Sweet Potato Soup

This sweet potato soup recipe is one of my favorite healthy comfort foods. Made with veggies, coconut milk, and spices, it's rich, creamy, and delicious.

Sweet potato soup

Jack and I spent the first official week of fall eating bowl after bowl of this sweet potato soup. I don’t know what it is about creamy orange soup, but for some reason, it just seems like the perfect meal on a chilly day. Its vibrant color brightens up gray, dreary weather, and its velvety broth warms you from the inside out.

Most years, I make my butternut squash soup or pumpkin soup on repeat at the start of fall, but right now, I’m still stuck on this sweet potato soup. It has a rich, sweet, and smoky flavor, with a tangy finish from apple cider vinegar. The texture is wonderfully smooth and creamy, which makes a single bowl feel really substantial.

If you find yourself craving cozy comfort food in the next couple of weeks, this sweet potato soup recipe is exactly what you should make. It’s simple, nourishing, and deliciously unexpected. Crusty bread for serving is optional, but highly recommended.

Sweet potato soup recipe ingredients

Sweet Potato Soup Recipe Ingredients

Another thing I love about this sweet potato soup recipe? To make it, you only need a handful of ingredients:

  • Sweet potatoes, of course! They give the soup its sweet flavor, vibrant color, and luscious texture.
  • An apple – It brings out the sweetness of the sweet potatoes.
  • Onion and garlic – For savory depth of flavor.
  • Coriander and ginger – They add warm, aromatic flavor to the soup.
  • Smoked paprika – It gives the soup its delicious smokiness.
  • Extra-virgin olive oil and coconut milk – For richness.
  • Vegetable broth – Use store-bought, or make your own.
  • Apple cider vinegar – For tang.
  • And sea salt – To make all the flavors pop!

Find the complete recipe with measurements below.

Sweet potatoes and apples in Dutch oven with wooden spoon

How to Make This Sweet Potato Soup

This sweet potato soup recipe is soup-er (I had to!) simple to make. Here’s how it goes:

First, sauté the veggies. In a large pot or Dutch oven, cook the onion until it softens, for about 5 minutes. Then, add the sweet potatoes and apple and cook until they start to soften, for another 8 to 10 minutes.

Pouring coconut milk into pot with sweet potatoes, apples, and broth

Next, stir in the seasonings. Add the garlic, ginger, coriander, and smoked paprika and stir until they’re fragrant. Then, mix in the apple cider vinegar, followed by the broth and the coconut milk. (Tip: I like to reserve 1/4 cup of my coconut milk for garnish. It creates such a pretty white swirl on the orange soup!)

Then, simmer. Bring the soup to a boil, cover the pot, and simmer until the sweet potatoes are tender.

Finally, puree the soup! Allow the soup to cool slightly before transferring it to a large blender and pureeing until smooth. (Alternatively, you could use an immersion blender for this step.) If the soup is too thick, blend in a little more broth. When it reaches your desired consistency, season to taste and serve.

That’s it!

Pot of creamy sweet potato soup

Sweet Potato Soup Serving Suggestions

When you’re ready to eat, portion the creamy sweet potato soup into bowls. Garnish it with a swirl of coconut milk, fresh cilantro, Aleppo pepper or red pepper flakes, and pepitas for crunch.

I often eat the soup as a meal on its own (with a thick slice of crusty bread, of course!), but it’s also fantastic with a salad or roasted vegetables on the side. Try pairing it with any of these recipes:

Enjoy!

Sweet potato soup recipe

More Favorite Soup Recipes

If you love this sweet potato soup recipe, try one of these delicious soups next:

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Sweet Potato Soup

rate this recipe:
4.93 from 235 votes
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Serves 4
On a cold winter or fall night, warm up with this creamy sweet potato soup! It's healthy, comforting, and filled with delicious sweet and smoky flavor. Vegan and gluten-free.

Ingredients

Serving Options

  • Pepitas, for garnish
  • Fresh cilantro, for garnish
  • Aleppo pepper or red pepper flakes, for garnish
  • Crusty bread, for serving

Instructions

  • Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, salt, and several grinds of pepper and sauté until soft, 5 to 8 minutes. Add the sweet potatoes and the apple and cook until they begin to soften, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes.
  • Add the garlic, ginger, coriander, and smoked paprika and stir. Stir in the apple cider vinegar and then 3 cups of the broth and the coconut milk. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook until the potatoes are tender, 20 to 30 minutes.
  • Let cool slightly and pour the soup into a blender, working in batches if necessary, and blend until smooth. If your soup is too thick, add up to 1 cup more broth and blend. Season to taste and top with a swirl of coconut milk, pepitas, cilantro, and Aleppo pepper, if desired. Serve with crusty bread.

Notes

This soup thickens as it cools. If reheating it, stir in a little water to create a smooth, creamy consistency.

229 comments

4.93 from 235 votes (118 ratings without comment)

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Rate this recipe (after making it)




  1. Stephie Vallace
    10.17.2021

    This is a great soup! I added fresh pumpkin chunks and removed one sweet potato. Garnish with EVOO, as I do with all soups. I roasted my own pumpkin seeds and make them Spicy with cayenne to add a spice.

  2. Melissa O
    10.16.2021

    4 stars
    I just don’t love puréed soups and felt like something was missing. I added pickled red onions and pepitas- but kept feeling like something else was missing. It may just be me. We ate the whole thing and calories wise it’s super healthy. Enjoy !

  3. Susan
    10.16.2021

    5 stars
    Delicious soup! The recipe was easy to follow and so well balanced. The perfect Fall soup.

  4. Allie Corcoran
    10.16.2021

    5 stars
    I loved this! Warming in a rainy day. Served with cumin roasted chickpeas for a little extra protein!

  5. Judy
    10.16.2021

    5 stars
    So easy, perfect for a crisp fall day with a slice of that no knead bread!! Yum!

  6. Tova teitelbaum
    10.16.2021

    5 stars
    This was really easy to make and not too sweet.

  7. Sarah Zuber
    10.14.2021

    5 stars
    Sweet, hearty, healthy, and perfect for fall. It makes a lot so I froze half to enjoy again later.

  8. Doris Dempsey
    10.13.2021

    5 stars
    The sweet potato soup is so delicious!!! Definitely my new go-to fall soup recipe! Thank you so much for another great recipe!

  9. wendy
    10.12.2021

    5 stars
    This soup was absolutely yummy! Love the different flavors and the vinegar did indeed give it a bright tang. Thanks for sharing!

  10. Ann Marie Henry
    10.11.2021

    5 stars
    My local Whole Foods was out of full-fat coconut milk, so I used light coconut milk. The soup was still delicious. I added pepitas, crushed red pepper, and cilantro for a garnish. It added a nice crunch and spicy heat to this yummy soup.

  11. Hannah Bahler
    10.11.2021

    5 stars
    Delicious fall soup. I used chicken broth and topped it with bacon, toasted bread crumbs and cilantro.

  12. Sarah Abraham
    10.10.2021

    Yummy! Added some orange lentils and it tasted delish.

  13. Lauri Leland
    10.08.2021

    5 stars
    It was raining when I woke up and your Sweet Potato Soup was calling my name! It hit the spot! So creamy and wonderful depth of flavor. I added some farro for some extra grains. Will make it again and again!

  14. Debby Dikih
    10.08.2021

    This was an easy and delicious recipe. I loved adding the apple. Definitely a keeper! And I love the idea of the Cooking Club!

  15. Maria Hatfield
    10.07.2021

    Delish! Good hearty soup. Not too sweet.

  16. Sabrina Belmont
    10.06.2021

    5 stars
    Simple and delicious. A perfect fall soup!
    We’re not vegetarian around here, but I try and keep our household as veggie forward as possible without a revolt :]
    When I went to make it I realized I didn’t have coriander, but I did have ras el hanout which contains it (as well as ginger, clove, turmeric…) and it turned out delish!

  17. Sam Schroth
    10.06.2021

    5 stars
    I have every intention of making this soup over and over again. It’s so simple, so fall, and so delicious!

  18. Brooke Stone
    10.05.2021

    4 stars
    Super silky and delicious! It was a little sweet for me tasting it right out of the pot, but adding the red pepper flakes, pepitas and cilantro to my bowl balanced it out nicely. The swirl of coconut milk looked pretty but I’m not sure I noticed it flavor wise. My husband loved it sans toppings though, and he’s not usually one to go for pureed soups, go figure!

  19. Hollis Ramsey
    10.05.2021

    I’m not vegan and I don’t have any vegetable broth. I’d rather not use water just to keep it vegan. For the sake of the contest, must I stay vegan, or am I allowed to use the delicious chicken bone broth I just made?

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      10.05.2021

      You can absolutely use any broth you’d like 🙂

  20. Madelyn
    09.28.2021

    Hi! This recipe looks like the perfect fall treat.
    Unfortunately, I can’t tolerate coconut products. Do you have any recommended substitutions? Thank you!

    • Virginia
      09.29.2021

      5 stars
      Hi Madelyn, unless cashews are a problem, I make a lot of my creamy soups with veggie broth and stir in a scoop of “cashew cream” at the end for that creamy effect.

      (I soak raw unsalted cashews in very hot water for about an hour or so and process them in my magic bullet blender until very smooth and thick, adding a bit of water to help move things along.)

      The soup won’t have that coconut taste, so you might want to up the spices a bit, but you do have that nice creaminess, and some additional protein as a bonus.

      Hope that helps. It’s a great recipe worth making!

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Photograph of Jeanine Donofrio and Jack Mathews in their kitchen

Hello, we're Jeanine and Jack.

We love to eat, travel, cook, and eat some more! We create & photograph vegetarian recipes from our home in Chicago, while our shiba pups eat the kale stems that fall on the kitchen floor.