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This Italian sausage and sweet potato soup recipe is hearty and so simple to make! It has melt-in-your-mouth vegetables, flavorful sausage, and an irresistible broth.
You may also like my Creamy Sweet Potato Soup or this Turkey Sweet Potato Chili.
Why you’ll love it
This Italian sausage soup is really easy to throw together with very few ingredients. We’ve got a garlic-infused broth with bell peppers and celery, and the tender sweet potatoes are just what I crave on a chilly day. It’s ready in under an hour and always hits the spot!
This soup makes yummy leftovers, and it’s the kind of meal that works great as something you’d take to work for lunch. It’s just really satisfying! Most of the cooking time is hands off, so a piping hot bowl of this sausage soup with sweet potatoes is on the table fast.
What you’ll need
- Italian sausage – I chose mild
- Onion and garlic – I like sweet (Vidalia) onions
- Chicken broth – for another layer of savory taste
- Vegetables – I chose the trio of sweet potatoes, red bell pepper, and celery for color, texture, and plenty of flavor
Pro tip
The quantity of Italian sausage or sweet potatoes listed doesn’t have to be exactly adhered to. Anything in the general ballpark works in this versatile soup!
How to make sausage sweet potato soup
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
In a soup pot, sauté the Italian sausage, breaking it up with your spoon as you go along, until browned. Add in the garlic and onion, and continue cooking until softened. Drain out any excess fat.
Stir in the broth, water, bell pepper, celery, and sweet potatoes. Bring to a boil, then cover with the lid slightly open and simmer until the sweet potatoes are soft. Taste and season with salt & pepper.
Tools for this recipe
Check out Natasha’s favorite kitchen essentials, gadgets, and cookware!
- I really like this sturdy ladle. It spills less than others I’ve tried.
- This is the Dutch oven I use for many of my soup recipes.
- A sharp chef’s knife comes in handy for chopping the sweet potatoes.
Substitutions and variations
- This soup is very forgiving — you can definitely add more veggies or swap out ones you don’t like. I love the combo of sausage and bell peppers, though, so I’d definitely keep those in. Adding a bit of spinach or kale towards the end would be delicious too.
- Want to add some spice to this soup? Use hot Italian sausage and/or add some red pepper flakes to spice it up.
- You could sub for another kind of sausage if you don’t like Italian. Even something like turkey sausage or kielbasa (Polish smoked sausage) would work.
What to serve with this soup
- This soup eats like a meal, but you could definitely kick it up a notch by serving it with some Garlic Bread or a nice crusty sourdough!
- For a salad pairing, try spring mix and fresh vegetables with my bright Creamy Pesto Dressing.
Leftovers and storage
- Store leftovers of this soup in an airtight container for 3-4 days in the fridge.
- Reheat on the stove or microwave until warmed through.
- You can freeze leftovers for up to 3 months.
If you made this sweet potato sausage soup, please leave a star rating and review below! I hope you like it as much as I do. Tag me on Instagram with your S&L creations.
Sausage and Sweet Potato Soup
Ingredients
- 16 ounces Italian sausage
- 1/2 medium onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups water
- 1 red bell pepper chopped
- 2 sticks celery chopped
- 1.5 pounds sweet potatoes peeled & diced
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a soup pot, cook the sausage meat over medium-high heat, breaking it up with your spoon as you go along, for 5-6 minutes.
- Add the onion and garlic to the pot and continue cooking for another 5 minutes. If there's a lot of excess fat, spoon most of it out.
- Stir in the broth, water, red bell pepper, celery, and sweet potatoes. Increase the heat to high and bring the soup to a boil.
- Once it's boiling, reduce the heat so it's simmering, and cover the pot with the lid slightly ajar. Cook for 15-20 minutes or until the sweet potatoes have softened.
- Season with salt & pepper as needed and serve immediately.
Notes
- Anything in the 16 oz/1 pound ballpark will work for the sausage. Here in Canada, I buy a 5-pack of Johnsonville’s mild Italian sausages that’s 500g/17.6 oz and take the meat out of the casings.
- I used 3 smallish sweet potatoes. Since sweet potato sizes vary so much and are so subjective, it’s easiest to just use the scales at the grocery store and weigh them.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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This recipe was originally published on December 1, 2019. It’s been updated with new photos and better instructions but is the same great recipe!
This is great soup! It tastes very healthy. I
We loved the sweet pepper taste. We added some Parmesan cheese as a topper. I will definitely make it again.
Thanks, Deb!!
Could you use cubed ham for the meat? Is so would you add a spice of some kind to add more flavor?
Hi! Yeah, you could try using ham instead of sausage. Maybe some Italian seasoning and a pinch of cayenne pepper? This soup is pretty flexible so you can always taste and adjust as needed with whatever looks good in your pantry. 🙂 Let me know how it goes!
This was excellent. I used turkey sausage and low sodium chicken broth. The flavors were amazing and we felt we didn’t need to season with salt. I just used pepper
Thank you!
Can I use 6 cups of broth instead of using 4 cups of broth and 2 cups of water?
Sure!
Could this be made in a slow cooker? If you think it could be, what adjustments to the recipe might you suggest, and what do you think the cook time should be? Thanks in advance.
Hi Wendy! I’d do the usual 6-8 hours on low or 3-4 hours on high. Sear the sausage, onions, and celery in a skillet on the stove first then transfer to the slow cooker.
What can I use instead of red bell pepper? I have everything else!
Hi! You could skip it or replace with another veggie that’s in your fridge/freezer. Frozen corn would work!
Love your recipes. Was looking for something healthy and made this soup today. Tastes so good thank you
You’re very welcome!
This soup was delicious!! The broth was so flavorful. The sausage is what made it so tasty, I think. Note: if you’re a beginner cook like me, it’ll take a lot longer than the recipe says due to all the chopping. It took me closer to 2 hours because I’m still working on my knife skills. But I would happily make it again!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Brittney! Yes – I wish I could accurately show prep time for every person but we all go at our own paces. You will definitely get faster the more you practice. Not that going slower is a bad thing, though. 🙂 Thanks for your review!
Love your recipes. I use your site a few times aweek. Just wondering when your cook book is going to be available. Would love to buy a copy. I live in Waterloo Ontario. Will you be shipping this far.
Thank you so much!! Re: the cookbook, I don’t have an exact release date yet, but we will have a pre-sale period, likely starting in early April. So keep an eye out (I will be posting updates via Instagram, my email newsletter, and there will be a blog post here once the pre-sale is open). It will be sold directly through my website, and yes indeed we will be shipping to Canada! 😀 Thank you for your support, Beverlee!! I can’t wait til you get your copy!! XOXO