this post may contain affiliate links...
Purple sweet potato is a beautiful ingredient that adds a visual POP to your food. After all, you eat with your eyes, right? So why not give them something to feast on? Of course, sweet potatoes are also delicious, especially paired with onions, apple, veggies, and fresh herbs. What’s more, purple sweet potatoes are filling, low GI and full of nutrients – so this recipe is a win for your whole body!
Purple Sweet Potato?
The star of this recipe is, of course, the purple sweet potato. And our key ingredient is not just a pretty face! All sweet potatoes are loaded with nutrients like fiber, vitamin A, B vitamins (especially B6) and vitamin C.
Additionally, the purple sweet potato also contains anthocyanins, which are responsible for its color. The role of these antioxidants in human health isn’t fully clear. However, there are studies emerging that suggest anthocyanins can protect your heart (among other things). And so, it could be a good idea to add more of them to your diet.
How to Make Sweet Potato Soup
This soup starts with a “mirepoix” – the fancy French word for a mixture of onions, carrots, and celery. First, we cook this low and slow until soft and sweet. However, keep the heat gentle because you don’t want too much browning.
When these veggies are tender we add the broth, a handful of the herbs (see the recipe), the apple, and purple sweet potato. The soup is then brought to a boil and quickly reduced to a simmer.
Apple? Yes – we’re glad you noticed that! We added apple to the recipe for a little extra sweetness, instead of just tossing in sugar. It also contributes its own Fall flavor to the soup, which goes really well with the herbs. In other words, the apple complements the other ingredients beautifully.
When the sweet potatoes are soft and all the flavors have mingled, it’s time to blend the soup. The easiest tool for this is an immersion/hand blender. However, a regular blender will do – just be careful moving the hot liquid around.
If your soup is too thick, just mix in a little more stock. Otherwise, if it’s too thin you can return it to the heat and simmer a bit longer. After that, just ladle the purple sweet potato soup into bowls and garnish with herbs – easy recipe right?
Did you try this recipe? If you did, please let us know with a comment and rating. Every bit of feedback helps make the blog even better.
And if you’d love to slurp some more soup, try our Tomato, Zucchini, 16 Bean, and Sweet Potato Curry varieties!
Print
Purple Sweet Potato Soup | A Colorful Dish for Cold Days
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
Add this Purple Sweet Potato Soup recipe to your Fall and Winter menus! It’s delicious, beautiful and packed with sweet potato’s mighty nutrition!
Ingredients
- 1 large onion (1lb / 450 grams), finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- 3–4 celery stalks, chopped
- 3 carrots, chopped
- 2.25 lbs / 1kg purple sweet potato, peeled and cut into small pieces
- 1 apple, peeled and chopped
- Large handful of fresh herbs (e.g. thyme and sage), chopped
- 8 cups vegetable broth + 1/4 cup for sautéing onion
- Salt and pepper to taste
Garnish (optional)
- Dry roasted nuts and seeds (e.g. almonds, cashews, pumpkin seeds)
- Handful fresh herbs (e.g. thyme and sage), roughly chopped
Instructions
- Heat a large pot over medium heat. Add 1/4 cup vegetable broth and onion, and sauté until the onion softens and becomes translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add garlic, celery, carrots and a pinch of salt, stir well. Cook until vegetables start to soften and brown, about 5 minutes. If needed, add a splash of broth to help prevent the vegetables from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
- Next add purple sweet potato, apple, fresh herbs and vegetable broth, stir well. Raise heat and bring soup to a boil. Once the soup has reached boiling point, reduce heat to a simmer and cook until vegetables are soft, around 20-30 minutes. Set soup aside to cool for at least 10 minutes.
- Optional step: While soup is cooling, dry roast nuts and seeds. Heat a skillet over medium, add nuts and seeds, and dry roast them for a few minutes until they are lightly golden on both sides. Keep a close on them as they can get roasted very quickly. Transfer dry roasted nut and seeds to a bowl and set aside.
- Once the soup has cooled slightly, using an immersion blender or counter top blender, carefully blend until the soup is smooth and creamy. If you used a counter top blender, return soup to pot. Taste the soup and adjust seasoning as needed. If necessary, reheat the soup.
- Ladle soup into bowls and, if using, top with dry roasted nuts and seeds, and fresh herbs.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
Keywords: purple sweet potato recipe, purple sweet potato, sweet potato nutrition
This post contains affiliate links, which means I’ll make a small commission if you purchase using these links. The price you pay as a consumer does not change.
