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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This was very good. It was delicious and easy to make. I substituted vegetable broth for chicken broth+added only half a tablespoon of honey. I served this with fresh toasted sourdough bread topped with feta cheese and olive oil. It was wonderful. My husband who doesn’t like carrot soup—really like this and gave it 8/10, which is saying quite something, as he usually will not eat carrot soup.
Great veggie soup recipe base to riff off of. I used Ethiopian Berbere spice mix in place of a standard curry, cut the water in half based on other reviewers discussions, followed all other ingredient directions, cooked, and blended as outlined and finished it off by adding it back to the pot to cook briefly with a can of coconut cream. The addition of coconut cream (not milk – cc is thicker and richer) made it taste additionally decadent and balanced out a bit of the heat from the spice mix. I will definitely use this recipe again – thank you for inspiring this twist!
Added 1/2 cup whole cream and used 1/2 tsp white pepper. It made the soup richer and the white pepper gave it a little heat. The combination of carrots, sweet potatoes and apple is a wonderful complimentary group of flavors! I can see that it will thicken as it sits and I will add broth and milk to dilute as needed and then adjust the seasonings. Great flavor. I have an extensive recipe collection and have been cooking for 52 years. I don’t save mediocre recipes! This one I’ll keep in my soup recipe book.
Delicious soup. This is perfect for a cold fall or winter day. The flavors are so warm and soothing. Another great recipe. Thanks Jenn.
Everyone enjoyed this soup and asked me to serve it again very soon. It is simple to prepare, quite nutritious and extremely delicious. I used half the salt, plant-based butter, and low sodium vegetable broth.
I’ve made this soup 3 times now, most recently doubling the volume to use a generous garden harvest of carrots and to share with friends. I tweaked it to make it vegan and it is a hit! Thank you.
Sooo…incredible recipes, always!
I’m hoping you can start considering sodium content of recipes and maybe even, adding a line or two to suggest ways to significantly reduce sodium content and replace the outrageous amounts of sodium(sweet potato/apple/carrot: 975 mg per serving) with appropriate flavors.
Maybe reduce sodium in this recipe to under 500 mg without sacrificing flavor.
Nutritionists suggest 2400 mg max & I’m sure many folks on a low sodium (under 2000 mg daily) would love recipes suggestions that make that possible, as well considering the other items (garlic/cheese bread??) salty appetizers in a meal or three meals in a day.
And yes, I am on a self-managed low sodium recovery program after decades of consuming 4000+ mg a day as a sodium addict. You really do shake salt on a pizza???
Hi Pete, glad you enjoyed the soup! Thanks also for your honest feedback about the sodium content in my recipes. Overall, the quickest way to cut back on the sodium in my savory recipes is to cut back on the added salt and then add salt to taste. In the case of the soup, you could also try using reduced sodium broth. Also, this piece offers some good ways to boost flavor without salt. Hope you find it helpful!
This soup is incredible. I followed the instructions exactly and my whole family was impressed!
The flavors blend beautifully. I used half as much broth as recommended and a Granny Smith apple. The texture was perfect. I will be making this again and again. 😊
I tried this soup as I was inspired from a cousin of mine who made us a carrot soup while in the UK. This turned out delicious and I truly enjoyed it. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe and all of your wonderful recipes!