This Instant Pot sweet potato soup recipe is easy to make, healthy, vegan, naturally creamy, and deliciously sweet. The perfect warming soup for winter or fall.
Yes, it's March, and this soup has some pretty classic fall flavors, but I had some leftover sweet potatoes and fancied making a simple sweet potato soup in my Instant Pot. It's still winter here, so this soup didn't seem too out of the ordinary for me.
I also like to break rules (especially when it comes to food), so here we go. And this recipe will still be here next fall, so bookmark it if you think it's weird to eat it now. 😉
You may also like my healthy Instant Pot mashed sweet potatoes.
How do you make sweet potato soup in an Instant Pot?
Sauté your onion in your Instant Pot, then add the sweet potatoes, liquids, garlic, and spices. Set the valve on "sealing" and cook on high pressure for 10 minutes. Carefully do a manual pressure release, blend the soup in batches (or use a stick blender), stir in some cream (if desired) and salt & pepper, and enjoy!
You can, of course, make this soup on your stove as well. I included some notes in the recipe card below.
What spices go well with sweet potato soup?
Sweet potato soup lends itself to many different spice combinations/flavor profiles. This particular soup plays on the classic fall/winter flavor of cinnamon. A bit of smoked paprika gives this soup a subtle smoky touch that works great with the cinnamon.
I also have a spicy chipotle sweet potato soup if you want something with a bit of heat.
Other Instant Pot soup recipes to try:
- Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup (Thick & Creamy)
- Instant Pot Split Pea Soup (with ham OR vegetarian)
- Easy Instant Pot Minestrone Soup Recipe
Hope you love this easy pressure cooker sweet potato soup!
Let me know in the comments below if you have any questions.
Instant Pot Sweet Potato Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 medium onion chopped
- 2 pounds sweet potatoes peeled & cut into rough 2" pieces
- 4 cups vegetable or chicken broth
- 1 cup water
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika (regular is ok too)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Salt & pepper to taste
- Heavy cream or coconut milk to taste (optional)
Instructions
- Prep your onion and sweet potato.
- Add the olive oil and onion to your Instant Pot and sauté for 5 minutes.
- Add the sweet potatoes, vegetable broth, water, garlic, smoked paprika, and cinnamon to the pressure cooker. Make sure the valve is on "sealing" and cook on high pressure for 10 minutes. It'll take about 10-15 minutes for it to get up to pressure.
- Once the countdown is finished, do a quick release.
- Blend the soup in batches (you may want to let it cool a bit first) or use a stick blender. Season with salt & pepper as needed (I found that I needed to be pretty generous with the salt). Add cream if desired (I skipped it). I'd start with 1/2 cup and work my way up from there.
Notes
- This is the 6-quart Instant Pot I used to make this recipe.
- If you don't own a pressure cooker, you can also make this on the stove. In a large pot, sauté the onion as directed and then add the ingredients as indicated. Cook until the sweet potato pieces are very tender and follow the recipe as written. Or try my similar Creamy Sweet Potato Soup.
- Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy only and should be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. Ingredients can vary and Salt & Lavender makes no guarantees to the accuracy of this information.
Sarah says
I’m tempted to try this but like opinions cause I also hate making dinner for it to not turn out like I want or at all LOL. I have chicken stock frozen from when I last did a whole chicken in the instant pot, but inside the chicken I had a lemon as well so the broth has a bit of that citrusy flavor. Think that would turn out as a good combo with this recipe or horrible? Considering making this tonight because I have two sick kiddos and comfort soup sounds like just the way to go for dinner
Natasha says
I hear ya! I think it would work. The citrus will tone down the sweetness of the sweet potatoes, but I don't think that's a bad thing. Let me know if you try!
Dee dee says
I just cooked this soup. I followed the recipe but there were two changes: I used mushroom bullion (leftover from mushroom dishes), and I did not use water.
Now I have one more favorite soup ) Thank you
Natasha says
You're welcome!! Glad you enjoyed it.
gar says
Yep, I see now that I did, or the recipe was instantly updated. lol
Natasha says
Haha I didn't update the recipe just now lol. It's all good. Yes, to dice the potatoes and peel and chop the potatoes. 🙂
Gary says
What does "prep you onion & sweet potatoes" in step 1 mean? Dice the onion & peel-cut up the potatoes? Since it's going to be blended, maybe it doesn't really matter, but it's unclear to me. Did I miss something somewhere that say what it means/
Anastasia says
Thank you for the very nice, delicious, and convenient recipe. I knew I wanted some soup and was limited as far as ingredients. I had two large sweet potatoes that needed used up and this was a perfect way of using them.
As far as seasoning, I added a healthy dose of rubbed sage, dried ginger and extra cinnamon. I would have added rosemary as well if I had some.
Question, how do you think fresh ginger might do in the instant pot? Would it fare about the same as garlic? I figured fresh herbs would get obliterated by the pressure so dried is the best option, as per your recipe.
Thanks for spending your time and energy to post recipes the public can use for free. Merry Christmas to you and your family.
Natasha says
Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed this and appreciate the free recipes. 🙂 I agree w. you on the ginger being similar to garlic in that regard. Merry Christmas!
Jennifer says
I just came across this recipe and it is a new favourite. I wonder if the reviewer who found it too thin maybe didn't weigh the potato? Mine was an ounce shy of 2lbs and after immersion blending the soup was silky and perfect. I used two small shallots as I have no onions in hand, but otherwise followed the recipe as written. I only had 3 cups of boxed chicken broth on hand and used one cup made with powdered chicken broth so it got some extra salt from that and I didn't add more at the end. I'm sending this to my mom. Thanks!
Natasha says
I'm so happy it worked out for you, Jennifer!! 🙂 Thanks for sharing the recipe with your mom - I appreciate it!
Jim B says
Such a lovely soup! Today's like the fifth time I've bade a batch. I can't get over how wonderful it is! I switch in some filtered water for the oil for sauteing the onions. That's the only change I make (WFPB no oil). It's just wonderful flavors, textures, colors, aromas, and tummy-pleasing goodness! Today I dolloped in a healthy scoop of curry rice/lentils. I creamed it up with some fresh-made raw, organic cashew milk! What a nice way to mix up the flavors and textures. They work so well together, too!
Thanks for sharing your genius with the world! - Jim B
Jim B says
Another genius of this recipe has to do with how it can be edited so many wonderful, delicious ways! No two pots are the same, except for how amazing they turn out! Thanks, again!
Natasha says
Thanks for your kind comment! I'm so happy that you like it, Jim! 🙂
Amanda says
This soup is honestly pretty awful - not only is it incredibly thin for what I'd expect to be a smooth and creamy soup, but it's also horrifically bland. The amount of seasoning is so miniscule that the only thing you taste is sweet potatoes.
Likewise, you'll notice that almost everyone in the comments added more vegetables (which would have thickened it) and more seasoning (which made it less bland).
Ultimately we decided to make ours sweeter, more similar to butternut squash soup. We added maple syrup, a lot more cinnamon, a sprinkle of nutmeg, sage, and white pepper. This made it edible but it still wasn't great. We ended up using it to dip a fresh loaf of homemade bread in and threw away the rest.
Natasha says
You must be having a pretty bad day to leave such a rude comment on a recipe. And I’m guessing you forgot the salt. I’ll just leave it at that.
Anastasia says
Um i thought it was common knowledge that recipes usually offer a good starting place as far as seasoning, and that is because everyone is obviously different. This is where some creativity comes in. You don't have to follow everything to a T, especially if you know you are someone who likes intense flavor. So don't come onto this nice lady's blog and give her a bad rating because you don't know your own taste buds, and must not own a scale...because you probably didn't use the correct amt of potatoes if it was thin. .
Natasha says
Thank you! 🙂
Lore says
Well I made it in a pressure cooker. It took 20 min total (10 min warm time, as you said).I added beef bone broth. I had no onion so I used a shallot. I used pink s&p, cumin, garam marsala, cinn, cardamon and paprika. I used water at the end and some heavy cream. I threw in some beets I had left over as well as some asparagus tips and blended it all. SO good!
Thanks for your help
Natasha says
So glad it worked out! ❤️
Johanna says
Thank you for the amazing recipe. I make it quite often in a big batch and take it with me to work for lunch. So delicious and the smoked paprika really makes a huge difference. I'm going to try your butternut squash soup tomorrow 🙂
Natasha says
I am so happy you like it!! Thanks for letting me know! 🙂
Ann K. says
So excited to find this recipe! I just got an Instant Pot and I'm obsessed with sweet potato soup, so I will definitely be making your recipe ASAP! I love to add coconut milk and some cumin and curry powder for a little bit of warm Indian flavor. Thanks for creating so many great IP recipes!
Natasha says
You're welcome! 🙂
Bren says
I followed the recipe exactly, but it is not creamy. What am I doing wrong?
Natasha says
Hi Bren! Did you blend it enough? If you don't add cream to it, I suppose it won't be creamy per se... but it should be silky. Were the sweet potato pieces nice and soft when you were finished cooking them?
Hailey says
This was delicious!! I froze half of it and was perfect every time. Thanks for the recipe!
Natasha says
So happy to hear that! Thanks for letting me know. ❤️
Lori says
Simple! Delicious! My non-vegan daughter said this tasted amazing. My vegan daughter who dislikes sweet potatoes loved it! Made a pot Monday, making another tonight (Thursday).
Natasha says
Haha that's great!! My sister and I rarely agree on anything food-related, so I am so happy it worked for both sisters lol.
Daniel says
Just cooked up a batch, and I really like it. I appreciate that the recipe is so simple to put together and forgiving on the measurements (I tend to eyeball everything rather than actually measure). I used a full onion, four cloves garlic, smoked paprika and cinnamon as ordered, 6 cups of chicken broth, 2 cups water and three large yams. I am going to reheat for dinner this evening and add coconut cream as others have indicated. Thanks.
Natasha says
I'm so glad you liked it, Daniel! Yes, I definitely try to make the recipes forgiving. So happy it worked for you! 🙂
Caitlin says
Made this last night... O. M . G. it's so good! I followed recipe exactly and added a half cup of coconut cream at the end. I will be eating this ALL winter!! Thank you!
Natasha says
I'm so happy to hear that, Caitlin! Thanks for letting me know!
Tiffany says
Hi....would coconut milk work instead of heavy cream?
Natasha says
I think it would work just fine! Hope you enjoy the soup, Tiffany!
Katherine says
It doesn’t say when to add potatoes?
Natasha says
Whoops! Add them in step 3. I’ll update the recipe to reflect that. Sorry! 🙈
Aimee says
I could honestly eat sweet potato soup year round and since I'm quite obsessed with my Instant Pot this recipe sounds perfect.
Natasha says
Let me know if you try it! 🙂