Pack this smoky Chipotle Sweet Potato Soup in your lunch, or come home to a warm bowl on a chilly day. Serve this velvety vegan soup with crispy polenta croutons and toasted sage leaves for a quick and easy meal. This sweet potato soup cooks in one pot in about 30 minutes.
Is there anything better than a simple bowl of warm soup on a cool day? I like to think of soup as a culinary hug. This smoky Chipotle Sweet Potato Soup has all the elements we crave in the fall and winter months: rich warm colour, smooth velvety texture, and a satisfying earthy spiciness.
Colour, texture and taste aside, this soup is a powerhouse of nutrition.
Sweet potatoes are low on the glycemic index scale and have very high levels of Vitamin A and fiber. While they contain more natural sugars than white potatoes, overall they have more nutrients and fewer calories.
Despite their nutritional benefits, I just like the way they taste.
🥣 Soup makes an easy, nutritious meal!
- It's an easy way to add more vegetables into your diet. Making food from scratch allows you to control what's in the food your feed yourself and your family.
- Soup is quick to make and can be simmering on the stove or in a slow cooker while you prepare the rest of your meal.
- It's convenient. Double the recipe and freeze half for another meal.
- It's filling. Soup contains a lot of water, so it makes us feel full without adding extra unnecessary calories.
- A bowl of soup has to be eaten slowly, encouraging us to savour each spoonful and eat mindfully. It's comforting.
🛒 Ingredients
You'll find a complete list of ingredients with amounts in the recipe card below. Here are a few notes about the key ingredients.
- onion: yellow or white, your choice
- garlic: you'll need 4 fresh cloves if you're a garlic lover
- sweet potatoes: 2 large
- chipotle: chipotle peppers come packed in adobo sauce in small cans. Depending on how much heat you like, you can use ½ to 1 chipotle pepper, plus 1 to 2 teaspoons of the adobo sauce.
- stock: vegetable or chicken broth
- polenta: store-bought to make a quick batch of croutons as a garnish
- fresh sage leaves: to toast and add as a garnish
👍🏼 Helpful Tip
The first time I made this Chipotle Sweet Potato Soup, I was generous with the chipotle peppers, adding two full peppers and one tablespoon of the sauce.
Bad idea. It was so spicy that it overpowered the flavour of the sweet potatoes. I held off the next two times, repeating my flavouring mantra: you can always add more later if you need it, but you can't take it away!
🥄 Easy Instructions
I've included detailed instructions in the recipe card at the end of this post. Here's a quick summary of what you'll do to make this soup.
Heat a little oil in a large pot, then add the onions and sauté. Next, add the garlic, and then the thinly sliced sweet potatoes. Add the chipotles with adobo and the broth, bring to a boil, and simmer until the sweet potatoes are soft.
Purée with an immersion blender or in batches in a regular blender.
🔪 How to Make Polenta Croutons
Let's talk about these crispy polenta croutons. I discovered them topped on a chilled watermelon-tomato gazpacho at a local restaurant this summer. I loved their crisp texture and vowed to figure out how to make them at home.
They're so easy! I used store-bought prepared polenta (the kind that comes in a roll), sliced and chopped it into cubes, tossed it with a little cornstarch and salt and pepper and fried it in a couple of teaspoons of butter.
I love toasted sage leaves, and always make them when I make this Roasted Cauliflower Soup with Spicy Pumpkin Seeds, so I added a few of these to each bowl as well.
You could also add toasted pumpkin seeds or a dollop of Greek yogurt to your bowl of soup. Keep it vegan by using plant-based yogurt.
When you make this chipotle sweet potato soup, please leave a comment and a rating below. I love hearing when you've made one of my recipes! Thanks in advance.
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More healthy soup recipes
This recipe was originally published in 2016. I've updated it with extra information to make it more helpful.
📖 Recipe
Smoky Chipotle Sweet Potato Soup with Polenta Croutons and Toasted Sage Leaves
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2-3 tablespoon olive oil, extra virgin
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
- 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
- ½ - 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce plus 1 - 2 teaspoons sauce (depending on how much heat you like)
- 6 cups vegetable broth or chicken broth (not for vegan diet)
- salt and pepper
For Optional Garnishes
Polenta Croutons (not paleo)
- 6 ½ inch slices prepared polenta (store-bought)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 teaspoon butter
- ½ teaspoon salt
Toasted Sage Leaves
- 12 leaves fresh sage (or more)
- 1 teaspoon oil
Instructions
- Heat a large pot over medium heat and add oil.
- When hot, add chopped onion. Sauté until transparent, but don't let them brown.
- Add garlic and sauté briefly.
- Add chopped sweet potatoes (I sliced mine into ¼ inch slices so they would cook quickly), chipotle pepper in adobo sauce and vegetable or chicken broth.
- Simmer until sweet potatoes are tender, about 20- 25 minutes.
- Purée in batches in a blender until smooth.
- Serve, garnished with toppings of your choice:
- To make the polenta croutons, slice store-bought polenta (the type that comes in a log) and dice into ½-inch cubes. Toss with cornstarch and salt. Fry in butter in a small skillet, turning until all sides are crispy and lightly browned.
- To make toasted sage leaves, heat oil in a small skillet. Add leaves and toast until they turn very dark green and become crisp. Remove and drain on a rack.
- Garnish soup bowls with sage leaves and/or polenta croutons. Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
I recently participated in a collaboration with other Canadian food bloggers through the Canadian Food Creatives. The theme was ‘Soups and Stews: Warm Comforting Dishes for the Impending Winter Months" chosen by our host Diana of 365 Days of Easy Recipes. Check out the links below to see everyone else’s creations!
- Roasted Chicken Minestrone Soup by My Kitchen Love
- Cream of Spinach Soup by I Say Nomato
- Chipotle Sweet Potato Soup with Polenta Croutons by Flavour and Savour
- Creamy Carrot Orange Soup with Cashews by Making Healthy Choices
- Roasted Butternut Squash Ginger Pear Soup by She Loves Biscotti
maria
Beautiful fall colors presented in the form of a soup ...absolutely stunning! Soups truly are a wonderful food. This recipe looks great! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Flavour & Savour
Thanks Maria! We eat with our eyes first, right?
Kari Peters
I love anything with chipotle + polenta croutons really do make me swoon - can't wait to try this out!
Flavour & Savour
Hi Kari,
Those croutons were new to me. Where have I been? Living under a rock?? So good!
Samantha @mykitchenlove
Your soup sounds amazing, but I'm not going to lie ... I'm totally taken with your polenta croutons! I can see them on so many things including salads. I may need to head off to the kitchen for these stat.
Flavour & Savour
Thanks Samantha! I've become addicted to them too. So easy, and they're a great gluten-free alternative to regular croutons.
Laura
This soup looks so delicious! I love the polenta croutons and the fried sage leaves - YUM! Beautiful photos too! Every Monday I am making soup so I will add this one to the menu!
Flavour & Savour
Soup on Mondays is a great idea, Laura. I think I might try that too!