Sweet Potato Soup with Quinoa & Coconut Milk ♥

Sweet Potato Soup with Quinoa & Coconut Milk ♥ AVeggieVenture.com, rave reviews.
A hearty vegan soup, one to warm a body from the inside out. It's slightly sweet from the orange tubers we call sweet potatoes, slightly nutty from the grain-like seed called quinoa, slightly spicy from cayenne and chili powder, slightly cool from the coconut milk stirred in near the end. Not just vegan, "Vegan Done Real".

Sweet potato soups can be, well, a little "sweet potato-y", too heavy, too starchy, too dense.

So I loved the idea of a recipe for sweet potato soup lightened with the healthy and protein-dense quinoa [pronounced KEEN-wah]. I feared the color and little doubt, the color is akin to what Nana, my grandmother on my mother's side, used to call the "dog's breakfast". But thanks to the cayenne and chili powder, the soup has a welcome kick that's smoothed and cooled by the coconut milk.

This soup, it's a winner.

COMPLIMENTS!
"Just made this tonight, and it's really good!" ~ Anonymous
"We all (including the kids, 8 and 4) loved the balance of spicy with sweet coconut." ~ MamaGames
"I used Kabocha squash (big harvest, froze a lot) with good results." ~ Anonymous
"Holy hand grenades this is fabulous!!" ~Mollie
"We loved it!" ~ Monique

RECIPE for SWEET POTATO SOUP with QUINOA & COCONUT MILK

Adapted from Quinoa 365: The Everyday Superfood
Hands-on time: 20 minutes active plus occasional attention throughout
Time to table: 60 minutes
Makes 5 cups

SWEET POTATOES
Water to cover
1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and diced small

QUINOA
1 medium onion, diced
2 tablespoons water (or more as needed)
1/2 cup (88g) quinoa (I use red quinoa)
3 cups vegetable broth (I use Homemade Vegetable Bouillon)

COMBINE
Cooked Sweet Potatoes
Cooked Quinoa
1 cup coconut milk, light or regular
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
Salt & pepper to taste

For garnish and contrast, sour cream or plain yogurt or keffir or something similar (omit for a vegan soup)

SWEET POTATOES In a saucepan with a cover, combine the water and sweet potatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to maintain a slow simmer and let simmer until the sweet potatoes are fully cooked but not so cooked as to break apart.

QUINOA In a large pot or Dutch oven, cook the onion in the water until soft. Add the quinoa and broth, cover and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to maintain a slow simmer, let simmer until the quinoa is cooked, about 15 minutes.

COMBINE Stir the sweet potatoes into the quinoa. With an immersion blender, blend until a bit thicker, leaving some recognizable bits of sweet potato. (You could also use a blender, if so, leave out some of the sweet potato pieces, they really do help the appearance.) Stir in the coconut milk and spices and warm through again. Taste and season with salt and pepper to taste.

SERVE To serve, top with a dollop of sour cream or yogurt.



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Alanna Kellogg
Alanna Kellogg

A Veggie Venture is home of "veggie evangelist" Alanna Kellogg and the famous asparagus-to-zucchini Alphabet of Vegetables.

Comments

  1. This sounds wonderful! Do you think I could sub wheat berries for the quinoa, since I already have them on hand? Nancy

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  2. Nancy, You know, I don't know for sure but I 'think' so, if you see the difference. It's been FAR too long since I've cooked with wheatberries, I aim to change that in 2011. I too started with 'what I had on hand' which was quinoa.

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  3. Just made this tonight, and it's really good! I used 1/8-tsp chipotle and 1/8 tsp chili powder (I'm a big baby about spice.) I replaced the sweet potato with butternut squash. The soup was good but on the thin sign, so I used the rest of the squash, for a total of about 2 lbs of squash. Next time I make this I might add some chicken to bulk it up.

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  4. I've cooked quinoa a couple of different ways but never in a soup. I think it's a great idea. The soup sounds flavorful!

    Nisrine

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  5. This soup looks fabulous! Love the combination of flavors and I really love cooking with coconut milk.

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  6. This looks so good - super warm in your belly. Yum.

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  7. Just made this today - a double batch, actually, since I like to make a BIG pot of soup on Sundays and have it last for lunches during the week. We all (including the kids, 8 and 4) loved the balance of spicy with sweet coconut. Yum! Thanks for sharing!

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  8. How did I miss this? This soup looks so warm and inviting. I like my quinoa cooked in coconut milk and I often make salads with quinoa and sweet potatoes, but I have never thought to bring the coconut and sweet potatoes together. Add in all that cayenne and chili powder and I know this soup would satisfy.

    Thanks for sharing it.

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  9. I'm the person who uses the butternut squash instead of sweet potato. I just thawed some of this soup I'd made in November. My co-worker and I shared it for lunch, and it was great!

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  10. If you don't like the color, try using white quinoa. The soup comes out the color of the sweet potatoes. And it's still delicious!

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  11. I used Kabocha squash (big harvest, froze a lot) with good results. Subbed hot curry powder for chili and added fresh lime juice for balance. Cheers!

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  12. Holy hand grenades this is fabulous!! I had to modify to feed a very hungry family of 5(including 3 teens). I used more sweet potatoes, chicken broth, sriracha, black pepper, thyme and cumin, as well as sour cream and feta cheese to add some punch. We are all holding our full bellies now, wishing we'd not have inhaled it so fast! This one is going in my family's go-to rotation for sure!

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  13. Served Sweet Potato Soup with Quinoa & Coconut Milk tonight to my husband and three daughters. We loved it! Thanks for sharing the recipe!

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Thank you for taking a moment to write! I read each and every comment, for each and every recipe, whether a current recipe or a long-ago favorite. If you have a specific question, it's nearly always answered quick-quick. ~ Alanna