Slow cooker bacon and pumpkin soup is a wonderful and simple combination of flavours. Why not serve with a low carb grain free bread and lashings of butter. See below for the recipes.
After I published my low carb chocolate pumpkin pie and it was an absolute hit, it got me to thinking of new ways to serve pumpkin. My slow cooker bacon and pumpkin soup just gets thrown together in the slow cooker for an easy family meal – a really easy set and forget meal.
Slow cooker bacon and pumpkin soup
If you have been following Ditch The Carbs for a while, you will know how much I rely on my slow cooker. You just bung everything in (no I don’t pre cook, fry, sauté or any other time wasting nonsense), turn it on, and you have the most wonderful dinner to come home to.
What is a bacon hock?
I have used bacon hock and bacon bones before in recipes but my American followers are confused. The picture below shows what I can buy here in New Zealand. By definition, bacon hock is similar to ham hock.
They are the same joint from the pig but bacon is cured and salted, whereas ham is salted and cooked.
The confusion arises because bacon is generally made from a flank of meat with no bone. If you can’t find a bacon hock where you live, ask your butcher for a ham hock or some other similar cured joint of meat. Let us know in the comments at the end what you have found in your country.
This is the perfect recipe for a busy family. Low carb slow cooker bacon & pumpkin soup.In reality, any meat bones would be lovely in this recipe, but you may need to add salt and flavourings if the meat is not cured in any way. I don’t add salt or herbs to this recipe because the bacon hock imparts a lovely salty smokey flavour.
If you were to use chicken bones for example, you might want to add some rosemary, garlic or other herbs and seasoning to taste. Remember to remove all the bones before serving, especially chicken bones which are tiny. Why not keep the bones from roast dinners in the freezer, ready for when you want to make slow cooker soups?
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- Bacon hock
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- Cubed pumpkin
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- Pull the bacon from the bone
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- Bubbling away
Removing the meat from the bones
Bacon hock is so cheap and so tasty. Once it has been cooking in the slow cooker for a few hours, remove the joint of meat from the slow cooker and place it on a chopping board to start pulling the meat away from the bones.
All the collagen, gelatine and amazing nutrients will have been boiled into the soup so you may discard the bones now and place the meat back into the slow cooker dish.
You can serve the pumpkin and bacon soup as it is, rustic, lumpy and pieces of meat clearly visible. Personally, I like to make it smooth with my stick/immersion blender. It’s completely up to you.
Slow Cooker Bacon And Pumpkin Soup
Instructions
- Place the bacon hock and diced pumpkin in the slow cooker.
- Cover with boiling water.
- Cook on HIGH for 3-4 hours or LOW for 6-10 hours.
- Cooking times are approximate as each slow cooker varies and generally you can keep this cooking for extremely long periods which just makes the bacon meat more tender.
- After you see the meat coming away from the bones, remove the joint carefully and place on a chopping board. Gently pull the meat away from the bones and place the meat back into the slow cooker. Discard the bones.
- When ready to serve, it can be left as it is, or it can be pureed until smooth.
- Serve with sour cream or cream cheese (optional if not paleo).
No nutritional values are given because each bacon hock will vary in size, each bacon hock will vary with what is has been cured with (avoid those with high sugars), how much water will fit in the slow cooker and hence dilute the soup.
Pumpkin is 6.5g net carbs per 100g
Bacon is negligible carbs depending on whether it has been cured using sugars
Why not serve with a low carb focaccia bread? This can be made as one loaf or rolled out to become a flatbread. Simply slice and serve with lashings of butter or toast before serving.
You can also add garlic butter. Either to the bread or as a garnish to the bacon and pumpkin soup.
I also have a recipe for garlic bread and almond flour bread. Both are quick and easy.
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Gail Tomlinson says
Thank you for the recipe. Sounds SO good! cant wait to make it. Can you please tell me what a “serving size” is considered? Would it be 1 cup?
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
Generally, I would suggest 2 cups would be a regular serving size. The nutrition panel may vary slightly depending on how much water you add to the soup and how thick you like it.
Lucy Brown says
Question – no herbs or spices?
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
Nope! The bacon imparts a beautiful flavour. If you wanted to amp up the flavours, you could add some ginger and chilli, or even some flavoured stock – yummo!
Elizabeth Gregory says
Am cooking this as I type in my slow cooker. I found Smithfield Smoked Pork Hocks (Hardwood smoked and cured with no sugars) in my local Walmart. I’ve tasted the broth and can’t make up my mind if it needs “something” in the flavoring added. Thanks for the recipe Libby! 11/03/2018
Taya says
I have a vegetarian friend will this recipe work with out the bacon?
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
Absolutely, but you may have to add more flavourings to make up for the lack of flavour. Why not try my pumpkin and coconut soup instead? An easy vegetarian low-carb meal – and why not serve with my cheesey keto garlic bread? The perfect match.
Jeanette Clayton says
I added 250g of cream cheese to this recipe as I only had 4 rashers of bacon and no hock, also some garlic and onion powder and it was beautiful. I made some croutons by accidentally putting too much psyllium in my mug cake along with garlic butter instead of ordinary butter. Thepsyllium made the mug cake very dense so I cut it into 6 slices and toasted them to a lovely crispness and sprinkled them into the soup…delish❣️
Jess says
This is SUCH A GOOD RECIPE! I love how easy it is, and my kids had third helpings cos they enjoyed it so much. A winter staple meal for us.
Sandra Brosch says
I use smoked ham hocks all the time but only the ones I get in Lancaster County PA (Amish country). Great when cooking beans of any kind – and in the south, greens.
Judi says
Due to a Family Member not eating Bacon, I have made a batch of soup using a whole Smoked Chicken. I broke it up before I put it into the Slow Cooker and removed the smaller bones. It still imparts the same smokey taste. Delicious
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
What a brilliant tip! Thank you.
Joy says
Just can’t get enough of pumpkin soup. Have tried different versions intge last few weeks. My favourite version is one with an asian twist: ginger, garlic, kaffir lime leafs and a chili pepper and cilantro. It’s so good. Got some cooking in the slowcooker right now.
Nadja says
We make it with butternut squash too. Libby’s recipes are always delicious. 🙂
Joy says
Thanks for the inspiration Libby. It’s been a pretty cold day week and when I saw the picture of this soup popping up on my FB I really wanted it bad.
It’s simmering in the slowcooker right now. I’ve had my slowcooker for a while now, but I’ve never made soup in it.
I’ve sauteed the bacon first with some onions, tossed in 2 gloves of garlic and a full spoon of wonderful chubritza herbs. When it’s done, I’m going to blitz it and pour some double cream in. Mmmm