This smoky sweet potato and red pepper soup is smooth and satisfying. It’s a versatile recipe you can use to flavor in many ways. I like to top mine with chopped cashews, cilantro and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes.
It’s one of those cold and windy days where all I really want to do is hide under the covers and binge watch Hallmark movies while I sip warm tea and indulge in some of these snowball cookies.
Alas, life must go on. Kids need to be fed. Work needs to get done, and even though I’m feeling a bit unmotivated and mostly want to hide in my bedroom all day while the wind blows and whistles outside my window, I know I must be a grown-up.
When the temperatures drop and get into my hibernating mood, the one thing that warms me from the inside out is a good soup.
With the cold and the wind I didn’t want to leave the house. Lucky for me I had a couple of sweet potatoes, a red pepper, and a cupboard of herbs and spices to create this spectacular and flavorful soup in less than 30 minutes. The rich smoky smells lifted my mood.
It’s rich in vitamins and nutrients, low in calories and fat, oil-free, dairy-free, gluten-free, and vegan.
It’s the perfect plant-based vegan soup recipe for a cold and windy wintry day. It’s mild enough for the kids, and spicy enough for us adults with a few shakes of red pepper flakes on top.
Why You’ll Love this Sweet Potato and Red Pepper Soup
- Simple ingredients
- 30 minutes from start to finish
- Rich in vitamins and nutrients
- Low in calories and fat
- Kid and Omnivore approved
- Creamy texture
- Full and Smoky flavors
- Inexpensive meal
Ingredients You’ll Need
- 2 sweet potatoes cubed (2 cups)
- 1 red pepper chopped (1 cup)
- 2 carrots chopped (1 cup)
- 1 small white or red onion (½ cup)
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 4 cups of vegetable stock
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Red pepper flakes to taste
- Cilantro to garnish (optional)
- Chopped Cashews to garnish (optional)
Tools and Equipment You’ll Need
- Stock Pot or Dutch Oven
- Chopping Knife
- Cutting Board
- Cooking Spoon
- Immersion Blender of High Speed Blender
When it comes to making pureed soups super creamy without any dairy, you’ll need to use an immersion blender or a high speed blender. In this recipe I preferred using my immersion blender because it saved me from having to clean another large appliance. It’s super easy to stick the immersion blender directly into your stock pot and whizz it around until all the vegetables are perfectly pureed. I love this Mueller Immersion Blender because it easily blends soups without making a mess. It also comes with a few extra attachments that come in handy like the whisk and milk frother which I like to use to make homemade oat milk lattes!
How to Make Sweet Potato and Red Pepper Soup – Step by Step
Step 1: Bring a 5 qt pot of water to a boil. Peel and dice the sweet potatoes. Chop the carrots, red pepper, and onion. When water comes to a boil, add sweet potatoes and carrots. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until carrots and sweet potatoes are soft and easily pierced with a fork.
Step 2: While sweet potatoes and carrots are boiling. Sauté onions in ¼ cup of vegetable broth until softened. Add red peppers and sauté for an additional 2 minutes. Add garlic and sauté for an additional minute.
Step 3: When sweet potatoes and carrots are done, drain water, and add the sweet potatoes and carrots to the pot with the onions and red peppers. Pour the remainder of the vegetable stock over the vegetables. Bring to a boil.
Step 4: Turn off heat. Add spices. If using an immersion blender. Puree the soup until smooth. If using a high speed blender, pour the contents of the pot into the blender and puree until smooth.
Step 5: Serve in bowls garnished with cilantro, chopped cashews or other nut, and red pepper flakes. Enjoy!
Tips for Making Sweet Potato and Red Pepper Soup
- Make sure carrots are completely cooked when boiling. The sweet potatoes will cook faster than the carrots. To save time and pots to clean I put both the sweet potatoes and the carrots in the same pot of boiling water. You can boil them in separate pots since they will require slightly different cooking times. I didn’t have a problem using the same pot.
- Make sure to drain the water from the sweet potatoes and carrots. You don’t want to pour the sweet potatoes and carrots into the pot with onions with the hot water or you’ll end up with a very watery and flavorless soup.
- Use a low sodium vegetable broth or vegetable stock to keep the sodium content low.
What makes Sweet Potato and Red Pepper Soup healthy?
- Rich in Vitamins and Nutrients– Rich in minerals including iron, calcium, selenium, and a good source of B vitamins and vitamin C, and well as high antioxidant content.
- Low in Calories and Fat-One big bowl of soup has only 150 calories and less than 1 gram of fat!
- Full of Vegetables-With sweet potatoes, carrots, red peppers, and onions, this soup contains a healthy dose of your daily recommended vegetable intake.
- High in Fiber-One large serving of this soup contains 23% of your daily recommended fiber. Fiber helps you stay regular and feeling fuller longer.
Variations
You can change this soup to meet your own favorite flavor profile by using different spices. If you’re not a fan of smoky flavors, take out the chili powder, paprika and cumin out and give these other spices a try.
- Indian: Add 1 teaspoon of turmeric, 1 teaspoon of curry powder.
- Italian: Add 1 tablespoon Italian Seasoning.
- Autumn Flavors: 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ginger, ½ teaspoon cloves, ½ teaspoon nutmeg.
How do you store this soup?
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. You can also freeze this soup in an airtight container for 2-3 months. Defrost in the refrigerator and serve immediately. Do not re-freeze.
What do you serve with this soup?
This soup tastes fantastic with a good piece of crusty whole wheat bread. Add a tossed salad like this Kale Salad with Cranberries, and you’ve got a complete meal.
CHECK OUT THESE OTHER HEALTHY SOUP RECIPES!
- Pumpkin Soup
- Vegan Lentil Soup
- Sweet Potato Vegan Curry
- Vegan Butternut Squash Soup by Veggies Don’t Bite
If you’ve tried this Sweet Potato and Red Pepper Soup recipe, please rate the recipe and let me know how it turned out. You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest for more plant-based family recipes your whole family will enjoy!
Recipe
Sweet Potato and Red Pepper Soup
Ingredients
- 2 cups cubed sweet potato about 2 whole sweet potatoes
- 1 cup chopped carrots
- 1 red pepper
- 1 small white or purple onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 4 cups vegetable broth divided
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes optional
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro optional
- 2 tablespoon chopped cashews or other nut optional
Instructions
- Bring a 5 qt pot of water to a boil. Peel and dice the sweet potatoes. Chop the carrots, red pepper, and onion. When water comes to a boil, add sweet potatoes and carrots. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until carrots and sweet potatoes are soft and easily pierced with a fork.
- While sweet potatoes and carrots are boiling. Sauté onions in ¼ cup of vegetable broth until softened. Add red peppers and sauté for an additional 2 minutes. Add garlic and sauté for an additional minute.
- When sweet potatoes and carrots are done, drain water, and add to the pot with the onions and red peppers. Pour the remainder of the vegetable stock (3 ¾ cup) over the vegetables. Bring to a boil.
- Turn off the heat. Add the chili powder, paprika, cumin, salt, and pepper. If using an immersion blender. Puree the soup until smooth. If using a high speed blender, pour the contents of the pot into the blender and puree until smooth.
- Serve in bowls garnished with cilantro, chopped cashews or other nut, and red pepper flakes. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Make sure carrots are completely cooked when boiling. The sweet potatoes will cook faster than the carrots. To save time and pots to clean I put both the sweet potatoes and the carrots in the same pot of boiling water. You can boil them in separate pots since they will require slightly different cooking times. I didn’t have a problem using the same pot.
- Make sure to drain the water from the sweet potatoes and carrots. you don’t want to pour the sweet potatoes and carrots into the pot with onions with the hot water or you’ll end up with a very watery and flavorless soup.
- Use a low sodium vegetable broth or vegetable stock to keep the sodium content low.
Nutrition
Emma
I’ve never known that before. Can I ask why you boil the veg outside the soup – Rather than frying off the bits that need it (onion, peppers), adding the spices and the stock and then the veg and cooking all together, in one pan? Once cooked, blend! Delicious!
Alison Corey
I prefer to cook the sweet potatoes and carrots separately because they need more time to cook. I suppose it would also work to cook the onions and red peppers, and then add the sweet potatoes and carrots and allow it to all simmer. Either way probably works fine!
Mary
Good flavor and lovely color. It was a little thick for my taste, so I strained the soup through a mesh strainer and simmered it another five minutes on the stove. It has a beautiful, velvety texture. Served with tortilla strips!
Jess Peterson
Question: Have you ever roasted the red peppers separately and then added to add more smokiness? Thinking about doing that but worried the flavor might not work.
Alison Corey
I haven’t tried it before but it sounds delicious! Give it a try, and let me know how it turns out!
Maureen Donovan
Great recipe, however, in the printable version of the recipe ingredients you left out any reference to the vegetable broth. Luckily, I’d read the recipe earlier and realized the broth was to be there so I went back to the recipe and instructions and the 4 cups were mentioned there.
Alison Corey
Thank you for noticing! I’ve added in the vegetable stock into the printable version so there is no confusion!
James
Delicious soup. The perfect amount of spice and flavor.
Marsha Maxwell
Such a gorgeous soup! The flavor is amazing. Veggie soups are my favorite during winter.
Michelle
Love all the fresh flavors! A healthy but hearty soup you can feel good about!
Erika
I’ve never thought of combining sweet potatoes and red peppers. Sounds amazing!
Kelsey
This soup looks amazing! Love the use of sweet potato in it! Be great with a grilled cheese! YUM!
Veena Azmanov
I love the combination of Sweet Potato and Red Pepper. Definitely gives that dash of flavors. Love the Nuttiness of Cashew and the various spices to give it that zing.