Thai Sweet Potato Soup with coconut, lemongrass and ginger….a light and healthy recipe that is Vegan & Gluten-free!
We are kept from our goal, not by our obstacles, but by a clear path to a lesser goal.
Robert Brult
It never ceases to amaze me, how simple ingredients can come together to create something wonderfully flavorful and complex. Yams (or sweet potatoes) are the superstars of this soup. Ginger, lemongrass, shallot, and garlic, give the soup its flavor and depth, while lime gives it its brightness. Coconut milk is added sparingly to keep it on the lighter side.
Why I love this Thai Sweet Potato Soup
Not only is this soup vegan and gluten-free, but it’s so flavorful, healthy and light and will bring a little sunshine into your life with its bright, warm flavors. Guaranteed!
It can be made ahead on Sunday for the busy work week, and can be reheated for lunch or dinner!
And as for optional texture, little grains of Sorghum are popped like popcorn for a little crunch and the unexpected surprise factor. They are the ¼ the size of regular popcorn and remind me of little white flowers.
I like to keep this little popped grain, for occasions like this, when I want to add texture without adding the gluten or fat of croutons, or fried crispy things. But feel free to leave them off!
Peel and dice the sweet potatoes. Simmer in the fragrant broth- then blend and season!
Add as much coconut milk as you like.
Keep the sweet potato soup simple and wholesome like this, or play around with it, adding fresh cilantro, scallions, and popped sorghum.
To make the popped Sorghum, just put a couple of tablespoons or so (a single layer) in a small dry, heated pot, over medium-high heat, cover, and shake fairly often to prevent burning. Little batches work best.
Spoon a little coconut cream into the soup (it helps if you whisk it first) cut scallions into long thin strips. Finely chop cilantro. And just decorate. It’s fun!
Enjoy this Thai Sweet Potato Soup!
xoxo
More Thai Recipes you may like
- 30-Minute Thai Green Curry
- Thai Green Curry Noodle Soup
- Khao Soi (Thai Coconut Noodle Soup)
- Thai Chicken Noodle Soup
- 20 Delicious Easy Thai Recipes!
Thai Sweet Potato Soup w/ Lemongrass and Ginger
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 50 mins
- Yield: 4-6 1x
- Category: Soup, vegan
- Method: Stove-top
- Cuisine: Thai
Description
A delicious healthy recipe for Thai Sweet Potato Soup with coconut, lemongrass and ginger….light and tasty! Vegan and Gluten free!
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 2 large shallots (or one white onion) diced
- 2 Tablespoons coconut oil (or olive oil)
- 6 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1/2 cup finely chopped lemongrass (packed) 2-3 stalks
- 2 tablespoons ginger, chopped
- 1 small Serrano chili (or jalapeno for less spicy), diced
- 1 teaspoon yellow curry powder
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 4 cups veggie or chicken stock
- 2 cups water
- 2 lbs yams, peeled, cubed (or sweet potatoes)
- 1 large carrot (for color- this is optional) peeled, sliced
- 1/2 cup to 1 can coconut milk
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- 2–4 teaspoons soy sauce: to taste ( or sub fish sauce for extra depth)
- 2 Tablespoons lime juice
- salt and pepper to taste
Garnish with:
- Cilantro, coconut milk, scallions, popped Sorghum grains, Sriracha Sauce and lime wedges.
Instructions
- In a large heavy-bottomed pot heat coconut oil over medium heat. Add shallot (or onion) and stir for 2 minutes. Add ginger, garlic, lemongrass, and chili, cook for 3-5 minutes, until fragrant and golden. Add spices, and stir for 1-2 more minutes. Add stock and water, scraping up the spices from the bottom.
- Bring to a boil and add yams and optional carrot. Simmer on low, covered, until yams are fork-tender, 15-20 minutes. Let cool a bit, while you prepare your garnishes.
- Puree soup until very smooth. Either blend in small batches in a blender or use a submersion blender. Get it as smooth as you can. Return to the stove and heat on med-low.
- Stir in ½ cup of coconut milk — or, if unconcerned with fat content, or a richer soup, add more, or most of the can, reserving some the harder “cream” for the garnish.
- Now it’s time to season. Add the brown sugar, 2-4 tsp soy sauce ( or fish sauce) and the lime juice. Taste. Depending on how rich and flavorful your stock is, or how much coconut milk you added, you will need to adjust the seasonings. You may need to add more depth (soy sauce) or a pinch or two of salt, or more lime, or more sugar, or more heat. Find the balance -between salt, sweet and sour and spicy. This is where you develop your own palate, which no recipe can teach. It just takes practice. 🙂 A little sriracha sauce can work miracles because it contains salt, acid, sweet along with heat and spice. But use sparingly for best results.
- Garnish with cilantro, scallions, coconut milk (whisk with a little warm water to loosen) and popped sorghum (optional) and serve with lime wedges.
- Enjoy!
Notes
Make Popped Sorghum: place 2 tablespoon sorghum grains in a small pot over medium-high heat shaking often. Pop like popcorn, removing from pan immediately so they don’t darken. Store in an air-tight container.
For a thicker consistency, add only 1 cup water.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 378
- Sugar: 7.6 g
- Sodium: 460.4 mg
- Fat: 16.9 g
- Saturated Fat: 13.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 46.6 g
- Fiber: 6.5 g
- Protein: 8.7 g
- Cholesterol: 6.3 mg
This is delicious, but wow the ginger is intense. (So intense that unfortunately my partner was put off this time). Completely agree that the lemongrass is key.
Oh Shoot- yes feel free to cut it back and I will note the recipe. 🙂
Love it. We ate it on days one, two and three and it just kept on getting better and better. The amount of ginger is intense but so good.
Glad you enjoyed this!
This was absolute perfection in a bowl! I used the soy sauce option rather than the fish sauce to keep it all vegan for my son. My first time using lemon grass and I agree with others, it’s an essential flavor component. I’m excited now to try your other recipes Sylvia! I was also able to find the yellow curry in the grocery store which cut down the prep time.
Yes there is a lot of ginger but this recipe makes a lot of soup! We thought it was perfectly balanced. Thank you for sharing this recipe with the world!
Thanks so much Donna! Glad you enjoyed it1
By far the best soup I’ve ever made. I didn’t have lime so I used fresh lemon instead and served it up with zoodles. Omg. I used lite coconut milk so I wasnt too cautious of the amount used and just added most of a can to the soup. Yum yum yum. I can’t believe how delicious a sweet potato can be. I can’t wait to try out more if your recipes. 10/10 from me
Thanks so much Ashlea- glad you enjoyed!
I am going to make this soup tomorrow but I’m confused about the 2 cups water mentioned in the ingredients. It never mentions using the water in the instructions and I want to get it right. Please advise!
Thanks, I fixed the recipe! 😉
Thanks for your prompt reply! You saved tonight’s dinner plans 😊
This is absolutely wonderful. No lemongrass to be found but used 1t of lemon zest per stalk and it came out wonderful.
Delicious flavor, beautiful presentation. As per usual, Sylvia’s recipes are easy to follow and quick to make. Thank you!
Glad you liked it!
Absolutely Beautiful and the perfect winter dinner! The flavours were so delicious. I will definitely be making this again, thank you xx
Good winter soup
Sweet Potatoes and Yams are two different vegetables and have different flavours. Just to clarify, which one did you use in your recipe?
Does this work in a crock pot :)?
This was amazing!! So complex and warming! I left out the lemongrass because I couldn’t find it, and it was still so good. I might add a little less liquid next time to make it thicker. Thanks Sylvia!!
Hello!! This recipe was so delicious but I found it very gingery. I didn’t have any lemongrass and upon reading the comments realized I should’ve gone to get some because it sounds like it makes the recipe!
Does the lemongrass cut the ginger a little bit?
I’m definitely going to make this again but with the lemongrass!
Cheers
Lemongrass does seem to balance it! You can always cut back on the ginger too. 🙂
Can this soup be made ahead and frozen for a week?
Yes, it should be fine!
Hi Sylvia, I just made this heavenly soup – it’s my new favourite. Don’t know why it took me so long. It also made my partner insanely happy;-)
Thank you and greetings from Dublin Ireland!
Love hearing this- thank you!!
I have made this soup several times, its really delicious.
Thanks I appreciate your feedback!
Did you use fresh lemongrass or dried? Having a hard time finding fresh lemongrass out here in western CO. Can you recommend an alternative to lemongrass if dried won’t do the job? I’m anxious to make this beautiful soup!. Thanks.
Hi Jae, I used fresh. You know, honestly I can’t think of an alternative that could replace it. Did you check the refrigerated herb section of your grocery store…it is usually there. Gosh, I almost would wait to make it until you find some, it really makes the dish. Sorry I can’t think of anything more creative. ;(
How about lemongrass essential oil?
It could be a little too strong?
I like it vry much!
I love sweet potatoes, but the only way I know to cook them is caramelized in grill, so I wanted to try different recipes and found yours in pinterest. I tried it yesterday, I didn’t have all the ingredients but the result was awesome, it was so tasty, a gourmand moment full of sweetness.
txs a lot for you delicious recipe
thanks Im so happy you like it!!
I have just found your site and this recipe. I belong to an organic CSA out on the North Fork of Long Island, NY. I’ve used all my sweet potatoes for this and really didn’t do much tweaking. I did use the juice of an entire lime, my own stock and three tsps of Tamari sauce. I am planning on garnishing with a bit of cilantro pesto.
Thank you for a beautiful soup!
Glad you enjoyed it Victoria! Thank you for posting!
This soup is so so beautiful, Sylvia! I love the colours and all the ingredients you have here (I’m a sucker for lemongrass, yams and turmeric) and your presentation is just perfect!
Thanks so much- it is a fun one for sure. The soup is the perfect palate for how ever you want to “decorate it”.
Hi, I live in the UK and wish to make this recipe but am unsure on the quantity of the lemongrass and ginger is?
Is it 1/2 a cup each?
Yes, ½ Cup each. I just fixed the recipe…sorry about that!
Oh man, this soup is stellar!! Such a gorgeous bowl of warmth!
Thanks Katrina!!
This soup is absolutely beautiful! Pinned!
Trish
Thanks!
Bottom line……your recipes are SCRUMPTIOUS!!! The detox menu is fabulous…cilantro sauce…detox bowl…burrito bowl….Israeli salad……I will definitely try them all AND pass them along. I emailed how my husband passed away after a 5 year fight with brain cancer so I am in a phase of renewal. Eating detox bowl tonight so I will have the leftovers for lunch tomorrow. Thinking I’ll have the sunshine bowl for dinner tomorrow. Gotta get off this detox so I can try your other recipes!!!
Thanks so much for sharing this Kathy. Glad you are enjoying the menus. Sending you love and light during this time of renewal. Good to hear back from you!!