This hearty curried sweet potato soup is perfect for a winter weeknight dinner! The rich sweet potatoes combine with traditional Thai flavors for a soup that’s a little surprising and always irresistible.

This dish hits most of my favorite things in a recipe: it’s easy. It’s tasty. It’s actually really healthy, but still tastes rich and filling. It’s ready in about 30 minutes. It keeps well. You can make it early and leave it simmering if you need to.

It’s also great for serving people with dietary restrictions: it’s dairy free, gluten-free, vegetarian and can easily be made vegan (just use vegetable broth instead of chicken)!

Seriously folks, what more can you ask for in a recipe?

My favorite way to serve this is with a slice of nice crusty bread, but if you’re going for the health conscious thing, I like it with a spinach salad too.

Go ahead and slice and dice everything beforehand. Once you get started, everything goes into the pot pretty quickly!

This recipe can be loose. Like your soups thicker? Cut back on the broth! Need some animal protein? Throw in some shredded chicken! My husband likes soups to be chunky, so I microwave cook a second sweet potato, dice it up and throw it in at the end to give him some texture. If you’re new to Thai flavors, you can tone them down, but those of us who could eat Thai every other day can bump up the curry paste and fish sauce to suit.

Based on this recipe, with my own spin!

Start by cooking the onions and garlic in the olive oil. Next, add ginger and curry paste and cook for another minute.

Then add the lentils, broth, one sweet potato, carrots, fish sauce and lime juice.

Let it simmer for 20-25 minutes, then blend!

Once blended, add chunks of sweet potato (or shredded chicken) if you want it.

Curried Sweet Potato Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp fresh ginger (peeled and chopped) or 1 tsp dried ginger
• 1 1/2 tbsp Thai red curry paste
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
• 1-2 sweet potatoes
• 3-4 cups broth (veggie or chicken)
• 1-2 medium sweet potatoes
• 3/4 cup dried lentils, rinsed
• 1 tbsp fish sauce plus 1 1/2 tsp more for finishing
• 1 tbsp lime juice plus 1 tsp more for finishing
• 1 can coconut milk
• 1/4 tsp salt

Steps:

1. Peel & dice one of your potatoes. If you want chunks, set the unpeeled one aside for the moment. If you want a uniform texture, either skip the second potato or peel and dice both of them.
2. In a large pot, heat olive oil. When nearly smoking, add the onion and cook through, a few minutes.
3. Add the garlic and ginger if you’re using fresh. If dried ginger, add only the garlic. Cook for another minute.
4. Add the curry paste and ginger if you’re using dried. Stir until curry is evenly distributed and starts to smell aromatic, usually less than a 1 minute.
5. Add the diced sweet potato, carrots, 3 cups broth, lentils and 1 tbsp each of fish sauce and lime juice. Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 20-25 minutes, until everything is cooked through. The lentils will take the longest, so base time on them.
6. If you want your soup chunky: use a fork to poke lots of tiny holes in the whole sweet potato. Wrap in a wet paper towel and microwave for 6-8 minutes, depending on size. Once fully cooked, peel and dice into 1″ chunks.
7. Once everything in the pot is cooked, use an immersion blender to puree everything until smooth and uniform. Add the coconut milk, salt, and remaining fish sauce and lime juice. If you want the soup thinner, add more broth. Finally, add the sweet potato chunks.

Dinner on the table in 30 minutes, thanks to curried sweet potato soup! Do you like soups for dinner? If you want more, try this butternut squash soup or thai noodle soup!

all images copyright Teaspoon of Nose

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