This Creamy Sweet Potato and Sausage Soup recipe is made with zesty sausage, seasonal veggies and kale, tender white beans, and a creamy, garlicky, paprika-sage broth. Easy to make vegan, if you use plant-based sausage, and naturally gluten-free.
Say hello to my new favorite soup of the season. ♡
It’s one of those recipes that was such a hit that it was *instantly* added to our regular rotation. And friends and family — meat-eaters, vegetarians and vegans alike — have been giving it rave reviews around our dining table ever since.
It basically checks all of the boxes of everything I love in a cozy soup this time of year. It’s nice and hearty, featuring a vibrant blend of seasonal veggies and greens, plus a can of white beans tossed in for some extra protein. It’s easy to make with your favorite type of traditional or meatless Italian sausage, both of which options are absolutely delicious. It’s simmered with the most delicious creamy, savory, garlicky, herby and slightly-sweet broth, thanks to the use of coconut milk in place of cream. And it all comes together easily in just over a half hour — always a weeknight win!
I’m definitely going to recommend that you reserve half of the crumbled sausage to sprinkle on top of your soup just before serving, along with some pepitas or other chopped nuts for a bit of crunch. And if you happen to have a good loaf of crusty bread on hand, we can vouch that this cozy broth is absolutely perfect for dunking. So good!!
Sausage and Sweet Potato Soup Ingredients
Before we get to the full recipe below, here are a few notes about the ingredients you will need:
- Sausage: We love making this soup with vegan sausage (Beyond Sausage or Field Roast are our faves), which makes the soup vegetarian. But feel free to use any variety of meat-based or vegan sausage that you prefer.
- Veggies: Just a simple mix of onion, garlic, carrots and sweet potato. But feel free to toss in any other favorite soup veggies that you love too. (For example, celery, bell peppers, or even broccoli would be delicious here.)
- Vegetable broth: Either vegetable stock or chicken stock will work in this recipe.
- Seasonings: I love the smoky, earthy mix of smoked paprika and fresh sage in this soup. And as always, don’t forget to season the soup with as much sea salt and black pepper as needed too.
- Beans: I like tossing in a can of white beans for extra protein, but any type of beans or lentils will be great here.
- Coconut milk: I use one can of full-fat coconut milk to make this soup nice and creamy, and I really enjoy how the subtly sweet coconut flavor pairs with the seasonings. But if you aren’t a big fan of coconut milk, feel free to add in a bit of half and half or heavy cream to make the soup creamy.
- Greens: I’ve been making this soup with fresh kale, since it’s in season right now. But fresh baby spinach or collard greens would also be delicious options.
- Toppings: I recommend reserving half of the crumbled sausage to sprinkle on top of each serving, but toasted pepitas, microgreens, fried sage leaves or a sprinkle of Parmesan would be delicious toppings as well.
Optional Variations
Here are a few other ways that you can customize this creamy sweet potato and sausage soup recipe and make it your own…
- Make it gluten-free: This recipe is naturally gluten-free if made with certified GF sausage. (It’s always a good idea to double-check the label with sausage.)
- Make it vegan/vegetarian: As mentioned above, this soup is easy to make vegan/vegetarian by using plant-based sausage. We’re partial to Field Roast or Beyond Sausage in our house.
- Use andouille sausage: Zesty andouille sausage would also be fantastic in this soup in place of Italian sausage.
- Use cream: If you aren’t a big fan of coconut milk, you’re welcome to add in your desired amount of heavy cream or half and half to make the soup creamy.
- Make it spicy: Feel free to toss in some crushed red pepper flakes to amp up the heat.
- Add bacon: This soup would also be fantastic with some bacon bits sprinkled on top and/or stirred into the soup.
More Favorite Soup Recipes
Looking for more cozy soup recipes to try this season? Here are a few of my faves:
- Cozy Autumn Wild Rice Soup
- Ultimate Chili
- Potato Soup
- Favorite Gumbo
- Lemony Lentil Soup
- Sopa Azteca (Tortilla Soup)
Creamy Sweet Potato and Sausage Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 pound ground Italian sausage (or vegan sausage*)
- 1 large white onion, peeled and diced
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 5 leaves of fresh sage
- 2 carrots, thinly sliced
- 1 1/2 pounds sweet potato, diced
- 1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 (15-ounce) can white beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 (15-ounce) can full-fat coconut milk
- 2 large handfuls chopped fresh kale
- salt and freshly-cracked black pepper, to taste
- optional toppings: pepitas, microgreens, fried sage leaves, etc.
Instructions
- Brown the sausage. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Sauté the sausage, crumbling it with a wooden spoon as it cooks, until browned. Transfer the sausage with a slotted spoon to a clean plate and set aside.
- Sauté the onion and garlic. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil in the stockpot. Add the onion and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened. Add the garlic and sauté for 1-2 minutes, stirring frequently, until fragrant.
- Simmer. Add the vegetable stock, sage, carrots, sweet potato, smoked paprika, beans, half of the cooked sausage and stir until combined. Cook until the soup reaches a simmer. Then reduce heat to medium-low to maintain the simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are tender.
- Season. Add the coconut milk and fresh kale and stir for 1-2 minutes, or until the kale begins to soften. Remove and discard the sage. Taste and season the soup with salt and pepper as needed.
- Serve. Serve warm, garnished with a spoonful of the remaining crumbled sausage plus any of your desired toppings.
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
Great recipes, but I made a few modifications that really lifted things:
– used half a butternut squash instead of sweet potato
– cut up my veggies and roasted with oil, salt, pepper, smoked paprika and a bit of cayenne in the oven at 400 for ~25 mins
– pureed 2/3 of the roasted veggies with the stock and coconut milk with an immersion blender to add a bit of thickness and body to the soup
– added in rest of roasted veggies + sausage + beans + kale for texture
This soup was so unexpectedly awesome! Used spinach instead of kale but otherwise followed the recipe and it was amazing. Even my two toddlers liked it. Will be making again!
BEST gluten and dairy free soup I have ever made! My family is obsessed and I can’t wait to share this recipe with all my friends!! I used sweet Italian sausage that I picked up from the local farmers market that I think really brought it all together nicely. Also used red pepper flakes because I love a little spice. Can’t wait to make it again!
I had some lovely andouille sausage from a local farmer and this recipe was delicious!
Outstanding!!! Loved this recipe – I added in some broccoli too. Easy to make & tastes incredible. I made this with the recipe for the garlic butter rolls. YUM!
This was a huge hit!
This soup was delicious. I made it just as instructed and the flavors were so good. The only change I’d like is for it to be a little thicker. I was thinking about using coconut cream instead of coconut milk or pureeing some of the sweet potatoes. I was wondering if you’ve tried that.
Love this soup. My husband said make sure you save this! Used hot sweet Italian sausage and spinach.
This looks delicious! My husband isn’t crazy about coconut. Does the finished soup have a strong coconut flavor or is is subtle?
This was so delicious. I forgot to buy carrots, so we just did without. I used half and half instead of coconut milk, since I don’t like it. This is one of the best soups I’ve ever made. I don’t even love sweet potato very much.