• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Southern Discourse

Southern Discourse

Food, Faith & Southern Hospitality!

  • Recipes
    • Appetizers & Snacks
    • Beverages
    • Bread
    • Breakfast & Brunch
    • Casseroles
    • Desserts
    • Main Dishes
    • Salads
    • Sandwiches
    • Sauces & Dressings
    • Side Dishes
    • Soups
    • All Recipes
    • Recipe Collections
  • Hospitality
    • Spring
    • Summer
    • Fall
    • Winter
    • Everyday
  • Shop
  • About
  • Subscribe
Home › Recipes › Soups
14 Comments

Southern Sweet Potato Soup

Stacey Pirtle

by Stacey Updated: Feb 9, 2023

Jump to Recipe

This post may contain affiliate links.

 


It’s January.  And while everybody else is talking about detoxing and getting organized, let’s you and I talk about soup. 

Luscious, delicious soup that warms your belly and fills your house with the fabulously warm smells of promised satisfaction.  Soup that is absolutely perfect for winter days, especially perfect for days like today- a day that greeted us early in the morning with snowflakes that danced and swirled well into the afternoon.  A day that begs me to only stay inside bundled up by the fire, but for some reason inspires my kids (and husband) to run around outside like lunatics until their noses are red and they can’t feel their fingers or toes anymore.

Ah yes, soup. 

Specifically sweet potato soup.  Both savory and just a little sweet, this easy soup is one that is sure to make it onto your ‘favorite winter suppers’ list.


Southern Sweet Potato Soup

Ingredients

  • 1 stick butter
  • ½ C diced onion onion
  • ½ C diced celery
  • ½ C diced carrots (I chop match stick carrots as a short cut.)
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 2lbs. canned sweet potatoes
  • 4 C chicken stock
  • 24 0z. unsweetened, natural applesauce
  • 1 pint half and half
  • 1 – 1 ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 generous teaspoon cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon white pepper
  • ¼ teaspoon ginger
  • ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
  • paprika (optional for color)

Process

Melt butter in a large stock pot.  Add onion, celery, carrots, and garlic.  Sautee until onions are translucent.  This is the fundamental beginning to almost any homemade soup.

Stir in the sweet potatoes, mixing well.  Because the potatoes are soft, they will start to break down as you stir, but you don’t have to worry about stirring out all of the lumps.

Stir in the chicken stock, then the applesauce. Simmer for 10 minutes. 

Stir in the cream.   Add in the salt and spices, except paprika. Your soup is still lumpy, but that’s ok because we’re about to remedy that!

Use an emulsifier or pour soup into a blender to make it smooth and creamy.  Doing this after the cream has been added adds a little air into the cream, giving the soup a light texture.  It’s during this step that you can add paprika ¼ teaspoon at a time for color if you like.

Pour soup back into the stock pot and allow the soup to simmer for another 10 minutes, and you’re ready to eat!  But wait just a minute.  What’s soup without a little toppings?  This soup has a comfort food flavor profile and is hard to beat when topped with of  food favorites.  For instance, here I’ve topped it with just a few shredded collard greens sautéed with bacon, corn bread crumbles, crushed red pepper, and a dollop of sour cream.  I also cooked up a pan of jalapeno cornbread because soup and dipping (or sopping depending on which parts you hail from).  Oh, sweet mercy.  The goodness.

If you’re in the mood for something a bit more “new South,” a spoon of sour cream, some coarsely chopped applewood bacon and shredded gouda is your ticket to soup heaven.

 ***

Pin this recipe here.

Both savory and just a little sweet, this easy sweet potato soup is one that is sure to make it onto your ‘favorite winter suppers’ list. #potatosoup #comfortfood #easypotatosoup

 


Want more soup recipes?  Check out these other ASD favorites!

Rustic Creamy Wild Rice and Creamy Chicken Portabella Soup

Creamy Tomato and Basil Soup

Beloved Texas Red (Chili Recipe)

 

 


Southern Sweet Potato Soup

Both savory and just a little sweet, this easy soup is one that is sure to make it onto your 'favorite winter suppers' list.
Print Pin Rate
Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes minutes
Servings: 6
Author: Stacey | SouthernDiscourse.com

Ingredients

  • 1 stick butter
  • ½ C diced onion onion
  • ½ C diced celery
  • ½ C diced carrots I chop match stick carrots as a short cut.
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 2 lbs. canned sweet potatoes
  • 4 C chicken stock
  • 24 0 z. unsweetened natural applesauce
  • 1 pint half and half
  • 1 - 1 ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 generous teaspoon cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon white pepper
  • ¼ teaspoon ginger
  • ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
  • paprika optional for color
Get Recipe Ingredients

Instructions

  • Melt butter in a large stock pot. Add onion, celery, carrots, and garlic. Sautee until onions are translucent.
  • Stir in the sweet potatoes, mixing well. Because the potatoes are soft, they will start to break down as you stir. You don't have to worry about stirring out all of the lumps.
  • Stir in the chicken stock, then the applesauce. Simmer for 10 minutes.
  • Stir in the cream. Add in all of your spices and seasoning, except paprika.
  • Use an emulsifier or pour soup into a blender to make it smooth and creamy. Add paprika ¼ teaspoon at a time for color, if desired. Continue to emulsify or blend until completely blended and smooth.
  • Pour soup back into the stock pot and allow the soup to simmer for a final 10 minutes.
Did you make my Southern Sweet Potato Soup?Show me how it went! Share on Instagram, tag @southerndiscourse, and use the hashtag #SouthernDiscourse!
Tag on Insta Leave a Rating
  

Share this!

  • Facebook
  • Yummly
  • Email

Filed Under: Recipes, Soups Tagged With: comfort food

Meet Stacey

Southern Discourse is a place where you can find southern family dishes, along with special recipes & table settings. Bringing connection & friendship back to the table by wrapping everything in the faith & grace from which true hospitality springs! Read More

  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Facebook
  • Mail

Join Southern Discourse

Subscribe today to never miss a post!

Reader Interactions

Comments

    5 from 1 vote

    Rate & Comment Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




  1. Avatar photoKristen @ The Ruffled Mango

    January 6, 2017 at 11:52 pm

    Oh, yum! This is going on my list!! ??

    Reply
    • Stacey Pirtlestacey

      January 9, 2017 at 4:40 pm

      Kristen, I hope you love it! You know I am going to want an update!!

      Reply
  2. Avatar photoNancy

    January 7, 2017 at 8:59 am

    How delicious! I have sweet potatoes in the pantry… And it’s a bit chilly here in Phoenix.
    Thank you for such a pretty blog!

    Reply
  3. Avatar photoNancy

    January 7, 2017 at 9:04 am

    By the way… I really enjoy your photographs! Absolutely love your fiestaware as well! I follow you on Instagram as well. I am nance5210.

    Reply
    • Stacey Pirtlestacey

      January 9, 2017 at 4:48 pm

      Hey, Nancy! Yes! How are you, my awesome IG friend? Thank you so much! I had a friend suggest that I make my blog pics bigger. I think it was a perfect suggestion. Just what I needed! OOOooo! And Fiesta Ware! My favorite! You know, I lived in west Texas for a while and my parents have lived at different times in New Mexico and Colorado. Do you think our love for Fiesta Ware comes from our association with the west?? I know everyone is going white, but I just love having all the colors!

      Reply
  4. Avatar photoBoBo

    January 9, 2017 at 10:17 am

    Comfort food! Sounds delicious! I’ll be trying this!

    Reply
    • Stacey Pirtlestacey

      January 9, 2017 at 4:51 pm

      Bobo, you will have to come back and let me know how you like it! It is definitely comfort food no matter what you top it with. And guess what? We used those bowl warmers every time we warmed up a bowl of this soup over the weekend! They were awesome!!

      Reply
  5. Avatar photoBella

    March 25, 2023 at 9:56 pm

    5 stars
    This soup is so delicious! I decided to add some chicken to it for some protein, which I just salted and cooked beforehand, and added in with the cream (almond milk for lactose-free) in the last 10 minutes. It’s a perfect comfort-lunch (that’s healthy!) for a cold day!

    Reply
    • Avatar photoBella

      March 25, 2023 at 9:58 pm

      I was wondering though- what green is on top of the soup in the picture?

      Reply
      • Stacey Pirtlestacey

        March 27, 2023 at 1:38 pm

        From the post-“For instance, here I’ve topped it with just a few shredded collard greens sautéed with bacon, corn bread crumbles, crushed red pepper, and a dollop of sour cream.” ❤️

        Reply
    • Stacey Pirtlestacey

      March 27, 2023 at 1:37 pm

      Hi, Bella! It just made my day that you cooked up this soup! It is one of my favorites; I just love that lightly sweet/savory flavor profile. Excited about the addition of chicken. Perfect!

      Reply
  6. Avatar photoAlyce Sica

    January 12, 2025 at 4:42 pm

    Can I use fresh sweet potatoes that have been boiled?

    Reply
    • Stacey PirtleStacey

      March 25, 2025 at 5:29 pm

      Hi, Alyce! You sure can! You might have to up some of the spices just a little. Just taste along the way, so that it’s flavored the way you like it!

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Avatar photo Southern Cottage Pie: Comfort Food At Its Best - a southern discourse says:
    October 14, 2017 at 9:43 am

    […] Southern Sweet Potato Soup […]

    Reply

Primary Sidebar

Meet Stacey

Southern Discourse is a place where you can find southern family dishes, along with special recipes & table settings. Bringing connection & friendship back to the table by wrapping everything in the faith & grace from which true hospitality springs! Read More

  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Facebook
  • Mail

Join Southern Discourse

Never miss a new post!

Reader Favorites

  • A finished skillet of Dirty Rice.Louisiana Dirty Rice
  • traditional chicken and dressing for a southern holiday mealSouthern Chicken and Dressing
  • Whipped Feta Dip with honeyWhipped Feta with Honey Dip
  • A forkful of sweet potato casserole to show the fluffy texture of the potatoes.Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Topping
  • pecan pie bars turn traditional pie into an easy dessertBest Ever Pecan Pie Bars
  • Spicy Italian Sub Crescent Ring TitleSpicy Italian Crescent Ring

Recipes by Category

  • Appetizers
  • Beverages
  • Bread
  • Breakfast & Brunch
  • Casseroles
  • Desserts
  • Main Dishes
  • Salads
  • Sandwiches
  • Sauces & Dessings
  • Side Dishes
  • Soups
Southern Discourse
  • About
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Facebook
  • Mail

Join Southern Discourse

Subscribe today to never miss a post!

© 2025 · Southern Discourse · Privacy · Cookies

Rate This Recipe

Your vote:




A rating is required
A name is required
An email is required

Recipe Ratings without Comment

Something went wrong. Please try again.