Copycat Zupas Pumpkin Chorizo Soup (Easy One-Pot Fall Dinner)

If you have ever stood in line at Cafe Zupas in October, you know the pumpkin chorizo soup is the one everybody orders. It is creamy, a little smoky, a little spicy, and somehow tastes like fall in a bowl. We finally cracked a copycat version at home, and it might be our new favorite cold-weather dinner.

The best part? This copycat Zupas pumpkin chorizo soup is almost entirely canned ingredients. Brown some chorizo, dump in the cans, let it simmer, and dinner is done in under an hour.

What You’ll Need

Everything here came from a regular grocery run. The chorizo is the raw, Mexican-style kind (we grab the Kroger brand), not the hard Spanish sausage.

• 1 lb ground chorizo (raw, Mexican-style)
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 can (15 oz) pumpkin puree
• 1 can (15 oz) black beans, undrained
• 1 can (15 oz) fire-roasted corn, undrained
• 1 can (10 oz) Rotel diced tomatoes with green chiles, undrained
• 1 can (13.5 oz) full-fat coconut milk
• 1 tsp Better Than Bouillon chicken base
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• Salt to taste (add at the end, the chorizo is salty)
• Chicken stock, only if you want it thinner
• A big pot or Dutch oven (6 quart minimum for a double batch)

How to Make Pumpkin Chorizo Soup

1. Sauté the onion in a splash of oil over medium heat until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook one more minute.
2. Add the chorizo and break it up into small bits as it browns. Once there is no pink left, spoon off most of the grease.
3. Stir in the pumpkin, black beans, corn, Rotel, and coconut milk. Do not drain the cans. That liquid is your broth.
4. Add the bouillon, smoked paprika, cumin, oregano, and pepper. Stir until the pumpkin is fully blended in.
5. Bring to a gentle simmer with the lid cracked and let it go 20 to 25 minutes, stirring now and then so the bottom does not scorch.
6. Taste and add salt only if it needs it. Thin with a splash of stock if it is thicker than you like. Serve with the toppings below.

Copycat Zupas Pumpkin Chorizo Soup

A creamy, smoky one-pot copycat of the Cafe Zupas fall favorite. Brown the chorizo, add the cans, simmer, and dinner is done.

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Total Time 50 minutes mins

Servings: 6 servings

Course: Main Course, Soup

Cuisine: American

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 1 lb ground chorizo raw, Mexican-style
• 1 yellow onion diced
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1 can pumpkin puree 15 oz
• 1 can black beans 15 oz, undrained
• 1 can fire-roasted corn 15 oz, undrained
• 1 can Rotel diced tomatoes with green chiles 10 oz, undrained; use mild for kids
• 1 can full-fat coconut milk 13.5 oz
• 1 tsp Better Than Bouillon chicken base
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• salt to taste, add at the end
• chicken stock optional, to thin

Method

 

1. Sauté the onion in a splash of oil over medium heat until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 more minute.
2. Add the chorizo and break it into small bits as it browns. Once no pink remains, spoon off most of the grease.
3. Stir in the pumpkin, black beans, corn, Rotel, and coconut milk. Do not drain the cans.
4. Add the bouillon, smoked paprika, cumin, oregano, and pepper. Stir until the pumpkin is fully blended in.
5. Bring to a gentle simmer with the lid cracked and cook 20 to 25 minutes, stirring occasionally so the bottom does not scorch.
6. Taste and add salt only if needed. Thin with stock if desired. Serve with tortilla chips, shredded cheese, sour cream, and lime.

Notes

Doubles easily for a crowd (use a 7 to 8 quart pot) and freezes well. Rotel with green chiles has a real kick; use mild for little kids.

Why We Love This Recipe

This is the kind of dinner that looks like you tried hard and really took no effort at all. One pot, mostly cans, and it feeds a crowd for a few dollars a bowl. The pumpkin makes it creamy without any dairy, the coconut milk mellows the spice, and the chorizo does all the seasoning work for you. The toppings bar is half the reason our kids will eat it. Set out tortilla chips and shredded cheese and watch them go back for seconds.

Tips for the Best Pumpkin Chorizo Soup

• Do not skip the Better Than Bouillon. The undrained cans give you plenty of liquid, but without it the soup tastes a little flat.
• Rotel with green chiles gives it a real kick. For a crowd with little kids, use the mild version and add hot sauce to the individual bowls.
• Kroger chorizo runs greasy, so spoon off the fat after browning or the soup will be oily.
• Doubling it is easy and it freezes beautifully. For a double batch use a 7 to 8 quart pot and give it a full 25 minutes to simmer.
• Topping bar: tortilla chips or strips, shredded cheddar or pepper jack, sour cream, lime wedges, and cilantro.
• Taking it to a potluck? Leave it in the pot with the lid on, wrap it in a towel, and it will stay hot for over an hour.

If you try it, tell us in the comments how spicy you went, and whether anyone at your table could tell it was not from Zupas.

Looking for more cozy fall dinners? Try our 8 Cozy Fall Soup Recipes to Make This Season next.