Soups

February 26, 2023

Chai-Spiced Sweet Potato Soup

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Chai-Spiced Roasted Sweet Potato Soup is full of warming spices, perfectly cozy and comforting for a winter supper with some crusty bread. 

This Chai-Spiced Roasted Sweet Potato Soup might not be what you’re expecting - yes, there are hints of sweetness from the roasted sweet potato, but this soup is decidedly savory. Chai spice aren’t just for a latte! 

Often I come up with recipes because I see an idea and think to myself, that’s not how I would do it. This is one of those instances. I loved the original recipe idea in theory, but I wanted to play with the execution. I definitely knew I didn’t want this soup to taste like sipping on a latte. I decided to tone down the sweetness by using Japanese yams, which are less sweet in my opinion, and more complex in flavor than a typical orange-fleshed sweet potato. I also added coriander and white pepper, which are well within the traditional palette of chai spices, and help bring this soup into the savory realm. 

This soup has been on regular rotation this winter, not just because I’ve been developing the recipe. I can’t get enough of it! I’ve often been breaking the preparation down into two days, roasting the sweet potatoes in advance, and then bringing the soup together a day or two later. There’s two benefits to this approach: one, I ultimately save time, because I roast the sweet potatoes when the oven is on for another reason or I’m doing another task in the kitchen. And two, cooking a starchy vegetable like potatoes and then cooling it actually helps develop its resistant starches, which have a lower glycemic index, thereby reducing the increase in blood sugar after consumption, and they act as a type of fiber beneficial to feeding our gut microbiome. Yay for nutrition science!

There’s still plenty of damp, chilly weather left this winter and early spring, so now is the perfect time to make Chai-Spiced Roasted Sweet Potato Soup for the next Souper Sunday!

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Ingredients assembled for Chai-Spiced Sweet Potato Soup
Assemble your ingredients.

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Stages of prepping and roasting the sweet potatoes
Start by roasting the sweet potatoes, brushed with ghee and sprinkled with salt, then placed cut-side down on a parchment-lined sheet pan.

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Cooked, cooled, peeled sweet potatoes
Cool the sweet potatoes for an hour, and then remove the skins. Or, store them in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to use. Read the blog post above to learn why!

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Stages of cooking the soup in a large Dutch oven
Saute onions, then garlic, then spices, and then add vegetable broth and cooled, peeled sweet potatoes. Simmer until sweet potatoes are heated through.

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Stages of pureeing the soup with an immersion blender
Once the sweet potatoes are hot, use an immersion blender to puree the mixture until smooth. It will be very thick! Once pureed, stir in the can of coconut milk until combined, and let heat through back on the stove.

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Chai-Spiced Sweet Potato Soup served in a small stoneware bowl with a handle
Serve the soup hot, garnished with a little extra drizzle of coconut milk.

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Two bowls of Chai-Spiced Sweet Potato Soup ready to eat
Enjoy this cozy soup on a cold, damp day - it's sure to warm you right up!

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Chai-Spiced Sweet Potato Soup

Chai-Spiced Roasted Sweet Potato Soup is full of warming spices, perfectly cozy and comforting for a winter supper with some crusty bread.

Author:

Kira Freed - The Joyful Plateful

Prep:

60

min

cook:

25

min

total:

85

min

Print It

Ingredients

2 pounds Japanese yams or white sweet potatoes

3-4 Tbsp. ghee, divided (can also sub coconut oil to make it vegan) 

1 tsp. kosher salt

1 medium yellow onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1/2 tsp. group cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1/2 tsp. ground cardamom

1/2 tsp. ground coriander

1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/8 tsp. white pepper

4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth

1 14-ounce can full-fat coconut milk

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper, and set aside.
  2. Cut the sweet potatoes in half lengthwise. Brush each cut side with ghee and sprinkle with kosher salt. Place the sweet potatoes cut-side down on the prepared sheet pan. Roast sweet potato halves at 425 degrees F for 50-55 minutes, or until easily pierced through with a fork. Remove cooked sweet potatoes from the oven and let cool for 1 hour, or overnight in an airtight container in refrigerator.
  3. After sweet potatoes have cooled and skins removed, begin preparing the soup. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium heat on the stove. Add remaining ghee and diced onion. Saute onion until translucent, about 7-8 minutes. 
  4. Add the minced garlic and saute about 1 minute, stirring frequently. 
  5. Add salt and spices (cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, coriander, nutmeg, and white pepper) and toast about 1 minute, stirring frequently, until fragrant. 
  6. Add the vegetable broth to the pot and stir, scraping up anything stuck to the bottom. 
  7. Using your hands, roughly break up the cooled sweet potatoes into pot. Stir to combine. Bring the mixture up to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and let simmer 8-10 minutes, until sweet potatoes are heated through.
  8. After sweet potatoes are heated through and soft, remove the pot from the heat. Use an immersion blender to puree the mixture until smooth. (Or transfer in batches to a blender to puree, and return the mixture to the pot.)
  9. Return the pot to the stove on low heat and stir in the can of coconut milk until combined. Let the coconut milk heat through for a minute or so, and then serve immediately. 
  10. Serve soup hot, garnished with an additional drizzle of coconut milk. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.

You might also like

Cheesy Vegetable Chowder
Chai-Spiced Sweet Potato Soup
Cozy Winter Soup Recipes

Hi there, I’m Kira!

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