This Spicy Sweet Potato Chilli and Coconut Soup recipe makes a wonderful vegetable soup. It’s ready to eat in just 30 minutes and uses only 1 pan. It is perfect for lunch or as part of a main meal. 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…
If you’re looking for a delicious and easy soup recipe that is packed with flavour, then you have to try this Sweet Potato Coconut and Chilli Soup recipe. It’s perfect for a cold winter’s day or any time you’re craving a warm and comforting meal. And with just a few simple ingredients, it’s easy to make, quick and budget-friendly too!
This homemade sweet potato soup recipe is perfect for anyone who loves a little heat in their food. It is such a favourite of ours. The sweet potatoes add a natural sweetness to the soup, while the spices give it a nice kick. It’s beautiful to look at and only gently spicy so it goes down very well when the weather is getting cool. And best of all, it’s easy to make with just a few simple ingredients. So, let’s get started!
Ingredients
This is just an overview of what you need to make this easy Spicy Sweet Potato soup recipe with a bit of an explanation as to why they’re in the soup. You know I like ingredients to work hard in a recipe, don’t you?
Pantry Items
- coconut milk – 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 still.
- turmeric, cumin and ground ginger – add a gentle flavour that accentuates the sweetness of the vegetables.
- chilli – Use a few chilli flakes to give a nice heat to the soup. Vary the amount to suit your personal preferences. Children for example may not like much of this spice.
- vegetable oil – for sauteeing the vegetables. Use your favourite neutral-tasting oil for this process.
- stock – vegetable stock … always use your favourite kind for the best flavour.
Fresh Vegetables
- Sweet potatoes – are a good source of fibre and have an impressive list of vitamins and minerals, such as; iron, calcium, selenium and some of the B vitamin group. It also contains beta carotene, the clue is in the colour, just like carrots and this gets converted to vitamin A which is good for eye health. I use the more commonly found orange variety but there are other types and colours of sweet potatoes to be found in larger supermarkets.
- onion & garlic – for creating the savoury flavour of this soup. I tend to use brown onions in this soup as red onions tend to cause the colour of the soup to darken and then it won’t be quite so vibrantly orange. But as always use what you have.
How to make Sweet Potato Chilli and Coconut Soup- a step-by-step guide
This healthy and spicy coconut sweet potato soup recipe is very easy to make.
- 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.
- 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.
- Then add the 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 a boil and then turn it down to a simmer.
- Cook for approximately 25 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are cooked through.
- To finish, blend the soup either with 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 your delicious sweet potato coconut soup with fantastic crusty bread and a swirl of creme fraiche. Enjoy!
Variations
There aren’t a great many alterations that you can make to this Spicy Sweet Potato 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.
- Not sure you like the spices? – Omit the spices and focus on seasoning the soup well and to your personal taste.
- want it spicier? 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 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 is possible and 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 of this soup.
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 this soup is good with a few sprinkled toasted seeds for a protein hit.
Yes as it contains coconut milk.
No. If you’re not interested in this being suitable for vegetarians or vegans then you may substitute a chicken stock without spoiling the flavour of the finished soup.
This soup recipe should work perfectly well 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 much 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 consistency of the blended soup is too thin for your liking, you can continue to allow it to cook for a little longer or you can use a little cornflour or flour to thicken it up. Mix the flour/cornflour into a paste with some cold water and add it to the hot soup. Bring it back to a boil and simmer stirring all the time for 1 – 2 minutes until the soup thickens.
Ideas for Serving
Here are a few of our ideas for serving this delicious creamy vegetable soup.
I like to serve this Sweet Potato soup with Baked Garlic Croutons. These are really good – they add a little savoury, garlicky flavour and a good amount of crunch. Baked croutons are really 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 really 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 soup goes really well with lots of 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 some 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.
Storing and Re-heating the soup
Spicy Sweet Potato soup lasts up to 3 days if stored in the refrigerator. Reheat thoroughly until piping hot before eating.
This soup also freezes successfully. Remember to let it cool completely before transferring it to a freezer-safe container. This is definitely 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.
To eat, defrost thoroughly and then reheat until it is 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.
Sweet Potato Chilli and Coconut Soup Recipe
Equipment
- 1 saucepan large
- knives
- 1 immersion blender
Ingredients
- 26 ounces sweet potatoes orange fleshed
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 cup vegetable stock
- 1 7/8 cups coconut milk 1 can – reduced fat
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/8 teaspoon chilli flakes Vary this amount to suit your personal tastes.
Instructions
- 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!
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.
Nutrition
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 – This is 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.