Dairy-Free Sweet Potato Curry Soup Recipe

This recipe for sweet potato curry soup was an entry in a recipe contest that we held many years ago. It was created and submitted by Margee Berry. She infuses this soup with lemongrass, ginger, and curry for fragrant, warm, and earthy flavors. And she uses pureed sweet potato and rich coconut milk for a creamy, silky finish.

Dairy-Free Sweet Potato Curry Soup with a Creamy Finish

I was updating our quick homemade curry powder recipe, and decided to update a few of our other curry recipes, too! I’ve edited the recipe, added nutrition facts, and have a few ingredient notes, too.

Oil – Margee uses olive oil, but technically you can use your favorite cooking oil. You can even use coconut oil, if you wish.
Sweet Potato – Classic orange sweet potatoes are used here, but purple, white, or any yam will also work well.
Curry – This sweet potato curry soup uses a classic yellow curry powder. But don’t be afraid to mix things up with a Thai-inspired curry. We think red curry paste would make a delicious, spicy swap. You can use it in equal amounts, or to taste.
Coconut Milk – This is regular coconut milk, that’s usually sold in cans. One 13.5-ounce can contains about 1 2/3 cups coconut milk. So this recipe uses just shy of 1 can.

Special Diet Notes: Sweet Potato Curry Soup

By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, egg-free, gluten-free, peanut-free, soy-free, tree nut-free, vegan, and vegetarian. In fact, they are generally top food allergy-friendly.

Dairy-Free Sweet Potato Curry Soup

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

18 mins

Total time

28 mins

The creamy base of this coconut curry soup is enriched with pureed sweet potato and spiced with fragrant lemongrass, curry and ginger.

Author: Margee Berry

Recipe type: Soup

Cuisine: Thai

Serves: 4 servings

Ingredients

2 teaspoons olive oil
2 cups peeled cubed sweet potato
1 cup chopped onion
1 lemongrass stalk, cut in half
1 teaspoon minced peeled ginger
1 teaspoon curry powder (store bought or homemade)
½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
2 cups water
1½ cups coconut milk (full-fat canned)

Instructions

Heat the olive oil in large saucepan, add the sweet potato and onion, and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the lemongrass, ginger, curry powder, and salt, and sauté for 1 minute more. Pour in the water, cover, and cook until the sweet potatoes are fork tender about 12 minutes.
Remove the lemongrass stalks from the soup. Working in batches, puree the sweet potato mixture in food processor or blender.
Add the pureed mixture back to the saucepan, and pour in the coconut milk. Whisk and cook until smooth and heated through. Taste, and add more salt, to taste, if the flavors don't pop.
Ladle the soup into 4 bowls. Top with any optional garnishes (below).

Notes

Editor's Notes: Margee chops the lemongrass and purees it in with the soup, but lemongrass doesn't always puree well. So we prefer to infuse with lemongrass and then remove the stalks. Also, use caution when blending the soup. We prefer to blend in batches with the coconut milk, which helps to cool the soup slightly.

Optional Toasted Garnish: In a small skillet, toast ¼ cup coconut flakes or pumpkin seeds over medium heat, shaking the skillet often, until the coconut is golden all over, about 4 minutes. Sprinkle on soup in each bowl.

Optional Cilantro Olive Oil Garnish: In a small bowl, whisk together ⅓ cup minced cilantro and 2 teaspoons olive oil. Dollop on top of soup in each bowl.

Nutrition Information

Serving size: about 1½ cups Calories: 261 Fat: 16.9g Saturated fat: 13.1g Carbohydrates: 27.6g Sugar: 3.6g Sodium: 308mg Fiber: 5.2g Protein: 2.9g