This curried sweet potato soup recipe is the perfect comfort food for winter. Smooth, creamy and full of vitamins, you can feel good about feeding this to your family!
The weather is getting colder, and that means it's time for comforting foods. Our fave? Soup!!! And we’re obsessed with this delicious recipe from Melissa at Beautiful Life and Home. It is too dang good not to share!
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This curried sweet potato soup recipe is super easy and slightly different from your typical sweet potato soup recipe. The curry gives it a nice little kick, and there's a secret ingredient in it that sneaks even more veggies into your dinner!
HOW TO COOK SWEET POTATOES
Before you start making curried sweet potato soup, you’ll need to cook your sweet potatoes. There are a few different ways that you can do this:
- Slow Cooker – Here’s an easy option if you don't have access to an oven. Wash your sweet potato and put it in a slow cooker (use slow cooker liners for easy clean up). Cook until tender and easily pierced, about 3-4 hours on high or 5-7 hours on low.
- Instant Pot – If you're in a hurry, then the Instant Pot is the way to cook your sweet potato! Start by scrubbing your sweet potato. Pour 1 cup of water into your Instant Pot. Put the steamer basket and sweet potato in the pot. Secure the lid and turn the valve to seal. Use the manual mode and set to pressure cook on high for 15 minutes. Allow the pressure to release naturally for about 10 minutes. Wait for the pressure valve to lower before you remove the lid and take out the sweet potato.
- Oven – Heat your oven to 350°F. Wash your sweet potato and stab it several times with a fork to let steam escape. Wrap it in aluminum foil and place in the oven. Bake for about one hour, or until completely tender when pierced with a fork.
Pro Tip: Make sure there is extra foil or an oven liner in the bottom of your oven because sugary juice will leak out of your sweet potato and burn on the bottom of your oven! You can also place the wrapped sweet potato on a baking sheet to prevent leaks.
CURRIED SWEET POTATO SOUP ADD-INS
This soup goes well with just about anything! Try out these ideas to really take it that extra mile:
- Crackers – What a classic combo! Slice up some cheese and plate some crackers, and dinner is served.
- Garlic Naan Bread – Serve with naan for dipping, or slice your bread into smaller pieces to create naan crouton toppings!
- Bacon Bits – Does this even need an explanation? When in doubt, add the bacon.
- Chopped Green Onions – Add a touch of color and boost of flavor with a few green onions!
- Chickpeas – Chickpeas and curry are a match made in heaven. The flavors complement each other so well!
- Sour Cream – Serving to family members with sensitive palettes? Top with a dollop of sour cream to help cut the heat from the spices.
- Pumpkin Seeds – It’s fall, ya’ll! Toast up some pumpkin seeds to top this yummy soup.
- Cilantro – Big on bold flavors? Fresh cilantro leaves will take this recipe up another notch.
Now, ready to make that soup? Let's get to the recipe! First, a few quick tips.
NOTES FOR MAKING SWEET POTATO SOUP
First, a disclaimer: the soup is smooth and creamy but has a bit of a spicy kick at the end. If you’re sensitive to spicy foods, skip the black pepper.
Use a blender to puree the sweet potato. If it won't smooth out by itself, add about ½ cup of milk to the blender and blend again. Just note how much milk you add to the blender so that you can subtract that from how much you add later to your roux. (Example: if you added ½ cup of milk to help puree the sweet potatoes, only add 3 ½ cups of milk to the pot).
EASY SUBSTITUTIONS
Okay, let’s say you’ve been craving this soup, and you’re just about to make it, but you realize you’re missing an ingredient or two. Ugh. Dang it!
Don’t you worry! There’s ALWAYS a substitute that will work. We guarantee it. Here are few ideas for making swaps in this sweet potato curry recipe:
- Sweet Potato – All out of sweet potatoes? Yams work just as well! You can also try subbing in pumpkin. Canned pumpkin or homemade pureed pumpkin will do.
- Milk – If you need to go dairy-free, try almond or coconut milk.
- Butter – No butter? Use margarine.
- Flour – If you’re all out of all-purpose flour, grab some wheat flour or rice flour instead.
- Curry Powder – If you don’t have any curry powder on hand, make your own spice blend! Just mix equal parts of cumin, coriander, turmeric, and ginger. Yum!
- Peas – Don’t like peas? No problem. Leave them out! Are you looking to sneak in some other veggies? Try carrots or broccoli.
See — there really is a substitute for everything. Now you have no excuses not to make this soup, so let’s do it!
CURRIED SWEET POTATO SOUP RECIPE
Are you ready for the easiest and most delicious soup recipe? This colorful, flavorful bowl of yum is a real crowd-pleaser!
Curried Sweet Potato Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb sweet potato
- 4 cups milk
- 4 Tbsp butter
- 2 Tbsp flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 1 cup peas, frozen (optional)
- ¼ tsp pepper (optional)
Instructions
- Cook your sweet potato until easily pierced with a knife. Set aside to cool.
- Once the sweet potato is cool enough to handle, peel off the skin and place the flesh in a blender.
- Add the butter, flour, salt, and curry to a large pot over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until you have a roux.
- Add 4 cups of milk, a little at a time, whisking and stirring after each addition to remove any lumps.
- Once all the milk has been added, carefully add the pureed sweet potato. Stir until fully incorporated.
- If desired, add the pepper and frozen peas. Remove the soup from the burner and allow to sit for about 5 minutes until the peas are cooked.
Doesn't that sound so easy? It's also perfect to make for a crowd, just double or triple, to meet your needs. (Check out this handy, dandy conversion guide if you need help with that!) Now, let’s talk about leftovers! Mmmm…
HOW TO STORE YOUR CURRY SOUP
You guys. The leftovers from this soup are THE BEST. It somehow manages to taste even better when you reheat it! If you store this in the fridge in an airtight container, you can use it up to five days later. Just reheat on the stove or in the microwave.
This soup also freezes really well, so you can double or triple it for a quick, easy, and delicious meal on a busy night. Be sure to use freezer-safe containers to prevent freezer burn (get some great tips on that HERE). Label your container and use within one year. Just thaw overnight in the refrigerator and then reheat on the stovetop. One thing to know–sometime’s recipes with milk will separate when frozen. Just add a splash of milk in as you’re reheating if you need to.
HOW TO USE THE LEFTOVERS
There’s nothing wrong with heating up a bowl of this soup to enjoy as-is, but if you’re looking for creative ways to make this soup feel like a whole new meal, then keep reading. We think you’ll love these ideas for repurposing sweet potato curry soup:
- Egg Scramble – Make your next breakfast more flavorful! Just add some soup to your scrambled eggs, serve with some fruit and biscuit. Yum!
- Loaded Mashed Potatoes – The only thing that can make this recipe even more filling is a big heaping pile of mashed potatoes! Instead of topping those potatoes with gravy, serve with your soup on top. Mashed sweet potatoes are a great option, too.
- Pot Pie – Add in a bit of cornstarch to thicken your soup if needed, then pour your leftovers into a pie crust, add some shredded or canned chicken, top with pastry puff, and bake at 375°F for about 30 minutes. It couldn't be easier!
- Quesadillas – There’s never a bad time to make quesadillas! Instead of serving your leftover soup with a sandwich, try one of these steak quesadillas! Spice it up to your heart’s desire to complement your curry soup.
How delicious do those ideas sound?! Here’s another quick tip: you can also serve your soup in cup-sized portions as side dishes or appetizers for just about any dinner.
So, now we have to know. What's your favorite topping to put on curried sweet potato soup? Drop us a comment below!
Looking for more yummy soups to try?
- This loaded baked potato soup is the perfect freezer meal!
- It doesn’t get any easier than this taco soup.
- Your family will love this creamy, dreamy, and easy butternut squash soup.
Have a soup-er day!
How could I make this dairy free?
You would just need to substitute the milk and butter for dairy-free options. For the milk, you could use soy or almond milk. For the butter, I would use your favorite dairy-free butter. I haven’t ever tried making a dairy-free version, so you’ll have to let us know how it turns out! 🙂