This delicious, warming Spicy Sweet Potato Coconut and chilli Soup recipe is super easy to make. It can be ready in 30 minutes and uses only 1 pan. This simple soup recipe makes a creamy, spicy vegetable soup, perfect for a cold day. Serve it with fresh, crusty bread, a swirl of yoghurt or creme fraiche and sprinkle over grated cheese or herbs. Want to try it?
Read on…
This is an easy sweet potato and coconut soup recipe that is packed with flavour. It uses a few simple ingredients and is quite budget-friendly. Who loves a little chilli heat in their food? Then add a few chilli flakes to get that lovely chilli kick. The sweet potatoes add natural sweetness to the soup, coconut milk makes it rich and creamy, whilst the spices give a welcome warmth which can be easily adjusted to suit your taste.
Why You’ll Love This Soup
- Naturally sweet, which is paired with the richness of the coconut milk.
- The spicy heat of the chilli and ginger, combined with the cumin, balances and lifts the flavours of the sweet potato and coconut milk combination.
- It’s naturally vegan and gluten-free.
- It has a beautiful and vibrant colour.
Health Benefits of Sweet Potato Coconut and Chilli Soup
- Sweet Potatoes are full of vitamins A and C, which support immunity and skin health.
- Coconut milk is full of healthy fats, which promote heart health. They also help you stay full for longer.
Ingredients for Sweet Potato Coconut and Chilli Soup
This is an overview of what you need to make this easy vegetable soup recipe. The exact amounts are in the recipe card below
- coconut milk – From a can. This gives a lovely richness and flavour to the soup. I generally use the reduced-fat version, but if you decide to use the full-fat version, it will only be richer and creamier.
- Ground turmeric, ground cumin and ground ginger – add a wonderful flavour and colour to the soup.
- Red chilli flakes – Use a few chilli flakes to give a spicy heat to the soup. Vary the amount to suit your personal preferences. Children, for example, may not like much of this spice.
- olive oil – for sauteeing the vegetables. If olive oil isn’t available, use a neutral-tasting oil instead.
- stock – vegetable stock … always use your favourite kind for the best flavour.
- sweet potatoes – Peeled and chopped.
- onion – I usually use a brown onion, but a red onion or a leek would work just as well. (The red onion will affect the final colour of the finished soup.)
- Garlic – the recipe calls for 2 cloves of garlic, but if you love your garlic, then use three.
- optional extras – some fresh, chopped coriander (cilantro) and maybe some chopped red or green fresh chilli.
How to Make Sweet Potato Coconut and Chilli Soup
This warming and spicy coconut sweet potato soup recipe is very easy to make and better yet is uses ingredients which you probably already have in your kitchen cupboard. Please find the full instructions below in the recipe card.
- Prepare the Vegetables
- Begin by preparing the vegetables. Peel the sweet potatoes; they only have thin skin, so this is quite easy. Cut them up into small chunks; you don’t have to be too exact, but cutting them small will help them cook faster.
- Peel and chop the onions and garlic, and you’re ready to begin cooking. You will need a large pan for this.
- Sauté the Vegetables (Aromatics)
- Heat the oil in the pan and saute the onion and garlic together. Cook until the onion is translucent, about 2 or 3 minutes.
- Next, add the spices and stir them for a minute or two until they become fragrant. This creates a delicious base for the soup.
- Add the Sweet Potatoes, stock and Coconut milk
- Add the sweet potatoes, and stir to coat them in the spicy mixture in the saucepan. Add the coconut milk and the stock and stir. Allow this to come to the boil and then turn it down to a simmer.
- Cook for approximately 25 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are cooked through.
- Blend until Smooth
- To finish, blend the soup using either an immersion blender (stick blender) or a standard blender. This is very easy to puree with a stick blender. You may need to puree the soup in batches if you’re using a normal blender, taking care not to overfill the blender cup and avoid exploding hot soup all over the kitchen.
All that is left to do now is to enjoy delicious sweet potato coconut chilli soup with fantastic crusty bread and a swirl of creme fraiche. Enjoy!
Substitutions and Variations
Here are a few suggestions should you wish to make any substitutions.
- Coconut Milk – coconut milk makes this soup creamy and rich tasting, but it can be replaced with dairy or non-dairy milk or vegan cream.
- Fresh herbs – chopped parsley or chopped fresh coriander work beautifully with the flavours in the soup. Looks pretty too.
- Spicy – This is a Sweet Potato Soup with a kick, but if you want more spice, this is easy to achieve. Double up on the spices as specified in the recipe below, and maybe add a little more chilli for a fiery kick.
- Onion – I usually use a brown onion, but a red onion or a leek would work just as well.
Serving Suggestions
Here are some ideas for serving this delicious creamy vegetable soup.
Serve this soup hot with chopped coriander sprinkled across the surface.
I like to serve this Sweet Potato soup with Baked Garlic Croutons. These are extremely good – they add a little savoury, garlicky flavour and a good amount of crunch. Baked croutons are simple to make, and because they’re baked in the oven, the kitchen doesn’t have that frying smell left hanging around.
Swirl some plain yoghurt or creme fraiche on top of the soup. Looks special.
How about some wonderful, fresh, crusty bread? Or a sprinkle of your favourite cheese? Vegetable soups love cheese. Use a sprinkle of nutritional yeast if you’re vegan or even if you’re not, it tastes good. Most vegetable soups go beautifully with cheese or cheese flavours and it adds a little protein too, which will keep you full for longer. Just wonderful!
How about herbs? Spicy Sweet Potato, coconut and chilli soup goes well with herbs, such as rosemary, coriander or oregano. There are so many choices, and we haven’t even touched on seeds, toasted pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds or toasted pine nuts. There are so many options, and I bet you have a few ideas of your own.
If you can think of any more, I’d love to know… just comment in the box below and I’ll get back to you.
F.A.Q’s
Yes, this soup is vegan as it contains only vegan/plant-based friendly ingredients. To ensure that it stays vegan, serve it with suitable soup accompaniments. Plant-based Greek or plain yoghurt is good to swirl through the soup, and it’s good with a few sprinkled toasted seeds for a protein hit.
Yes, as it contains coconut milk and not dairy milk..
No. You may substitute chicken stock without spoiling the flavour of the finished soup, but this will no longer be suitable for vegetarians or vegans.
This soup recipe should work perfectly with all varieties of sweet potatoes, but I haven’t been able to test that. I only have the more common orange-fleshed sweet potatoes available to me where I live.
If once you’ve blended your soup, it seems too thick for your liking, thin it down slightly using either more stock or a little water. Always add just a little at a time, as you don’t want to thin it down too much.
If the soup is too thin for your liking, cook it for a little longer to thicken or use a little cornflour or plain flour to thicken it up.
Tips for the best sweet potato coconut and chilli soup
- Use full-fat coconut milk for a richer, creamier version of this delicious soup.
- Check the chilli heat of the soup and adjust according to your personal preferences. Remember that you can always add more, but you can’t take it away, so proceed carefully.
- Ensure the perfect consistency by either reducing the amount of stock you add or by cooking a little longer so that the soup thickens.
- Use the freshest vegetables that you can find.
Storing and Reheating the Soup
Refrigerator – Let the soup cool down and store it in an airtight container for up to 3 days. This makes this recipe great for meal prep. Reheat thoroughly until piping hot before eating.
Freezer – This soup freezes successfully. Remember to let it cool completely before transferring it to a freezer-safe container. Do not fill the container to the top, as it will expand as it freezes. Label the soup so that you don’t forget what’s inside. This is a good recipe for batch cooking. Make one batch of soup to eat now and one batch to freeze for an occasion when you’re pushed for time. We all have busy lives.
Reheat – to eat, defrost thoroughly and then reheat until piping hot. The soup may look separated after it has thawed so stir well to recombine. As before, reheat thoroughly until piping hot and serve with your favourite soup accompaniments and enjoy!
What are you waiting for?
So, what are you waiting for? Grab your ingredients and get cooking! Don’t forget to let us know how it turned out in the comments below.
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Sweet Potato Coconut and Chilli Soup Recipe
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Prepare the vegetables. Peel and chop the sweet potatoes into small chunks (this helps them cook more quickly) and peel, finely slice the onions and garlic..1 onion, 2 garlic cloves, 26 ounces sweet potatoes
- Heat the oil in the saucepan and add the chopped onion and garlic. Saute until the onion is translucent.1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- Add the spices and give everything a good stir. Once the spices smell fragrant, add the sweet potatoes and stir to coat them in the spicy mixture.1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, 1/8 teaspoon chilli flakes
- Add the coconut milk and the stock and stir. Bring the soup to a boil and then turn down the heat so that the soup simmers.1 7/8 cups coconut milk, 1 cup vegetable stock
- Simmer for about 20 -25 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are cooked through. Then blend the soup with an immersion blender or in batches using a blender.
- Check the seasoning and the thickness of the soup. If it needs more salt or pepper, add in small amounts until you are pleased with the flavour.
- If the soup is too thick, thin it down with a little more stock or water until it is of a consistency that you like. If the soup is too thin then cook it for a little longer so that it can thicken up. Alternatively, thicken with a little cornflour or plain flour (all-purpose). Make a paste with the flour and a little cold water, add it to the soup and bring it back to the boil stirring all the time. Cook it for about 1 to 2 minutes or until the soup thickens.
- Serve with your favourite soup accompaniments. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Notes
Variations
There aren’t a great many alterations that you can make to this soup recipe but here are a few suggestions that will ring a few changes before it becomes a different kind of vegetable soup altogether.- add a handful of fresh, chopped coriander. This really accentuates the spices in the soup.
- don’t like the spices? – Omit the spices and just focus on seasoning the soup well and to your personal taste.
- want it spicier? This is easy to achieve. Double up on the spices as specified in the recipe below and perhaps add a little chilli for a fiery kick. This is a lovely adaption if you like spice and we do!
- use non-dairy milk instead of coconut milk. This will still make a lovely soup but you will have to pay attention to seasoning the soup well as the coconut milk is part of the rich creamy texture and robust flavour of this soup.
Tried this recipe?
Let us know how it was!If you like this… then you may want to try these too
- Simple Spicy Tomato Soup
- Creamy Cauliflower Soup
- Simple Green Pea Soup recipe
- Spicy Red Lentil Soup
- Pumpkin Soup
- Leek and Potato Soup
- Simple Corn Chowder Recipe
- How to make Vegan Pea and Mint Soup
- 5-Hearty Vegetarian Soups – A collection of soup recipes, which includes some of the above recipes.
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This soup is the most gorgeous color!
Your soup looks amazing!! I’ve never had sweet potato soup before and I need to remedy that! ♥️
I hope you get to try it.
Sweet potato combined with coconut milk sounds divine! I honestly can’t wait to try this recipe. I’m sure it’s gonna taste amazing 😀
Looks amazing! I love a good soup and not only it is super easy to make, but it is very healthy and that is wonderful. Thank you for sharing and look forward to making it in my own kitchen.
It is not so easy to find good soup recipes. But now I have another delicious recipe thanks to you! Many thanks!
I hope you get to try it, Nora.
Okay can I just say we are in the middle of summer and all I crave are soups like this. I don’t know whats up with my body but it sure will be enjoying this one tomorrow.
This soup is perfect!
Good to hear from you. It is a really lovely soup.
Delicious! I made a similar soup this past winter and it was so flavorful! Such a bright soup!
Good to hear from you. I glad you like it.