They say necessity is the mother of inventions… and let me tell you, last Tuesday night soup was a necessity for me! It was cold and rainy and I had just come from a terrible class. After class, I went to the grocery store and intended to buy potatoes for my favorite soup in the whole wide world… but forgot until I got home. That’s what happens when you don’t write things down on your grocery list, at least in my world. There was no way I was heading back into the nightmare that is a grocery store in a college time after a school break, nosireebob. My sweet husband offered to go out in the cold and the wet for those potatoes, but I didn’t want him to have to do that. But I still wanted that soup… so I improved. And thus, this soup was born. One day, when it is all grown up, I can tell it the tale of it’s birth on a cold, dark November night… but for now, I can just enjoy it in its infancy.
This is a top-notch savory sweet potato dish, folks. Forget all notions of Thanksgiving’s sweet potato casserole smothered in brown sugar or marshmallows [fact: I’ve never eaten sweet potato casserole with marshmallows… it’s brown sugar topping for me all the way!]. This sweet potato soup is subtly sweet, with just a hint of sweet via the nutmeg and the star of the show, the sweet potato itself. This soup is rich without being heavy, but is warm, chunky, and cozy–everything a hearty soup is destined to be, is called to be, can be.
How’s that for a introduction? Can you tell that I’m enamored with this soup, that I’ve been eating it gladly for days straight, that I haven’t dished leftovers into tupperware to freeze for future lunches for my husband? I hope you can, because I’m not sure how else to sum up my feelings about this soup. Amazing!
Sweet Potato Soup
Ingredients:
- 7 cups sweet potato, roughly peeled and chopped [for me, this was 2 large]
- 1 cup carrot, diced [2 medium]
- 3/4 cup onion, minced
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 teaspoon dried sage
- 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
- 12 ounces fat free evaporated milk
Directions:
Combine sweet potato, carrot, onion, and chicken broth in a large stock pot and cook over medium heat until the sweet potato is soft [hint: the smaller the pieces of sweet potato, the faster it will cook… and stir constantly or you may end up with a not-so-nice layer of crusty potato at the bottom of your pot…whoops!]. Mix in sage, basil, pepper, and nutmeg, then bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and then add the milk, stirring constantly until fully combined. Simmer for at least 15 minutes or until heated through.
Click here for the printable: Sweet Potato Soup
Question of the Day: What has been your latest invention? Doesn’t have to be food-related at all! Please share in the comments 🙂
The Pajama Chef 
Oh this sounds good. Really good. I’ve got two sweet potatoes that need to be used, so I may just go ahead and make a small batch of this!
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Wow your soup looks healthy and comforting. I love this simple sweet potato soup recipe 🙂
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Yum! I bet the evaporated milk adds a wonderful creamy texture to the soup 🙂 One of my favorite winter soups is African Peant Stew with Sweet Potatoes. I love the savory flavor…and like you said, forget the marshmallows!
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That looks SO good!!! 🙂 The other day, I was making muffins and ran out of muffin tins. I remembered my sister telling me that you can just plop the muffin mixture onto a cookie sheet, as though you’re making cookies. So I did it and I ended up with pumpkin muffin tops. (Baked them at the same temp and time as the muffins). I love when experiments actually work out!!
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Funny, I am positively nuts over both sweet potatoes and soup, but I’ve never tried sweet potato soup. 🙂 This is definitely in the queue now that the cold weather is upon us! Any ideas for evaporated milk substitutes? I am lactose intolerant and evaporated milk just doesn’t agree with me. I might try regular milk or buttermilk. Please let me know if you have any other suggestions.
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that soup looks just amazing:) great flavors… thanks for sharing this.
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This soup is like my dream come true! Pretty and delicious sounding 🙂 And I’ve never head sweet potatoes with marshmallows either; it just sounds so odd to me. Brown sugar on the other hand? Mmmm!
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sweet potatoes are one of MY favorite cures for a bad day. This soup sounds delicious! I hope it cheered you up!
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I’m with you; if I don’t write an item on my grocery list, I will forget to pick it up. I have to write everything down!
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I am trying this! I love sweet potatoes! Thanks for the idea.
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I love sweet potatoes…and given the bitter cold in Indiana (but I heard the storm is going to miss us this weekend! yay!) using the taters in a soup sounds nothing short of perfect! Keep up the experimenting! You’re give me great ideas!
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When cold happens, soup happens! Great soup.
I can’t say that have had any inventions lately 🙂
Happy Holidays to you!
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