Spicy Sweet Potato Soup
Spicy sweet potato soup is the perfect comfort food ready in about 30 minutes! The perfect blend of sweet and spicy, this soup is so filling and the perfect lunch or dinner meal! This spicy sweet potato soup is packed full of veggies and is vegan, gluten free, dairy free, paleo and Whole30 friendly!
Often times I pick up an extra bag or two of sweet potatoes at the store without checking the counter and end up with 12-15 pounds of sweet potatoes that need some love!
My usual go-to is sweet potato fries, sweet potato hash, or sweet potato brownies but this spicy sweet potato soup has now become my favorite new way to use extra sweet potatoes!
Easy Sweet Potato Soup
This soup is so easy to throw together, all you need is a few ingredients (most of which I always have on hand), a pressure cooker and a blender! And honestly, I think this soup would be just as easily cooked on the stove as it is in the pressure cooker.
The spice in this soup comes from fresh jalapenos as well as chipotle pepper powder. Chipotle pepper powder packs a big punch and an undeniable smoky spice that I just adore paired with the sweet potatoes! If you don’t have chipotle pepper powder, you could also use cayenne pepper and a little more smoked paprika for the same spice and smokiness.
Did I mention that this soup is packed with veggies? There is an entire bag of cauliflower in this recipe as well as a few handfuls of kale added at the end! This soup is incredibly filling and makes a huge batch, so be prepared for leftovers!
Speaking of leftovers, this spicy sweet potato soup is even better the next day, so it’s perfect for meal prep or for lunch the next day! Don’t forget to pack some fun toppings to add to the soup to give it that extra kick!
What do you need to make spicy sweet potato soup?
- Sweet potatoes
- Cauliflower florets (I used frozen)
- White onion
- Fresh jalapeno
- Carrots
- Fire-roasted tomatoes (crushed or diced)
- Vegetable broth (or stock)
- Salt
- Chipotle powder
- Smoked paprika
- Ground cumin
- Oregano
- Lime juice
- Instant pot
- Immersion blender or high speed blender
How to make this Spicy Sweet Potato Soup in the pressure cooker?
- Start by using the sauté function and sauteing the onion, carrots, and jalapeno for about 5 minutes.
- Add the diced sweet potatoes, cauliflower florets fire roasted tomatoes, vegetable broth, salt, chipotle powder, smoked paprika, ground cumin, oregano to the pressure cooker.
- Cook on high pressure for 6 minutes. Manually release the pressure when it finishes cooking.
- Use the immersion blender, blend about 1/3 of the soup helps create a thick and creamy base for the rest of the ingredients.
- Add the juice of a fresh lime, cilantro, and kale and stir well.
- Serve hot with favorite toppings
Tips for cooking with the instant pot:
This soup takes a while to come up to pressure because of how full pot is. If you need this soup to be ready in less than 30 minutes from start to finish, only use 2 cups of vegetable broth before cooking and add the remaining 2 cups after cooking before you blend with the immersion blender.
If you plan on allowing the soup to naturally release pressure instead of manually releasing pressure, you only need to cook it for 4 minutes under high pressure.
How to make this Spicy Sweet Potato Soup on the stove?
- Use a large dutch oven or large pot over medium to medium-high heat.
- Add the onion, jalapeno and carrots and cook for 5 minutes.
- Add the diced sweet potatoes, cauliflower florets fire roasted tomatoes, vegetable broth, salt, chipotle powder, smoked paprika, ground cumin, oregano and put on a lid.
- Let cook for about 15 minutes until the sweet potatoes have cooked through and are tender but not falling apart.
- Turn the heat off and blend 1/3 of the mixture with an immersion blender creating a thick and creamy base for the rest of the ingredients.
- Add the juice of a fresh lime, cilantro, and kale and stir well.
- Serve hot with favorite toppings.
How to make this Spicy Sweet Potato Soup in the Slow Cooker?
- Add all the ingredients except for the lime juice to the slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours (or high for 4 hours).
- After cooking, blend up about 1/3 of the mixture to create a creamy base for the rest of the soup using an immersion blender (or high speed blender).
- Add the juice of a fresh lime, cilantro, and kale and stir well.
- Serve hot with favorite toppings!
Topping for sweet potato soup:
- Diced avocado
- Cilantro
- Sliced fresh jalapeno
- Pumpkin seeds
- Chopped fresh herbs
- Chili flakes
- Chopped bacon
Can you freeze sweet potato soup?
Yes! This soup should freeze well since it doesn’t have any milk or cream in it and the texture is already a bit mushy! Freeze in individual serving containers for a quick and easy lunch or dinner idea!
How can you add more protein to this spicy sweet potato soup?
You could stir in collagen peptides. These are not vegan or vegetarian but add protein and dissolve completely into hot food. They are tasteless and are just a great way to add protein.
For a vegan option, you could add black beans or cannenili beans to this spicy sweet potato soup.
Substitutions:
- Immersion blender: I like to use the immersion blender for this because I hate spooning hot soup into the blender and being afraid it’s going to explode in my face (that happened when we were cooking in the professional kitchen). So if you have to use a traditional blender, go slow and don’t overfill the blender! Transfer about 1/3 of the soup to the blender and blend until smooth
- Sweet potato: The sweet potato is the base of the soup and also provides a ton of sweetness to offset the spice. You could also use butternut squash or pumpkin
- Chipotle powder: if you cannot find chipotle powder, you could always use more smoked paprika and some cayenne pepper. About 1 tsp smoked paprika and ¼ to ½ tsp cayenne pepper. Remember you can always add more but it is really hard to mellow out spice once it’s there.
- Canned roasted tomatoes: If you cannot have tomato, you could leave this ingredient out completely. If you only have diced tomatoes, you can use those, but I love the smoky taste the roasted tomatoes bring. You can also roast your own tomatoes and use them in this soup.
- Smoked paprika: the smoked paprika really adds a ton of depth to this dish. If you can’t find smoked paprika, you can use regular paprika and increase the chipotle to a full teaspoon
If you love this recipe, you should try
- Mexican Cauliflower White Bean Soup
- Spicy White Bean Stew
- Red Pepper Sweet Potato Soup
- 10 Minute Black Bean Soup
Spicy Sweet Potato Soup
$11.16 Recipe/$1.86 ServingGuided Recipe Video
Ingredients
- 1 medium white onion, chopped - $0.33
- 1 medium jalapeno, seeds removed, chopped - $0.20
- 3 medium carrots, chopped - $0.22
- 14 oz can fire roasted tomatoes, crushed - $1.29
- 4 cups vegetable broth - $1.99
- 2 tsp smoked paprika - $0.20
- 3/4 tsp chipotle powder - $0.07
- 1 tsp cumin - $0.10
- 1 tsp oregano - $0.10
- 1 tsp sea salt - $0.05
- 3 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped - $1.99
- 16 ounces frozen cauliflower - $1.99
- 1 large lime, juiced - $0.33
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro - $0.65
- 2 cups chopped kale - $1.65
Instructions
- Chop the onion, jalapeno and carrots
- Turn on the saute function of the instant pot and spray with non-stick spray. Set for 5 minutes.
- Add the chopped white onions, jalapeno and carrots to the Instant pot and saute for 5 minutes.
- While the onion, jalapeno and carrot is cooking, peel and chop the sweet potatoes.
- After the onion, jalapeno and carrots are done cooking, add the spices (smoked paprika, chipotle powder, cumin, oregano and salt), vegetable broth and fire roasted tomatoes to the instant pot and stir well.
- Add the cubed sweet potatoes and the frozen cauliflower to the rest of the ingredients.
- Place the lid on the pressure cooker and make sure the valve is closed to “seal”. Turn the instant pot on high pressure for 6 minutes.
- After the Instant Pot comes up to pressure and cooks for 6 minutes, manually release the steam by carefully turning the valve to “venting”
- Once the pressure has been released, remove the lid.
- Use the immersion blender, blend about 1/3 of the soup so that there is a nice creamy base.
- Add the juice of 1 large lime (or 2 small limes),1/4 cup chopped cilantro and 2 cups kale (chopped or torn with your hands into small bits).
- Stir well, once kale has wilted, serve hot with favorite toppings