When Thanksgiving rolls around, we get all nostalgic here in Provincetown. The Pilgrim Monument gets in on the action and we do one of the last big “tada’s” before the town gets a little cozier for winter. We tend to stay traditional for Thanksgiving here at The Pointe Restaurant serving all the usual suspects: the bird, the fixings, the pies. That includes pumpkin pie and bread, of course. After all, what’s Thanksgiving without pumpkins? However, if you are doing a Thanksgiving dinner at home or with friends and you are looking for an alternate use for pumpkin (pumpkin pie just isn’t doing it for you? anymore), here’s a recipe to try. Won’t fill the same spot on the table as the pie, but it’ll spunk up your meal and fill your kitchen with the smell of cooked bacon fat. Sigh. That sounds delightful. Yes, please!

Bacon Pumpkin Soup


  • 1 lbs of peeled, non-seeded, cubed pumpkin flesh
  • 1/3rd of a pound cooked and crumbled bacon
  • 1 yellow onion minced
  • 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
  • 1/2 stick of butter
  • 4-1/4 cups of chicken stock
  • 1/2 cup cream
  • pinch of salt and pepper
  • maple syrup and croutons fried in excess bacon fat make an excellent garnish!


Heat the oil along with half of your butter in a large cast iron pan or skillet. Add all of the chopped yellow onion and cook until its translucent or soft. Add three of four strips of bacon and cook until the bacon releases its fat (usually about 4 or 5 minutes). Then increase the heat to medium, add the pumpkin flesh and chicken stock. Once everything starts to boil reduce the heat and simmer until the pumpkin is soft (40-45 minutes). Add cream then bring the soup to the boil again. Once its boiling you can turn off the heat and blend the soup until its velvety smooth. If you like a smoother consistently you can strain it at this point. Melt the remaining butter in a pan over a high heat and fry the rest of the bacon until crisp. Remove the bacon and add to the bottom of four serving bowls. Then using the excess fat, fry up some bread crumbles and set aside. Pour in your soup garnishing with the croutons!