I went to my first-ever soup swap last week where I got to try ten new, delicious soups.  We all took four family-sized portions of one soup and drew numbers to take four new soups home (so awesome to have 4 new freezer meals ready to go!  And I only had to make one!  Beautiful.).  One of the soups that I didn’t get to take home was a loaded sweet potato soup.  I was able to get the recipe though, and this is my lightly adapted version.  It was so delicious that Hubs mentioned three times how good it was…without me saying a word!  (Because sometimes I demand to know sweetly ask how he likes a new recipe)  Definite keeper.

Loaded Sweet Potato Soup

5 large sweet potatoes, roughly peeled (leave some of the skin on) and cubed
1/4 cup dehydrated onion (or 1/2 large onion, diced)
4 cups chicken broth
3 cloves garlic, minced (or a scant 1/2 tsp garlic powder)
1/4 cup butter
salt & pepper to taste
1 tsp cajun seasoning
1 cup cream (or half & half)
1 cup shredded cheese
6-10 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled

Garnish with:
bacon, cooked and crumbled
sour cream
chives
shredded cheese

Combine sweet potatoes, onion, chicken broth, garlic, butter, cajun seasoning, salt and pepper, and half of the bacon in a crock pot.  Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours.  Mash potatoes until they are coarsely chopped and soup is thickened.  Stir in cream and cheese, returning lid if necessary, to melt the cheese.  Add reserved bacon.  Garnish as desired and serve hot.

*The bacon is a must.  It balances out the sweetness of the potatoes.  The sour cream and cheese also tone down the sweetness a little.

*I put half the bacon in to cook because it will go rubbery sitting in the soup as it cooks.  By using half, you are cooking in the flavor of the bacon, but then you’ll have plenty left to stir in so the texture is crumbly and delicious.  Rubbery bacon = blech.