I always get excited to make this sweet potato soup during fall and winter. It’s a nourishing, creamy blend of sweet potatoes, carrots, fresh ginger, and a hint of spice.
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Why You’ll Love My Sweet Potato Soup
- It’s a lot more flavorful than you think. And that’s all thanks to the ginger, red pepper, and paprika. But don’t worry, it’s not spicy!
- It’s made for sweet potato season. I’m such a big fan of sweet potato recipes. And this soup is a great slurpable way to make the most of this healthy, versatile fall and winter vegetable.
- It works for any meal. It’s light enough for a starter or side dish, and pairs beautifully with a variety of mains.
- It’s creamy but dairy-free. With its silky smooth texture you might think it has dairy, but it’s 100% dairy-free!
I’ll happily eat sweet potatoes all year round. From baked sweet potatoes to roasted sweet potatoes, they’re one of my favorite veggies! But when the weather starts to chill, I find myself making this sweet potato soup on repeat (and meal prepping batches for easy reheating).
It’s just as warm and inviting as my butternut squash soup or carrot ginger soup (both of which you all love), but because I cook with sweet potatoes more regularly, I find myself naturally making this soup more often.
It’s naturally thick and creamy with a heartiness that makes your belly feel cozy. And it’s one of my go-to Vitamix soup recipes that’s super easy to blend. Long story short, make a batch or two to enjoy! I’m confident that you won’t regret finding a frozen batch to reheat on a cold day.
Sweet Potato Soup Ingredients
- Sweet potatoes: Make sure to choose orange or red-skinned sweet potatoes for the right flavor! See my extra notes on sweet potatoes in the recipe card below
- Carrots and yellow onion: These both add natural sweetness, depth, and body to the soup.
- Garlic and ginger: My go-to ingredients for savory flavor and warmth.
- Seasonings: I’m using red pepper flakes and paprika, but you can also add a bit of cayenne pepper for an extra kick.
- Vegetable broth: I’m using vegetable broth, but if you happen to have chicken broth on hand, you can swap that in as well.
Find the printable recipe with measurements below
How To Make Sweet Potato Soup
Cook the diced onions and carrots. Heat the oil in a large stockpot and sauté the onion and carrots for about 6 to 8 minutes, until they begin to soften.
Then, add the seasoning. Add the garlic, ginger, red pepper flakes, and paprika to the pot and stir for about 2 to 3 minutes. I love this part because it makes my kitchen smell so good!
Next, add the diced sweet potato and vegetable broth to the pot. Turn the heat to high, bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat to low to let the soup simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until the sweet potatoes are fork tender.
It’s time to blend! Transfer the soup to a high-powered blender (I love my Vitamix blender for this) and blend on high for one minute, or until it’s creamy. That’s it! If you don’t have a regular blender, you can use an immersion blender. But just note that it might not become quite as silky smooth.
Lisa’s serving tip: After pouring the sweet potato soup into bowls, I like to garnish it with a swirl of coconut cream and light sprinkles of red pepper flakes and black pepper. For extra crunch, you could also add chopped pistachios or even greens like watercress!
A Few Blending Tips
- Make sure your sweet potatoes and carrots are really fork tender. You don’t want to be blending vegetables that are still stiff. Otherwise, you’ll be left with a non-creamy and slightly chunky soup base.
- Do not fill your blender past the maximum fill line. Not only will it not blend as smoothly as you want it to, but you might unexpectedly pop the lid open. Ask me how I know? Lol.
- Remove the cap on your blender to allow steam to escape. Additionally, you can remove the cap on your blender to reduce some of the pressure inside. Just make sure to start blending more slowly, so you don’t squirt sweet potato soup out of the top!
Ways To Store This Soup
I love keeping a batch of this soup on hand for cold days. It will stay good in the fridge for up to 5 days, and in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- For freezing: I like pouring it into these Weck jars or silicone soup trays like Souper Cubes. If you store it in glass jars, just remember to leave an inch of space at the top for expansion. And for the Souper Cubes, I prefer using the 2-cup size for a single-serving portion.
- For reheating: If you froze the soup in a glass jar, let it thaw overnight in the fridge. Then, you can easily microwave it until warmed through. If you froze it in a silicone tray, you can add it to a bowl and microwave it or add it to a pot and reheat on the stovetop.
Make This A Heartier Meal
I’ll often enjoy this soup for a light, cozy dinner. But I also love it as a starter soup or side dish. It’s wonderful alongside wintery mains such as meatloaf, baked pork chops, or roast chicken.
I can also vouch that this is a crowd-pleasing side dish for holiday dinners. I served this for Thanksgiving one year, and the pot was gone by the end of the night!
More Sweet Potato Recipes
- Sweet Potato Breakfast Hash: The perfect fall breakfast!
- Mashed Sweet Potatoes: A must-make for Thanksgiving dinner!
- Healthy Sweet Potato Casserole: Another big holiday favorite.
- BBQ Chicken Stuffed Sweet Potatoes: An all-in-one weeknight dinner.
- Or give these other sweet potato recipes a try!
Description
Video
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil, or olive oil
- 3 carrots, sliced
- 1 yellow onion
- 1 1/2 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, finely chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- 4 cups vegetable broth, or more for thinner consistency
Garnish
- watercress
- pistachios
- coconut cream or yogurt
- red pepper flakes
- cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Cook carrots and onions. Heat the oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the diced onion and carrots and stir frequently for 6 to 8 minutes, or until the carrots have softened slightly.
- Add seasoning. Add the garlic, ginger, red pepper flakes and paprika. Stir for 2-3 minutes or until fragrant.
- Add the diced sweet potato and vegetable broth. Turn the heat to high and bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat to low, add the lid, and simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until the sweet potato is fork-tender.
- Blend. Use a ladle to transfer the soup ingredients to a high-powered blender. Blend on high for one minute or until creamy. You can add more broth or water for a thinner consistency.
- Serve. Pour into a bowl and garnish with coconut cream or yogurt and chopped herbs. I have more topping ideas in the post above!
Lisa’s Tips
- Try not to exceed 1 1/2 pounds of sweet potato. Otherwise, you may exceed the maximum fill line on your blender.
- Remember that you can always add a little water or broth as necessary to achieve a thinner consistency.
-
Sweet potato notes:
- Choose orange or red skinned potatoes. These are known as the “moist varieties” and tend to be sweeter, creamier, and less starchy.
- Don’t be confused with yams. Sometimes, the red and orange potatoes are labeled as yams, but they tend to be more starchy and dry.
- Look for smooth skins and no soft spots. Make sure there are no discolorations and that the potato is nice and firm.
Nutrition
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This recipe was originally posted October 2019, but updated to include new photos and information for your benefit!
Why no celery with the carrots and onion?
There’s no need for celery in this recipe :)
OMG this was so good.
I added a couple of carrots and a bit more garlic.
I used my leftover chicken soup from the weekend for the stock.
This was just amazing.
Made a big batch and will definitely be coming back to make more when it’s done.
Thanks Lisa!
I’m so happy you enjoyed it!
This soup was delicious. I did add a little turmeric powder and a small baby leek. I just wanted to say thanks for sharing this recipe. It will definitely be one of my favourites 😋
Love the little additions you added to this Silvia!
Thankyou for a great delicious recipe. I made this sweet potato soup today for friends for lunch and we all loved it. Definately I will be making it again. Antonietta
Yay! Glad everyone enjoyed this sweet potato soup Antonietta :)
Quick easy and very tasty. I added a little bit of Cayenne pepper as I wanted more of a kick.
The teenagers loved it too as a little sweet. Will now be one of our go to meals.
Thanks for sharing this recipe 😁
EXCELLENT Transitional soup for those chilly winter-spring days with grounding sweet potatoes and bright carrots. Added spinach, garnished with olive oil and pistachios. It was an energy powerhouse! Zowie! To be repeated….Thank you, Lisa!
This is a perfect recipe transitioning from winter to early spring days. So yummy!
Wow what a great recipe I have used this recipe twice now and everyone who tries the soup wants the recipe! It really does taste that good. I know its not mentioned but before blending add 3 or 4 pinches of cracked black pepper and 2 pinches of salt. That is a nice finishing touch. But obviously to taste. Lovely taste
Made this soup. I’m usually not a soup person but this soup is delicious! I can eat the whole pot.
Omg this soup is delish!!!! I did end up leaving the sweet potato skins on, but everything else I followed. So thick and yummy. Thanks for the recipe!
I made the soup for my wife and I she swears I bought it and out it in the pot. It was easily understood and delicioyd.. Thank You
Happy to hear you and your wife enjoyed this sweet potato soup :)
This recipe created a beautiful healthy tasty soup to cheer the family during yet another lockdown. It made our day !!!
Happy to hear this soup cured some blues :)
Absolutely delicious. Thank you. Have made it twice now.
Glad you enjoyed this recipe Nicole :)
This soup is easy and very tasty! I didn’t peal my sweet potato skin off and it still tasted super. Thank you so much.,
Glad you enjoyed this sweet potato soup Shanti!
Easy and very tasty
Glad you enjoyed this sweet potato soup Jacqui!
Made this tonight and planning to make it again in a few days! So creamy and filling
I used cayenne pepper since I did not have pepper flakes.
Thank you so much!
Glad this soup turned out perfectly Samia!
Finally tried this recipe – Fast and easy & DELICIOUS. A great success! Thanks
Happy to hear you were finally able to give this recipe a try Denise :)
Creamy and tastes great with full ginger, carrot, sweet potato flavour. Even my 5 year old gave me thumbs up. Our new family favourite.
So glad the whole family enjoyed this soup Allan!
Hi there,
Can I use water instead of the broth?
Hi there – you can, however you’ll lose some of the flavor to it.
THIS was awesome…made this evening for my husband and me! Tasty tasty!!!! I did add some coconut milk at the end which tasted wonderful! Not too much, just a smidge! And I omitted the black pepper since we are not lovers of black pepper! Thank you for this fun tasty recipe!! These directions were great and so easy to follow!
Cathy
Happy to hear you enjoyed this sweet potato soup Cathy :)
Delicious and very straightforward recipe and directions!!! Thank you!!
Of course! Glad you loved this one Samira!
I tried the recipe and it was good but I may have added to much ginger? Not sure was just very strong and had to have a slice of bread a butter to calm down the flavor. I’m going to try this recipe again but put in less ginger:)
This soup is a bit gingery, so feel free to reduce the amount next time :)
Excellent! Made it thinner than the recipe called for, which worked out really well.
Glad you enjoyed this Sweet Potato soup!
Just made this soup an it’s lovely a little too sweet so add little more salt an a tiny bit cider vinger to it an wonderful moe
Turned out awesome……I had a granny smith apple lying in my fridge so added that while blending…..gives a nice tart flavor.
Glad you enjoyed this recipe Padmaja!
Great recipe. So easy but it had a lot of flavor. Loved it.
Made this for dinner this evening. The blend of the spices and the ginger gave it such a nice flavour. Will definitely make again. Super easy and perfect for a cold winter’s night. It was filling all on its own.
Glad you enjoyed this sweet potato soup Libby :)
I was really excited to make this. For some reason mine turned out brown not orange even though I used the exact ingredients. I couldn’t really taste the flavor of sweet potatoes or carrots but It kind of tasted like Indian lentil daal. Hmmm I wonder what I did wrong.
Hi Janice – that’s strange for sure, and I’m not sure what went wrong either. The only thing I can think of is maybe you used a different variety of sweet potato (there are numerous varieties).
Made this soup last night. Best sweet potato soup ever! It is perfectly balanced and the watercress, pistachios pepper flakes & yogurt take it to a whole new level! This will be on steady rotation this winter. Thank you!
Glad you loved this recipe Tessa!
🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤
This soup was amazing. But note that you need something really powerful to get that restaurant quality smoothness and incredible vibrant colour. I blinked a bit when I noticed salt was missing from the ingredient list, but the soup definitely didn’t need it. Before I got a vitamix I used to cook the veg and use a stick blender for soups. This time for the first minute I was pretty nervous because it was clearly well-blended, I didn’t see the need for any more time. Then toward the end, I guess the soup was so whipped it changed colour. Then we stared at the soup a while after because it didn’t make sense this dark orange potato-coloured soup was suddenly a delicious velvety amber.
Hello Lisa,
Just finished the soup. The fresh ginger and pepper flakes really work well. Can’t wait to serve to my parents tomorrow. Thank you for this recipe!
yol
Amazing! Glad you loved this recipe :)
Looks delicious, can’t wait to try it! Definitely on our to- bake (or to-blend) list. Also, just wanted to mention that you don’t need to keep the lid plug opened or remove it when blending. The lid is vented, and the steam will escape on it’s own.
With regular blenders though, this is definitely an issue! Our Ninja essentially exploded when we put hot ingredients into it, so with regular blenders, don’t blend hot ingredients or you’ll be sorry :)
Thanks for the quick tip!
Simple but delicious! I was skeptical about the lack of salt but turns out it didn’t need it! I’d love to try these other garnishes but I didn’t have them on hand – I used green onions and black pepper as toppings and even crumbled some Ritz crackers in for fun. Also used my immersion blender, made it very easy! Made a half portion because I am but a single person but it still turned out great.
Hi Joy – So glad this soup turned out great!
This was a great little recipe, my only problem is it came out a bit grainy/starchy and had the texture of baby food. The only difference I made with your recipe is I used 2 carrots, not 3. Do you have a solution to this problem? It couldn’t have been the missing carrot, could it?
Hi Myranda – no, that shouldn’t have made a huge difference. I’m not sure why it may have been grainy/starchy, other than if you weren’t using a high-powered blender. You can always add a little more liquid next time though if you’d like to thin it out.
I made it loved it, what’s also great about it in my case living with mouth cancer and having all my teeth removed 29 years ago eating is a chore anything that make food easier to consume is a gift this soup is one such gift, not being able to taste in the normal way also make eating a struggle this soup with its balance of spices give a beautiful aroma after losing my tastebuds my sense of smell has heightened that is the way I can enjoy some foods today. thank you.
I am so sorry to hear about that Tony. But, I’m glad this recipe was able to turn some things around and allow you to taste a few delicious flavors again :)
Instead of transferring soup to a blender, can you just use an immersion blender and blend the soup in the pot?
Hi Mitzi- Yes, you can use an immersion blender if you’d like :)
I never write food reviews but i wanted to make sure this recipe got the recognition it deserved. It turned out really wonderful, warming but sweet and the texture was spot on. I substituted the fresh ginger for 2 heaping tsps of ground ginger and topped the soup with cilantro and crema. It has been saved for years to come. Thank you!
Hi Anna- Thrilled to hear you loved this sweet potato soup!
Could I use chicken broth instead of vegetable broth? Thank you, excited to try this!
Hi Lena- Yes, you can use that if you’d like :)
Very easy! Very delish! I followed the recipe, bumped up the spices a little, finished off with a dollop of sour cream.
The whole thing took about a half hour.
Served with a toasted roll on the side. A satisfying dinner.
Hi Gail- Wonderful! So glad you enjoyed this soup for dinner :)
I have made this twice and both times I forgot to use less ginger. If you do not handle strong spices well, this is not the recipe for you! I do not want to blame the red pepper flakes because the ginger just tasted overpowering, although those spicy flakes probably contribute to the kick of heat. This being said, even though my family finds this recipe a bit too spicy they still eat it all! I have tried different sweet potato soup recipes but this was a clear winner. This is something I will use to ‘spice’ up our usual meal rotations. Thanks for the great recipe!
Hi Courtney- Yes, you can definitely play around with the spice amounts in this as everyone has a different threshold :) But, I’m glad you’ve enjoyed this soup overall!
Thank you for this recipe, you are wonderful !!!!
Thank you for this recipe, you are wonderfull
Hi Alexander – It’s also one of my favorite soups as well! :)
How come there is no salt In this recipe?
You are welcome to add some. :)
This looks great! Can I throw everything in the crockpot for a few hours and then blend it up? I’m a busy mom and dinner time can get chaotic
Hi Heather – I haven’t tried that, but it’s worth giving it a shot.
Great and easy to make. We did not add the pistachios but I can imagine how pretty they look. First time trying watercress. Very good. I’d say eat with 48 hours not because it tastes bad but at least for me 1-2 bowls was enough to taste. I consider this a twice a year recipe.
Hi Marcos – This soup is good to have once in awhile as it is pretty heavy in taste and texture :) But nonetheless, I’m glad you enjoyed it!
My sister was visiting me this weekend and wanted a healthy meal, but something warm and comforting after a long work week. This soup was delicious!! Didn’t have coconut cream, but used coconut milk from a can and that worked. Where do I get coconut cream?
Thanks for sharing, I will definitely make this again.
Hi Marcia – I’m so glad you and your sister enjoyed this soup! As for the coconut cream, this is from my coconut whipped cream recipe :) But essentially that’s coconut milk whipped up!
Hello,
How long can i keep this recipe in the fridge? And how long can i freeze it for? I just made it with oriental sweet potato and it tastes so amazing and cozy!
Hi Meera – This soup can last up to 5 days in the fridge, and can be stored for up to a month in the freezer!
Wonderful recipe Lisa I made it today. I took a shortcut when I found diced Sweet Potato in the supermarket. When I got home I found it was half Butternut squash and half sweet potato but the recipe still worked beautifully. Thanks
Lisa please delete one of the above I thought I hadn’t sent it!
Just made this for lunch and it is absolutely gorgeous. Decided to cheat when I saw pre packed Sweet potato packs in the supermarket. Wasn’t till I got home that I found they were half sweet potato and half butternut squash but recipe still worked and Ive got three more lunches of it to go. Thanks Lisa
Hi Catherine – So glad you loved this Sweet Potato Soup! Mixing it with butternut squash isn’t a bad idea either :)