I am SO excited about this soup!!! It was hands down the best soup we’ve ever made. And I’m even more excited because I am submitting to the North Carolina Sweet Potato Commission’s Short n Sassy Blogger Sweet Potato Recipe Contest! I don’t think you have to be a North Carolinian to enter – just a blogger. But don’t y’all go creatin’ yer own recipes to compete with mine!
Nutty Vanilla Sweet Potato + Kale Soup
- 2 pounds of sweet potato, cut into 1” pieces and microwaved in a bowl on high for 6.5 minutes to start the cooking process
- 3 cloves garlic, pressed
- 1 can lite coconut milk
- 1 cup 2% milk (or skim, or whole)
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- 4 cups kale, trimmed, washed and torn into small pieces
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup raisins
- 1/4 cup salted peanuts, for garnish
- Shredded coconut, for garnish
- Prepare sweet potatoes in microwave.
- Heat a large pot on medium high. Spray with cooking spray and add potatoes, cooking until they begin to brown. Stir in garlic.
- Add coconut milk, milk, masala, salt, pepper and flakes.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Mash potatoes with potato masher or puree with immersion blender.
- Add raisins, kale and vanilla and cover. Allow to cook for 8-10 more minutes, until kale is bright green.
- Portion into bowls and garnish with 1 tbsp each peanuts and coconut.
These were 100% North Carolina sweet potatoes!
And Carolina kale 
The vanilla aroma was incredible, the kale was thick and chewy, the salty peanuts were a perfect sweet/savory mix. We’ll be making this one again!
Nutritionals
Serves 4.
~400 kcal, 7 grams fiber, 10 grams protein, 11 grams fat.
Our soup was served with crusty rolls fresh out of the oven (I had about 1/3 of one)
Snacks
I ate this Apple Crispalicious Jam Frakas bar during Foodservice. It was yummy, but my least favorite compared to the Peanut Butter Crisp and the Strawberry. I will buy these when I am out. They are like LaraBars but the crispy pieces are a fun addition. And they’re the perfect portion size when you just need a little something.
Fashion Q&A
Nate was a little confused by one of the photos in this afternoon’s album and sent me an email inquiring about the origins of one of Matt’s shirts, so I thought I’d clarify in public 
Matt’s shirt in picture #5….
- A. It was for some sort of theme party
- B. That’s really his shirt and he wore it on a regular basis (or maybe still does)
- C. He worked his way though college as a Geisha
- D. None of the above
- E. All of the above
Not that I’m a real fashionista, but I couldn’t resist.
The correct answer> is A! The shirt was leftover from SAE’s Tacky Party.
I might get some studying done tonight after Matt goes to bed. I’ve got yet another test on Wednesday! Guf!
{ 64 comments… read them below or add one }
good grief that soup looks delicious! i bought kale this weekend for the first time ever. we gave the kale chips a try (it is a pretty good way to eat a dark leafy green) but sweet potatoes are my favorite and that plus coconut and peanuts might beat the chips!
superfood!
how light is lite coconut milk?
Nice post title…someone just saw John Reep!!!
Rockin’ soup too. If I lived in your house, I’d make soup every night just so I could eat GH bread.
haya (living and learning),
It was Trader Joe’s Lite Coconut – I think 250 kcal for the whole can?
K
OH KATH! WIcked soup and the bread! YUM
Peanuts in a thick and creamy soup? sounds sooooo good! that looks so nutritious!!!
looks delicious!
question: does the husband (or matt, as he’s now called around here) still bake bread at home?
SWEET POTATOES!!!!!!!!!
Love the soup! That sounds fabulous – but again – I’m pretty much sold on anything that has salted peanuts (or sweet taters!)
YUM!! Love that soup and tutorial!
sweet potatoes + coconut milk = HEAVEN! Good luck with the contest
LOL thank God for Nate’s Q & A. I was seriously concerned about the secret fashion history of the normally very well-dressed couple
.
that soup looks delic!
Whoahwhoahwhoah that soup looks killer! I’m going home this weekend and I’m totally going to have to convince my mom to let me try to make this. Making a note of it right now in the planner! Haha thanks for the awesome recipe, Kath!
Yummmm that soup looks so amazingly delicious, bet you win!!!
Yay North Carolina!! May have to give this soup a try to show some carolina pride
and because sweet potatoes and kale are delicious. duh.
Now that is a beautiful soup!! I’ve been making lots of minestrone type veggie soups lately, but I definitely want to try this one.
Oh my Gosh: sweet potatoes, kale and coconut? Those are quite possibly my three favorite foods. I can’t wait to make this recipe. Good luck on the contest Kath!
The soup looks fab, I hope you win!
Wow, great soup recipe! Looks delish!
A $1000 prize! Good luck!
looks great- i just had a yummy sweet potato dish last night- i don’t think they were carolina pataters though
Oh wow, love it! So tasty!
Oh my! The soup looks awesome!! How many cups did the
recipe make?
well i didn’t want to ask, but thanks for clearing up the shirt situation…
That soup looks great! I’m saving this recipe for another cold day!
I like those JamFrakas bars too – I’ve never tried that one before, but the peanut butter is delicious. I can’t find any in stores around me, though, because they took them all out for the PB recall. Maybe a couple more weeks and they’ll be back on shelves…
dem be some good fixins wit dem eats
this recipe sounds great! i love sweet potato! yummy!!!
seriously, you make the most delicious-sounding soups!! that one looks so thick and creamy and textured, YUM.
The soup looks so delicious. Do you have any recommendations for substituting kale? Kale is hard to find over here in Australia.
That soup sounds amazing! I needed a new recipe for sweet potatoes, other than baking and making fries!
Holy cow, that’s a tasty looking soup! I was just thinking about picking up some sweet potatoes today.
Definitely an interesting soup recipe. Does the garam masala flavour come through very pronounced?
The best soup you’ve ever made! It’s gotta be one to try… man, I can’t wait to make it myself!
The soup sounds good!
Hi Kath! I must know–where did you get those oversize mugs/soup bowls? I’ve been looking everywhere for something like that to serve my oats in.
I am definitely making this soup this week!! I’ll send ya a pic when I do. It looks amazing!!
I wish I could come up with recipes like this!
The soup looks really good.
I really like when you post the nutritional info…cals, fat, etc.
i cannot wait to make this soup. it is on the list for this week! you really should write a cookbook…
http://www.unintuitiveeating.blogspot.com
That soup is stunning!
Anne ,
Yes, just not as frequently. These rolls were homemade, the pizza dough was, the bread bowls 2 weekends ago, the semolina loaf was. If you don’t see “GH” in front of it, it’s his bread.
TracyJ ,
About 8?
Kerri ,
You could use any green you like – collards, spinach, chard, mustard greens. I like kale because it’s less bitter and very chewy. I would probably choose collards as a subs and then spinach .
Marianne ,
I could taste the cinnamony masala, but you could always add less to taste.
Caroline ,
They are Linens and Things circa 2003.
Kath
Only a southener would get that title
Good luck with the contest!!
Oh my, your best soup ever? I’ve got to make this. I love the addition of coconut and peanuts. What an amazing combo of flavors!
Good luck on the soup submission, it sounds like a winner to me!
BTW, I suggest next time you make mashed sweet potates to mash in a ripe banana. I know of your strong love for both and I can’t believe that you wouldn’t love it! I did this over Thanksgiving with our Sweet Potato Casserole, they are amazing together!
Yum! That soup sounds so good!
That soup sounds so good!!
mmm….that soup looks great. kale is my new favorite thing in soups.
Thanks for sharing, Kath. Any idea how many sweet potatoes you used?
Jasmine T,
I think it was two large, but they range so much in size that I’d recommend putting them on the scale at the grocery store to get 2#.
K
That soup looks like a winner to me! Can’t wait to see if you take the prize.
That soup looks soooo good! Good luck in the contest!!
yum what a good soup! i made a great broccoli/basil/arugala soup last night and am so impressed at how easy a good soup can be to make!!! yum on coconut milk. i am drinking coconut water this whole week and i LOVE IT!!!
This soup looks divine! I’m going to give it a try, but perhaps without the raisins, since certain family members have raisin issues…
Have a wonderful day!
Thanks, Kath! You are the best for always responding!
MMMMM….Kath! This soup looks divine! And I had to laugh at the recipe contest title…what a mouthfull!!!
Good luck!
Nate’s question made me laugh
The soup sounds so amazing. I need to try it!
I made the soup last night and W.O.W – the perfect combo of sweet and salty! I always go for curried sweet potato soup but this was a great alternative. And microwaving the potatoes first made it SO much quicker. Thanks for the great recipe!
Hi Kathy,
This is off topic, but what do you think about the high fiber breads, etc? They usually list water first and then whole grain– is it better if the whole grain is listed as the first ingredient?
Thanks
Vickie ,
I think as long as the flour ingredients are whole wheat and the rest are all natural, you’re making a good choice.
Kath
Hey Kath! I just made this soup and posted it on my blog–check it out! http://madaboutudon.wordpress.com/2009/04/08/catchin-up/
Kath, I just tried your soup and it was INCREDIBLE! You hit it out of the park with this one. Definitely a good use of my Turtle Mountain coconut milk samples, which have led to a number of curry/Asian-flavored dishes, naturally, but yours was the best.
I hope it won a prize! If nothing else, I have done my part to spread its fame in blog land, haha…
Kath: First off, this looks incredible. I’d love to see more comments from people who followed through and made the soup; it has to be amazing. I have a cousin I’d like to make this for, but he is both vegetarian and has celiac disease – which means absolutely no tolerance to gluten. Would this be a safe recipe for me to make for him?
Also, Kath, do you have a specific brand of garam masala you like to use, or do you use your own?
Lastly, to Kath and others, has anyone else used the banana smashed with sweet potatoes idea? How does this affect the taste / does it cause the dish to brown more significantly?
Thanks!!!!
Stacy,
You’ll have to make the call on gluten – I am not as familiar with which foods should be avoided and wouldn’t want to say it’s gluten-free if it’s not.
Lots of people liked the recipe!
And I don’t think I would add banana – it’s rather sweet as it is.
Kath