Spicy African Sweet Potato & Peanut Butter Soup {Recipe}

When it comes to soup, I just love unique flavor combinations.  I first tried a version of this African sweet potato & peanut soup many, many years ago out of this Vegetarian Times Low Fat & Fast recipe book, which was–back when I still used actual cookbooks instead of the internet–my very favorite cookbook ever.

This slightly more dressed-up version uses fresh sweet potatoes and tomatoes instead of canned and also adds the rich flavor of coconut milk and chipotle peppers.   The combination of sweet and spicy is so good!

(Printable version of this recipe available at the bottom of this post)

Ingredients:

2 pounds sweet potatoes

8 plum tomatoes

olive oil

2 sweet onions

8 cloves garlic

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (more or less to taste)

12 cups vegetable stock

2 whole chipotle peppers, chopped. (more or less to taste)

1 bunch cilantro, chopped

2 cans coconut milk

1 cup peanut butter

salt & pepper to taste

 

Step one:  Peel sweet potatoes & cut into large chunks; set aside.  Chop tomatoes; set aside.  Peel & mince garlic; dice onion.

Step two: Heat 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat.  Saute onions until soft & light golden brown, 5-7 minutes.  Add garlic and saute a few minutes more; add cinnamon, ginger, cloves, cumin, & cayenne pepper; mix well.

Step three:  Add vegetable stock, then add tomatoes, sweet potatoes, & chipotle pepper.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat & simmer until sweet potatoes are soft, approximately 30 minutes (or more.)

Step four: Remove from heat; add cilantro.  Transfer mixture to food processor or blender and blend until smooth, or use an immersion blender to blend right in the pot.   Return soup to pot and whisk in peanut butter and coconut until smooth.  Cook again over medium heat until heated through.  Add salt & pepper to taste.

Note:  This makes a very large pot of soup.  You can either cut the recipe in half or make the full recipe and freeze the extra in individual containers–it freezes great! (For more ideas on minimal effort freezer cooking, check out this post!)

*   *   *

What’s your favorite unique flavor combination?

Pin It

Affiliate links may be used in this post. Printing a coupon or ordering a product through this link may result in a commission, which helps pay for the cost of running this site and keeps the content free. Read my full disclosure policy here.