SWEET POTATO WHITE BEAN CURRY SOUP
Most people who know me really well know that there are 2 things that I really love to do….cook and clean. Now, I realize that making that statement probably makes me sound like the epitome of a boring, domestic housewife. Haha! However, those aren’t the only things I love to do, obviously. But I actually do find immense joy in cleaning and having a really clean house (thanks Mom!). I really love to vacuum, like……a lot. Boring, I know, but just ask my best friend how much I vacuumed growing up as we hung out together. She still is scarred from all my vacuuming sessions, hahaha!
So, what is my point to this? Well, for Christmas, the gifts that I received were cleaning tools and kitchen spices, lol! Does my family know me or what? Well, one of the gifts my Mom gave me was a large collection of Penzey’s spices. Let me tell you, they are fabulous. Potent, aromatic, flavorful and just amazing. I was so excited. The “Now Curry” and their dried minced garlic (best on the planet!) really were my favorites. I cannot recommend ordering their stuff enough….or just simply see if there is a location in your area. So, this curry powder was just begging to be the star of a new recipe.
I have used a McCormick brand curry before and it’s certainly fine to use here, however it doesn’t have the kick of heat or intense, fresh flavor as much as the “Now Curry” from Penzey’s that I used, so I would definitely recommend to use a good curry powder or you may need to add a pinch of cayenne to your dish. This curry contains 15 different spices in it, so it is pretty amazing. The McCormick brand contains 12, but it is missing the cinnamon and is less spicy, so the flavor is somewhat different.
I let that curry powder speak to me and with the flavors of ginger and cinnamon, I knew that the sweetness of sweet potatoes sounded like they would be an amazing compliment to further enhance those flavors. I added some white beans for an extra hearty, creamy touch and therefore, it is incredibly filling and full of feel good ingredients. To finish off this awesomeness, I topped it with roasted broccoli right before serving. I don’t like to add broccoli to soups typically to cook in, because they tend to get more soggy than I like. Adding the roasted broccoli gives it a bit more flavor.
Update: If you can’t find this curry powder, don’t fret, you can make my Easy Homemade Curry Spice Blend.
This Sweet Potato and White Bean Curry Soup with Roasted Broccoli is so healthy, as it is vegan, dairy-free, oil-free, gluten-free and low-fat. So, it basically covers most allergies. Now, I know a lot of traditional curries use coconut milk…well I cannot stand the taste of coconut in my food. I can handle a slight taste of it in desserts, but I find coconut to be so strong and overpowering and did not want that here. Instead, I used cashew cream….oh my goodness, heavenly. The whole soup is just 8 easy ingredients (+salt and water). It really couldn’t be simpler. The whole meal comes together in less than an hour.
I hope you all enjoy this Sweet Potato and White Bean Curry Soup! As always, I really love hearing from you all, so please drop me feedback below after you make it!
If you are a fan of broccoli cheese soup, then be sure to try out my reader fave Vegan Sweet Potato Broccoli Cheese Soup!
MORE VEGAN CURRY RECIPES TO TRY:
- Easy Vegan Quick Curry
- Easy 1 Pot Creamy Curry Rice Soup
- Lazy Red Lentil Curry Soup
- Vegan Cauliflower Curry Soup
- Thai Green Sweet Potato Curry
- Curry Chickpea Sandwiches
- Curried Jamaican Stew
If you make any of these recipes, be sure to leave feedback below and share your pic on Instagram or Facebook and tag me @thevegan8#thevegan8!
Sweet Potato and White Bean Curry Soup with Roasted Broccoli
Ingredients
CASHEW CREAM
- 1/3 cup (58g) raw cashews
- 2/3 cup water
FOR THE SOUP
- 3 cups (244g) frozen broccoli florets
- 4 cups low-sodium veggie broth or water
- 1 packed cup (160g) packed cup finely diced yellow onion
- 3-4 x-large garlic cloves minced (15g, about 1 1/2 tbsps)
- 3 heaping cups (450g) peeled & chopped 1/2 inch chunks sweet potato
- 1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons fine salt (1 1/2 tsp if using broth, 2 tsp for water)
- 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons Penzey's Now Curry powder OR my HOMEMADE SPICE BLEND (SEE NOTE BELOW)
- Two 15 oz cans cannellini beans, drained & rinsed
- 1/4 cup (60g) tomato paste
- 1 cup cashew cream (if allergic to cashews, sub full-fat creamy coconut milk, not a light plant milk or water, or the soup will be too runny/watery! Please note that I have only tested this with cashew cream)
Instructions
- First, you will need to make your cashew cream. If you do not have a high-powered blender, soak your cashews overnight in lukewarm water. Drain, rinse and add to a blender (I used my Vitamix, unsoaked) and add the 2/3 cup water. Blend until completely smooth and no bits remain. Set aside.
- Next, you will roast you broccoli. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Spread your broccoli out and season well with salt and pepper. Bake 15 minutes or until just beginning to see the tips browning. Depending on your oven or the size of your broccoli florets, it may need longer, up to 10-15 minutes. The frozen ones I buy are always relatively small florets.
- While your broccoli is roasting, you will prepare the soup, which comes together pretty quickly. Add your chopped onion and garlic and the 4 cups water to a large pot. Turn to high heat and bring to a boil, once boiling, let cook for 5 minutes.
- Then add the sweet potatoes, salt and curry powder. Stir well and reduce the heat to medium-low and cover with a lid. Cook for 10 minutes.
- Add the beans, tomato paste and 1 cup of the cashew cream and stir well. Turn back to medium and bring back to a simmer and cook another 5-10 minutes or so until it has thickened up some and the potatoes are tender. Taste and adjust salt or spices if needed. If you want it spicier, add a pinch of cayenne pepper.
- Your broccoli should be done by now. Top the soup with the broccoli and serve.
Notes
Can this be made without tomato paste? We have a tomato allergy in the family.
Hi Brandi,
I haven’t tried the Sweet Potato and White Bean Curry Soup yet, but it sounds delicious and I plan on making it tonight.
I was wondering if you could give me the nutritional info, ie. protein, cholesterol, carbs, etc.?
Thank you!
I almost didn’t’t try this recipe. It seemed a little complicated but it really wasn’t. Then some of my sweet potatoes “turned”, badly. I live in a rural area and I don’t just run to the store so I substituted carrots for them. It worked. I really liked the homemade curry powder. I make my own at home too. The store bought can be too harsh sometimes Use Brandi’s. The cinnamon is a nice touch. You will be pleased.
So glad you enjoyed it Michael!
Would this work with large lima beans instead of white beans?
It all sounds marvelous, except for broccoli. If I substitute kale, should I steam it first, or….?
Hi! You just add the kale in the last few minutes of cooking to wilt it. No need to cook it separately.
If there is such a thing as soup heaven, this will bring you there! I started making this recipe and when I got to the tomato paste and the amount of curry powder, I got cold feet. Then I decided to add it all in and see what happens. I’m so sorry that I ever doubted you, Brandi. This is absolutely divine. Love you and love your recipes. Thanks for another masterpiece. My sister is sick with the flu, and I cannot wait to bring this to her. <3
I’ve made this 3 or 4 times now and it has become one of my favourite soups. So easy and tasty.
So very happy to hear that Anita!
Made this soup last night and was so happy with how quickly it came together. I’ve never roasted frozen broccoli before, but I love how it didn’t dry out! What a creative idea. The flavors in this soup are awesome. Too spicy for my kids, but that’s okay. 🙂
Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review Amanda, I’m so happy you loved the soup! Yes, this is too spicy for my daughter too, haha!
Best Curry I’ve ever made! Thank you for creating such an amazing perfect curry recipe!
I’m amazed mine came out so perfectly considering my scale was acting up when I made your curry spice blend! I will definitely make this more often!
I made my beans from scratch and steamed the broccoli. Since the curry with the sweet potatoes was in an extra large skillet, I just dished everything up separately into each persons bowl because there was no more room in the skillet to put the beans!
Thank you so much for your time and talent creating these amazing recipes on your blog! It’s helped me stay on track with my plant based lifestyle.
Wow, thank you Jeanette for this amazing review!! This is my favorite curry soup of all time and so glad you l loved it that much too!! Oh it’s fine to just use tablespoons for the curry blend, that will be more accurate in smaller measurements than the scale. So you are fine there!
Oh and if you could leave a star rating by clicking the stars, that is so helpful too! You’ll have to comment again for it to go through, thank you!
Just finished eating this and my tummy is happy! I just threw all the ingredients (except for the broccoli) in the instant pot and cooked for 10 minutes. I can’t wait until your cookbook comes out!
Yay Judy!! So thrilled to hear that, thank you for the lovely review!
I dont have cananelli beans. Would chickpeas work?
Yes, definitely! Please come back and star rate the recipe after you make it please, thank you!
Could you use curry paste in place of powder?
Hi Jade, curry paste has a completely different flavor profile than the curry powder, so I wouldn’t recommend it here since I wrote this recipe based off using the powder. The curry powders can be found at any grocery store or I also provide a link to make it yourself if you prefer.
I made this with sautéed broccoli and included the cashew cream. I used curry powder I picked up in India. We absolutely loved this soup- in in fact we are eating it for the 3rd day in a row!!!
Thank you so much Ruth, so happy to hear that! Would you mind star rating the recipe as well, that helps me out so much! THank you!
Wow! This soup was absolutely amazing. So rich and flavorful, it’s hard to believe it’s healthy! I used coconut milk because I didn’t plan ahead and soak my cashews, but to me it was still perfect. I always count on your recipes to be some of my favorites! Thank you and keep up the great work!
Thank you so very much Lisa for the awesome feedback! This is my favorite soup recipe, too! Thank you for your kind words 🙂
This soup was delicious and I used off brand curry. Roasting broccoli was a little too much work for a taste I didn’t really care for, but still a great soup. I wanted to put it all in a blender and puree it. Thank you Brandi.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Shawn! Oh really, wow, roasted broccoli is like my favorite thing ever, haha! But if you don’t like roasted broccoli, then just leave it out or puree it into the soup 🙂
Hi!!
can you link to the garlic your referring to at Pensy’s? they have a couple and I want to get the “best on the planet”! 🙂
thanks….can’t wait to try this!!
susan
Hi Susan! Sure, here is the link to their minced garlic! You can peruse their site for other stuff as well. I really, really love their roasted garlic powder too, omg, it’s amazing! https://www.penzeys.com/online-catalog/garlic-minced/c-24/p-1006/pd-s
Let me know what you think after you make the soup!
hi Brandy,
thanks so much for the info. I am ordering now 🙂 Can’t wait to make the soup and the roasted red pepper sauce (over the rice and broccoli )….OMG, looks yum!
ps…..have you ever used the IntantPot, electric pressure cooker? just curious, because I’m trying to make rice in that and not having luck . I love rice and need to find a better way of getting “just right” fluffy rice 🙂 help !!!
thanks for such great recipes!!
susan
You are so welcome Susan! I can’t wait to hear what you think of both recipes! Be sure to come back and rate them after, that means so much and helps me out!
I don’t have an instantPot, but I do have a steamer pot thing and it is tricky because the manual doesn’t say how much water to use, or well, what they suggest doesn’t work, so last time I had to guess and ended up with the most amazing rice I’ve ever had. But I do it on the stovetop all the time now. The trick is to use LESS water than the packages on rice suggest. They always suggest a 1 to 2 ratio of rice to water, which just results in overly wet sticky rice. For example, on the curry rice recipe I just posted yesterday, for white rice, instead of a 1 to 2 ratio, I did 1 cup rice to 1 1/2 cups water and it resulted in fluffy amazingness. Brown rice requires a bit more water than white or it can get crunchy. All brown rices are different too, so I would suggest using a jasmine brown rice, it gives the best texture. Use 1 cup rice and 1 1/2 cups water, at the most 1 3/4 cups water, 1/4 teaspoon salt and it should be much more fluffy. Hope that helps!
I’m late to this soup party but here are a few comments running through my head…”how can something this great be so easy to make” and “how did I live without this soup” and “I hope Brandi never stops blogging” and “I have to call Lisa now” (my BFF) and “life just keeps getting better on a WFPB eating plan.”
Thanks Brandi, I am such a fan of your work!
Awww Judy, that is just the best feedback ever!! Thank you so much for such a kind comment and I’m so happy you love this soup so much! I always aim to have my recipe be both amazing in flavor, yet easy and simple too, so I’m glad that you said that, thank you!
I had this soup last night and it was simply incredible. I used the Penzey’s Now Curry and the soup had so much flavor, and the flavor was simply perfect. Yum. I loved the flavor contrast that the sweet potatoes and beans gave the soup. I have been sick for several days so the soup was so comforting to eat and of course delicious. Another perfect recipe Brandi. I am always anxiously awaiting your next recipe post, I actually get excited when a new one comes out 🙂
Thank you so much Christina! I’m so very happy you loved this soup so much and it helped to make you feel better, thank you so much for making it!! Thank you for your kind words, so sweet!
This looks amazing…and so many fun add-ins! White beans (my fav!!), cashew cream…even the broccoli on top! YUM!
Thank you so much Danielle!
Made it tonight – As with ALL your dishes, IT ROCKED! I absolutely love your recipes – They are nearly ‘fool-proof!’
I used Trader Joe’s curry powder because that’s all I had (other than some fancy garam masala…maybe that next time?). Even my 4 AND 5 yr olds loved it…win!
One caveat: roasting frozen broccoli for 15min at 375 was not long enough – I added 10min more.
Thanks!!
Sam
Hi Sam! Wow, thank you so much for the awesome feedback and kind words, I really appreciate it! Loved reading it. Even better that the kiddos loved it, yes! Oh, and sure, if your broccoli needed more then go for it. Mine is always just right at 15 mins everytime, but ovens vary, so definitely just do what is best. Thanks again!
Just wondering if you really roast the broccoli from frozen, or do you thaw it first? Would love to think you can just toss the frozen stuff in the oven….
Hi Carrie! Yes, straight from the freezer! ? Cone back and let me know what you think!
Just made thus tonight and it is delicious! I left off the broccoli cuz I didn’t have any but it would be yummy for next time. Thanks for posting delicious food all the time!
This looks so good Brandi! I love creamy soups like this. I just got that same Penzy’s curry powder for Christmas, can’t wait to try it!
It’s the best curry powder!
This soup looks so comforting, Brandi! I love curry! 🙂
Thank you Sina, it’s very comforting!
mmm yum! This soup sounds perfect for this cold weather! Warming, healthy and with some curry…just how I like it 🙂 Wonderful recipe, Brandi!