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 color, smooth velvety texture, and satisfying earthy spiciness.
Color, 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 to your diet. Making food from scratch allows you to control what's in the food you 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.
- It's comforting. A bowl of soup has to be eaten slowly, encouraging us to savor each spoonful and eat mindfully.
🛒 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. It was so spicy that it overpowered the flavor of the sweet potatoes. I reduced the amount the next two times I made it, repeating my flavoring 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 sweet potato soup with chipotle peppers.
Heat a little olive oil in a large pot, then add the onions and sauté, just until transparent. Next, add the garlic, cook for a minute, and then add the thinly sliced sweet potatoes. Add the chipotles with spicy 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. Serve this warm and cozy soup with crisp polenta croutons and toasted sage leaves.
🔪 How to Make Polenta Croutons
Let's talk about these crispy polenta croutons.
They're so easy! I use store-bought prepared polenta (the kind that comes in a roll), sliced and chopped into cubes, tossed with a little cornstarch and salt and pepper, and fried 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 add a few of these to each bowl of this sweet potato soup as well.
You could also add toasted pumpkin seeds or a dollop of creamy Greek yogurt to your bowl of soup. Keep it vegan by using plant-based yogurt or vegan sour cream.
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
- Miso Noodle Soup with Shiitake Mushrooms and Bok Choy
- Italian Vegetable Gnocchi Soup
- Dairy-Free Roasted Cauliflower Soup
- Butternut Squash Soup with Ginger and Orange
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 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." 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
- 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!