Curried Sweet Potato Soup- (Instant Pot recipe, Vegan, Gluten-free)

I see myself using a lot of curry powder these days and this Curried Sweet Potato soup is another experiment with curry powder that was a success.  The sweetness from the sweet potatoes goes so well with the warmth of the curry powder, a match made in soup heaven in my opinion! Fall and Winter are the perfect seasons to enjoy a warm and comforting bowl of Curried Sweet Potato soup.

Ingredients used to make Curried Sweet Potato Soup

The ingredient list to make curried sweet potato soup is very small- just 4 main ingredients and garnishes of your choice. 

• 2 medium sweet potatoes (almost 2 lbs)
• ½ medium yellow onion
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 3 cups vegetable stock
• 1 tablespoon Maple syrup (optional)
• Salt

Garnishes (optional):

• Chili oil
• Coconut milk

Sweet Potatoes– Of course, this is the main ingredient.  Be sure to buy sweet potatoes with the orange flesh. 

Yellow onion– Onions provide some nice flavor to the soup.  Be sure to use yellow or white onions because if you use red onions, it may alter the color of the soup. 

Curry powder– This is curried sweet potato soup, so of course we need curry powder to flavor the soup.  I have used a store-bought curry powder mix for this recipe. Curry powder is available at most grocery stores.  Curry powder is a mix of ground cumin, coriander, turmeric, ginger, mustard, black pepper, cinnamon, cardamom and red dry chilis.  As an Indian household, we have all those spices handy but call me lazy that I just don’t like to pull 10 spices out when I can just use curry powder.  I find the proportion of spices in the curry powder mix perfect and don’t like to mess around with it.  But feel free to make your own blend of curry powder using the spices mentioned.  One tip would be that the curry powder mix is heavy on ground cumin, coriander, and turmeric and lower on the other spices.  You can find your favorite recipe online and make a big batch of the mix as well.

Vegetable Stock- It is used to flavor and thin the soup.  I use a good organic store-bought vegetable stock, but feel free to make it at home. 

How to make Curry Sweet Potato soup recipe in the Instant Pot

• Wash, peel and dice the sweet potatoes in 1 inch dice. Cut the onions in half inch dice. 
• Turn on the IP on saute mode.  When heated add the chopped onions.  Cook the onions stirring occasionally for 5-6 minutes till they get some color.  Add curry powder and cook for a minute. 
• Cancel out of the saute mode.  Add the sweet potatoes, salt and Vegetable stock to the cooked onions.  Give the whole mix a good stir.  Put the lid of the Instant Pot on and make sure that the valve is on sealing.  Manual cook on High for 8 minutes. 
• Once the cooking process is complete and the Instant Pot beeps, carefully Quick Release the pressure by turning the valve towards venting.  It will take a few minutes for all the pressure to release.  Once the pressure is released, carefully open the lid. 
• The Instant Pot will have gone to Warming mode, turn it OFF. Let the hot liquid cool for at least 30 minutes. 
• Add the soup mix to a blender jar and blend it smooth. Remove the blended soup in the same Instant Pot insert that was used to cook it. Check for seasonings and add salt if needed. If your sweet potatoes were not too sweet, you may want to add some maple syrup to the soup. Adjust the consistency by adding water (if needed).  Turn the Instant Pot on and let the soup boil for 3-4 minutes.  Ladle in soup bowls and serve hot with garnishes and topping of your choice. 

What you see in the image above:

1. Onions sautéed with curry powder
2. Addition of sweet potatoes
3. Addition of vegetable stock
4. Cooked vegetables in the Instant Pot

Alternative method to cook on Stove top

For this recipe I have cooked the sweet potatoes in the Instant Pot.  It’s my preferred way of cooking these days.  I find it hands off and it removes a lot of the guess work out of cooking.  If you do not own an Instant Pot, do not worry, this recipe can easily be made on the Stove top. 

Use a large saucepan and follow the steps in the recipe card to the point of adding vegetable stock.  For the stovetop method add 1 cup of water additionally.  Turn up the heat and when the water comes to a boil, turn it back to medium and cover the saucepan with a lid.  Cook the sweet potatoes until they are cooked through (check). This would take about 20-25 minutes. Turn off the heat and follow the steps in the recipe card below. 

Recipe tips for Curried Sweet Potato soup

• Use curry powder in this recipe as per you heat and spice level tolerance. When in doubt, add a little and taste before adding more.
• The soup stores well in an airtight container in the refrigerator and heats well in the microwave.
• You can garnish it with toppings of your choice. I use chili oil as one of my garnishes, but the possibilities are endless.  If you like crunchy, you can used toasted pepitas or even a fall inspired granola as your topping. 

FAQs- Vegan Sweet Potato soup

This curried sweet potato soup is perfect to serve for holiday dinners with friends and family.  But this recipe is so easy and quick that you don’t really have to wait until the holidays, just make it anytime you are craving something warm and comforting. 

Some other Curry recipes to try

Curried Vegetable Pot Pie

Cauliflower in coconut curry sauce

Holiday Meal inspirations

Fall roasted vegetables

Sweet Potato and Arugula Salad

Recipe Card- Curried Sweet Potato Soup