Autumn Carrot and Sweet Potato Soup
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With carrots, sweet potatoes and apples, this savory soup with a hint of sweetness is the essence of fall.
Photo by Alexandra Grablewski (Chronicle Books, 2018)
It seems I’ve always got the components of this soup lingering in my veggie bin (along with other mysterious things, but I’ll spare you those details), so it’s easy to whip up on a cool fall day. The nice thing is that the sweet potatoes add body to the soup, making it luxuriously silky, without even the slightest bit of guilt-inducing heavy cream.
Now, I have to admit that I’m not one of those people who look forward to fall; my pessimistic side knows all too well that winter is looming. But the thought of comfort food and cozy clothes does make it more bearable. So go ahead and think of this dish as that soft knit sweater you can’t wait to put on at the first sign of a chill. Pair the soup with crusty artisan bread, challah, or dinner rolls.
Table of Contents
“Absolutely scrumptious! My husband is still talking about how delicious dinner was last night!”
About Sweet Potatoes
Before we get started, let’s talk about sweet potatoes. It’s common practice in the U.S. to use the words “sweet potato” and “yam” interchangeably. This is confusing since yams aren’t sweet potatoes at all, but rather thick white tubers with dark brown skin. But chances are you won’t find real yams at the supermarket, so if you see “yams,” you’re probably looking at sweet potatoes. As for the different varieties, look for Garnet, Jewel, Beauregard, all of which have orange flesh and reddish-brown skin and are delicious in sweet potato pie, mashed sweet potatoes, and sweet potato casserole.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Begin by cooking the onions in butter until they are soft and translucent. Then, add the curry powder and cook until fragrant.
Add the carrots, sweet potatoes, and chicken broth and bring to a boil.
Cover and simmer over low heat until the vegetables are tender, about 25 minutes, then toss in the chopped apples.
Purée with a stick blender until smooth and creamy.
Enjoy!
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Autumn Carrot and Sweet Potato Soup
With carrots, sweet potatoes and apples, this savory soup with a hint of sweetness is the essence of fall.
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 medium yellow onions, chopped
- 1 tablespoon curry powder, plus a bit more for serving
- 1 pound carrots, peeled and chopped into 1-inch pieces
- 1½ pounds sweet potatoes (about 2 small), peeled and chopped into 1-inch pieces
- 8 cups chicken broth, best quality such as Swanson
- 1¾ teaspoons salt
- 1 tart yet sweet apple (such as Honeycrisp or Fuji), peeled and chopped
- 2 tablespoons honey
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a large pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring frequently, until soft and translucent, about 10 minutes. Do not brown. Add the curry powder and cook a minute more.
- Add the carrots, sweet potatoes, chicken broth and salt and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer over low heat until vegetables are very tender, about 25 minutes. Stir in the apples and honey. Using a stick blender, puree the soup until smooth and creamy. (Alternatively, cool the soup slightly, then puree in a blender in batches. Be sure to leave the hole in the lid open, and cover with a kitchen towel, to allow the steam to escape.) Season to taste with salt, pepper and more honey if necessary. Ladle soup into bowls and sprinkle with more curry powder if desired. (Note: As the soup sits, it will thicken up so you may need to add a bit of water to thin it out.)
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The soup can be frozen for up to 3 months. Defrost the soup in the refrigerator for 12 hours and then reheat it on the stovetop over medium heat until hot.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (8 servings)
- Serving size: 1 1/3 cups
- Calories: 277
- Fat: 9g
- Saturated fat: 4g
- Carbohydrates: 42g
- Sugar: 18g
- Fiber: 5g
- Protein: 8g
- Sodium: 941mg
- Cholesterol: 22mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
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Comments
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Hi, Jenn! I made this soup yesterday. It sounded really good, but I halved the recipe to try it out, just in case. It is good, but the curry seemed to overpower the carrots and sweet potato. If I make it again, I will halve the curry. You can always add a little more later.
I have made this recipe twice now. Absolutely my new fav.
How about fresh grated ginger instead of curry
Sounds like a nice twist! 🙂
How much fresh grated ginger would you suggest as a sub for the curry?
Hi Cheryl, I’d suggest about 1 tablespoon and I’d add it when you add the onions. Please LMK how it turns out with the ginger!
It was so yummy. ❤️
Hi Jenn, does the soup freeze well?
Yes, It freezes nicely!
Im making it today! So far so good….but i must skip the honey as ill give some to my 9 month old. Seems maple syrup is a nono for babies too due to the bacteria issues. Should i increase my apples or add pears….or sweetened applesauce? Any suggestions to add the sweetness?
Your recipe was easy to read and follow. Cant wait to try our soup tonight!
Hi Karen, I think a little bit of sweetened applesauce would work nicely in place of the honey. Hope you enjoy!
I found your site when searching for pureed soup recipes for my beloved 101-year old neighbor who just moved to an assisted living facility and has been put on a pureed food diet. WOW, this soup came out delicious and he loved it! It’s so flavorful and has a really nice consistency. I made it exactly to the recipe, and also experimented with part of the batch, adding more honey and some cinnamon and that was also great.
How do you think it would turn out if I added pureed chicken for protein? If so, how much and should I alter any of the other ingredients? Thank you, and I will be making your curried cauliflower and apple soup next!
Hi Susie,
How nice that you took the soup to your neighbor and I’m glad to hear that he enjoyed it! If you want to add some protein to the soup, a better alternative may be puréed cannellini beans. Just not sure you’ll get the right texture with puréed chicken. I think you can get away with adding the puréed beans without much in the way of modifications but if you need to thin it out a little, you could add an additional cup or so of broth. Please LMK how it turns out if you try it!
I’d suggest adding Greek yogurt as its high in protein 🙂
Thank You so much for sharing this recipe. It had all the right mix of ingredients to make it yummylicious. I followed the recipe as is and added everyone’s season substitutions.
My family and I absolutely love this soup, which is included each year over Thanksgiving! Thank you for such delicious recipes, which are always a hit!
Absolutely amazing soup! I added a half teaspoon of cayenne pepper for a little kick and it worked really well.
Is this a typo 1-1/2 pounds sweet potatoes (about 2 small), peeled and chopped into 1-inch pieces. I made with 1.5lb bag of small sweet potatoes it is about 7 small potatoes. It came out delicious!
No, it’s not a typo. I guess there’s a lot of variation in sweet potato sizes. That’s why I give the weight you’ll need. Regardless, so glad you liked it!
Can you substitute shallots for yellow onion in this sweet potato carrot soup?
Sure – enjoy!
I absolutely LOVE this receipe! It is so simple to make and everyone I have made it for has practically licked their bowl clean!
I’m confused by the great reviews. I made this soup exactly as the recipe said, and I found it quite bad, even my family didn’t like it. Sad, because I was so excited to try it given the great reviews.
Sooooo good!
Easy to make, finishes with a lovely, slightly sweet, complex flavor & texture! Made it for lunch today as an experiment in advance of Thanksgiving; will freeze the rest so we can enjoy it as a course before our “just the two of us” Thanksgiving chicken.
Delicious and easy soup. Thank you.
This is a super easy and delicious soup!
I’m not a fan of sweet soups, but this was delicious. Instead of curry powder, I used a combination of cumin and smoked paprika.
Absolutely perfect and delicious. This is a frequent recipe at my house.
Made in the Instant Pot: Used the Saute function for the onions (10 min) as well as the curry powder – added a little additional powdered ginger. After that I threw in the rest of the ingredients, adding half a butternut squash I happened to have on hand. Gave it a stir and cooked on High Pressure for 20 minutes, using the quick release after. Ran it through the Vitamix in two batches. I happened to like the consistency after adding the blended veggies back to the stock but I could see how it may be too thin for some. Cut the broth by a couple cups if that’s the case. In the bowl I added a spoonful of Greek yogurt and then topped with green onion, pepitas, a drizzle of honey and a drizzle of olive oil. It was BOMB!
Amazing soup. Honey makes a great addition. My favourite soup
Delicious!!
Such a satisfying and delicious soup for fall! Wonderful flavors. I served it with Bell’s Brown Ale. Thank you for sharing this recipe, Jenn.
I saw this recipie and began doing it. I loved it. Very easy! The curry brings a lot of flavor out and also does the apple. I did half of the recipe because is for me only. I have some for tomorrow and other frozen.
Thanks Jenn, I always enjoy your fantastic recipe.
Iliana Mendez
My new favorite soup!
Holy heck, this soup was amazing!!! For those asking about Instant Pot- I made mine in one and just added all the ingredients and cooked on high pressure for 20 minutes. The adjustments I made were based on what I had in the house- substituted one of the onions for shallots and used 1/2 tablespoon of garam marsala. I used a honeycrisp apple and didn’t need any sweetener at the end! I did take the recommendation to use 6 cups of chicken broth and omit salt.
Made this soup last night and it was so flavorful and delicious. My 2 year old granddaughter loved it too.
Jenn, do you have any serving suggestions?
Hi Pennie, This would pair nicely with this Kale, Apple, and Pancetta Salad and Buttermilk Biscuits. For future reference, you can search for any recipe (or ingredient) you’d like by using the search bar in the upper right corner of each page on the blog. (Just click on the little magnifying glass you see there.) Hope that helps!
If I could rate this a 10 I would. I usually follow recipes to the “T”. However I am not a fan of Cumin. So I did tweak that part. Instead I added pumpkin spice and no honey. A little heavy cream drizzled on the finished product. This was one of the most amazing soups ever! Sure to be one of my new favorites. Thank you!
Have made this recipe several times. I leave out carrots and substitute with butternut squash.
It’s a hit and delicious every time. Definitely a keeper. Thanks for sharing!
This was delicious. Made this today while watching the packers!
Just made this and it is soooooo good. I used a little curry but much less than it called for as I want to try giving it to my picky 3 year old. However, after putting in the bit of madras curry powder, I had a moment of genius and grabbed some Baharat spice from my cabinet (I use Savory Spice’s mix). Sooooo good. It has the sweet spiciness that complements this perfectly. Next time I make it I’ll leave out the curry entirely and go with more of the Baharat. Flavors scream fall…just looking at the pot of it makes me think of a cozy blanket and a good book! Its definitely going to be something I stock my freezer with.
I don’t like curry. Can I make this soup without it or will it be too sweet?
Hi Betty, I’d just replace the curry with a different spice – garam masala, cumin, or cinnamon would all work nicely. Hope you enjoy!
Jenn,
In your cookbook this recipe calls for low sodium chicken broth. This version does not. Have you revised the recipe or is there not much difference in taste? Sodium level is quite high per serving.
Also, I like a bit of crunch in soups. Would you recommend pumpkin seeds or maybe chopped nuts?
Patti R
Hi Patti, the reason the cookbook version calls for low-sodium broth is b/c I wanted to be consistent across all recipes in the cookbook, (and they all call for low sodium broth). Feel free to use the version in the cookbook and if you feel like you need to add more salt to taste at serving, you can do that. I think either pumpkin seeds, chopped nuts, or croutons would be a lovely topping for the soup. Hope you enjoy!
This was awesome!! Have never cooked with curry and had concerns. No concerns necessary. Very flavorful. Easy recipe to follow and well worth it. Everyone loved it.
Terrific recipe, very easy to pull together just as written, and the soup is deeeeelicious. I served it in mugs with a few garlic sourdough croutons on top – perfection on a cold Fall afternoon. Thanks for the great recipe!
Perfect fall day soup…. again so easy and flavorful! The only adjustment I made (after reading through the reviews) was adding 1 Tbsp of maple syrup instead of the honey. We loved this soup!
OMG this soup was delicious. I stayed strictly to the recipe (other than using my homemade broth) and I wouldn’t change a thing. Thank you.
Tried this tonight for something new. The only thing I did different was used shallots instead of onion as I had them on hand. This turned out really good! It’s definitely going in our soup list to have again.
I made this last night and it was really tasty and a smooth consistency (not too watery or thick). It definitely needed honey so I added that and the soup was a nice change from the regular pumpkin soup I always make! Thank you for sharing this lovely recipe.
This soup was awesome! I didn’t have any curry so I substituted it with a combo of turmeric, cumin, pumpkin pie spice, nutmeg, and cinnamon. The taste of the soup was so rich and deep!
Looked up recipes for sweet potatoes as I was doing an end of the month – how can i buy as little as possible and use up my existing ingredients week! This was absolutely delicious my 11 year old used the words “epic” and my wife asked me if it was a guilt soup and what had I done to merit coming home to this. So simple and I didnt feel a shred guilty about the butter.
Sounds like a win!
My husband and I love it! So simple to make with few ingredients and it is delicious. Definitely making again but will be using a blender instead.
This was absolutely fantastic – thank you!!
Thank you Jen for another great recipe. I did however add some “heat” to it as we love spice and it went really well with this soup. Just a tad of a jalapeno and subbed the curry powder with garam masala and cumin. Delicious!
This is an amazing recipe!!!! So good!!!! Sometimes I add 350 g of regular potatoes & double the honey. Thank you for sharing!!!
Giving this 5 stars upon some minor additions to the soup. I made the recipe exactly as called for. I withheld the honey until I had added the apple as some of you had said it made it too sweet. My apple must not have been that sweet and the soup was good with the honey. I found it a bit bland so I added some chili pepper flakes and garlic powder as well as cheddar cheese as some had mentioned went well and had 4 bowls. It is a great base for a great soup just needed a touch more seasonings.
Amazing soup! I added a splash of cream at the end and it made it divine.
I made this delicious soup in my pressure cooker (15 minutes) and it was perfect. So creamy and warming and utterly delicious. It’s a new family favourite – thank you.
For the adventurous, I added to each bowl a sprinkle of golden raisons and rough chopped cashews with a splash of lemon. Exotic and delicious. I did the recipe as written with the addition of some sautéed celery and ginger root with the onion. I added the suggested spices of garam masala and turmeric, with a little bit of cayenne, cinnamon and cumin as well…just to taste. If you want a little additional creaminess, adding about 1/4 cup Greek yogurt stirred in does the trick! Jenn’s recipes are exceptional as written, but these additions make it taste more like Indian or Middle Eastern cuisine. Either way, it’s great. 🙂
We love soup all year round and I made this one in July. It’s absolutely delicious. Given the natural sweetness of the sweet potatoes and carrots, I subbed a tablespoon of freshly grated ginger root and a tablespoon of tomato paste instead of the honey. Like another reviewer I also used less stock- about 6 cups.
This soup was the most delicious soup i have tasted in my life! My boyfriend 100% agreed. Only change I made was using slightly less stock (1.2L instead of 2L, otherwise the soup would have been way too watery for our taste). Added some chili flakes in the end. It was truely perfect! I’ll be making this again and again! Thank you!
So delicious! I stumbled across this recipe – I had some onions, sweet potato and carrots. No broth but I used water, salt, and a veggie bullion. No apples but I had some unsweetened apple sauce.
I added a pinch of cayenne, a lemon’s juice, and voila! Dressed with a pinch of fresh rosemary to finish it off.