Creamy Sweet Potato Soup

There’s a first time for everything in life. Today I am participating in my first virtual baby shower. A couple of my blogging friends got us all together to celebrate our friend Joanne from Fifteen Spatulas and her new baby. Be sure to take a look at all the fun recipes everyone shared for Joanne's shower; they're listed at the end of this post.

I first met Joanne when she visited our dairy farm for a tour organized by Land O’Lakes. I can clearly remember what a good sport Joanne was during the cow milking contest we had that day. Joanne milked Mango, one of our favorite cows, but Mango didn't want to let her milk down for Joanne. After spending a couple days with Joanne, it became clear why she is so well liked: Joanne has a cheerful, upbeat personality and a smile that beams sunshine.

I am positively delighted that Joanne and her husband Pete are the proud new parents of a baby boy. Little James, who was born earlier this month, is absolutely adorable. I know he will be loved and adored by Joanne and Pete.

When deciding on a baby shower gift for new parents, I always think back to what helped me most when I was a new mom. So I took the same approach to choosing a recipe to share for Joanne’s shower. When I was navigating those early months with a newborn, I relied heavily on quick, easy recipes that were both nourishing and tasty.

That’s exactly why I like this Creamy Sweet Potato Soup. It is super simple to make, especially if you cook, cube, and freeze the sweet potatoes ahead of time. Or you can have your friends and family prepare the potatoes for you while they’re in town to snuggle the baby – the method I use is very easy and the directions are below. As an added bonus, frozen sweet potato cubes can be used to make delicious smoothies and homemade baby food.

Plus, Creamy Sweet Potato Soup is loaded with all the superfood nutrition of sweet potatoes: Vitamin A, fiber, potassium, and more. The creamy texture comes mostly from the sweet potatoes. There’s just a touch of heavy cream added to mellow the flavor; you can easily add more or less cream to suit your taste.

Creamy Sweet Potato Soup has a perfect balance of sweet and savory flavors; sweet from the potatoes and savory from the butter and chicken broth.

Creamy Sweet Potato Soup

Yield: 6 cups soup
Time: 15 minutes*

Ingredients

4 cups chicken broth (I use water + bouillon.)

2 tablespoons salted butter

½ teaspoon onion powder

1½ pounds frozen sweet potato chunks* (4 - 5 cups, about 2 large potatoes)

¼ - ½ cup heavy cream

⅛ teaspoon black pepper


Directions

In a large, heavy pot, bring broth, butter, and onion powder to a boil.

Add sweet potato chunks and return to a boil. Cover pot, reduce heat, and simmer for five minutes or until sweet potato chunks can be pierced with a fork.

Remove pot from stove and purée soup using an immersion blender.

Stir in heavy cream and pepper.


*You can use just-cooked sweet potato chunks, too. Follow the directions below for cooking and peeling. Allow more time for cooking the sweet potatoes.

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Freezing Sweet Potatoes for Soups, Smoothies, and Baby Food

1. Place washed sweet potatoes in a single layer in a large, heavy pot.

2. Add enough water to cover potatoes by one inch.

3. Bring to a boil. Cover. Reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes for large potatoes. Potatoes are done when a thin skewer can easily pierce to center.

4. Drain sweet potatoes and allow to cool to room temperature. Or chill in fridge.

5. Once cool, slice ends off each sweet potato, score the skin from one end to the other with a sharp knife, then gently peel the skin off, removing the stringy, fibrous layer beneath the skin, as well. (It should just peel off with the skin.)

6. Cut peeled sweet potatoes into chunks. Place in single layer on parchment lined cookie sheet. Freeze for several hours. Remove frozen sweet potato chunks from tray and store in freezer safe container or bag.

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Look at all these lovely recipes shared in celebration of Joanne, Pete, and Baby James!

Appetizers
Italian Sub Sandwich Roll-ups from Michael of Inspired by Charm
Smoky Roasted Red Pepper Sun Dried Tomato Hummus from Jeanette of Jeanette's Healthy Living
Whipped Goat Cheese & Blueberry Balsamic Crostini from Meseidy of The Noshery
Rosemary Flatbread with Baked Goat Cheese from Heidi of FoodieCrush
Spring Herb Cream Cheese Appetizer Cups from Rachel of Rachel Cooks
Crostini with Almond Ricotta and spicy olive tapenade from Heather of HeatherChristo

Drinks
Fruit Freeze from Deborah of Taste and Tell
Mint Lemonade from Trish of Mom On Timeout
Ginger Lemonade from Kathy of Panini Happy

Desserts
Chocolate-Covered Rice Krispies Treats from Julie of The Little Kitchen
Orange Fluff from Jamie of My Baking Addiction
Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Brownies from Susannah of Feast + West
Mini Ombre Heart Cookies from Bridget of Bake at 350
Mini Coconut Pound Cakes from Mary of Barefeet In The Kitchen
Yellow Sheet Cake with Chocolate Sour Cream Frosting from Jennifer of Savory Simple
Unicorn Shaped Cookies from Jessie of CakeSpy
Oreo Cheesecake Bites from Brenda of a farmgirl's dabbles
Lemon Blueberry Bread from Glory of Glorious Treats
Blintz with Blackberry Sauce from Sommer of A Spicy Perspective
Pastel Rainbow Cake from Bree of Baked Bree
Individual Chocolate Souffles from Andie of Andie Mitchell