One of Scott Malensek’s fall favorites is his pumpkin bacon soup. He simmers thick and creamy sweetened condensed milk with smooth and savory pumpkin puree and seasonal spices of cinnamon and clove. It is a luscious base for the final additions: salty bits of crisp bacon and soft chunks of pan-fried pumpkin. “It tastes almost exactly like pumpkin pie,” says Malensek, “with bacon on top of it.”

Pumpkin Bacon Soup | Makes 6-8 servings
Recipe courtesy of The Stew Pot Kitchen

INGREDIENTS
3 1-pound cans pumpkin puree
2 14-ounce cans sweetened condensed milk
3 pounds bacon (hickory-smoked preferred), diced
2 cups diced pumpkin, peeled and seeded
Pinch of salt
Pinch of ground cloves
Pinch of ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS
Add the pumpkin puree and the sweetened condensed milk to a slow cooker and set at high heat. Add in salt, cloves and cinnamon. Stir, cover with lid and let flavors mingle 
for 2 hours. Shortly before serving the soup, heat a frying pan to medium heat and add diced bacon. Fry until crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon and stir into the slow cooker.
Reserve some of the bacon fat in pan. Add diced pumpkin and fry at medium heat until edges are brown. Remove from pan and add to the soup. Stir and serve.