Sweet Potato and Chilli Soup

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Healthy comfort food doesn’t get much better than this delicious and warming Sweet Potato and Chilli Soup. With creamy coconut and fragrant lemongrass, this is a great meal to warm you up on a cold winter day.

I won’t ever stop going on about what a great meal soup is. Perfect for a quick lunch or a light dinner, I make a batch of soup at least once a week during the colder months. On current rotation with this sweet potato soup is my Three Bean Soup and Cream of Vegetable Soup.

And I love keeping a stash of different soups in the freezer for emergency meals. I have loads of easy soup recipes to choose from.

Sweet Potato Coconut Soup

Coconut milk is a great addition to soup. Not only is it deliciously creamy, but it holds up a lot better when frozen than regular dairy cream. I love using coconut milk in soups and as a bonus it is also vegan. As long as you use a vegan stock cube then this tasty sweet potato soup is suitable for a vegan or dairy free diet.

I use coconut oil to add even more delicious coconut flavour to this easy sweet potato, chilli and coconut soup, but you can use vegetable or olive oil if you prefer.

Ingredients

The full list with quantities is in the recipe card below, but here are some helpful tips about the main ingredients.

Sweet Potato – the star of the show! A great addition to a healthy diet, sweet potatoes are a good source of fibre, vitamins (notably vitamin A and C) plus other minerals and antioxidants. To prepare sweet potatoes for soup, peel and chop into ½ inch pieces.

Carrots – add a nice sweetness to the soup. You can swap them for red bell peppers or extra sweet potatoes.

Red Chilli – I use two regular red chillis which I find gives the soup a nice mild kick. You can add more or reduce depending on your preferred spice levels, but I would recommend using at least one chilli for a little warmth. You can always add additional chilli flakes to individual portions when serving if you would like to add more spice.

Lemongrass – adds a lovely light and aromatic citrus flavour. It is not essential so if you cannot get hold of any you can omit. Instead of lemongrass try adding some fresh squeezed lime to the soup to serve.

To use lemongrass in soup first slice about ½ an inch off the bottom of the lemongrass stalks and remove the outer 2 layers of leaves. Bash the stalks with the handle of a knife or a rolling pin (or a tenderiser if you have one) until they split open to release the oils. Make sure to remove the stalks before blending the soup.

Garlic and Ginger – aromatics for flavour. Fresh is best or you can use garlic and ginger paste.

Coconut Milk – Use the kind in a can, not coconut milk for drinking or coffee. I use full fat coconut milk but light also works well. You can omit if you prefer, just add a little extra stock.

Vegetable Stock – use homemade or from a stock cube. You can also use chicken stock if you prefer.

Seasoning – How much salt you need to add to the soup will depend on the stock you use (as well as personal preference) – I typically avoid adding salt until the end as sometimes it is not required. Instead of salt you can also add fresh lime juice or soy sauce to season to taste. You could even serve these on the side.

Storing

Sweet potato soup will store well in the fridge for 3 days.

You can freeze the soup in a suitable container for 3 months. I freeze individual portions in used yoghurt pots with lids or reusable freezer bags for an easy grab and go meal.

Defrost overnight in the fridge or in the microwave using a defrost setting.

Reheat soup on the stove or in the microwave until piping hot.

Serving

I love sweet potato and chilli soup as a quick, nutritious meal with some bread or crackers on the side for dipping. I also recommend to try it with a warm buttered cheese and tomato savoury scone.

Soup works well as a light dinner. Serve it with bread or a sandwich and a side salad to make more of a substantial meal or use it as an excuse to have a nice hearty pudding or dessert.

For extra luxuriously creamy soup, you can stir in a little heavy/double cream, coconut cream or creme fraiche to serve. Use a dairy free version if needed.

I like to garnish my chilli sweet potato soup with a sprinkle of chilli flakes, a little coriander and a drizzle of cream.

More Easy Soup Recipes:

• Sweet Potato and Carrot Soup
• Butternut Squash and Carrot Soup
• Roasted Red Pepper and Gouda Soup
• Butternut Squash and Harissa Soup