This creamy pumpkin and sweet potato soup is warm and inviting, with the cozy spices of ground ginger, smoked paprika, and a touch of cinnamon. You can make it ahead of time, in only about 40 minutes, making it a great addition to your holiday table!
Note: this post was originally published in 2021 and updated in 2025 with new photos and improved instructions. The recipe was also simplified to make prep even easier!
In fall and winter, nothing beats a cozy and piping hot bowl of soup to start a meal off right. Besides my favorite recipes for turkey sweet potato soup and carrot pumpkin apple soup, you need to try this hearty and fortifying pumpkin and sweet potato soup!
This rich and creamy sweet potato pumpkin soup brings together so much autumn and winter cheer all in one bowl. Along with sweet potato and pumpkin, this soup features cozy and warming spices, including ground ginger, smoked paprika, and a touch of cinnamon.
This soup uses canned pumpkin purée, making it super easy to make in only about 40 minutes. And, you can easily make this soup a few days ahead of time, saving you precious prep time if you are serving this for the holidays.
Jump to:
Recipe ingredients
Ingredient notes
- Broth: to make the sweet potato pumpkin soup vegetarian, you can use vegetable broth. Otherwise, any type of homemade or store-bought broth/stock will do, such as chicken or beef.
- Heavy cream: I used heavy whipping cream to give this soup its richness, but if you prefer a lighter soup, you can also use light cream. You can also use full-fat coconut milk instead.
- Oil: I used olive oil to sauté the vegetables, but feel free to use your favorite cooking oil, such as grapeseed oil or canola oil.
- Pumpkin purée: Be careful not to use pumpkin pie filling by mistake! If you happen to have homemade pumpkin purée, feel free to use that instead.
Step by step photos
Here is a step by step breakdown on how to make pumpkin and sweet potato soup. For the full instructions, please see the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
1. Heat the oil in a large pot. When the oil is hot, sauté the onion until it's soft and just starting to brown around the edges.
2. Now add in the spices and garlic. Continue to cook and stir for another minute or so, until the spices are fragrant.
3. Add in the sweet potato cubes and 6 cups (1.4 L) of the broth. Stir and bring the soup to a boil.
4. Gently boil the soup for 13 - 15 minutes, or until the sweet potato is tender.
5. Turn the heat down to low and stir in the canned pumpkin. Let the soup cook for another minute or two.
6. Now turn the heat off the stove and remove the pot from the hot burner. Pour in the heavy cream.
7. Blend the soup with an immersion blender until smooth.
8. Taste the soup and add more salt and/or pepper if needed. If the soup is too thick, you can also stir in more broth or heavy cream.
Tips and tricks
- The easiest way to check the tenderness of the sweet potato is by piercing it with a fork. If the fork can enter the sweet potato without resistance, they are done.
- You can adjust the spices and seasonings in this soup to your liking. If you are really into garlic for example, feel free to add more! I would go easy on the cinnamon, however. The recipe calls for ¼ teaspoon, and this small amount is just right to add a hint of warmth without calling out "there's CINNAMON in here!!"
- If you don't have an immersion (stick) blender, or if you want the soup to have an extra smooth and silky texture, you can use a regular blender to blend the soup instead. Please let the soup cool down first and follow the safety tips in this article Blending Hot Foods in a Blender to avoid potentially burning yourself!
Make-ahead & storage directions
Storing in the fridge:
- The soup keeps very well in the fridge for up to 3 days, stored in an airtight container. To reheat the soup, warm it gently in a saucepan over low heat, stirring frequently, and avoid boiling the soup.
- When reheating, you may also wish to add in a little bit more broth and/or heavy cream if you need to thin it out a bit.
Storing in the freezer:
- If you want to freeze the soup, do so before adding the cream. Make sure to leave enough headroom for the soup to expand as it freezes (and let the soup cool before placing in the freezer).
- The soup will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- To serve, thaw it first overnight in the fridge. Then heat it in a saucepan as outlined in the fridge section. When the soup is warm, now you can mix in the heavy cream, taste for seasoning, and add more salt and/or pepper if needed.
Slow cooker instructions
You can easily convert this pumpkin and sweet potato soup recipe to make in the crock pot! Here's how you do it:
- Add all the recipe ingredients, except the heavy cream and broth, to the crock pot (this includes the pumpkin puree, even though it's added later in the original recipe).
- Then pour in broth until the ingredients are covered, about 3 - 4 cups. We need less broth for the crock pot version - the crock pot lid will trap all the steam, and the vegetables will also release some liquid.
- Stir everything together and place on the lid. Cook on high for 4 hours, or on low for 8 hours, until the vegetables are very soft.
- Turn off the crock pot and add the heavy cream. Blend the soup with the immersion blender as written in the original recipe. Taste the soup and add more salt and/or pepper, or extra broth, if needed.
Recipe variations
- Kabocha squash and pumpkin soup: instead of sweet potato, substitute chunks of peeled kabocha squash.
- Mix up the spices: try adding ground cumin, ground coriander, regular paprika, or chili powder in addition or or instead of the spices listed.
- Sweet potato, pumpkin, and apple soup: for a hint of sweetness, add in chunks of peeled apple along with the sweet potato.
- Add texture: if you like a heartier mouthful, only partially blend the soup so it stays a bit chunky!
Garnish ideas
There are so many fun ways to garnish this soup. I like using toasted hulled pumpkin seeds to tie in the pumpkin theme. You can also try:
- sprigs of fresh parsley or chopped chives
- cracked black pepper, flaky sea salt, and/or red chili flakes
- crumbled bacon
- caramelized onions
- croutons
- a swirl of extra heavy cream or coconut milk.
Recipe FAQs
If the texture of the sweet potato pumpkin soup is too thick after blending, just add in another splash of broth. Water would also work if you don't have any more broth. Just taste the soup again after to see if you need to adjust the seasonings.
If the soup is too thin after blending, you can let it sit for a few minutes because it will thicken more as it cools. If that still doesn't work, you can very gently simmer the soup over low heat, stirring frequently, until some of the liquid has evaporated. If you have already added the cream, be careful not to let the soup get too hot so the cream does not curdle.
If you use vegetable broth, the only non-vegan ingredient in the soup is the heavy cream. Therefore, an easy way to make a vegan version of this soup would be to swap an equal amount of full-fat canned coconut milk for the heavy cream.
Related recipes
If you've tried this recipe, please leave a star rating and/or review in the comments section below, I would love to hear from you! You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest. And sign up for my weekly newsletter to get recipes delivered straight to you!
Print📖 Recipe
Pumpkin and Sweet Potato Soup
This creamy and hearty pumpkin and sweet potato soup is satisfying and full of warming spices. It's easy to make and the perfect starter for a fall or winter holiday meal!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: side dish
- Method: stove top
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 16 ounces (454 g) sweet potato, peeled and cubed
- 2 cups (242 g) chopped onion (from about 1 large or 2 small onions)
- 3 cloves garlic
- 3 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- ¾ teaspoon ground black pepper, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- 6 - 7 cups (1.4 - 1.7 L) broth (for vegetarian soup, use vegetable broth)
- one 15-ounce (425 g) can pumpkin purée
- 1 cup (237 ml) heavy cream (can sub full-fat coconut milk)
Instructions
- Heat the 3 tablespoons oil in a large pot set over medium high heat. When the oil is hot, add the chopped onion to the pot. Cook for 4 - 5 minutes, stirring frequently, or until the onion is softened and just starting to brown around the edges.
- Add the garlic, salt, black pepper, smoked paprika, ground ginger, and cinnamon to the pot. Cook for 1 minute, stirring continuously, or until the spices are fragrant.
- Add the cubed sweet potato and 6 cups of the broth to the pot. Stir to combine and turn the heat up to bring the soup to a gentle boil. (As the soup cooks, turn heat down if necessary to maintain the gentle boil.) Gently boil the soup for 13 - 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the sweet potato cubes are fork-tender.
- Turn the burner down to low and stir in the pumpkin purée. Cook for 1 - 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Turn off the stove and move the pot from the hot burner. Pour in the heavy cream. Blend the soup directly in the pot using an immersion blender until smooth. (See note 2.)
- If desired, thin the soup out with additional broth. Taste the soup and add more salt and/or black pepper if needed.
Notes
- If you don't have an immersion (stick) blender, or if you want the soup to have an extra smooth and silky texture, you can use a regular blender to blend the soup instead. Please let the soup cool down first and follow the safety tips in this article Blending Hot Foods in a Blender to avoid potentially burning yourself!
- To make a vegan version of this soup, use vegetable broth and substitute full-fat canned coconut milk for the heavy cream.
- The soup can be served immediately, or cooled down and then stored, tightly covered, in the fridge for up to 3 days. To reheat the soup, warm it gently in a saucepan over low heat, stirring frequently, and avoid boiling the soup.
Crock Pot Instructions:
- Add all the recipe ingredients, except the heavy cream and broth, to the crock pot (this includes the pumpkin puree).
- Then pour in broth until the ingredients are covered, about 3 - 4 cups. (Less broth is needed for the crock pot version - the crock pot lid will trap all the steam, and the vegetables will also release some liquid.)
- Stir everything together and place on the lid. Cook on high for 4 hours, or on low for 8 hours, until the vegetables are very soft.
- Turn off the crock pot and add the heavy cream. Blend the soup with the immersion blender. Taste the soup and add more salt and/or pepper, or extra broth, if needed.
The nutrition information below is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator, and should not be considered a substitute for professional medical, health, or nutritional advice. See our full nutrition disclosure policy.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ⅛ recipe
- Calories: 208
- Sugar: 6.8 g
- Sodium: 804 mg
- Fat: 12.1 g
- Saturated Fat: 4.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 19.2 g
- Fiber: 4.2 g
- Protein: 6.5 g
- Cholesterol: 21 mg
Bryce says
This was a delicious recipe! I used chili powder because I didn't have paprika, and used my blender. We loved it, thank you!
Kate says
That's great Bryce I'm so glad that you enjoyed it! And I'm glad to know that the chili powder worked well in the recipe 🙂
Kathy Viscusi says
Hi Kate,
I made this recipe today and you can be sure it will start off my Christmas dinner. xoxo
Kathy