This African-inspired vegan peanut sweet potato soup with chickpeas is thick, hearty, and nourishing, with lots of vegetables and spices that will warm you right up!
I’ve always been a big fan of peanut butter in savoury dishes from every corner of the globe, and this African-inspired peanut sweet potato soup with chickpeas is no exception. With an ample amount of peanut butter, this soup is rich and luxurious. It’s packed with healthy fat, protein, beta carotene, and plenty of heat.
If you’re looking for more sweet potato recipes, check out this post with over 30 of my favourite healthy sweet potato recipes. And if you’re looking for more hearty, immunity-boosting soup recipes, try this Curried Butternut Squash Lentil Apple Soup and this Lentil Cabbage Squash Soup.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Packed with flavour: With plenty of onion, garlic, ginger, spices, broth, peanut butter, and lime juice, this soup is full of flavour.
- Nutritious: Bursting with immunity-supporting nutrients thanks to the sweet potato, kale, tomatoes, onion, garlic, and ginger.
- Made with pantry staples: You’ll love the fact that this soup is highly economical and it’s made with pantry staples such as canned diced tomatoes, peanut butter, and chickpeas.
Ingredients
- Quality cooking oil of choice (coconut, extra virgin olive, avocado, or ghee): For sautéing the onion, garlic, and spices in.
- Flavour base and seasonings: Onion, garlic, ginger, red pepper, sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, ground coriander, and hot red pepper flakes or cayenne form a flavourful base. And as a bonus, all of these ingredients are powerful immunity-boosters.
- Sweet potatoes: Rich in beta carotene and flavour, sweet potatoes add body and colour to this soup.
- Diced tomatoes: Canned iced tomatoes provide chunky texture and concentrated flavour.
- Chickpeas: Chickpeas provide protein, fibre, and folate, and make the soup extra satisfying.
- Peanut butter: A traditional ingredient in West African soups and stews, the addition of peanut butter in this soup makes it extra delicious, creamy, and filling!
- Vegetable broth: Vegetable broth is more flavourful than water and provides the soup with depth of flavour. You can use vegetable broth bouillon cubes, powdered vegetable broth, or homemade.
- Collards or kale: Add towards the end to maintain their bright green colour.
- Coconut sugar or maple syrup: Don’t skip a small amount of coconut sugar or maple syrup. A touch of sweetener helps to balance the acidity of the tomatoes!
- Lime juice: Adding a squeeze of lime juice right before serving brightens and balances flavours.
- Cilantro: For a fresh garnish.
See the recipe card for exact quantities.
Instructions
- Warm the oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, ginger, and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and lightly browned, 5 minutes. Add the red bell pepper, sea salt, pepper, coriander, and chili flakes or cayenne. Cook a few minutes more to soften the red bell pepper and brown the spices.
- Next, add the diced sweet potatoes, diced tomatoes, 2 cups of the broth, and the chickpeas. Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sweet potato is tender.
- Whisk the peanut butter with the remaining 1 cup of broth in a bowl until smooth. Stir this into the soup. At this point, add more broth if the soup is too thick for your liking.
- Finally, stir in the collards or kale and coconut sugar. Cook for a couple of minutes, until the collards or kale are bright green.
- Right before serving, mix in the lime juice. Ladle the soup into bowls and top with fresh cilantro and additional lime juice, if desired.
Substitutions
- Sweet potato: You can use butternut squash instead of sweet potato.
- Chickpeas: Feel free to use white beans or kidney beans instead of chickpeas. Or, if you aren’t plant-based, add 3 cups of shredded cooked chicken breast or rotisserie chicken, or cook 1 pound of ground chicken or turkey along with the onions/garlic/pepper/spices in step 1.
- Peanut Butter: I haven’t tried any other nut butters, but I imagine that cashew butter would work in place of peanut butter.
- Vegetable broth: If not vegan or vegetarian, use chicken broth instead of vegetable broth.
Storage Instructions
To store in the fridge: This soup can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days.
To store in the freezer: Cool the soup fully, then transfer it into airtight containers and store in the freezer for up to three months.
Equipment
- Cutting board
- Chef’s knife
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Soup pot
Serving Suggestions
This soup is super satisfying and can stand alone as a lunch or dinner. I recommend serving it with some homemade cornbread or over a scoop of brown rice to make it even more satisfying. Or, double up on the sweet potato and serve it with sweet potato tortillas.
MORE DELICIOUS AND HEALTHY SOUP RECIPES
- Southwestern White Bean, Quinoa, and Sweet Potato Soup
- Cauliflower, Turmeric, and Potato Soup
- Curried Carrot, Lentil, and Coconut Soup
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Take a picture of your finished recipe and tag me on Instagram (@upbeet.kitchen), follow me on Pinterest, or connect with me on Facebook. I love seeing all your creations!
Enjoy!
Peanut Sweet Potato Soup with Chickpeas
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This African-inspired peanut sweet potato soup with chickpeas is thick, hearty, and nourishing. It has that stick-to-your-ribs quality that we all crave at this cold, dark time of the year!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil (or avocado or coconut oil, or ghee)
- 2 medium yellow onions, diced
- 4 medium garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoons minced or grated ginger
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- ¼ teaspoon chili flakes
- 4 cups peeled and diced sweet potato (from about 2 medium)
- 1 28–oz can diced tomatoes
- 3 cups cooked chickpeas (or 2 14-oz cans, drained and rinsed)
- ⅔ cup smooth peanut butter
- 3 cups vegetable broth, divided, plus more as needed
- 1 bunch kale or collards, chopped (about 4 packed cups)
- 1 teaspoon coconut sugar
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
- Cilantro, for garnish
Instructions
- Warm the oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, ginger, and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and lightly browned, 5 minutes. Add the red bell pepper, sea salt, pepper, coriander, and chili flakes or cayenne. Cook a few minutes more to soften the red bell pepper and brown the spices.
- Next, add the diced sweet potatoes, diced tomatoes, 2 cups of the broth, and the chickpeas. Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sweet potato is tender.
- Whisk the peanut butter with the remaining 1 cup of broth in a bowl until smooth. Stir this into the soup. At this point, add more broth if the soup is too thick for your liking.
- Finally, stir in the collards or kale and coconut sugar. Cook for a couple of minutes, until the collards or kale are bright green.
- Right before serving, mix in the lime juice. Ladle the soup into bowls and top with fresh cilantro and additional lime juice, if desired.
Notes
This recipe makes a thick soup, but you can add more broth to achieve your desired consistency!
Serve over cooked brown rice if you’d like an even heartier dish. Sometimes I serve it with homemade cornbread, too!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Soup, Supper, Lunch
- Cuisine: African
Prisca says
Absolutely mouth watering and so darn flavourful!
Allison says
Glad you enjoyed it, Prisca! Thanks for the review.
Laura says
Made this for dinner tonight and the whole family loved it! My 3 year old asked for seconds!
Allison says
Hi Laura, that’s great to hear! Thanks for reminding me about this recipe- I’ll have to make it again soon!
sophie says
Would this work with crunchy all-natural peanut butter?
Allison says
It definitely would! Hope you enjoy, Sophie!
Michelle says
Your photos are so beautiful and I get excited when your new posts arrive! This soup is phenomenal, such a great mix of my favourite veggies and spices!
Allison says
Thank you so much!