Jamie's easy pumpkin soup and crunchy croutons
Jamie says: "With vibrant pumpkin and sweet apple, this simple, seasonal soup is pretty hands off – you just chuck it all together, roast, then blitz until you have a creamy, velvety soup. My cheesy sage croutons are a game-changer and take this humble autumnal dish to the next level."

- Preheat the oven to gas 6, 200°C, fan 180°C. Scrub the pumpkin or squash, slice in half and scoop out the seeds, then roughly chop the flesh. Peel and slice the onions into wedges. Chuck it all into a large roasting tin, drizzle over 2 tbsp olive oil, then roast for 30 mins or until soft and gnarly.
- Meanwhile, core the apples and slice into wedges, and bash and peel the garlic cloves. When the time’s up, chuck them all into the tin with a few sage leaves and roast for a further 10 mins.
- Slice the bread into 2cm chunks and put on a baking tray, then pick over the remaining sage leaves. Drizzle with 1 tbsp oil, toss to coat and spread out into a single layer. Finely grate over 20g of the Cheddar and bake for 5 mins or until golden and crisp.
- Remove the pumpkin tin from the oven and tip everything into a large pan over a medium heat. Crumble in the stock cube, pour over 1ltr
of boiling water and grate in the remaining Cheddar. Bring to the boil and cook for a couple of mins, then remove from the heat and blitz until smooth.
- Season to perfection, then divide between bowls and top with the croutons and crispy sage. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil, if you like.
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Freezing and defrosting guidelines
Freeze soup only. In order to enjoy optimum flavour and quality, frozen items are best used within 3 months of their freezing date. For more tips on freezing and defrosting food, read our article Love Your Freezer.
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