Baked Potato Soup is my love language. Also Bacon. If you’re a sucker for comfort food you can top with candied bacon and smoked cheese and sip with a spoon, then keep reading. This has everything you love about traditional Baked Potato Soup, but with sweet and savory fall flavors.
Ingredients Needed
- bacon – I rubbed mine with just a tiny bit of brown sugar, but you could also do this easy Maple-Glazed Bacon instead.
- brown sugar
- onion
- garlic
- butter
- flour
- chicken broth
- kosher salt
- pepper
- smoked paprika
- rubbed sage
- sweet potato – cooked. You can cook these the day before, or use leftovers.
- apple cider vinegar
- cheddar cheese – smoked. You can usually find smoked cheddar in the deli area of the grocery store by the specialty cheeses. This adds an amazing smoky flavor and adds richness.
- your favorite soup toppings – for this particular soup, I love more cheese, green onions, that candied bacon. And for a little crunch, I sprinkled on a few sweet potato chips. A drizzle of cream is also delicious in there. We love soup like this served with a toasty grilled cheese sandwich.
How to Make Baked Sweet Potato Soup
This is a simple overview of the recipe, you’ll find a full printable recipe below!
- Preheat oven and bake bacon with brown sugar until crisp; cool on a rack.
- Use some bacon grease to sauté onion until tender, then add garlic briefly.
- Stir in butter and flour to make a roux, then mix with onions.
- Slowly whisk in chicken broth and seasonings; simmer briefly.
- Add sweet potatoes, then finish with vinegar and cheese.
- Blend soup until smooth if desired.
- Serve topped with bacon and any other preferred toppings.
Storage & Other Tips
- Refrigeration: store cooled soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 – 4 days.
- Freezing: you could freeze this soup, but the texture will change a bit when you reheat. If you want to make and freeze it ahead, I’d recommend freezing the soup before adding cheese and vinegar.
- Reheating: when you reheat, you may find you need to add a splash of chicken stock or milk to get the soup back to the creamy, delicious consistency.
- Serving tips: this soup really shines with additional smoked cheddar, green onions, candied bacon, crushed sweet potato chips (add on top right before serving), or a drizzle of cream. To round it out a bit more as a meal, you can pair it with a warm grilled cheese sandwich or crusty bread.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use canned sweet potatoes instead?
Yes, you absolutely can! Drain and mash them before adding them to the soup. Make sure they aren’t sweetened, and you should note the flavor may be slightly different than is using freshly baked sweet potatoes.
What’s the best way to adjust the heat?
I’d add some cayenne pepper if you want to up the spice level. If you need to make a bit more milk, you can reduce the amount of smoked paprika.
What other cheeses would be good in this soup?
Gouda, smoked gouda, or fontina would be amazing choices here.
What toppings do you recommend?
I am all about the toppings! I love more cheese, green onions, candied bacon, a drizzle of cream, and sweet potato chips crushed on top.
Could I replace the sweet potato with a different type of squash?
You probably could. We have never tried it this way so we can’t guarantee the results. It would just maybe change the consistency a bit since butternut isn’t quite as thick and hearty. But I bet it would still taste great!
Baked Sweet Potato Soup
A beautiful soup bursting with the perfect combination of sweet and savory.
Servings servings
Equipment
Ingredients
- 6 slices bacon
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 onion, medium diced (about 1 heaping cup)
- 4-5 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 32 ounces chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon rubbed sage
- 1 ½ cups sweet potato, cooked, mashed about 1 medium
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup cheddar cheese, smoked, shredded plus more for topping
Toppings
- sliced green onions, cheese, sweet potato chips, drizzle of cream optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 ℉. Line a baking sheet with foil and lay bacon slices in a single layer. Rub about ½ teaspoon brown sugar over each slice. Bake until bacon is crisp (about 20-25 minutes) and then remove to cool. I usually place cooked slices on a baking rack over foil. Don't set on paper towels because the sugar will stick!
- Place 2 tablespoons of the grease from the bacon pan in a soup pot over medium heat. Add onion and cook for 5-6 minutes, until onion is tender. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds more.
- Push onions to the side and add butter to pan until melted. Add flour and cook mixture for about a minute until smooth. Mix around with onions in pan for another minute.
- Slowly add in chicken broth and whisk until smooth. Add salt, pepper, smoked paprika and sage. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for 5 minutes. Add sweet potatoes, then turn off heat and add vinegar and cheese.
- If you prefer your soup smooth (which I recommend), place in blender or use an immersion blender to process until smooth.
- Top with bacon and desired toppings; I use all that are listed.
Notes
- To cook sweet potato, you can prick and bake in the oven at 400 for about 45 minutes or until soft to the touch, or prick a few times and place in a bowl with a couple tablespoons of water and covered with plastic wrap. Microwave for 5 minutes or until completely soft.
- Nutritional information was calculated without the use of toppings.
Nutrition
Calories: 163kcal, Carbohydrates: 15g, Protein: 7g, Fat: 8g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 2g, Trans Fat: 0.1g, Cholesterol: 25mg, Sodium: 1180mg, Potassium: 239mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 5g, Vitamin A: 5042IU, Vitamin C: 3mg, Calcium: 96mg, Iron: 1mg
Calories: 163kcal
Cost: $10
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Questions & Reviews
Made this today for lunch and it was fabulous! Didn’t have smoked cheese so I put three drops of liquid smoke and used a good quality aged cheddar. A keeper for fall nights.
Just made this for work, and a lot of people loved it 🙂 I doubled the recipe, and blended it, and would do so in the future. But also wished I had even more sweet potatoes to top it off with.
Could you replace the sweet potato with butternut squash?
You probably could- It would just maybe change the consistency a bit since butternut isn’t quite as thick and hearty. But I bet it would still taste great!
This was absolutely delicious! My husband said it got better with each bite and 2/3 kids liked it. I believe #3 would have liked it had she been willing to try it. Well done!
Looking everywhere for sweet potato chips. Not sure I want a case of them on Amazon. Then again….
Any suggestions?
Most normal grocery stores sell sweet potato chips. They are often near the health foods (if not in the chip aisle!)
This was super yummy! My husband and I both loved it. It was a bit too sophisticated for my kids’ taste, so, we may need to put it on the menu in a few more years. 🙂
I made this tonight and it’s fantastic!! I didn’t make the candied bacon but used 2 Tbsp. olive oil to sautée the onion. I figured it to be 5 1-cup servings. When I ran it through the WW recipe builder, it came to 7 SmartPoints per cup (without the delicious toppings).
Thanks for another winner!!
Can you freeze this by chance?
Hey Eileen! Ya, this should freeze just fine. Sometimes soups like this thicken quite a bit when chilled or frozen, and if that’s the case, just add a little broth to thin.