Pumpkin Apple Bacon Soup

Calling all pumpkin lovers! Also bacon lovers. Oh, and apple. Basically, if you love Fall flavors like I do, this Pumpkin Apple Bacon Soup is going to fill your taste buds with joy. This soup is thick and creamy with savory onions, smoky bacon, hearty pumpkin and sweet apples – perfect comfort food. It’s also warm and filling and a good-sized bowl will only set you back 209 calories or 5 Weight Watchers points!

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I like super thick, creamy soups, but if you want to thin yours out a little feel free to add an additional cup of broth. If you’re on the lookout for more hot and tasty soup recipes now that the weather is getting colder, check out my Creamy Chicken & Wild Rice Soup, Cheeseburger Soup, Spaghetti & Meatball Soup, Chicken Tortilla Soup, Butternut Squash Soup, Roasted Poblano Corn Chowder, Herbed Chicken & Dumplings or Roasted Tomato Basil Soup.

Pumpkin Apple Bacon Soup

Yield: 6 (1-1/3 cup) servings

Ingredients:

• 6 slices center cut bacon
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 medium apples, peeled and chopped
• 5 cups fat free, less sodium chicken broth
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• ½ teaspoon dried thyme
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• 30 oz canned pumpkin puree
• 3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
• 4 oz 1/3 less fat cream cheese, softened and cubed

Directions:

1. Prepare the bacon according to package directions until crispy. Place cooked bacon on a few paper towels to dry and cool. Reserve one tablespoon of the bacon grease and discard the rest. Chop the bacon into small pieces, separating two slices worth of chopped bacon from the rest (reserved for garnish).
2. Place the tablespoon of bacon grease in a Dutch oven or soup pot and bring over medium heat. Add the onions and apples and stir to coat. Cook for 8-10 minutes until onions are translucent. Add the broth, salt, pepper, thyme and cinnamon and stir together. Bring the mixture to a boil and boil for 5 minutes until apples are softened.
3. Add the pumpkin, brown sugar and bacon pieces (4 slices worth) and stir until well combined. Reduce the heat to med-low and cook for about 10 minutes.
4. When soup is done cooking, add the cream cheese and puree the soup completely, either by using an immersion blender directly in the pot or by pouring the soup in batches into a normal blender, until smooth. Soup will be thick and creamy. Serve with the remaining bacon pieces sprinkled over top as garnish.

Weight Watchers Freestyle SmartPoints:
5 per (1 1/3 cup) serving (SP calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com)

Weight Watchers Points Plus:
5 per (1 1/3 cup) serving (P+ calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com)

Nutrition Information:
209 calories, 28 g carbs, 18 g sugars, 8 g fat, 5 g saturated fat, 7 g protein, 5 g fiber (from myfitnesspal.com)

Adapted from Brown Eyed Baker