right is a 4oz log of goat cheese. This is more like what you’re looking for to use in this recipe.

Using the 10oz log created a “soup” that was far to rich and far too thick. However, the thickness gave me the idea to turn it into a pasta sauce instead (sorry I don’t have any pictures of that), and the richness is what gave me the idea to add lemon juice. This vastly improved all future batches of this bisque.

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Equipment

• Large stock pot or Dutch oven
• A large-capacity blender, such as a Ninja or a Vitamix

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Written Instructions

Total Time: 10 min prep + 30 min roasting (optional) + 45 min simmering + 5 minutes blending = 1 – 1.5 hours total (you may save time by nesting some of these steps together concurrently)

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Roast Pumpkin Puree (Optional)

Note: I usually skip this step nowadays, since it’s more well-suited to using whole sliced pumpkin.

Preheat oven to 425°F (218°C). Scoop the canned pumpkin (or diced fresh pumpkin, tossed with oil) into a glass or stoneware baking dish and level off, then roast in preheated oven. Technically this step is optional for canned pumpkin, but I like to give a little bit of caramelization to the pumpkin similar to the recipe it’s based on.

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Aromatics and Herbs

While pumpkin is roasting, dice onion, quarter garlic cloves, and chop herbs. Heat a Dutch oven or stock pot on the stove, then add cooking oil. Once shimmering, add onions and cook until translucent, about 5 – 6 minutes.

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Add Stock & Pumpkin, Simmer

Add garlic and herbs to the sauteing onions and cook for another 3 – 4 minutes.

Then add 4.5 cups of lobster stock. Since I like to use Better Than Bouillon here, I usually just pour in 4.5 cups of water and then add a spoonful of the bouillon paste. I don’t really measure it.

Take roasted pumpkin puree out of the oven and scoop it into the soup, then stir until combined. Bring soup to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 45 minutes.

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Blending, Adding Goat Cheese & Cream

Add soup to a high power blender and blend until smooth. Work in batches if you have to, but this is also when you’ll be adding your goat cheese. If using crumbled goat cheese, just add about half the carton at a time and blend it in. If using a log of goat cheese you should probably tear it into smaller parts, then blend it in.

Once all of the soup and goat cheese is blended, return it to the Dutch oven or stock pot. Add heavy cream and the juice of one lemon. Then add salt, pepper, and freshly grated nutmeg to taste.

The soup is now ready to serve. Garnish with fresh basil leaves; chiffonade them if you wish to. Like many soups, I like to serve this with bread.

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Freezing

This soup freezes and reheats really well. Unlike other soups I’ve frozen with the cream already mixed in, this one doesn’t seem to split on reheating very often.

A quick tip for any soups that do split on reheating: make a little bit of roux or use a small amount of another starch to bring everything back together.

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