Butternut squash sweet potato soup with coconut milk is a smooth, naturally sweet blended soup made from roasted butternut squash and sweet potato, simmered in vegetable or chicken broth, then finished with full-fat coconut milk in place of cream. Roasting the vegetables first is the part that matters. The edges caramelize in the oven, and the soup ends up tasting far deeper than its short ingredient list suggests.
This is the soup I blend up all winter, and most of it is hands off while the oven does the work. The coconut milk is what gives it that silky, almost velvety finish, and a splash of heavy cream works in its place if you would rather go richer. In the photos I have topped mine with crispy bacon, a swirl of sour cream and fresh thyme, which is how we eat it most often.
Serve this delicious soup with crusty bread, potato pancakes or top it with homemade croutons.
Craving more soup? You'll love sausage soup, creamy potato soup, chicken soup and pasta fazool.
Butternut Squash Sweet Potato Soup In 4 Steps
- Roast the vegetables. Toss 1-inch chunks of butternut squash and sweet potato with turmeric, thyme, nutmeg, cumin, salt, pepper and a drizzle of oil. Bake at 375°F (190°C) for 30-45 minutes.
- Blend them smooth. Pulse the roasted chunks in a food processor or blender until creamy, then set aside.
- Build the base. Soften the diced onion in butter or olive oil, add garlic for 1 minute, then stir in the blended vegetables and 4 cups of broth.
- Finish with coconut milk. Add ½ cup full-fat coconut milk, simmer 5-10 minutes, season to taste, and blend once more for the silkiest texture.
Ingredients
For Roasted Butternut Squash and Sweet Potatoes:
- Butternut squash. You’ll need a medium squash, cut into 1-inch chunks, giving you about 4 ½ cups or 2-3 lb of whole butternut squash. If you don’t have butternut squash, use pumpkin.
- Sweet potato. Use a large sweet potato, cut into 1-inch chunks, which should yield about 4 - 4 ½ cups.
- Spices. Ground turmeric, ground nutmeg, and ground cumin have been used to season the squash and sweet potato chunks. Feel free to add other spices like red pepper flakes, chili flakes, or a teaspoon of ground nutmeg.
- Herbs. Dried thyme pairs beautifully with the spices used to season the vegetable chunks.
- Oil. I’ve used rice bran oil since it has a higher smoke point and neutral flavor than olive oil, but you could also use something like Avocado oil. Coconut oil is another option, although it is a less healthy choice.
- Salt and black pepper. To taste.
For Soup
- Onion. The yellow onion (also commonly referred to as brown onion) provides a lovely sweetness to the soup. Dice it finely so that it cooks easily.
- Garlic. Mince your garlic from 3 whole garlic cloves or use store-bought minced garlic.
- Butter. I’ve used unsalted butter to reduce the sodium in this soup, but you can use salted butter instead and hold off on seasoning the soup with salt. Swap in olive oil or coconut oil to keep the whole pot dairy free.
- Broth. Choose a low-sodium broth (vegetable or chicken) if you need to reduce salt intake. Vegetable stock or chicken stock can also be used.
- Coconut milk. Use the full-fat canned coconut milk, not the thin carton stuff, and shake the can before you measure. It thickens the soup and gives it that silky finish with no dairy at all. Heavy cream works in its place if you are not avoiding dairy.
- Garnish. Top this butternut squash soup with sour cream (optional), crumbled goat cheese, freshly shredded Parmesan cheese, a drizzle of honey, a dollop of Greek yogurt, or fresh thyme. The version in the photos is topped with crispy bacon, which is optional but very much worth it. Cook 4 to 5 slices until crisp, crumble them, and scatter over each bowl just before serving so they stay crunchy.
👩🍳 You'll find the complete list of ingredients below the recipe card.
How To Make Butternut Squash Soup
Roasted Veggies. Lay out butternut squash and sweet potatoes on a roasting tin and sprinkle with spices, salt, and pepper and a drizzle of oil.
Bake at 375°F (190°C) for 30-45 minutes, or until the chunks are soft and slightly golden brown at the edges.
Once roasted, transfer the veggies to a food processor or standard blender (or, for a much quicker and less cleanup option, use an immersion blender) and pulse until smooth and creamy.
Set aside.
Soup. In a large pot over medium-high heat, melt butter and saute onions until softened. Add garlic and saute for 1 minute more.
Add roasted veggies and broth. Take it to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, stir in the coconut milk and simmer for 5-10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Blend again with an immersion blender until smooth. This step is optional, but it gives the creamiest, smoothest result.
Enjoy garnished with croutons, dried or fresh thyme, or other fresh herbs.
For a hearty meal, we like to serve this creamy soup along with crusty bread and Ground Beef Salad.
Craving More Sweet Potato Recipes?
Tips
- Cut the butternut squash and sweet potato into uniform sizes so that the vegetable pieces roast evenly and for the same cooking time.
- While it’s possible to use pureed (canned) vegetables instead of roasting vegetables from scratch, I don’t recommend it as the roasted vegetables will always provide a more flavorsome result and tend to contribute to a longer storage life for this soup.
- It’s best to add a generous pinch of salt and pepper to the vegetables to enhance the flavors of the roasted vegetables.
- Leftover soup stored in the fridge or the freezer will naturally thicken. I suggest stirring in some broth (chicken or vegetable) to loosen the soup while reheating it without diluting the flavor of the soup, which could happen if you used water instead.
- This recipe can be doubled when catering to a larger crowd.
- While a food processor can blend the roasted vegetables, I’ve found that an immersion blender is a faster method with less cleanup required.
- Related: Loaded Potato Soup.
Freezing and Storing Instructions
- Store the roasted squash soup in a glass airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Any leftover soup can be reheated in the microwave or on the stove over medium-low heat. Just don't boil it.
- After refrigerating, the soup will thicken even more. Add some vegetable broth or warm water to thin it out when reheating.
- I don't recommend freezing the butternut squash soup as it may separate after thawing and the texture will not be the same as fresh. For the best flavor consume the soup on the same day or latest the next day.
Fun Variations to Try
- Extra creamy. Stir in a splash of heavy cream in addition to the coconut milk for a richer soup.
- Spiced version. Add a pinch of cayenne or curry powder for warmth.
- Add protein. Top with crispy chickpeas or shredded chicken for a heartier meal.
How To Make It Dairy Free or Vegan
Because the creaminess here comes from coconut milk rather than cream, this soup is already most of the way to dairy free. Three small swaps take it the rest of the way.
- Use olive oil or coconut oil instead of butter. It softens the onion and garlic just as well, and once everything is blended you would never know the difference.
- Reach for vegetable broth. Worth reading the label too, since a few brands quietly include butter or milk solids.
- Change the toppings. Leave off the bacon and sour cream and finish with toasted pumpkin seeds, crispy chickpeas, or an extra drizzle of coconut milk. You still get the crunch and the contrast.
Made that way the whole pot is vegan, and it is every bit as good as the version in the photos. If you want something heartier alongside it, our red lentil veggie cakes are a good match.
What to Serve With This Soup
- Crusty bread for dipping
- A simple green salad
- A drizzle of coconut milk and toasted pumpkin seeds on top
Easy Soup Recipes
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Before You Go
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📖Recipe
Butternut Squash Sweet Potato Soup With Coconut Milk
Video
Ingredients
Roasted Butternut Squash and Sweet Potatoes
- 1 medium butternut squash, cut into chunks 1 inch (about 4 ½ cups or 2-3 lb of a whole butternut squash)
- 2 large sweet potatoes, chopped into chunks 1 inch (about 4 - 4 ½ cups)
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
- olive oil, for cooking
- salt, to taste
- black pepper, to taste
Soup
- 1 large yellow onion, finely diced
- 3 medium garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoon unsalted butter, or olive oil to keep it dairy free
- 4 cups vegetable broth, or chicken broth
- ½ cup coconut milk, full-fat canned, or heavy cream
- salt, to taste
- black pepper, to taste
Instructions
Roasted Veggies
- Spread the butternut squash and sweet potatoes over a roasting tin. Sprinkle with the turmeric, thyme, nutmeg, cumin, salt and pepper, then drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat.1 medium butternut squash, 2 large sweet potatoes, ½ teaspoon ground turmeric, ½ teaspoon dried thyme, ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon ground cumin, olive oil, salt, black pepper
- Bake at 375°F (190°C) for 30-45 minutes, until the chunks are soft and slightly golden at the edges.
- Transfer the roasted veggies to a food processor or standard blender and pulse until smooth and creamy. For a quicker option with less cleanup, use an immersion blender straight in the roasting tin.
- Set aside.
Soup
- In a large pot over medium-high heat, melt the butter and saute the onion until softened. Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute more.
- Add the roasted veggies and the broth. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, stir in the coconut milk and simmer for 5-10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.4 cups vegetable broth, ½ cup coconut milk, salt, black pepper
- Blend again with an immersion blender until smooth. This step is optional, but it gives the creamiest result.
- Serve garnished with croutons, dried or fresh thyme, or other fresh herbs. If you like this recipe, please leave a 5-star rating, thank you!
Notes
- Make it fully dairy free: swap the butter for olive oil or coconut oil and use vegetable broth. The coconut milk is already doing the creamy work, so nothing else needs to change.
- Use full-fat canned coconut milk: the kind in a carton is much thinner and the soup will not come out as silky. Shake the can before you measure so the cream and liquid are mixed.
- Cut everything the same size: 1-inch chunks roast at the same rate, so nothing scorches while the rest is still firm.
- It thickens in the fridge: loosen leftovers with a splash of broth while reheating rather than water, so you thin the soup without thinning the flavor.
Nutrition
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this soup taste like coconut?
Only faintly. Half a cup of coconut milk in a pot this size reads as richness rather than coconut flavor, and the roasted squash, sweet potato and warm spices sit well in front of it. If you want it gone completely, use heavy cream instead.
Can I use light coconut milk instead of full fat?
You can, but the soup will be noticeably thinner and less silky. Light coconut milk is mostly water. If it is what you have, simmer the soup a few minutes longer to reduce it, or hold back half a cup of the broth.
Do you have to peel butternut squash for soup?
No. Butternut squash skin is edible, and once roasted it is soft enough to blend into a completely smooth soup, so you can skip the peeling entirely. Peel it if you prefer, it will not change the flavor.
Can you eat sweet potato skin in soup?
Yes. Sweet potato skin is edible and blends down smoothly after roasting, and it carries a good amount of the fiber. Just scrub the potatoes well before you cut them into chunks.
Why is my butternut squash soup watery?
Usually too much broth, or vegetables that were boiled instead of roasted. Roasting drives off moisture and concentrates the flavor, which is why it matters here. To fix a thin batch, simmer it uncovered for another 10 minutes, or blend in a few extra roasted chunks.
Is butternut squash and sweet potato soup healthy?
It is a genuinely nutrient dense bowl. Both vegetables are high in fiber, potassium and vitamin A, and most of the sweetness is their own rather than added sugar. Sweet potato carries roughly twice the calories of butternut squash per serving, so the ratio you use shifts the numbers.
Rita
Enjoy this fulfilling and ultra creamy roasted butternut squash and sweet potato soup.