Name: Sweet Potato Soup
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 50 min
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons unsalted butter; 1 cup chopped yellow onion (approximately 1 medium onion); ½ cup chopped celery (approximately 1 medium celery stalk); 2 teaspoons minced garlic (approximately 2 large cloves); 2 teaspoons curry powder; 1 pound cubed sweet potatoes (approximately 2 large sweet potatoes; washed, peeled, cubed); 1 cup chopped Granny Smith apples (approximately 1 medium apple; washed, peeled, chopped); 1 quart low-sodium vegetable stock; ½ cup heavy cream (at room temperature); salt (to taste); freshly cracked black pepper (to taste); heavy cream (at room temperature); roasted pumpkin seeds

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Rich and creamy sweet potato soup is a delicious (and deliciously easy) comfort food recipe you’ll want to make over and over again this autumn! It’s super satisfying and nutrient-dense, with sweet potatoes, spices, and a secret ingredient for added flavor. A guaranteed hit with everyone at the table!

Overhead photo of two white bowls holding creamy, yellow-orange sweet potato soup topped with heavy cream and pumpkin seeds.

Before You Get Started

You’ll definitely want to completely peel the sweet potatoes and the Granny Smith apple before getting started. If you don’t, those peels will throw off the texture and flavor of the soup once everything’s puréed together.
When cubing the sweet potatoes, keep all the cubes as even as possible. I recommend 1-inch cubes if you can! If you cut them unevenly, your sweet potatoes will cook through at different speeds. Same for your apples!

How to Make This Recipe

See recipe card below for full list of measurements, ingredients, and instructions.

Make the base.

Sauté chopped onions, celery, and minced garlic in melted butter for 5 minutes, then add in the cubed sweet potatoes and chopped apples. Sauté those ingredients for just a few minutes, to give them a little extra flavor, then add in your vegetable stock.

Once you add the vegetable stock, make sure to scrape your wooden spoon along the bottom of the pot, to loosen anything that may have stuck while sautéing!

simmer.

Cover the pot and let everything simmer for 20 minutes or so. You’ll know you’re ready to move to the next step when you can easily pierce the sweet potatoes with the tines of a fork. If you meet any resistance or need to use a bit of force to pierce the potatoes, they need to cook a little longer.

blend ’til smooth.

When the sweet potatoes are ready, take the pot off the heat and let the soup mixture cool slightly. Once it’s cooled, insert your immersion blender into the pot and carefully blend everything together until the sweet potato soup is completely smooth. You can leave it a little chunky if you prefer that texture, but I love how velvety the soup is if you purée everything really well.

Add the Finishing Touches.

Stir in heavy cream, then move the pot back to the warm burner. Taste the soup and season it with salt and pepper as needed, then simmer the soup for a few minutes until everything’s hot. From there, ladle it into serving bowls, garnish each bowl however you like, and enjoy!

What I Love About This Recipe

Sweet potato soup is super easy to make! There’s a decent bit of prep work involved, what with the peeling and chopping, but the actual cooking process is pretty hands off. Definitely easy enough for a throw-together-on-a-weeknight meal.
It’s deliciously satisfying. Not only is it full of flavor, but this soup is also loaded with filling, nutrient-dense ingredients. Sweet potatoes are a solid source of fiber, which is good for your gut and also helps you feel more full. They’re also rich in antioxidants, beta carotene, and anthocyanins, all of which can support your body and brain functions in different ways.
Don’t disregard the flavor, though. Sweet potato soup might be generally good for you, but it also tastes good, too! The earthiness of the potatoes is balanced with a hint of sweetness from the Granny Smith apple, both of which are enhanced by the bold curry powder. You’ll want to look the bowl clean, it’s so good!

No Immersion Blender? No Problem!

An immersion blender is definitely the easiest way to get a super smooth sweet potato soup, but it’s not the only way! A standard blender will work, too.

Blending hot soup can be dangerous, though, so there are some precautions you’ll need to take.

Let the soup cool for 5-10 minutes first.
Fill the blender no more than halfway. You’ll most likely need to blend the soup in batches.
To keep pressure from building inside the blender, take the center cap out of the blender lid before blending. Hold a kitchen towel over the opening in the lid to keep the liquid from splashing out.

Recipe Variations

A Pop of Color: Orange sweet potato soup is gorgeous in its own right, but purple sweet potato soup? Perfect for Halloween or to break up your Thanksgiving table! Making it is so easy – just swap out the orange sweet potatoes for purple ones. Purple sweet potatoes are starchier, though, and may need to cook longer. They’ll also change the flavor of the soup a bit, making it a little sweeter.
Make it Vegan (or Dairy Free): Replace the heavy cream with ½ cup of full-fat, unsweetened coconut milk – from a can, not a carton. Use a vegan butter instead of traditional butter, too.
Make it Paleo: Replace the heavy cream with ½ cup of full-fat, unsweetened coconut milk – from a can, not a carton. Use ghee instead of butter, and make sure your vegetable stock is paleo-friendly.

Making changes to a recipe can result in recipe failure. Any substitutions or variations listed are simple changes that I believe will work in this recipe, but results are not guaranteed.