Spicy sweet potato, coconut, and chili soup - a smooth and flavorful bowl of soup to keep you warm on a cold day.
This smooth sweet potato, coconut, and chili soup is made with just a few simple ingredients and is ready in less than one hour. The perfect soup to serve your family in winter: it’s hot and warming, comforting, the ingredients are affordable, and you can make a huge batch and reheat it again and again.
Sweet potato soup of any kind is a regular in our house, especially in winter. Check out this Creamy Sweet Potato and Pumpkin Soup as well; you will love it!
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Recipe ingredients
Sweet potatoes:
- Red-skinned, orange-fleshed sweet potatoes.
- Not to be confused with yams, which aren't sweet potatoes at all. Sweet potatoes are called yams in some areas in the South, but yams are another sort of tuberous root vegetable.
- Yams have bark-like, brown skin and starchy flesh. Sweet potatoes have red skin and orange or yellow flesh, and they are softer and sweeter.
- Check out our Sweet Potato Casserole; it would be perfect for Thanksgiving! Or make some Air Fryer Baked Sweet Potatoes or Baked Sweet Potato Slices.
Chilies:
- Medium-hot red chili peppers
- Theoretically, you can use any chili pepper you like, but the heat can vary considerably. It is best to know how hot your chilies are and use them accordingly.
Liquids: One can of coconut milk and vegetable stock.
Other ingredients: Onion, garlic, olive oil (or coconut oil), curry powder, fine sea salt or Kosher salt, and ground black pepper. Basil for the garnish (optional).
How to make sweet potato soup with coconut milk and chili?
- Prepare: Peel and chop the sweet potatoes. Set them aside. Chop the onions finely and set aside. Chop the garlic and the chilies and set them aside separately from the onion, as they have different cooking times.
- Sauté vegetables: Heat the oil in a soup pot and cook the onion until translucent, 5-6 minutes on medium-low heat, stirring often. Don’t let it get any color. (1) Add garlic, chilies, and curry and stir for about 1 minute.
- Add the sweet potatoes and stir to coat for about 2 minutes.
- Cook: Pour in the vegetable broth, and bring to a boil (2).
- Cook, covered, for about 15-20 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are soft (3).
- Blend the coconut sweet potato soup with an immersion blender (4).
- Add the coconut milk, stir well and simmer for about 5 minutes.
- Adjust the taste with salt and pepper.
Expert Tips
- Chilies: If they are very long, you might want to stick to one or check how hot they are before you use them. Make sure you know how hot they are and use them accordingly.
- Removing the seeds also makes them milder.
- Blend the soup with an immersion blender (Amazon affiliate link); it is the best choice for pureeing soups or other hot liquids to avoid the risk of the blender’s lid exploding.
If you decide to use a stand blender, follow these safety steps:
- Let the soup cool slightly, 5-10 minutes.
- Blend it in batches; the blender should only be half full.
- Place a folded kitchen towel on the machine and hold it steady with your hand.
- Increase the speed gradually.
- Transfer the creamy soup to another container and repeat with the second batch.
Recipe FAQ
Sure. Coconut milk imparts the meal with the best flavor, but you can replace it with heavy cream or a vegan cream alternative, like soy, almond, or oat cooking cream.
Refrigerate in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
Freeze the coconut sweet potato soup for up to 3 months. Defrost in the fridge.
Reheat on the stovetop or the microwave.
How to serve?
The sweet potato, coconut and chili soup can be served as a starter or as a main meal with bread, sandwiches, or salad. Try our Turkey and Avocado Sandwich, the Easy Spinach and Feta Muffins, make the Soda Bread without Buttermilk or the Cornbread Recipe without Buttermilk.
Or check out What to Serve with Potato Soup; you will find 25 delicious ideas in that post.
More Soup Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Spicy Sweet Potato, Coconut and Chili Soup
Equipment
- Large soup pot
Ingredients
- 2 lb sweet potatoes 1 kg, Note 2
- 1 onion
- 3 garlic cloves
- 2 tablespoons olive oil or coconut oil
- 1-2 red chilies or ½ - 1 teaspoon crushed red chili flakes, Note 3
- 2 teaspoons curry powder
- 3 cups vegetable stock
- 1 can coconut milk 400 g/ 14 oz, Note 4
- fine sea salt or Kosher salt
- ground black pepper
- 10 leaves fresh basil optional
Instructions
- Prepare vegetables: Peel and cut the sweet potatoes into cubes. Chop the onion and set it aside. Chop the garlic cloves and the chilies and set them aside separately from the onions.
- Sauté: Heat the oil in a large pot. Cook the onion until translucent (but not colored), 5-6 minutes, stirring often. Add garlic, chilies, and curry powder, and mix well for about 1 minute. Add the sweet potatoes and stir for about 2 minutes.
- Simmer: Pour in the vegetable stock and stir well. Cook for 15-20 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are soft.
- Blend the soup with an immersion blender.
- Add the coconut milk, stir well and bring the soup to a simmer again. Simmer for another five minutes or so.
- Adjust the taste with salt and pepper and sprinkle with chopped basil before serving.
Notes
- It’s preferable to blend the soup with an immersion blender. You can also use a stand blender, but ensure you follow the safety steps to avoid any explosions. Let the soup cool slightly, and blend it in batches; the blender should only be about half full. Place a folded kitchen towel on the blender and hold it with your hand. Increase the speed gradually.
- Substitute with butternut squash, Hokkaido or sugar pumpkin, or another flavorful sort of pumpkin.
- Theoretically, ½ teaspoon of dried crushed red chili flakes is the equivalent of one fresh chili. However, that greatly depends on the chilies you are using. It’s always better to use both fresh chilies or red chili flakes to taste.
- Coconut milk works best for the flavor. However, you can substitute it with heavy cream or non-dairy creams like soy, almond, or oat cooking cream.
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