Golden Turmeric Sweet Potato Soup

Filled with the healing powers of turmeric, garlic and ginger, this vibrant golden turmeric and sweet potato soup is the perfect meal when you need to eat something amazing that will also make you feel amazing. This soup is so easy, so good, and so velvety smooth.

This winter I feel like I have embraced soup season, with Mum’s pumpkin soup, my twist on the classic potato and leek soup, and now this creamy golden turmeric and sweet potato soup.

They are all so easy to make, are a great way to enjoy more vegetables, and are warming and comforting while still being healthy which is exactly the kind of feel good food you need on a winter’s evening.

This soup came about by accident and convenience. My husband and I had been visiting family in NSW over the weekend and he had caught a nasty eye and throat infection. By the time we arrived back home to Brisbane on the Sunday afternoon, the last thing either of us wanted to do was go to the grocery store, but we also didn’t want to order takeaway.

We wanted the healing powers of a good nutritious meal. But it had to be easy to make, and it had to be with whatever I had left in the fridge and pantry.

Being that we had only been gone for 2 days, I still had some sweet potato and an onion sitting on my bench, left over from the previous weeks grocery shop. I always, always have garlic on hand, and I keep crushed ginger in the fridge for occasions just like this. The next step was to raid my spice shelf. Turmeric, the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant superfood, was going to be the star in this feel good soup.

When making this soup, my intention was to use foods that would ward off sickness. Onions, garlic, ginger, turmeric – all known to be fantastic immunity boosters and perfect for a meal that was centering around wanting a feeling of wellness. It is the same combination that I use for my Turmeric Fried Rice.

Making this soup couldn’t be easier, with everything going into a pot, adding water and then boiling until the veggies are soft. I then transfer it to my blender and watch it get velvety smooth.

Remember that you should not put piping hot contents into your blender and turn it on without expecting an explosion. Learn from my past mistakes which include pumpkin soup on everything (including the ceiling). Let the soup mixture cool a bit first before blending and the process will go as smooth as the soup itself.

My favourite thing about this soup (apart from the spectacular golden colour) is just how silky smooth it is, but we are elevating that just with a little bit of coconut cream. For best results, put a can of coconut milk in the fridge the night before, then scoop out a little of the solidified cream from the top the next day. The result is way better than just the coconut cream you buy in the shop.

For texture and colour contrast, I served this soup with some crispy fried kale, because sweet potato and kale just love each other and eating these foods together is delicious. Plus if we are thinking wellness, kale contains just about everything we need to feel good.

By the simple use of whole foods, this soup is also vegetarian, vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free, Whole30 and paleo. So it is perfect no matter what your current diet restrictions or considerations may be.

Once you get confident making soups like this, they are so easy to adapt as the formulas stay the same. Use any vegetables that you have available and play with different flavours that you think work well together. Carrot would still work perfectly with the turmeric, as would cauliflower and parsnips. Enjoying cooking is about experimenting a little bit sometimes and finding out what you like and what you don’t.

As we are looking at the end of winter, we start to leave the soups behind, but this one may just make a few reappearances in spring as we look to nourish our bodies with whole foods and look for recipes that not only taste amazing, but make us feel amazing too.

If you do make this recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and rating below! And tag any of your creations on Instagram with #eightforestlane as I would love to see.

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5 from 4 votes

Golden Turmeric Sweet Potato Soup

Filled with the healing powers of turmeric, garlic and ginger, this vibrant golden turmeric and sweet potato soup is the perfect meal when you need to eat something amazing that will also make you feel amazing. This soup is so easy, so good, and so velvety smooth.

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time20 mins

Cooling Time10 mins

Total Time40 mins

Course: Light Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine: Australian

Author: Sally

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 1 onion diced
• 3-4 garlic cloves crushed
• 2 teaspoons crushed ginger*
• 500 grams sweet potato cut into 2cm cubes
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 tablespoon turmeric
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 cups of water
• 1/4 cup coconut cream
• salt and pepper to taste
• kale to serve (optional)

Instructions

• In a large saucepan, heat coconut oil on high. Add diced onion and saute for a couple of minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon. Add garlic and ginger and continue to cook until onion is translucent. Add in paprika and turmeric, toss through onion mixture until fragrant and then add in sweet potato cubes, again mixing through until the sweet potato is covered in the spices and onion mixture.
• Cover sweet potatoes with water, usually about 4 cups and mix, scraping any remaining onion and spices from the bottom of the pan with the wooden spoon. Add in bay leaf and let bring to the boil. Slowly boil for about 15-20 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are really soft. Take off the heat and let cool down for at least 10 minutes.
• Remove bay leaf and add soup mixture to a blender (or use an immersion blender straight into the saucepan if you have one), and blend until smooth and creamy. If the soup is too thick and not blending, just add a little more water.
• Transfer the blended soup back to the saucepan on low heat and stir through the coconut cream. Add salt and pepper to taste. Once the soup is hot, serve with toasted bread if desired or crispy fried kale on top.

Notes

*You can use fresh ginger that you grate, or you can use store bought. I always have a jar of organic, nothing added crushed ginger in my fridge for when I need which is what I usually use, but fresh is still always best.

For the coconut cream, put a can of coconut milk in the fridge the night before, then scoop out the solidified cream from the top the next day.

If you don’t have coconut oil, you can use olive oil instead.

To make the crispy fried kale for serving, heat some olive oil in a pan and add torn up pieces of kale, ensuring the hard, woody stem has been removed. Add salt and pepper to taste, and stir with a wooden spoon so that the oil covers the leaves. Let the kale sit in the pan so that the edges of the kale begin to darken, before stirring again. Once the leaves have darker edges, take off the heat. The kale will crisp up further as it cools.

Not from Australia? Check out my US Conversion Guide. 

Related Recipes:

Turmeric Fried Rice
Dairy-Free Potato and Leek Soup with Bacon Crumb
Crispy Tofu and Zoodles with Peanut Sauce
Vegan Spiced Chickpea + Veggie Bowls

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