Apple, Bacon, Pumpkin Bisque!
In case you don’t know…. I love soup. Well… I take that back. I don’t love just any soup. Like the canned soup at the grocery store! The kind that if there’s any pieces of chicken in it… it’s almost like dried out mystery cardboard meat. Ewwwwwww. Not that stuff!!! BUT I do LOVE homemade soups. The kind of soup that makes you want to just cuddle up with a good book on a cold fall day. Or the kind of soup that will cure the sniffles after a long day of raking leaves and getting dirty outside. That’s what I love. I also love to cook soup. It’s actually my all-time favorite thing to make. Doesn’t really matter what type. It could be a bisque like this apple, bacon, pumpkin bisque. A hearty potato leek chowder is always a grand meal. Or even a cold remedy like homemade chicken soup made with homemade bone broth. They are all my favorites to cook. I just adore standing over that pot, taste testing as I build the flavors. A little of this… and a little of that. I personally feel that soups are the easiest thing to be creative with. But that’s just my opinion 🙂 It’s a dish that I always feel the love from. The love that went into making it…. as well as the love of devouring it. It’s comfort food at it’s best…. as long as it’s homemade.
Talk about fall in a bowl! Well…. fall plus bacon. And who doesn’t love bacon?? This soup was ridiculously easy to make too. I hope you like it as much as we did. The texture was amazing…. with the creaminess of the bisque and the crunch of the toppings. Oh my… as I’m typing this, I’m wishing there were leftovers!! Looks like I’ll be needing to make a second batch very soon 🙂
- 1 pound bacon, sliced into ¼ inch pieces
- 2 sweet onions, chopped
- 2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and chopped
- 1 (29 oz) can unsweetened pumpkin purée (I used Libby's)
- 4 cups homemade chicken broth, or use "better than bouillon"
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ½ tsp freshly ground nutmeg
- ⅛ cup real maple syrup
- salt and pepper to taste (the bacon adds quite a bit of salt, so taste before seasoning)
- Toppings:
- Homemade Garlic Parmesan Croutons
- Toasted pumpkin seeds
- Reserved cooked bacon pieces
- In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, cook the bacon over medium heat until all the fat is rendered and the bacon is crispy.
- With a slotted spoon, remove the bacon pieces to a paper-towel lined plate to cool. Set aside to use later as the topping.
- Leave about 2 Tablespoons of grease in the pot. Pour the excess grease into a jar (the excess drippings can be used in other recipes). Add the chopped onions. Cook over medium heat for 4-6 minutes. Add the chopped apples and cook for another 4-5 minutes, or until the onions start to turn a light golden color.
- Add the pumpkin purée and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Add the chicken broth and bring to a light boil. Turn the heat down to low and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes or until the apples are soft.
- Ladle the soup by batches into a blender or Vitamix, or use a hand blender. Blend until very smooth. Pour back into a clean pot. Add the cream, nutmeg and maple syrup. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer over medium heat, for 5-10 minutes.
- Serve hot with your choice of toppings. Enjoy!
***Gluten-free if you omit the croutons***
Tools I used:
A must is the nutmeg grinder!! Nothing beats freshly grated nutmeg. Period. You can buy whole nutmegs super cheap from Penzey’s Spices… a 1 oz. bag will last forever and at only $3.99 you just can’t beat it! They have fabulous prices on all spices so be sure to check them out.
Vitamix: I completely understand the sticker shock of these bad boys… but they are well worth the money spent. I promise! So start filling that old cookie jar with extra change and you’ll have one in no time 🙂 I was lucky enough to receive mine as a gift… hint hint to all you hubby’s reading this… Christmas is right around the corner, and this is probably one of the only kitchen appliances your spouse won’t be mad at you for buying as a gift!! 🙂 I’m adding the link to the one that I own. There are many different models, but there’s one main reason why I love this model over the others… Because it fits on my counter, underneath my upper cabinets. Most of the other models are taller and don’t fit!
Instead of buying at Amazon, you can also visit Vitamix directly and use the code below to get FREE shipping!
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Other tools:
Thank you for visiting! Please be patient as I am going in a new direction with my site and will post more soon! xoxo ~Kelly
When do you add cream?
Oh my goodness! Thank you for pointing out that I forgot to write that into the instructions!! You add it at the end when you add the nutmeg and maple syrup 🙂 I’ll update the recipe now.