Sweet Potato, Coconut & Chilli Soup

My Sweet Potato, Coconut & Chilli Soup is a hug in a bowl. The perfect bowl of comforting food on a cold day. Sweet potatoes and coconut milk add a lovely creamy, velvety texture to the soup and the chilli adds just the right amount of spicy heat.

This vegan sweet potato coconut soup is both dairy free and gluten free, provided you use gluten free vegetable stock.

My sweet potato soup can also be prepared, cooked and ready to enjoy in just 45 minutes, making this a quick and lunch or light mid week dinner option.

Why you’ll love this recipe

• The perfect balance of flavours with a nice hit of chilli. If you prefer your food milder simply cut back on the chilli, or leave out the chilli flakes.
• Make ahead and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve. As with all soups it will taste even better if left to sit.
• This recipe is easily doubled up so enjoy some now and freeze the rest for a quick and easy meal another night.
• Gluten free, dairy free and vegan, just ensure you use gluten free vegetable stock.

Recipe ingredients & substitutions

• Oil – I like to use regular olive oil for sauteing the vegetables but any light flavoured oil will work.
• Vegetables – I use a combination of onion, leek, celery and garlic to flavour the base of the soup.
• Chilli – I add both red finger chillies and red chilli flakes to this soup. If you prefer your soup a little milder then cut down on the amount of chillies added.
• Sweet potatoes – use any variety or colour of sweet potatoes in this soup.
• Coconut milk – I use full fat coconut milk as it adds the best flavour and texture to the soup. You can use light coconut milk if you prefer.
• Stock – I use vegetable stock for the soup. Chicken stock would also work, provided you are not serving the soup to meat free diners.
• Seasoning – I season the soup with sea salt and black pepper.
• Garnish – I garnish the soup with chopped coriander leaf, sliced red chilli and a drizzle of coconut milk. All the garnished are entirely optional.

How to make Sweet Potato Soup recipe

• Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, leek and celery and saute for 5 minutes to soften but not colour the vegetables.
• Add the garlic and red chilli to the pan and continue to cook for a further minute.

• Add the remaining ingredients to the saucepan, turn the heat to high and bring to a boil.
• Now turn the heat down to a low simmer and cook for 25 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes have softened.

• Using either a stick blender, or high speed blender, blitz the soup to a smooth consistency.
• To serve you can garnish the soup with optional chopped coriander leaf, red chillies and a drizzle of coconut milk.

Recipe variations

• Swap the sweet potato for butternut squash or pumpkin which would also work with the flavours in this soup.
• Adjust the chilli heat in the soup to suit your own palette.
• Serve the soup with a wedge of lime which, once squeezed over, would add a nice hit of acidity to the soup.
• Create a Thai sweet potato soup with coconut milk by stirring a teaspoon or two of Thai red chilli paste through the soup in place of the chillies and chilli flakes.
• For a sweet potato coconut curry soup, stir through some curry powder along with the garlic and chilli.

Serving suggestions

Sweet potato, coconut and chilli soup makes a great lunch or light dinner dish. I serve with a garnish of chopped coriander leaf, some sliced red chillies and a drizzle of coconut milk. You can also add a wedge of lime for adding a burst of zesty freshness to the soup.

Keep any additional sides simple, add some crusty or toasted bread.

Useful hints and tips

1. Take time to gently saute the leeks and onion and add a pinch of salt to stop them from colouring too much.
2. Check the soup for seasoning before serving, the right amount of salt and pepper makes a big difference to the taste of the finished dish.
3. Use a gluten free stock and this soup can be serve to coeliacs and gluten free diners.
4. Containing no dairy this soup is suitable for dairy free and vegan diners.
5. Allergy advice: gluten free, dairy free, egg free, soya free and nut free. For comprehensive and detailed allergy advice go to Allergy UK.

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Additional recipe suggestions

If you like this soup recipe then try some of my other vegan soup recipes:

• Potato & Leek Soup with Chickpeas (just swap butter for olive oil when sauteing the leek)
• Broccoli Courgette Soup
• Tomato & Vegetable Soup with Harissa
• Vegetable Barley Broth
• Tomato & Basil Soup
• Spicy Bean & Vegetable Soup
• Simple Curried Chickpea & Lentil Soup
• Spicy Tomato & Lentil Soup

Have a look at my Simple Soup Recipes post which has all my favourite soup recipes in one place, along with lots of useful hints and tips for making the best bowl of soup.