Straddling the space between hearty and light, this Creamy Roasted Sweet Potato Soup is a comforting meal that is luxurious, creamy, and perfectly starchy and sweet - thanks to roasted sweet potatoes.
There's something unequivocally comforting about a bowl of soup when the weather turns cool and crisp. Hearty soups, creamy soups, spicy soups, noodle soups, I don't discriminate, I love 'em all.
Especially this beautifully simple sweet potato soup.
The soup I'm about to lay on you lives in the space between hearty and light. It's creamy and luxurious, each spoonful bursting with sweet potato flavor bolstered by complementary seasonings; garlic, onion, brown sugar, and smoked paprika offer a beautiful balance to this creamy bowl of sweet potato goodness.
This soup requires a handful of pantry staples and a willingness to blend the soup. Give me that and you'll have a lovely soup, and with leftovers to boot. Seriously, this is the best sweet potato soup.
If you love sweet potatoes give my air fryer sweet potatoes and these creamy mashed sweet potatoes a try next! And by the way, this soup is great paired with a crispy protein, like this air-fried walleye.
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Why You Will Love This Sweet Potato Soup Recipe
- Easily Customizable. The beauty of this simple soup being mild-flavored is that you can easily switch up the flavor profile, depending on your mood. A few dashes of hot sauce, a swirl of crema, a peppering of fresh or dried herbs, a sprinkling of shredded cheese, and voila, each bowlful can be a unique experience.
- Perfect to Meal Prep. While the soup comes together pretty quickly once you bake the sweet potatoes, you can even bake them a bit in advance, and then assemble the soup at a later time. The soup reheats beautifully and you can freeze it in individual portion sizes for quick single-serve meals.
- Simple Seasonings. The seasonings are kept to a minimum! One, to let the flavor of the sweet potato star and two out of pure laziness.
Ingredients
To make this lovely soup recipe you will need the following ingredients:
- Sweet potatoes - The star of the soup! They get roasted first, which brings out this lovely sweetness that's so irresistible in this cozy soup.
- Garlic and yellow onion - Both add lovely aromatics here that are so subtle and good against sweet potato. You could also use leeks or shallots.
- Chicken stock - Or use vegetable stock to keep it vegetarian.
- Whole milk - You could also use 2% milk or coconut milk instead. A little fat adds just the right amount of creaminess here.
- Seasonings - Smoked paprika, salt, turmeric, and cayenne pepper (optional) - The seasonings are kept simple, adding subtle smoky and earthy notes throughout (and just a little spicy if you opt in on the cayenne pepper).
- Light brown sugar - Just a little punches up the sweetness even more.
How to Make Sweet Potato Soup - Directions
- Score the sweet potatoes with a sharp knife in an X and bake at 350 for about an hour, or until the sweet potatoes are fully cooked. Remove from the oven, slice each sweet potato in half, and let them cool.
- Heat salted butter over medium heat in a large saucepan. Add onions and garlic to the pot and cook for five minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add chicken stock to the pot and increase the heat to medium-high. Scoop out the sweet potato flesh and add to the pot.
- Add the smoked paprika, light brown sugar, salt, turmeric, and cayenne pepper to the pot. Stir everything together.
- Cook over medium-high heat for 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low and use a stick blender to blend smooth. Or blend in a blender in batches.
- Stir in the whole milk. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.
- Serve and garnish with pepitas and crema (optional), or whatever tasty toppings you have on hand.
Top Tips for the BEST Sweet Potato Soup
Enjoy with Bread: This makes around 5-6 servings, factoring in tasty garnishes and a carby, dippable side spread with homemade garlic butter.
Storage: This soup is best eaten within five days if stored in the refrigerator. It also freezes well for up to 3 months.
Add Some Garnishes: I love mine with pepitas and some crema but you can also experiment with crunchy toppings such as croutons and seeds, a spoonful of sour cream or yogurt for added creaminess, or some spices or herbs to boost the flavor.
Serving Ideas: This soup pairs well with meaty mains like my pulled pork tostadas, spicy sloppy joes, and Instant Pot arm roast.
Tasty Toppings
- A swirl of sour cream, crema, or Greek yogurt adds richness.
- Go crunchy with nuts like pecans, pepitas, or walnuts, crispy roasted chickpeas, or crackers or croutons. Or these homemade tortilla strips.
- Fresh herbs make a lovely and bright addition: try parsley, chives, or thyme.
- Nothing wrong with a few chili flakes or a few dashes of a favorite hot sauce for heat.
- Fresh-squeezed lime juice or a squeeze of lemon adds welcome acidity.
- If you like it sweet, a drizzle of maple syrup or honey does wonders to enhance the natural sweetness of the soup.
- Warming spices like cumin, curry powder, cinnamon, or nutmeg are all great additions to this creamy soup.
- Might I suggest some crispy bacon bits or pancetta to contribute a salty richness?
Recipe FAQs
Although boiling softens sweet potatoes, it doesn't do much to improve their flavor. Roasting sweet potatoes in the oven allows them to take on this amazing caramelization. It makes them taste sweeter and allows them to impart a naturally velvety flavor when blended.
You can swap in 2% milk in place of whole milk, use olive oil instead of butter and use vegetable stock instead of chicken to keep it vegetarian. And experiment with garnishes like bacon bits, walnuts, feta cheese crumbles, or a dash of cinnamon.
More Easy Soup Recipes
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Creamy Roasted Sweet Potato Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 pounds sweet potatoes
- 2 tablespoons butter (salted)
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- ½ cup yellow onion finely diced
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
- 2 dashes cayenne pepper (optional)
- ½ cup whole milk
- pepitas (optional, garnish)
- crema (optional, garnish)
Instructions
- Score sweet potatoes with a sharp knife in an X and bake at 350 for about an hour, or until the sweet potatoes are fully cooked.3 pounds sweet potatoes
- Remove from oven, slice each sweet potato in half, and let cool.
- In a large pot, melt 2 tablespoons of salted butter over medium heat.2 tablespoons butter
- Add ½ cup diced yellow onion and 3 minced cloves of garlic to the pot. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.3 cloves garlic, ½ cup yellow onion
- Add 4 cups of chicken stock and increase heat to medium-high.4 cups chicken stock
- Scoop out the sweet potato and add to the pot. Reserve the skins for another use or toss.
- Add 1 teaspoon smoked paprika, 1 tablespoon light brown sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon turmeric, and 2 dashes of cayenne (optional) and stir.1 teaspoon smoked paprika, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon turmeric, 1 tablespoon light brown sugar, 2 dashes cayenne pepper
- Continue cooking over medium-high heat for 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Using a stick blender, blend until smooth. Or blend in a blender in batches.
- Add ½ cup whole milk and stir. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.½ cup whole milk
- Garnish with pepitas and crema (optional), or whatever tasty toppings you have on hand.pepitas, crema
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