Classic chicken soup becomes colorful and bright by adding chunks of sweet potato. Simple, hearty, healthy, gluten free and inexpensive, this soup is on the table in about 30 minutes. Simply seasoned the sweet, salty and savory flavors shine. Give this chicken sweet potato soup a try.
About This Recipe and Why It Works
Under the weather? Feeling puny? Classic Chicken soup …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.
Years ago, I learned to add small chunks of sweet potatoes to make the combination even more interesting.
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.
Super nutritious, the sweet potato makes a lovely addition to any soup.
With that said, I can guarantee you’re going to love this soup, so don’t wait until October to make it … with only about 300 calories per serving, it a great choice year round. let’s take a look at this easy healthy Chicken Sweet Potato Soup.
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.
Step by Step Instructions
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.
Step 2: Heat a Dutch oven over medium high hat, add oil and once the oil is hot, add the chopped vegetables 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.
Step 3 Step 4
- Step 3: Add the chicken broth to the pot of vegetables.
- 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 and FAQ’s
Absolutely yes, and I insist. They’re nutritious and add a pop of pure celery flavor. Just rough chop them and throw them in the soup when you add the dry seasonings.
Recipes like this are a perfect opportunity to concentrate on honing your knife skills. Cutting the parsnip, carrot, celery and sweet potato into like sizes will insure even cooking, a smart appearance and pride in technique.
You can sautee the chicken before adding it to the soup. Just don’t cook it through. Leave a little pink in the middle so when you add it to the soup, it won’t overcook and dry out. I’ve also added raw cut chicken to soup and stews. It will cook beautifully and turn out tender and moist.
Soup is one of those meals that always tastes better the next day. This soup is great for leftovers and will keep in the fridge 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.
Recipe for Chicken Sweet Potato Soup
I hope you give this version of chicken Soup a try, and if you do, please come back and give the recipe a star rating. And please leave a comment about your experience with this recipe.
And if you have a favorite version of chicken soup, let me know, I’d love to give it a try.
More healthy chicken soup recipes
- Instant Pot Mexican Chicken Soup Recipe
- Ginger Lemon Chicken Soup
- Poblano Lime Rotisserie Chicken Soup
- Chicken Noodle Soup Done Right
And if you’re looking for even more soup recipes, check out my Soup Category. 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.
If you’ve tried this or any other recipe on my website, please leave a comment about your experience below, I love hearing from you. And also, please leave a star rating while you’re there.
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Chicken Sweet Potato Soup
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons Olive oil
- 2 chicken breast cut into bite sized pieces
- 1/2 medium onion chopped
- 2 carrot peeled and chopped
- 2 stalks celery sliced
- 1 medium sweet potato peeled and small cubed
- 1 medium parsnip peeled and chopped
- 2 quarts chicken stock
- 5 sprigs fresh parsley minced
- 1 teaspoon dill seed
- 1 teaspoon basil
- 1/2 teaspoon tarragon
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In fry pan, saute chicken breasts in one tablespoon olive oil until almost done. Set aside.
- In a Dutch oven, heat the remaining one tablespoon of olive oil in a large sauce pot over medium heat. Saute onion, carrots, celery, sweet potato and parsnips for 2 minutes to enhance the natural sugar in them.
- Add the stock and spices and bring to a boil, lower to a simmer and cook for 25 minutes until all the vegetables are tender. Add in cooked chicken and cook until chicken is nice and hot Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Spoon into soup bowls and garnish with chopped fresh parsley.
Notes
Nutrition
Classic Chicken Sweet Potato Soup …It’s what’s for Dinner.
The sweet potato is a new trick to me, I like that idea for the color AND nutrients it brings.
I threw in a sweet potato a few years ago because I needed to use it. It’s become part of my recipe now.
There is nothing quite as comforting as a warm bowl of chicken soup. Yours is perfect.
Thanks Karen.
I could go for some of this right now. What’s better in snowy weather? And chicken soup is certainly better than my crummy leftovers. 🙂
I love chicken soup throughout the winter, mostly because if we aren’t sick, we probably will be soon! It’s a great, comforting soup.
I totally agree Kristen. Thanks for stopping by and the comment.
I feel like the comforting chicken soup EXPERIENCE is a cure for the common cold. This looks great!
Whenever I feel a cold coming on this is the first thing I make. This sounds like a wonderful recipe – my fave has dill too,
Love, love it! I cannot think of anything more comforting than a bowl of hot chicken soup. Yours looks wonderful.
Velva
YUM! I love homemade soup! My grandma always made us a caldo de pollo when we were sick. Sometimes I faked being sick just so that she could make it for me. Naughty. LOL!
Looks really good Lea Ann and just this morning a medical preson was telling that chicken soup has been proven to provide some positive impacts when you’re ailing – I’d heard this before.
I toss whatever veggies I have into chicken soup. Summer squash that was frozen at it’s peak, has turned out to be surprisingly good.
This sounds souper! 🙂 You know, I’ve been tempted to add sweet potato to my chicken noodle soup, but was never sure if it “went” with it. I’m going to try it next time. And dill seed? Never cooked with it – what an interesting spice to try next time as well. I love reading your versions of stuff. And I’m smitten with your cracker dish.
Yep, the ultimate comfort food and when you’re sick it seems to fill the bill. And thanks for including a few saltine crackers. They are very comforting too. So “Mom.”
Love the bowl Lea Ann. So pretty.
Sam
Comfort food is right! but I’ve never put a sweet potato in mine….great idea, Lea Ann!
Yum! This looks so good Lea Ann. I love the addition of tarragon and sweet potato.