Chicken Sweet Potato Soup

About This Recipe and Why It Works

Under the weather?  Feeling puny?  Classic Chicken soup has been touted as being a cure for the common cold.  Could be, and it sure defines a comforting meal for any Winter evening. The aromas alone are enough to soothe the soul and the hot broth make any scratchy throat feel better.

A steamy bowl of vitamin-packed vegetables swimming in a savory broth alongside chunks of chicken and floating herbs and spices and you’ve got a classic easy homemade soup.

Let’s take America’s favorite soup and and add nutritious chunks of sweet potato for a unique twist.

Did you know that a sweet potato is a member of the bindweed, morning glory family?  Makes sense since we plant these beautiful vines in our Summer patio pots and hanging baskets. You can eat the tubers from these plants, but the texture and flavor won’t be as good as commercially grown plants used for produce that you’ll find in our markets.

With only about 300 calories per serving, Sweet Potato Chicken Soup it a healthy choice year round. let’s take a look.

Ingredients You’ll Need

• Chicken Broth: Homemade is always best, but canned or boxed will work just fine.
• Sweet Potato: 1 medium to large. Creamy sweet potato adds such a beautiful layer of flavor and texture to this soup. You won’t want to put your spoon down.
• Parsnip and Carrot: 1 each, peeled and sliced
• Onion: Sweet or yellow onion.
• Celery: Just a couple of stalks will do.
• Spices: Dill seed, basil and tarragon.
• Parsley
• Chicken Breast: Boneless, skinless and chopped.

Recipe Swaps and Substitutions

• Parsnip: Parsnip and carrots have a similar flavor profile. With parsnip having a stronger and less sweet flavor. If you don’t have parsnip, just add another carrot. However, ditching the carrot and adding another parsnip would be a stronger flavor decision that you might not like.
• Chicken: Boneless skinless chicken thighs would be a great substitution for the chicken breast. And want to make this easy chicken sweet potato soup even easier? Use left over rotisserie chicken. Just add it in the end and let it heat.
• Spices: I’ve also made this using two teaspoons of my special soup spice mix. It’s a glorious riff on flavor.
• Butternut Squash: Try swapping out butternut squash for the sweet potatoes. It will actually save you a few calories.
• Spinach: Got some fresh spinach you need to use. Trim the stems and toss some in towards the end of cooking. Those leaves will soften quickly and add even more vitamins to this already healthy bowl of soup.
• Noodles: Make this a chicken noodle soup by adding some quick cooking egg noodles. They only take about 8 minutes to cook, so add them towards the end of the cooking time.
• Chicken Soup with Potatoes: Switch out those sweet potatoes for white potatoes. I’d recommend using Yukon Gold. They’re not as starchy as Russet and will hold their shape better.

1. Step 1: Start by cutting the chicken into bite sized pieces. Heat a pan over medium high heat. Once the pan is hot, add olive oil. Once the olive oil is shimmering and hot, add the chicken pieces and saute them until just starting to brown. Remove from heat and set aside.

2. Step 2: Cook the vegetables: Heat a Dutch oven over medium high hat, add oil and once the oil is hot, add the chopped vegetables and sweet potato, and sautee for about 10 minutes, or until they’re just starting to smell flavorful and just starting to brown. This will bring out the sweetness in each and every piece. We’re actually making a chunky version of Mirepoix, which is a classic combination of aromatics used for successful soups and braised recipes.

3. Step 3: Add the chicken broth to the pot of vegetables.

4. Step 4: Add seasonings and simmer on low for about 25 minutes. Add in chicken and cook until chicken is nice and hot. It’s ready to serve.

Tips For Success

• Don’t skip sauteeing the chicken. And don’t over-crowd the pan when doing so. A hot skillet will brown the chicken a bit which will add flavor. We call this Maillard Reaction. It’s basically the chemical reaction that browns foods which adds flavor. Think about toast, your humble toaster may be king of browning.
• Use a Rotisserie Chicken. To save time, you can use the meat from a rotisserie chicken. Simply add it about the last 10 minutes of cooking time. Enough to heat the meat and bring some of that famous rotisserie flavor to the soup.

Storing and Freezing

• Soup is one of those meals that always tastes better the next day. This chicken sweet potato soup is great for leftovers and will keep in the fridge in an air-tight contained for about 4 – 5 days.
• It’s also one of those dishes that freezes well. Just let the soup cool and store in the freezer for about 4 months. Using either sweet potatoes or white potatoes will freeze well.
• Reheat stove-top or in the microwave. If cooking from frozen leftovers, let the soup thaw in the refrigerator overnight.

Recipe for Chicken Sweet Potato Soup

I hope you give this version of chicken soup a try. Chicken soup with sweet potatoes is an easy and hearty dinner the whole family will love.

And if you’re looking for even more soup recipes, check out my Soup Category. I consider soup recipes to be my expertise. You’ll find lots of mouthwatering soups and stews, including the most popular soup recipe on my site for Anthony Bourdain’s New Mexico Style Chili.

This recipe was adapted from a Whole Foods Sweet Potato Chicken Soup Recipe.