This Sweet Potato Soup is easy, nutritious, absolutely delicious, and has been a family favorite for years. It’s silky smooth with creamy coconut milk, and the bacon on top adds a nice salty bite, but you can easily make it a vegetarian sweet potato soup (see notes below).
This soup is perfect for meal prep because it keeps well in the refrigerator or freezer and reheats like a dream. It’s a keeper!
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As soon as the weather cools, soups like Corn Chowder, our famous Zuppa Toscana, and this Sweet Potato Soup are on the regular rotation.
Sweet Potato Soup Video
Watch the video tutorial, and you’ll see how easy it is to make this creamy sweet potato soup.
Creamy Sweet Potato Soup Recipe
Our kids are pretty selective about their soups, so I am happy they love this soup. I think the crispy bacon topping draws them to this soup, but it works, and I’m ok with that. When I tell them what we’re having for dinner, I always add, ‘it’s the soup with bacon,’ and all resistance melts away.
Creamy Sweet Potato Soup is a comfort food that will warm you up and give you cozy vibes. The surprising addition of coconut milk adds a silky, sweet nuttiness to the soup.
Sweet Potato Soup Ingredients
This soup is so delicious, creamy (without needing heavy cream), and full of flavor, especially when you cook the bacon in the soup and use the bacon grease to cook the veggies.
- Sweet Potatoes: peeled and diced. Get organic sweet potatoes if you can get your hands on them.
- Bacon: cooked and diced for the perfect garnish. Thin or thick-sliced work well. For a vegetarian sweet potato soup, you can cook the soup in olive oil and garnish with parmesan cheese, croutons, or toasted pumpkin seeds like we did in our Pumpkin Soup.
- Chicken Broth: We love using our Homemade Chicken Broth, but any chicken stock or broth will work. You can even use a vegetable broth.
- Coconut Milk: Canned coconut milk is best for soups to create a creamier texture and makes it a dairy-free sweet potato soup. You can also use the refrigerated “original” or unflavored coconut milk that comes in a carton, giving you a lower-calorie soup. The nuttiness of coconut milk pairs perfectly with the sweetness of the yams.
- Onion and Celery: these aromatic ingredients create the perfect soup base.
- Garlic: Fresh garlic infuses the soup with great flavor.
- Thyme: an excellent seasoning with sweet potatoes. You can use a few sprigs of fresh thyme and add them in whole (no need to strip the leaves). You’ll remove the stems later. If using dried thyme, add it to taste as it has a more robust flavor profile, and a little bit goes a long way.
Are Yams and Sweet Potatoes the Same?
There have been decades of debate over sweet potatoes and yams and 99% of the yams and sweet potatoes in a grocery store are the exact same thing!
- Sweet Potatoes – have an orange or reddish peel and sweet orange flesh. Look for medium-sized ones, as the larger ones are starchier. They should have tight and unwrinkled skins without blemishes. You’ll feel better eating Sweet Potato Casserole, Baked Sweet Potatoes and Air Fryer Sweet Potato Fries.
- Real Yams are much harder to find in a typical grocery store and less nutritious than the vegetables we typically refer to as sweet potatoes. They have a darker brown skin that looks like tree bark, are more fibrous, and less sweet.
How to Make Sweet Potato Soup
- Cook bacon in a large pot or Dutch Oven, cook the bacon until crisp and remove from pot. Reserve about 3 tablespoons of bacon grease in the pan.
- Sautee vegetables – add onion, celery and saute 4 minutes then add garlic.
- Add sweet potatoes, along with thyme, salt and pepper. Add the chicken stock, partially cover, and simmer until sweet potatoes are soft.
- Puree soup with an immersion blender or blend in batches in a blender until smooth (see “How to Puree Soup” below), then stir in 12 oz of coconut milk and return to a boil. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve in warm bowls garnished with a drizzle of the remaining coconut milk, bacon, and fresh parsley.
Pro Tip:
To avoid kitchen messes while cooking soup, place a wooden mixing spoon across one side of your pot and place your lid over it. This way, the lid won’t hang over the edge and drip onto the stove, and you are more likely to avoid the mixture boiling over from a lid that accidentally covers the top.
How to Puree a Creamy Soup
We love creamy soups in the fall and winter! This Sweet Potato Soup along, with our Creamy Carrot Soup, and our Creamy Cauliflower Soup, are some of our favorites. Getting ultra-smooth restaurant-quality soup can be tricky. Here are some of our favorite methods to make a creamy soup.
- Immersion Blender: Our favorite method allows you to blend your soup right in the pot! Use an immersion blender to save on dishes and get the right consistency directly in your soup pot. Be sure to wear an oven mitt and apron in case of splatters!
- High-Powered Blender: A high-powered blender will do the best job. We love this blender with openings in the lid to allow heat to escape so you don’t end up with a vacuum. You will need to transfer your soup in batches and be sure to never fill a blender more than half full with a hot liquid to avoid explosions and burns.
- A Food Processor is our least favorite option. It is better for processing thicker sauces and soups but can work in a pinch. Just realize it won’t give you the same smoothness as the other two options.
Make-Ahead
Allow the soup to cool completely before storage. You can speed up the cooling process by setting the pot over an ice bath or transferring the soup to smaller containers.
- To Refrigerate: Store in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Freezing: Transfer individual portions to freezer-safe zip-top bags or containers, leaving a little room for expansion at the top. Remove excess air and freeze for up to 4 months.
- To Reheat: Thaw frozen soup in the refrigerator overnight, or you can speed-thaw ziptop bags in a cold water bath. Transfer the soup to a saucepan and reheat over medium/low heat, stirring frequently.
What to Serve with Sweet Potato Soup?
Soup is a meal in itself; often, all you need is a batch of warm Dinner Rolls with Honey Butter. The spongy texture of Sourdough Bread is also perfect for soaking up the soup.
To make this soup the main course, pair it with a soup. Afterall, soup and salad are a classic meal combination. Our favorite salads to pair with Sweet Potato Soup are:
- Autumn Chicken Salad
- Beet Salad with Arugula
- Kale Salad with Honey Lemon Dressing
- Roasted Sweet Potato Salad
- Chicken Salad
- Broccoli Apple Salad
More Comforting Soup Recipes
Just as soon as the leaves start to turn, this Creamy Sweet Potato Soup is a staple dinner at our house. I hope it becomes a favorite for you as well! Be sure to try some of our other delicious soups.
- Loaded Potato Soup
- Clam Chowder Recipe
- Chicken Noodle Soup
- Chicken Wild Rice Soup
- Taco Soup
- Borscht
- Beef Stew
- Tomato Soup
Sweet Potato Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 oz bacon (about 6 strips), chopped into 1/2-inch strips, *see notes for vegetarian soup
- 1 medium onion, diced (about 1 cup)
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 large celery rib, diced (1 “stick” of celery)
- 2 lbs sweet potatoes (3 medium), peeled and chopped into 1-inch pieces
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme 3, or 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 4 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
- 14 oz canned coconut milk*, (shake well before opening), divided
- 1 1/2 tsp fine sea salt, or more to taste
- 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
- 2 Tbsp parsley to garnish, optional
Instructions
- In a large pot, or Dutch Oven, over medium heat, cook bacon in it's own fat until crisp (8-10 min). Remove with a slotted spoon to a paper towel-lined plate. Leave 3 Tbsp oil in the pot; discard excess or leave it in there for a more flavorful soup.
- Add chopped onion, and celery and cook 4 min or until soft, stirring occasionally, then add 2 pressed garlic cloves and saute another minute.
- Stir in diced sweet potatoes, thyme,* salt and pepper. Now pour in 4 cups chicken broth, partially cover, and simmer for 20 min or until sweet potatoes are easily pierced with a fork. Remove and discard the thyme stems.
- Puree soup until smooth using an immersion blender or use a high-powered blender and blend in batches. Return soup to pot and stir in 12 oz coconut milk, reserving a bit for garnish, then season with more salt and pepper to taste if desired. Return to a boil, then remove from heat. Serve garnished with a drizzle of coconut milk, crispy bacon and parsley.
Notes
*For Vegetarian Soup – omit the bacon and use olive oil to sautee the veggies.
*For a lower-fat soup, you can also use “original” coconut milk in refrigerated cartons.
*Thyme Sprigs can be added whole with the stem – there’s no need to strip the leaves off. Remove the stems before blending the soup. If using dried thyme, add it to taste since it can have a more robust flavor profile.
Nutrition Per Serving
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I decided to make this since it’s orange(ish) and Halloween! Absolutely delicious! Even my “not a big sweet potato” fan husband, had 2 bowls! Look forward to making it again!
That’s great, Cindy! So glad it was enjoyed.
Natasha, I made your chicken pot pie today and the pie crust….delicious! I make the soup too….and your lasagna….love your blog and recipes….everything I try makes me look like a chef😃
I’m so happy to hear you’re enjoying my recipes, Terrylee! Thank you for your wonderful review!
So simple, so delicious! The smell alone was so enticing as it cooked. I added lots of garlic – 4+ cloves, and didn’t skimp on the bacon grease. Oh yum, I think those 2 things made a huge impact on the flavor and aroma. I roasted another sweet potato that I diced as my daughter prefers chunks in her soup and more sweet potato can’t be bad, right? So glad I did that! I used oat milk as I didn’t have coconut. Added a bit of cayenne and smoked paprika, but not much really.
She just texted me from college that she loves it! My husband and I also had it for dinner tonight. I thought maybe there’d be too much but I think it’s going to be gone very quickly.
Nice, thank you for sharing that with us! It’s great to know that your family liked this recipe!
This is delicious!!! We are vegetarians and also trying to watch our weight so skipped the bacon and it was still delicious!! Highly recommend!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Kristin! Thank you for your wonderful review!
Thanks for the recipe! Any reason why you used coconut cream rather than heavy cream?
Hi Viraj, we believe the flavor combination is perfect with the sweet potato!
This soup was simple to make and was delicious. A winner for all the family. I used my stick blender to puree. Thanks Natasha, I can always rely on you
I’m so glad it was a hit, Jill! Thank you so much for sharing that with me!
Would this soup serve well if chilled? I’m planning a baby blessing in June and was thinking of doing a cold soup bar for a corresponding luncheon.
Hi Jcs, I havne’t tried this chilled but I bet it could work! If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
This sounds delicious. Can it be done in an Instant Pot/pressure cooker?
Hi Shawn, I haven’t tried this in a pressure cooker just yet, one of my readers mentioned making this in a crockpot, however.
Could I substitute Butternut squash for the sweet potatoes? I found a recipe with similar ingredients but it called for butternut squash, carrots and 1 sweet potato.
That sounds yummy but I have not had a chance to test that out yet. If you do please let me know how it goes.
I love your recipes and cook many, to my families delight but It would be great to see some low carb recipes on your site too 😊
Cheers
Jane – Australia
HI Jane, we started to categorize our recipes under the Keto category but this list isn’t all-inclusive yet. This category can be found on our RECIPES index page.
A sweet potato soup was served at our hospital cafeteria. IT was so good. No bacon in it but it did have CURRY in it and also coconut milk. Looked forever for a recipe like that and I do believe this is closest that I have found. It was a sellout by the way. Many RAVES! First time that I had ever eaten sweet potatoes also. I was sure I would never like them. The soup was wonderful!
Hello Dru, good to know that you loved this soup! Thank you for your review and for sharing that with us.
We loved this soup. I’m not a fan of soup but during the cold weather we like to have soup and this soup was so good and easy to make. Thank you.
The perfect comfort soup. I’m happy you enjoyed that, Barbara.
This was sooo fantastic!!! So good! Every recipe I’ve made from your site is always a major hit. Tomorrow night I’m going to make your borscht recipe as my daughter loves borscht. Thank you 🙏
Awesome and thank you so much, Nancy. I hope you’ll love every recipe that you will try.
Do you think I can replace the sweet potato with butternut squash? Or do you have a butternut squash soup recipe?
Hi Naomi, I haven’t tested this, but several of our readers have reported great results!
I have not yet made this recipe, but I’m drawn to it because it looks delicious and I love sweet potatoes. Unfortunately the sodium content per serving is extremely high. I’m sure using a low sodium broth and cutting out the bacon…plus the added salt would help…but there goes the flavor. I may have to skip this one.
No worries, Janet. But your suggestions could help too. If you try it using less sodium broth, please let us know how it goes.
Do you have a recipe for leek soup. Thank you
Hi Berta, we do not but that you so much for that suggestion! Have you tried our Creamy mushroom and Leek Pasta?
OMG this soup is the best! easy, quick and so tasty…It’s at the top of my soup list
Awesome! Thank you so much for your awesome comments, Gisele.
In response to a reviewer who asked if you can use butternut squash, I can say Yes! But I did make some revisions to bring out the flavor. Added carrots to add sweetness; in addition to the thyme I added fresh, chopped sage, dill, basil and rosemary and a dash or two of cumin. Like you, I used homemade chicken bone broth. Topped with sour cream, bacon bits and tri-colored tortilla strips. The soup turned out really flavorful…even my picky soup critic husband liked it! Thanks Natasha, for this recipe and be sure to tell your husband that I really liked his spoon tip!!
That is so helpful, Connie. Thank you so much for sharing that info with us, we appreciate it!
I am not a fan of coconut, do you taste the coconut in the soup or does it just enhance the flavor like coffee does to chocolate??
Hi Susan, it’s not overpowering and we have always made it with coconut milk because it’s richer, smoother, and gives better flavor, but I do think regular milk would work if you were looking for a substitute.
Do you use canned coconut milk? What does the container look like?
Hi Michelle, canned will give you the creamiest results, but I have also used the refrigerated carton coconut milk and it works well.
Could you substitute butternut squash for the sweet potatoes?
Hi Michelle, we haven’t only because we love the sweetness from sweet potatoes. If you test it out, let me know how you liked it.