Butternut & Sweet Potato Soup with Bacon
plus Sage, Crème Fraîche & Garlic-Lemon Toasts
- Milk
- Wheat
- Soy
For this harvest-inspired meal, you’ll whip up a pot of earthy-sweet butternut squash and sweet potato soup with just a touch of nutmeg. Blitz in the blender (required!) until smooth and creamy, then dollop with tangy crême fraîche and a shower of bacon-scallion-panko breadcrumbs for crunchy contrast and serve with garlic-lemon toasts for dipping.
Ingredients
4 ounce
Bacon
½ ounce
Vidalia Onion Paste
4 tablespoon
Crème Fraîche
(Contains: Milk)
2 unit
Chicken Stock Concentrate
1 unit
Lemon
2 unit
Sweet Potato
8 ounce
Butternut Squash
1 unit
Milk
(Contains: Milk)
¼ teaspoon
Nutmeg
¼ cup
Panko Breadcrumbs
(Contains: Wheat)
2 unit
Scallions
1 teaspoon
Garlic Powder
1 unit
Demi-Baguette
(Contains: Soy, Wheat)
¼ ounce
Sage
Not included in your delivery
4 teaspoon (tsp)
Salt
1 teaspoon (tsp)
Olive Oil
4 tablespoon (tbsp)
Butter
(Contains: Milk)
teaspoon (tsp)
Black Pepper
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Cooking Steps
-
Wash and dry produce.
- Heat a medium dry pot (large pot for 4 servings) over medium-high heat. Add bacon*; cook, turning occasionally and adjusting heat if browning too quickly, until crispy, 6-10 minutes. Turn off heat; transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate. Reserve bacon fat in pot for use in Step 3.
-
Once bacon is cool enough to handle, roughly chop.
-
While bacon cooks, peel and dice sweet potatoes into 1-inch pieces. Trim and thinly slice scallions, separating whites from greens. Pick sage leaves from stems; roughly chop leaves. Zest and quarter lemon (for 4 servings, zest one lemon; quarter both).
-
In pot with bacon fat, melt 2 TBSP butter (4 TBSP for 4 servings) over medium-high heat. Add sweet potatoes, squash, scallion whites, half the garlic powder, 1 TBSP sage, and ⅛ tsp nutmeg (2 TBSP sage and ¼ tsp nutmeg for 4). Season with 1 tsp salt (1½ tsp for 4) and a big pinch of pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until veggies begin to brown, 4-5 minutes.
-
In the pot, stir in 1¼ cups water (2½ cups for 4), milk, stock concentrates, Vidalia onion paste, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium low. Cover and cook until veggies are tender, stirring occasionally, 10-12 minutes. Remove from heat.
-
Stir in juice from two lemon wedges (four for 4); stir to combine.
-
While soup cooks, heat a drizzle of olive oil in a small pan over medium heat. Add panko and toast, stirring, until lightly browned, 1-2 minutes.
-
Transfer panko to a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
-
Halve and toast baguette.
-
While baguette toasts, place 2 TBSP butter (4 TBSP for 4 servings) and remaining garlic powder in a second small microwave-safe bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave until butter has melted, 30-60 seconds.
-
Add lemon zest; season generously with pepper. Stir to combine.
-
Brush garlic-lemon butter onto cut sides of toasted baguette. Halve on a diagonal.
-
Once veggies are tender, carefully transfer soup to a blender (or food processor). TIP: If you have one, use an immersion blender to purée the soup right in the pot!
-
Blend soup until no large pieces remain and mixture is smooth, 60-90 seconds. Season with salt and pepper to taste. TIP: To blend hot soup safely, work in batches if needed, filling blender only halfway. To blend, remove center cap from blender lid, secure lid on blender, and hold a folded kitchen towel over the lid to allow steam to escape and protect yourself from splatters.
-
To bowl with toasted panko, add bacon and scallion greens. Stir to combine.
-
Divide soup between bowls. Top with bacon-scallion panko and dollop with crème fraîche. Serve garlic-lemon toasts and remaining lemon wedges on the side.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Feb 2026- Flavor: Many loved the rich, savory taste with subtle layers of flavor. Some found it too sweet; others suggested adding apple juice for more sweetness.
- Ease of prep: While delicious, several noted it was time-consuming with many steps. An immersion blender makes preparation easier.
- Suggestions: Consider blending only half for texture, adding extra broth to thin, or swapping croutons for panko for more crunch.
- Leftovers: The soup keeps well, with some reporting it tasted even better the next day. It also freezes nicely.
- Toppings: The bacon-scallion-panko topping and garlic-lemon toast received mixed reviews; some loved the contrast, others found them unnecessary.
Reviews from our home cooks
I usually don't comment because we are hardly ever dissatisfied with the recipe - the ingredients are less than optimal sometimes but when that happens, I call. As soon as I read the recipe, I thought well this is more complicated and will be more time consuming than the usual HF recipe and it was but it was worth it - layers of subtle flavor - bravo! This not one for a rookie chef but if you have the time and a modicum of skills it is well worth the effort.
One of my favorite fall soups! Thank you for making it less tedious than how I'm used to making it. * Note: use apple juice instead of all that water. Garnish with a splash of cream, bacon, and pepitos. YUMMY!
Top 2 meals for me and the boyfriend. So good! Great flavor in soup with the fresh sage and nutmeg. Great topping, it was all perfect, especially with lemony bread
Lemon zest in the butter for the bread paired nicely with the soup. Apple pieces would go well in the soup as an option instead of bacon. Delicious!
Sweet, nutty, smoky flavor (I blended in the bacon instead of topping with it.) Wish I had an immersion blender for this prep.
Really tasty - the sage and pinch of nutmeg really put it over plain pureed veg.
This soup is warm, filling and satisfying. Can we get a small sandwich with it? Maybe a brioche bread with a chutney or chive or walnut goat cheese for a grilled cheese dipper?
My family really enjoyed the soup, especially my vegetarian daughter (I cooked the bacon separately). The toast, as I made it with the provided ingredients, was really delicious. Had I made it as the instructions directed, it would have been disappointing. There actually were no instructions for how to toast the bread (which yes, some people may find challenging). I brushed it with olive oil and toasted lightly in the oven, then toasted in the oven again after spreading with the lemon zest and butter.
Great fall flavor but i wish it were smoother and not quite as thick, maybe a dash of broth would help.. it kind of seemed like a bowl of mashed sweet potatoes rather than a soup
This soup was Amazing. It was delicious 😋 a time saver would be to have the sweet potato peeled and cubed. No changes to the recipe!!
