Recipes Soups Vegetable Soups Squash Soups Pumpkin Soup with Sage and Ham 5.0 (2) 3 Reviews Savory and silky, this pumpkin soup gets rich fall flavor from aromatic sage and salty ham. By Emily Ziemski Emily Ziemski Emily Ziemski is a recipe developer, editor, and food writer with a focus on sustainability and wellness. Previously a senior food editor at Well+Good and food editor at Food52, she's best known for the creation of the Dirty Martini Salad Dressing (for which she apologizes). Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Updated on August 24, 2026 Save Rate PRINT Share Close Credit: © Matt Armedariz Cook Time: 40 mins Total Time: 1 hr Servings: 4 Yield: 4 Jump to recipe Pumpkin, sage, and salty ham create a comforting soup with savory depth and a subtle sweetness.Canned pumpkin makes this soup especially easy to prepare, while onion, carrot, celery, and apple build flavor in the base.The soup takes about an hour from start to finish, making it a practical choice for a cozy fall dinner or first course. Sage and pumpkin are a perfect pair. Add chunks of apple and ham, and you have the makings of a delicious autumn soup. We use canned pumpkin here in the name of speed, but in fact it tastes as good as fresh once it simmers with the vegetables and herbs. What’s the best wine to use for cooking? It’s common to see a recipe that calls for “cooking wine,” but there’s no reason to buy a separate bottle for the kitchen. Cheap or poor-quality wine can leave behind undesirable flavors, since although the alcohol cooks off, the wine’s other flavors remain. Instead, use a wine you enjoy drinking, or use up that half bottle of wine that didn’t get finished last week. Wine that’s a day or two past its prime is still perfectly good for cooking, as long as it doesn’t have obvious off flavors or aromas. Notes from the Food & Wine Test Kitchen If the soup becomes too thick, simply add extra broth or water to achieve the desired consistency. Suggested pairing Let a cool Sauvignon Blanc or Fumé Blanc from California bring its own combination of fruit and herbal flavors into play with the apple and sage of the soup. Keep Screen Awake Ingredients 1/2x 1x 2x Oops! Something went wrong. Our team is working on it. This recipe was developed at its original yield. Ingredient amounts are automatically adjusted, but cooking times and steps remain unchanged. Note that not all recipes scale perfectly. Original recipe (1X) yields 4 servings 3 tablespoons butter 1 onion, chopped 1 carrot, chopped 1 rib celery, chopped 1/2 tart apple, such as Granny Smith, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch dice 2 cups canned pumpkin puree (from 1 [29-ounce] can) 1/3 cup dry white wine 1 tablespoon dried sage 1 bay leaf 3 1/2 cups water 2 1/2 cups canned low-sodium chicken broth or homemade stock 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1/2 pound ham, cut into 1/4-inch dice Directions In a large pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, celery, and apple and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent, about 10 minutes. Stir in the pumpkin puree, wine, sage, and bay leaf. Add the water, broth, salt, and pepper and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered, for 15 minutes. Add the ham and simmer, uncovered, until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes longer. Remove the bay leaf. Serve warm. This recipe was first published in Food & Wine’s 1998 cookbook, Quick From Scratch Herbs & Spices; the text was written in part by Emily Ziemski. Cook this recipe and more in the MyRecipes app. Get the App Save Rate Print Loading shell for RecipesUgcThreaded1 Vue component in Globe.