Joy the Baker

Kale and Sweet Potato Soup

November 28, 2010

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Good grief.

I’m freezing cold.  I want Taco Bell.  I want to eat vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce in a hot tub.

I can feel myself being a major brat.

I’ll settle for a giant scarf.  A big bowl of this healthy soup.  Hot chocolate and a bath… and I’ll stop being a dang brat.

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I like kale as much as I like brownies.

Wait… could Kale Brownies be a thing?  My head might explode.

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Let me tell you why this soup makes everything better.

Big, gnarly kale leaves are shredded and cooked down with delicious sweet potatoes (yams), swimming in a slightly spicy coconut broth.  With the flavors of turmeric, ginger and coconut… this soup is super comforting and delicious served over a big bed of brown rice.

Healthy.  Warm.  Comforting.

Follow with a warm bath and a brownie… just cause that seems dreamy.

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Kale and Sweet Potato Soup

inspired by Food and Wine

Print this Recipe!

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, chopped fine

2 teaspoons fresh ginger, chopped fine

3/4 teaspoon turmeric

1/4 teaspoon crushed red peppers

3/4 pound kale, tough stems removed  and roughly chopped

1 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes (yams), peeled and diced into 3/4-inch cubes

1 1/2 quart chicken or vegetable broth

1 teaspoon salt

fresh ground pepper, to taste

1 cup canned unsweetened coconut milk

2 cups cooked brown rice

In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat.  Add the onions and cook down until tender and translucent, about five minutes.  Add the garlic, ginger, turmeric and crushed red pepper flakes.  Cook, stirring, for about 1 minutes.

Add the sweet potato chunks and stir.

Add the chicken or vegetable broth and bring to a simmer.

Add the kale once the broth is simmering and submerge all of the leaves, helping them to cook down.

Cook for about 20 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes have become tender.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Lastly, stir in coconut milk, heat through and serve over a bed of brown rice.


148 Comments Add A Comment

  • I love the sound of this recipe. My husband though does not like anything coconut. Can I use milk or something else in its place?

    • As a fellow hater of all things coconut, Thai curries and peanut sauces with coconut milk are some of my favorite things. They don’t taste coconutty to me I think because of the spices and other flavors. So maybe give this a try, but don’t tell him the secret ingredient? :)

  • Love this kale soup recipe. We grew 8 plants and from just 5 of them, got 2 laundry baskets full (after eating lots and lots all fall). Have a freezer full; wondering how to use it. We usually steam it and mix it in with mashed potatoes. Will try this soup recipe. Thanks much.

  • this soup looks great…& the styling on the photos was just fantastic & very creative!!!

  • This sounds delicious! I have some swiss chard and sweet potatoes that I need to use, so this would be perfect! Though of course not the same, chard and kale relatively interchangeable, right?

    I’ve gotten a lot of kale in my farm share and am growing to like it quite a bit. Kale chips are great and super easy.

    Finally, three cheers for dishes that keep you warm in the winter! (Says the Cali girl looking at her 4th Boston winter fast approaching!)

  • I don’t usually comment on blogs, however I love to read them,
    There is a recipe on King Arthur for zucchini brownies, so why not Kale brownies???
    I say lets look into that…..

    • I don’t know that kale and zucchini are interchangeable, I’d think twice before trying that! :) Zucchini is a squash and can lend moisture to baked goods…kale will not do the same thing. But if you prove me wrong, let me know!

  • It’s cold and wet even here even in Australia today so that soup looks awsome!

  • Joy, I would have never put sweet potatoes and kale together. You’ve got me curious!

  • Hi Joy, on the off chance you might read this while this soup is still cooking, do you have any recommendations for spices besides tumeric and ginger that would taste good in this soup? I don’t have either of those on hand, but I decided to throw this together anyway because your pictures look so great. I’m thinking it will taste pretty good without them, but if you think another spice would be worth a try, I wouldn’t mind adding a bit more flavor.

  • This soup sounds gorgeous. Finally, a way to use two of my family’s very favorite veggies in one dish. Thanks so much for this. I feel comforted already.

  • Joy, this soup sounds fantastic! It is really healthy too, me oh my! I know my body needs something healthy…as I write this, I have a warm, just out of the oven, pumpkin roll, rolled in a powdered sugary towel, just a’waiting to be filled with some sweet cream cheese frosting. And so…I really must make your soup recipe, my body will thank you for all the good vitamins. By the way…freezing over here in Pennsylvania…it’s 30 degrees tonight and the weather man is calling for rain and snow mix all day tomorrow! yikes! Time for soup!

  • Oh.. I had kale a lot when I was in the UK. It’s very nutritious vegetable! No doubt, this is a very healthy soup!

  • What a nice dish of something different. I’ve been staring at a huge bunch of peacock kale (purple w/ green) my guy picked up at the farmer’s market and not knowing what to do with it. So to my surprise while rss’ing food blogs I find this. Walaaa! Your idea of paring with sweet potatoes and coconut milk is fabulous. I’ve got jars full and a bag of yams too. Thanks!

  • Oh my god, I gave in to my taco bell craving for the first time in like 10 years today – I should have had this instead.

    Though I did have the warm bath and the brownie…

  • just made this for dinner! So easy and yummy!

  • I have never had kale before. this seems like the perfect recipe to try it out.

  • heavens! what a perfect thing on a cold day. And a crust of Acme bread just because.

  • You know it’s time to bust out the soup pot when you start getting the T. Bell shakes.

    This recipe looks delicious – it’s stupid cold here and I can’t wait to make some to warm my bones.

    Thanks so much for the recipe!

  • Looks homey and delicious! Love it.

  • So I have a friend/co-worker who loves kale. Really loves kale. I sent him this blog post/recipe and he went home and made this soup last night. He brought in the leftovers and let me tell you, it was delicious. Thanks for the great recipe!

  • Yum! This looks amazing! Sweet potatoes and kale are two of my favorite foods, and talk about healthy! I’m going to make this tomorrow!

  • hey homie. i am so making this on the weekend. dig it!

    cheers, s.

  • I am fully into soup making mode. I love to make soup. it’s one of the very best things about this time of year and boy does this soup look good. Recently I have fallen for coconut milk so you know I’ll be making this soup really soon.

    I just made your vegan Pumpkin Walnut Bread again. I cannot even begin to tell you how much we love this bread. I made it twice and it is already a family favorite.

    I,also,want to thank you for introducing me to the Etsy website . I’ll be doing lot’s of holiday shopping there.

  • This post gave me a cough. I better stay home from work and make/eat this soup tomorrow.

  • Louise Archibald November 30, 2010 at 5:18 pm

    The soup is simmering, the rain is falling…
    So beautiful and so tasty.
    Kale is such a great flavorful vegetable and I used to think of it as only ornamental.. BUT.. have discovered it to be such a super, tasty and healthy green that I hope more people discover it.
    Your site is so well done Joy, THANK YOU.
    All the best,
    Louise

  • I made this last night… heavenly!!! Yep, three exclaimation marks. Thanks Joy :)

    PS. Added cilantro, sriracha and chopped almonds on top. Super yum.

  • Wow…this sounds so good right now. I am freezing cold and probably only going to have a boring salad. I like Mylene’s idea of adding some sriracha and almonds on top….to spice it up a bit.
    Thanks for the inspiration.

  • god i love kale! in the winter i make big batches of soup and live off them for days. this is going to be added to the rotationnnnn!

  • I’ll tell you, I always thought of kale as that leafy veggie in the produce section that no one really eats, but for some reason it is always there. Like maybe the kale gods forced all of the grocers to sell it out of fear of the kale god’s wrath, even though EVERYONE knows it’s not really edible… But now you are telling me it is, in fact, edible? Color me shocked. Now I just have to work up the nerve to try it!

  • I just love soup in wonter ( and other seasons as well! ) This one looks so comforting!

  • This soup looks great! And I love your new christmas banner! It’s great!

  • Many thanks for that marvelous post! I really enjoyed reading it, I believe you are a great author. I added your blog official coach handbagsto my bookmarks and will return soonto your blog.

  • We ate this last night (and lunch today) SOO GOOD!! It might be something I make every week this winter! Yum!

  • This was delicious. My husband loved it which is surprising since it didn’t involve meat. And the 4 kids ate it up, too!
    Thanks for continuing to inspire.

  • This is delicious!! Love soups and this one is yummy. The addition of coconut milk is great.

  • Fact…
    The same day you posted this beauty.. I made a Giant pot.. and it have been my lunch and dinner every day since! Horray!

  • Um…FANTASTIC! Thank you!

  • If you try Kale Brownies let me know. They might be good, who knows?

  • Yesterday, I was given more types and amount of kale than I know what to do with by a local organic farmer. I also happen to love sweet potatoes. Therefore, I fully intend to try this recipe very soon =) Thanks!

  • I just made this and it was GLORIOUS! Especially loved by those in my household who have a wee bit of a cold. Very tasty – thanks for the good and healthy recipe.

    Also, I <3 kale too!

  • I made this soup right before I came down with a wretched cold and fever. It tastes great! Now here’s the question – does it freeze well?

  • I made this today. And it’s really really cold out. And it’s warming my insides. :-).

  • I made this soup yesterday, and its awesome! So flavorful, I am making more for the weekend!!

  • Made this last night and having it for lunch today. I didn’t have enough raw yams but used some roasted root veggies (sweet potato, yam, parsnip) I made a few days before at the end to round it out. This soup is simple yet flavorful and comforting on a cold Pacific NW day. Thanks for the inspriation!

  • Eating this soup tonight, drinking wine and watching basketball. Perfect – absolutely perfect. I used collard greens – couldn’t find kale.

  • I discovered your blog a couple of months ago and have been faithfully following it since. I made this amazing soup tonight. It was SO good we went through the whole pot tonight. My 3 young children, who informed me several times while I was making it that they don’t like soup, devoured it. I will be making it again very soon. Thanks

  • I made this last night to combat the (seemingly) never-ending rainstorm that is drenching la la land. It was so delicious that I ate it again for breakfast this morning. Ah the virtuous feeling of consuming kale for breakfast!

  • I’ve been waiting for the perfect night to make this! These are some of our FAV ingredients, and it’s nice to not make a traditional ‘curry’ recipe with coconut milk! Delicious with chicken added! Thanks for including some non-baking recipes!

  • Blizzard today = this soup tonite! Do you think I could add shrimp to it? I don’t have to but sounds like it might be tasty. Can’t WAIT to add the sriracha!

  • It is storming outside and I am warm inside with this soup on my stove! So delicious. I blended half of it in a blender for a different texture. Interesting color…good flavor.

  • Wow!!! I’m eating thi right now. Yuuuumy!!!

    And dont tell anyone but I think I’ve just found my favourite handover cure.. Tsss… ;-)

    Thanks!

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