You need this superfood soup in your life.
It seems these days we are all looking for ways to get dinner on the table quickly and nothing says “easy” quite like soup! But, who has time to make it from scratch? You do, thanks to this recipe! Just wait until you see how easy our slow cooker sweet potato and kale soup is! Oh, and did we mention how yummy it is?! You’ll be eager to make this again and again.
Soup Packed with Flavor and Nutrition
Not only are we going to make this easy for you, but we are going to make it good for you, too!
Sweet potatoes and kale are two of our favorite superfoods. Not only are they packed with nutrients and vitamins, such as A and C, they are especially beneficial for optimizing women’s health. If you love the taste and texture of potatoes, but know that white potatoes aren’t the healthiest option, pick up a few sweet potatoes during your next shopping trip. When we talk about “eating the rainbow,” here you have the deep orange of sweet potatoes and the green boost of kale—just make sure you know when to add kale to slow cooker soup to retain its vibrant color and nutrients.
When to Add Kale to Slow Cooker Soup
Kale has the benefit of being a fiber-rich food, so it will serve to add some more tasty texture to our soup, but it’s important to know when to add kale to slow cooker soup. While we do want to cook it, we don’t want to lose that color and chew, so we add it only at the last part of our cooking process.
How to Make This Nutritious Soup
Our soup starts with some of the ingredients you expect: onion and garlic that we’ll “sweat” (briefly and gently) in a skillet with a little oil before adding them to the slow cooker along with our other veggies and spices.
Contributing to our “rainbow” of color and nutrition, we’ll drop in some diced red bell pepper. Peppers are another great source of vitamins A, C and B6, and they will provide a nice visual and flavor boost to our finished soup.
Cubed sweet potatoes, of course, are the star of this soup, and we’ll add some spice and heat in the form of bay leaf, red pepper flakes and paprika to amp up the flavor.
About the Broth
We use vegetable broth as the basis for our soup. Certainly, if you aren’t following a vegetarian diet, you can use low-sodium chicken broth instead. However, regardless of what you use, keep in mind that the soup, overall is only as good as the broth or stock you start out with. It’s always best if we can make our own, but how many of us have time for that these days? If we did, would we be relying on our slow cooker to make our soup?
Don’t be shy about purchasing a high-quality, organic broth for your soup. The results will be worth it.
And, for the Finish…
The final step, after the soup has cooked on its own for 6 to 8 hours, is to add the kale. Remember, it’s important to know when to add kale to slow cooker soups to retain its texture, color, and nutrients. You’ll want to pop it in about 10 minutes before you are ready to serve the soup so it doesn’t overcook. If you don’t care for kale or don’t have it on hand, you can substitute other leafy greens like chopped Swiss chard, escarole lettuce, or even mustard greens. Therein lies the beauty of soup– you can tailor and tweak it oh, so many ways!
So, that’s all there is to it! A healthy soup filled with superfood ingredients, ready for you when you walk in the door after a busy day. One-pot clean up and a hearty, nutritious meal.
Slow Cooker Sweet Potato and Kale Soup Recipe
Slow Cooker Sweet Potato and Kale Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 red onion small, diced
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1/2 cup red bell pepper diced
- 2 sweet potatoes peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- kosher or sea salt to taste
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 1/2 cups vegetable stock fat free, low sodium
- 1 cup kale rinsed and loosely packed
Instructions
- In a small skillet add oil and sauté onion and garlic over medium low heat until tender, about 4 minutes. Add to the slow cooker sautéed onion and garlic and all other ingredients, except kale. Cover and cook on low 6 to 8 hours. Add kale the last 10 minutes of cooking time and allow to wilt. Remove bay leaf and serve.
Nutrition Information
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If you try this slow cooker sweet potato and kale soup, let us know what you thought in the comment section!
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If you try this slow cooker sweet potato and kale soup, let us know what you think in the comment section!
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Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on August 20, 2012.
this sounds really good! how many servings is this recipe? im thinking to double it and maybe hand blend? any thoughts?
Carol, Definitely double the recipe. About 4-5 servings of 1 cup each.
Are these sweet potatoes or yams? The coloring looks like yams
I was wondering the same thing :/
Tammy, Sweet potatoes.
Made this the other day. I won't make it again.
Tammy, Thanks for your feedback as always!
why?
what was wrong with it?
The taste just wasn't right for me, my hubby&3 kids. But my Mother loved it lol
Tammy, Glad your mom loved it. 🙂
Well, I've been excited to make this since I first pinned it on Pinterest months ago. I fixed it today and my husband and I almost died. It. Was. So. Spicy!! We seriously choked it down sharing a huge glass of milk to help with the burn. My husband actually asked me if I was trying to kill us! haha. But seriously, I won't fix this again. 🙁
Mel, This dish is a little on the spicy side…some like it hot, others prefer mild. The amount of spice can easily be tweaked according to taste. Also the red pepper can be completely eliminated. 🙂
I made this yesterday, and it was delicious!! Based on previous comments, however, I doubled the recipe and omitted the red pepper flakes and sea salt. In their place, I added about a half teaspoon of mild Harissa and the kale about an hour before it was done. The kale still had a little crunch to it. I'm from the South, i.e. simply wilted doesn't get it :-)! I will definitely make it again.
Laverne, lol…I’m also from the south. Here we typically cook greens until they’re falling a part! I’ve learned to adapt because of the health benefits of not over cooking. 🙂
A co-worker brought this in for a potluck lunch today, and it was delicious!
Jesse, Great! Thanks for letting us know. 🙂
This was great – I have made it twice, although I did notice that the recipe yielded less than I expected – about 4 1-1/4 cup servings instead of 6, but adding more vegetable stock seemed to help the second time around. LOVE the heat. Used 1 regular sweet potato and one purple one to add some more color to the dish. Great for meal prep all week.
Instead of red pepper flakes, whats a good seasoning alternative to give it a savory flavor?
Gettingskinny22, Paprika or smoked paprika is a nice alternative. You can use more since it's not spicy.
I made it today. Yes, it is spicy. I put organic sour cream (just a bit) in the center, to have a cooling sensation present. Great for cold weather.
I’m excited to try this! I find it so funny how people have such varying degrees with their taste buds. Not sure how 1/4 t. red pepper can possibly overpower anything. Wimps! 😂
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣Looking forward to trying this recipe with the fresh kale I purchased on Monday. Plan on using those red pepper flakes.🔥🐲🔥🐲 No wimps here. 🤣🤣
Looks 👍
Does it have to be a large slow cooker or can it be a smaller one?
5-6 quart is fine.