This sweet potato soup recipe is a comfort food favorite! Coconut milk makes it creamy, bacon and sage give it that cozy, delicious fall flavor. It's gluten free and dairy free!
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I love sweet potatoes, but not when they're tooooo sweet. I'm not one for those sticky sweet casseroles. But balance their sweetness with savory flavors, and I'm in!
This sweet potato soup is made with coconut milk, so it's smooth and creamy, hearty but not too heavy. The coconut milk complements the natural sweetness of the potatoes, but the bacon and sage balance it out toward the savory side so it suits my tastes perfectly.
We'll purée this soup to make it smooth and elegant. Frying the sage leaves to put on top is totally optional, but why not try it? It's really easy to do and adds a beautiful bit of aroma and texture. It's fancy!
And yes, there is a reason we are cooking two slices of bacon separately in the microwave. Read the tips section below.
Sweet potatoes are such a versatile ingredient! Try some of my other sweet potato recipes like Savory Roasted Sweet Potatoes or this Chipotle Sweet Potato Gratin.
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Ingredients you'll need
- Sweet Potatoes: Look for sweet potatoes that are heavy for their size, with smooth skin and no soft or wrinkly spots.
- Bacon: Use a thicker cut bacon, we're going to blend it all into the soup, but this allows you to cook it all in one batch instead of two if you use thin slices.
- Coconut milk: Full-fat coconut milk here, please. You need all the rich creaminess. It could get too watery if you choose low-fat.
- Chicken broth: I prefer chicken broth here, I find vegetable stock too sweet.
- Sage: What herb is more of a hallmark of fall flavor than sage? We're going to cook some into the soup, and then if you want to get fancy, fry some leaves to go on top!
- Cayenne pepper: Just a hint of cayenne gives a bit of spiciness on the finish to balance the sweetness of the other flavors.
- Onion: This will be our only aromatic to let the flavor of the sweet potato come through.
INGREDIENT TIP We could easily make this sweet potato soup recipe with heavy cream, so why are we using coconut milk? First, the subtle sweetness of the coconut milk really complements the sweet potatoes. Second, coconut milk is a very forgiving ingredient. You don't have to worry about it scorching like heavy cream might, and it won't split when you're reheating the soup. And of course, it's dairy free, which means folks who are lactose-intolerant can enjoy it!
How to make sweet potato soup
Inspired by a sweet potato soup recipe from Alex Guarnaschelli featured on The Kitchen.
Step 1: Cook the first batch of bacon
Heat a Dutch oven or heavy stockpot over medium high heat. Add four slices of the bacon and cook until crisp. Transfer to a paper towel to cool. Leave the bacon grease in the pan.
Step 2: Sweat the onions in the bacon fat
While the bacon cooks, use a good chef's knife to dice the onion. Once you've removed the bacon from the pot, add the onions to the bacon fat and sauté in the pot over medium heat until they are fragrant, translucent and just beginning to turn brown on the edges.
Step 3: Chop the sweet potatoes and sage
While the onions cook, use a vegetable peeler to peel the sweet potatoes and chop them into large chunks.
Finely chop the sage.
Step 4: Add sage and cayenne to the onions
Add the sage and cayenne to the pan with the onions and stir for about one minute, until the sage is fragrant. Season with a pinch of salt.
Step 5: Add broth, sweet potatoes, and bacon to the pot and simmer the soup
Add the chicken stock, 1 teaspoon of kosher salt, and sweet potatoes to the pot, crumble in the bacon, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook for about 25 minutes until the potatoes are fork tender.
Step 6: Fry the sage leaves (optional)
While the soup simmers, fry the sage leaves and cook the other two slices of bacon in the microwave.
Place a small skillet over medium high heat and cover the bottom of the pan with olive oil. Once the oil is shimmering, add the sage leaves and fry for about 20 seconds. (careful! they spit a bit!) Remove to a paper towel and hit them with a pinch of sea salt like Maldon right away.
Step 7: Cook the second batch of bacon (in the microwave!!)
Place a paper towel on a microwave safe plate, top with the remaining two slices of bacon. Cover with another paper towel and microwave for 2 - 4 minutes until bacon is crisp. Let cool, then crumble and set aside.
Step 8: Purée the soup, add coconut milk, and serve
Turn off the heat and use an immersion blender to blend the soup until smooth. You can also use a regular blender, just do this in batches and see tip below about blending hot liquids.
Stir in the coconut milk and simmer for a few minutes until the soup reaches your desired consistency. Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary.
Serve sweet potato soup topped with crumbled bacon and a few fried sage leaves.
Sweet potato soup tips
- Use caution when blending hot liquids! Hot liquids can expand in the blender and cause the top to come off, resulting in hot soup flying all over you and your kitchen. Ouch. If you are using a traditional blender to purée the soup, do this in small batches with the top vented to allow heat to escape. This is why I love an immersion blender for this task.
- I've written this sweet potato soup recipe in a specific order so that you can be chopping and prepping one thing while another thing is cooking. So you shouldn't have a whole lot of prep time on the front end. If you don't feel confident about this, go ahead and chop the sweet potatoes and onions and sage ahead of time before you start cooking the bacon.
- We're cooking 2 slices of bacon for the garnish separately in the microwave because the bacon fat from 6 slices of bacon is just too much to leave in the soup. And no one wants to try to scoop hot bacon fat out of a pot.
- When frying the sage, it will bubble and pop a LOT for a very short amount of time due to the water content in the leaves. Don't do too many at a time.
- It really doesn't matter how you cut up the sweet potatoes. You don't have to cut them too small, just try to make them about the same size so they cook evenly.
- There's just enough cayenne in this sweet potato soup recipe to give it a bit of heat on the finish. If you like it spicy, feel free to add more.
FAQ
Yes, for this recipe, you need to peel the sweet potatoes. We want a smooth, creamy texture, so the peels must be removed.
Yes this sweet potato soup freezes very well! Allow to cool completely, then store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to two months.
Yes! Allow to cool completely, then store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to two months.
Eliminate the bacon and use 2 tablespoon olive oil or coconut oil to sauté the onions. Replace the chicken broth with vegetable broth.
Sweet potato soup serving suggestions
It makes for a warming lunch on a cold day, with a slice of crusty bread or Pampushky rolls. Serve it for Thanksgiving dinner or Christmas dinner. It can be made ahead so this is a time-saver on the big day.
Sweet potato soup with coconut milk is an excellent first course as part of a dairy-free meal. Follow up with Apple Cider Chicken for a main course, then try Almond Flour Carrot Cake for dessert!
You'll love this creamy sweet potato soup recipe!
- Unique flavors: Coconut milk is a fun twist. It makes the sweet potato soup creamy, and balances sweet and savory flavors. Cayenne pepper gives it a hint of spice and sage makes it tastes undeniably like fall!
- No need to make roasted sweet potato ahead of time: This is a huge time saver! We are not pre-baking or roasting the sweet potatoes, we'll cook them in the broth in the soup pot!
- Using an immersion blender saves time and energy: No precarious transferring to and from the blender, no worrying about the blender lid exploding. This also means less dishes!
- It's dairy free and gluten free: Everyone should be able to enjoy a cozy fall comfort food!
Try these soup recipes with bacon
In my house, the smell of onions cooking in bacon fat can only mean one thing: Soup Season! Try these on for size.
- On that first rainy night of fall, I love to make Potato Cheese Soup. It's ready quickly and so comforting!
- If you want to keep that sweet potato soup vibe going, try Corn Chowder with Bacon. It's made with sweet potatoes instead of regular ones for amped up flavor.
- And for good luck and prosperity in the New Year, we always have Black Eyed Pea Soup. (It'll cure your hangover, too!)
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Recipe
Sweet Potato Soup Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2.5 lbs sweet potatoes
- 1 yellow onion
- 6 slices bacon divided
- 2 tablespoon finely chopped sage plus more leaves for frying
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 13.5 ounces full fat coconut milk (one can)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt plus more to taste
- olive oil for frying sage leaves amount depends on the size of the skillet
Instructions
- Heat a Dutch oven or heavy stockpot over medium high heat. Add 4 slices of the bacon and cook until crisp. Transfer to a paper towel to cool. Leave the bacon grease in the pot.
- While the bacon cooks, use a good chef's knife to dice the onion. Once you've removed the bacon from the pot, add the onions to the bacon fat and sauté until they are fragrant, translucent and just beginning to turn brown on the edges, about 5 - 8 minutes.
- While the onions cook, use a vegetable peeler to peel the sweet potatoes and chop them into large chunks. Finely chop the sage.
- Add the sage and cayenne to the pan with the onions and stir for about one minute, until the sage is fragrant. Season with a pinch of salt.
- Add the chicken stock, 1 teaspoon of kosher salt, and sweet potatoes to the pot, crumble in the bacon, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook for about 25 minutes until the potatoes are fork tender.
- If you want to fry the sage leaves, place a small skillet over medium high heat and cover the bottom of the pan with olive oil. Once the oil is shimmering, add the sage leaves and fry for about 20 seconds. (careful! they spit a bit!) Remove to a paper towel to drain and hit them with a pinch of sea salt like Maldon right away.
- To cook the bacon, place a paper towel on a microwave safe plate, top with the remaining two slices of bacon. Cover with another paper towel and microwave for 2 - 4 minutes until bacon is crisp. Let cool, then crumble and set aside.
- Turn off the heat and use an immersion blender to blend the soup until smooth. You can also use a regular blender, just do this in batches and see tip below about blending hot liquids.
- Stir in the coconut milk and simmer for a few minutes until the soup reaches your desired consistency. Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary. Transfer to individual bowls and top with microwaved bacon and fried sage leaves to serve.
Notes
- I've written this recipe in a specific order so that you can be chopping and prepping one thing while another thing is cooking. So you shouldn't have a whole lot of prep time on the front end. If you don't feel confident about this, go ahead and chop the sweet potatoes and onions and sage ahead of time before you start cooking the bacon.
- We're cooking 2 slices of bacon separately in the microwave because the bacon fat from 6 slices of bacon is just too much to leave in the soup. And no one wants to try to scoop hot bacon fat out of a pot.
- Frying the sage leaves is totally optional, but you should try it. It's fun and fancy.
- When frying the sage, it will bubble and pop a LOT for a very short amount of time due to the water content in the leaves. Don't do too many at a time.
- It really doesn't matter how you cut up the potatoes. You don't have to cut them too small, just try to make them about the same size so they cook evenly.
- There's just enough cayenne in the recipe to give it a bit of heat on the finish. If you like it spicy, feel free to add more.
- Use caution when blending hot liquids! Hot liquids can expand in the blender and cause the top to come off, resulting in hot soup flying all over you and your kitchen. Ouch. If you are using a traditional blender to purée the soup, do this in small batches with the top vented to allow heat to escape. This is why I love an immersion blender for this task.
Melissa
My sister told me about this. It's cooking on stove. 20 min left. Smells amazing!!! Cannot wait to try this!!!!
Debra
Hi Melissa!
Yay! Yes it does make the house smell good. Thanks for trying my recipes!
Debra
Linda Cummings
Love that this recipe is dairy free.