Sweet Potato and Ham Soup
Sweet Potato and Ham soup is a velvety, delicious surprise. The salty of the ham pairs so well with the sweetness of the creamy sweet potato. Complimented by a slight kick of red pepper, this soup will become a fast favorite recipe!
**Updated 10/05/2020
Sweet Potato and Ham Soup
I LOVE SOUP!! I mean, it’s the perfect food. You can take your favorite things and throw them in a pot and turn them into your favorite soup! This recipe came from a need to use up the leftover holiday ham I had in my freezer. “Waste Not, Want Not” , right? It is so EASY and can be done in quite the jiffy!
We love all of the ways to make sweet potatoes too! Just like this awesome SWEET POTATO PIE. We also love to reinvent those leftover you may have too so this was a no brainer. The salty and the sweet pair so good together and when you add in that small amount of Red Pepper flake, it really changes things up!
This soup, like all of my others can be modified for the Instant Pot as well. Just do it on the saute function! **It’s important to note that I always do the same things as on the stove top and at the end before adding any dairy to the soup recipe, I close it up, seal it and Pressure Cook it for about 5 minutes!
How to Make It
Soups are so easy to do on the stove top OR in the Electric Pressure Cooker. Here we will talk about both ways to make it. Like our other soup recipes, this one gets most of its cooking time in the prep phase so using the EPC is no brainer here with the sauté function. So let’s get to it!
~Ingredients~
- 2 cups Sweet Potato, peeled, cubed and cooked to mash
- 1-2 tablespoons bacon grease
- 1/2 tablespoon butter
- salt and pepper to taste
- Red pepper flakes to taste
- 1-2 tablespoons plain four
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 1 tablespoon half and half
- 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
- 2 cups Ham, cooked and cubed or sliced
~Method~
- Melt the butter and bacon grease in a heavy soup pot. I love my Lodge Cast Iron Dutch Oven. It is a 6 quart and is plenty big. Once the fat has melted, add salt, pepper and red pepper flakes and stir. Sprinkle in flour to make a paste or slurry. Cook at medium to high for about 1 minute to remove the flour taste.
- Add in sweet potatoes and stir to coat with the roux mixture. Heat through and slowly add in vegetable broth. Whisk until it almost is as thick as you want it. Add in ham and heat through as it thickens. At the very end, right when it is almost as thick as you desire, add in the cheese and a splash of half and half.
- Lower heat to simmer until cheese is melted and serve!
**If the soup ends up being thicker than you want, add a little water, about 1/4 of a cup at a time until it thins to your desired consistency.
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Tips and Tricks
- Thickness – There is no such thing as soup that is too thick. If you know that as it sits, it will thicken, you can always thin to your desired consistency. Using water or broth a little at a time is important. It is also worth noting that IF you have any leftovers, when you reheat them, it probably will need a little liquid to reheat as well.
- Smooth Soup – Texture is in the eye of the eater. Some folks like this soup chunky, some smooth. If you want to achieve the best scenario for your soup, an immersion blender is a must. I have a link to an affordable, durable option. They do well in hot liquid and there’s no chance of burn by pouring hot soup into a blender. For those reasons, it is a wise investment. Not to mention, they make awesome smoothies too!
- Cooked Sweet Potato – Now, I am about to speak blasphemy. If you don’t have time to cook your sweet potatoes, you have the cooking gods permission to get the microwave steamer packs of sweet potatoes. I promise, you won’t be able to tell the difference. I don’t call things like this short cuts, I call it Smart Cooking!
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Sweet Potato and Ham Soup
Ingredients
- 2 cups Sweet Potato peeled, cubed and cooked to mash
1-2 tablespoons bacon grease
1/2 tablespoon butter
salt and pepper to taste
Red pepper flakes to taste
1-2 tablespoons plain four
4 cups vegetable broth
1 tablespoon half and half
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
- 2 cups Ham cooked and cubed or sliced
Instructions
- For the Stove Top
- Melt the butter and bacon grease in a heavy soup pot. I love my Lodge Cast Iron Dutch Oven. It is a 6 quart and is plenty big. Once the fat has melted, add salt, pepper and red pepper flakes and stir. Sprinkle in flour to make a paste or slurry. Cook at medium to high for about 1 minute to remove the flour taste.
- Add in sweet potatoes and stir to coat with the roux mixture. Heat through and slowly add in vegetable broth. Whisk until it almost is as thick as you want it. Add in ham and heat through as it thickens. At the very end, right when it is almost as thick as you desire, add in the cheese and a splash of half and half.
- Lower heat to simmer until cheese is melted and serve!
- For the Pressure Cooker
- Using the Saute function, melt the butter and bacon grease in the inner pot of the ECP. Once the fat has melted, add salt, pepper and red pepper flakes and stir. Sprinkle in flour to make a paste or slurry. Continue to cook for about 1 minute to remove the flour taste.
- Add in sweet potatoes and stir to coat with the roux mixture. Heat through and slowly add in vegetable broth. Whisk until it almost is as thick as you want it. Add in ham and stir to coat. Close the lid, seal the vent and set to manual or pressure cook for 5 minutes. Once cook time is done, allow pressure to naturally release. Open vent to release any remaining pressure and carefully open lid. Add in the cheese and a splash of half and half.
- Set to saute again until cheese is melted and serve!
Very good! I added onions, bacon and fresh chopped spinach.. told my 2year old it was cheese soup and he spooned it down.
That sounds wonderful! Glad the baby enjoyed it! 🤣
The sweet potato adds the best natural sweetness and flavor to this soup! It was warm, cozy, hearty and delicious!
This soup was so yummy and cozy!! It was really filling and my husband liked it too!
This soup came out so well! The sweet potato and ham paired together nicely, and it was so rich and creamy. Loved it!
This sweet potato soup came out so deliciously creamy. It was easy to make. Thanks for the recipe.