Sweet Potato Bisque with Bacon and Cinnamon Toast Croutons
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My sweet potato bisque skips the pie spices and builds its flavor on bacon fat, garlic, and a splash of bourbon instead. The cinnamon toast croutons on top bring all the sweetness, one crunchy bite at a time.
Most sweet potato soups lean hard into the sweetness. Cinnamon, nutmeg, curry, a little maple, and dinner starts tasting like pie. I took this one in a different direction.
The base of this sweet potato bisque starts with bacon, cooked until crisp, then lifted out. Everything after that sautés in the rendered fat, adding a deep, smoky layer of flavor. Onion, garlic, and a pinch of chili flakes go in, then a splash of bourbon to scrape up the browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pot. The result is smoky and savory rather than sweet, and the cream pulls it all into something silky.
In recipe testing, I found that the sugar and cinnamon belong in the croutons, not in the pot. Keeping them separate gives you sweet and savory in the same spoonful instead of a soup that tastes like dessert.
It’s one pot and under an hour, which is about as easy as dinner gets for something this rich. Toast the croutons right before serving so they’re still crisp when they hit the bowl.
What to serve with sweet potato bisque
This is dinner on its own, especially once the bacon and croutons go on top. It’s rich, so I want something sharp and crunchy alongside to cut through the cream. Anything from my salad recipes with a bright vinaigrette does the job.
A sandwich on the side makes it a bigger meal. These are my two favorites for dipping:
- Tomato Bacon Cheese Toasts
- Grilled Cheese and Apple Sandwich with Sriracha Butter
Crusty bread and butter works too, and honestly that’s what happens most nights at my house.
Make ahead and storage
Make it ahead. This soup is better on day two, so it’s a good one to cook in advance. I take it through the puréeing step, cool it, and refrigerate it without the cream. Then I stir the cream in while it reheats and toast the croutons right before serving.
Store leftovers. The bisque keeps in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. It thickens as it sits, since sweet potatoes are starchy, so loosen it with a splash of stock when you warm it up. Keep the bacon in its own container, and leave the croutons at room temperature rather than in the fridge, where they go soft fast.
Reheat it gently. Warm the soup over medium-low heat and stop before it boils. Cream that hits a hard boil can separate and turn the texture grainy, which I learned the hard way. The croutons come back to life in a 350°F oven for about 5 minutes, and the bacon re-crisps in a dry skillet in under a minute.
Freeze it. Freeze the base before adding the cream, and it’ll keep for 3 months. Thaw it overnight in the fridge, reheat it slowly, then stir in the cream at the end. Cream-based soups tend to split in the freezer, so holding it back is worth the extra step.
Sweet Potato Bisque with Bacon and Cinnamon Toast Croutons
Ingredients
- 4 strips bacon
- 1 medium onion (chopped)
- 4 cloves garlic (minced)
- ¼ teaspoon chili flakes
- ¼ cup bourbon (see notes)
- 6 cups chicken stock
- 1 teaspoon EACH: sea salt and black pepper (more to taste)
- 4 medium sweet potatoes (peeled and chopped – about 2 lb total)
- 1 cup heavy cream
Cinnamon Toast Croutons
- 4 slices bread (crusts cut off and cut into squares)
- 1 tablespoon butter (melted)
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon sugar (see notes)
Instructions
- Add the bacon to a large soup pot over medium heat and cook until it is crispy, about 12 minutes. Remove from the pot and crumble when it is cool enough to touch.4 strips bacon
- If there is less than 2 tablespoons of bacon oil in the pot, add some olive oil. If there is more, remove it. Add the onion to the pot and sauté it over medium heat until it starts to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and red chili flakes and cook for one minute more. If using, add the bourbon to the pot and scrape the bottom to remove any stuck-on bits.1 medium onion, 4 cloves garlic, ¼ teaspoon chili flakes, ¼ cup bourbon
- Add the stock, sweet potatoes, salt, and pepper, and bring the pot to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are soft.6 cups chicken stock, 4 medium sweet potatoes, 1 teaspoon EACH: sea salt and black pepper
- While the soup is simmering, make the croutons. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Pile the bread cubes on a baking sheet, drizzle them with the melted butter, and cinnamon sugar and then use your hands to mix it well so that the bread is evenly coated. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the croutons are crispy. They will crisp more as they cool.4 slices bread, 1 tablespoon butter, 2 teaspoons cinnamon sugar
- When the sweet potatoes are soft, puree the soup either with an immersion blender or in batches using a regular blender. If you don't have a high-speed blender and you want a super smooth soup, you can pass the soup through a fine-mesh sieve.
- Stir the cream into the soup and gently reheat it – don't let it boil. Taste the soup and add more salt and pepper, as wanted. Serve the soup topped with the crispy bacon and croutons.1 cup heavy cream
Notes
Nutrition
We have thoroughly tested this recipe for accuracy. However, individual results may vary. See our full recipe disclosure here.
You don’t indicate in your recipe what to do to prep the sweet potatoes. Should I peel them? Should I boil them first? Should I cube them? Chop them? Dice them? What? What? what? Please help!!!
Thank you for pointing that out! Peeled and chopped. 🙂
This was insane! Those cinnamon croutons were even better than I thought they’d be. Went really well with the soup.