Creamy Sweet Potato Soup

You can whip up this easy sweet potato soup recipe with only 7 ingredients, pureed in a blender until velvety smooth! Savory-sweet, vegetarian & vegan-friendly, and completely customizable. Learn how to make a creamy sweet potato soup with coconut milk and roasted sweet potatoes—plus a satisfying burst of sweetness from roasted prunes.

For more comforting fall soup recipes, try my Coconut Chicken Curry Soup or Easy Minestrone Soup!

Tips for the Best Sweet Potato Soup

• Choose sweet potatoes with reddish-brown or copper-colored skin. These varieties are sweeter, creamier, and more moist than they are starchy—which is ideal for a roasted sweet potato soup. (I like jewel and garnet sweet potatoes.) Be careful not to choose yams for this recipe, which are starchier and drier, typically with a rough-textured brown skin.
• It’s better to bake sweet potatoes for soup, rather than boiling them. Sweet potatoes contain a unique enzyme that breaks down their starches and converts them into sugars—but only between 135°F and 170°F. So, although boiling is a bit faster, roasting gives the sweet potatoes enough time to caramelize and become even sweeter as they cook!
• Peel off the sweet potato skins for a creamier soup. Or, leave the skins on for a soup with more fiber and intense flavor! Yes, you can absolutely eat sweet potato skins in a soup—it’s really a matter of preference. I want a rich, velvety texture in my creamy sweet potato soup, so I peel the skins off with my hands once my roasted sweet potatoes have cooled.
• Blend the soup long enough to get it nice and smooth. In my high-powered blender, I pureed this soup for almost 2 minutes to get it as lusciously creamy as I like.

Creamy Sweet Potato Soup Ingredients & Substitutions

• Sweet Potatoes. Leave the skin on and roast them whole for the tastiest, most caramelized flavor! If needed or when you’re in a pinch, you could also make this recipe with sweet potato puree instead.
• Prunes. An optional but totally delicious addition—making this soup thicker and creamier, adding some refreshingly fruity sweetness! Roast prunes whole for the best flavor, or give them a quick saute. They just need to be cooked in some way so they’ll blend smoothly.
• Orange Juice & Zest. A bit of citrus brightens up this comforting fall bisque wonderfully. I like the sweet acidity of orange, or you can substitute with lemon.
• Sauteed Onion. Savory, pungent, irresistibly umami! I love the rich, mouthwatering flavor and smell of onion sauteed in butter. It reminds me of Thanksgiving, and it adds so much enjoyment to this festive soup for me. That’s what embracing food freedom looks like for me here—and it can look different for you! Saute the onion in oil to keep this sweet potato soup vegan, or roast onion wedges in the oven and avoid using the stovetop altogether.
• Broth. I used a low-sodium vegetable broth, but chicken broth or even beef broth can work as well. Check the sodium content in your broth before adding salt to your soup and adjust as needed.
• Coconut Milk. Rich, silky, and subtly sweet! I use full-fat canned coconut milk—you can also substitute with coconut cream, or use heavy cream if you don’t need this to be dairy-free.
• Seasonings. I keep it simple with salt & pepper to let the roasted sweet potato flavor shine through, but you can get creative with different spices! For a unique flavor kick, try my Vegan Curried Sweet Potato Soup.

Customizing for Maximum Comfort

This simple fall soup has lots of wiggle room, so have fun with it! Skip the prunes if you don’t like them. Keep it vegan by using oil & coconut milk—or use butter & heavy cream to make a rich, comforting cream of sweet potato soup. Roast everything in the oven, or boil/saute everything on the stove for a quicker cooking process. Stir in leftover turkey or chicken for a heartier soup. You can even serve this easy sweet potato soup hot or cold. Whatever you need to maximize the deliciousness & minimize your stress!

How to Roast Sweet Potatoes for Soup

To make this creamy sweet potato bisque, you’ll first need to bake sweet potatoes until they’re tender and cooked through. Although different recipes recommend different ways to do this, there’s no need to soak, boil, or blanch your sweet potatoes before roasting them in this recipe. You don’t even need to peel them! This is my preferred method:

1. Use a fork to poke holes on all sides of each sweet potato, with the skin on.
2. Wrap each potato individually in foil (to retain heat and enhance caramelization), then place on a baking sheet.
3. Roast sweet potatoes at 425°F (220°C) for 45-60 minutes, until tender and easy to pierce with a knife or fork. (Cook time will vary depending on their size—larger sweet potatoes will need to cook longer.)
4. When cooled to the touch, peel skins (if desired).

How long should I boil sweet potato?

If you’d rather boil your sweet potatoes, you certainly can—they just won’t turn out as sweet and caramelized. Simply bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, then add whole sweet potatoes with the skin on. Reduce heat to medium-high and let them boil for 30-45 minutes (depending on their size), until fork tender. Or, for faster boiling, rough chop skin-on sweet potatoes into large chunks and boil 20-25 minutes.

How to Make Sweet Potato Soup with Coconut Milk

1. Roast sweet potatoes in the oven until tender, for 45-60 minutes at 425°F (220°C). When cooled to the touch, peel the skins if desired.
2. Next, roast prunes with orange juice & zest in a dish covered with foil for 15-20 minutes.
3. Then, saute onion in butter or oil on the stove for 4-5 minutes. Let components cool slightly before blending to prevent overheating the blender.
4. Finally, add all sweet potato soup ingredients into a blender and puree for 1½-2 minutes, until smooth and creamy.
5. Heat blended soup in a pot over the stove for 5-10 minutes, or serve and enjoy cold. Garnish with a dollop of Greek yogurt, toasted pecans—whatever you like!

Can sweet potato soup be frozen?

Yes, definitely! Stored in a freezer-safe container or jar, you can freeze this easy sweet potato soup for up to 6 months. Before storing, be sure to let your soup cool completely. If you’re just meal prepping for the week or storing leftovers, transfer to an airtight container and store your sweet potato puree soup for 5-7 days in the fridge.

See how I make this roasted sweet potato soup in my Comforting Fall Soups video!

Alternate Method #1: Roast Everything

I used the above process for my creamy sweet potato soup because I personally love the taste and smell of onions sauteed in butter. But, you can streamline the procedure by roasting all of the soup components in the oven. First, roast sweet potatoes at 425°F for 45-60 minutes. Then, add onion wedges (seasoned with oil & salt) to roast for 30-35 minutes. And finally, roast the prunes last for 15-20 minutes.

Alternate Method #2: Speed-It-Up on the Stovetop

Rather than using the oven for an hour, you can boil and saute everything on the stove to get the cooking done in half as much time. (Although I think the result is less flavorful!) Boil whole sweet potatoes for 30-45 minutes, or rough-chop and boil for 20-25 minutes. Then, saute diced onion for 4-5 minutes, adding whole prunes plus orange juice & zest to saute for the last 2-3 minutes.