vegan Archives · Jess in the Kitchen

Spiced Sweet Potato Soup

Not too long ago, I had the opportunity to do a full moon after dark hike that ended with a fire meditation. It was an incredible event put on by my local yoga studio. When we arrived at the fire, our guide had warm soup prepared for us. Generally speaking, I tend to stick with the very common American soups: chicken noodle, vegetable beef, chili. You know the kind. But there was an option for a curried sweet potato soup that I couldn’t get enough of. I knew I had to get home and recreate my own version of it: A spiced sweet potato soup.

I love the simplicity of this soup and the number of ingredients. For the most part, it’s the kind of soup you can have all the ingredients “on hand” and be able to throw it together when the “What are we going to have for dinner?!” comes up. It pairs well with a salad and some crusty bread (Seriously, check out my milk and honey sourdough bread. You’ll thank me). The spices are so warming, I can’t help but smile when I think of them.

This may be outside of my general “soup comfort zone,” but holy man, it’s GOOD. I practically licked out the Dutch oven and declared that I could eat it every week. I can not wait to share it with all of you!

Your Ingredients

½ tablespoon coconut oil (or any other oil)
1 cup diced onion
5 cups peeled and cubed sweet potato
2 cups diced carrot
½ tablespoon minced garlic
3 cups chicken or vegetable stock, low sodium
½ cup water
1 can original coconut milk
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground coriander
¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
½ teaspoon black pepper
¼-½ teaspoon chili flakes
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt

Your Steps to Spiced Sweet Potato Soup

In a large dutch oven or soup kettle, heat coconut oil. Once melted and hot, add onion and garlic. Cook over medium heat until very soft and browned, about 7 minutes. Add sweet potato and carrot. Stir in stock and water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes, until the vegetables are soft. Stir in spices: cumin, coriander, turmeric, pepper, chili flakes, nutmeg, and salt. Remove from heat.

Using an immersion blender, puree vegetables with stock right in the cooking vessel. If an immersion blender isn’t available, the vegetables can be pureed in small batches in a food processor. Return to soup kettle.

Slowly stir in coconut milk. Heat until warmed through. The spices will heighten in flavor over time. This is a great soup to prepare early in the day and serve for dinner, but it is DELICIOUS any time of day.

I hope you like it as much as we do. It has a perfect balance of sweet and savory in a soup that warms you all the way through. And what a great way to have a meatless meal!

Looking for other soup inspiration? Check out my cooking page!

Tools of the Trade

I can’t begin to share my full love of my immersion blender and my The Lodge Dutch Oven. They are my go kitchen tools. I like to say that a woman can do a whole heck of a lot with a dutch oven and a wooden spoon. These are my favorites:

Spiced Sweet Potato Soup

Sweet potatoes, carrots, and caramelized onions combine with coconut milk to make a delicious spiced sweet potato soup for any meatless meal!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 40

Course dinner, Soup

Cuisine Indian

Servings servings

Equipment

Immersion Blender

Ingredients

½ tablespoon coconut oil or any other oil
1 cup diced onion
5 cups peeled and cubed sweet potato
2 cups diced carrot
½ tablespoon minced garlic
3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
½ cup water
1 can original coconut milk
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground coriander
¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
½ teaspoon black pepper
¼-½ teaspoon chili flakes
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt

Instructions

In a large dutch oven or soup kettle, heat coconut oil. Once melted and hot, add onion. Cook over medium heat until very soft and browned, about 7 minutes.
Add sweet potato, carrot, and garlic. Stir in stock and water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes, until the vegetables are soft.
Stir in spices: cumin, coriander, turmeric, pepper, chili flakes, nutmeg, and salt. Remove from heat.
Using an immersion blender, puree vegetables with stock right in the cooking vessel. If an immersion blender isn’t available, the vegetables can be pureed in small batches in a food processor. Return to soup kettle.
Slowly stir in coconut milk. Heat until warmed through. The spices will heighten in flavor over time. This is a great soup to prepare early in the day and serve for dinner, but it is DELICIOUS any time of day.

Keyword soup, soup and stews, sweet potato, Vegan, vegetarian

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

January 22, 2022January 22, 2022

JessLeave a comment

Carrot Cake Baked Oatmeal

I am back with another baked oatmeal recipe: carrot cake baked oatmeal! After I tried my first baked oatmeal recipe, I was itching to try another. I generally say that I don’t love breakfast. I have a few stand by things I eat and that’s it. When I ate at McDonald’s, I used to be so annoyed when I got there 20 minutes before their breakfast menu switched to lunch and I had to get breakfast. Now, I still don’t dig breakfast, but I am starting to branch out and discover new, healthy meals!

In a recent post, I talked about my favorite things: cooking from scratch, using what is on hand, and finally, inserting vegetables whenever I can. Which I did here, but we will call it a cake to trick our brains, right? 🙂

Rather than buy oat flour, I made my own using my food processor. It’s so simple my friends. Just put some old fashioned oats into your processor and hit blend until your texture is very coarse flour (I use my Kitchen Aid 7 Cup and it’s grand!). I poured a few cups of oats into my mixture, ground them up, and stored them in an air tight container.

I have a few other recipes that call for ground oats like these simple energy balls, banana nut baked oatmeal, and this great banana bread, so having some on hand isn’t a bad idea.

Ready to get mixing and baking? I hope so! Let’s make some carrot cake baked oatmeal!

Your Ingredients for Carrot Cake Baked Oatmeal

⅓ to ½ cup grated carrot
⅓ cup oat flour
1 tablespoon maple syrup
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons chopped walnuts
⅓ cup unsweetened almond milk
⅛-¼ teaspoon vanilla extract, optional

Your Steps to Banana Nut Baked Oatmeal

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a ramekin with non-stick cooking spray. Combine all ingredients in a small bowl, mixing until well combined. Pour into greased ramekin. Bake on the middle shelf for 15-20 minutes, depending on the texture you want your oatmeal to be. I like it to feel more like a bread than goo-ey, so I shoot for the 20 minute mark.

Carrot Cake Baked Oatmeal

Cake and vegetables for breakfast?! Why not?

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Servings

Ingredients

⅓ to ½ cup grated carrot
⅓ cup oat flour
1 tablespoon maple syrup
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons chopped walnuts
⅓ cup unsweetened almond milk
⅛-¼ teaspoon vanilla extract optional

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a ramekin with non-stick cooking spray.
Combine all ingredients in a small bowl, mixing until well combined.
Pour into greased ramekin. Bake on the middle shelf for 15-20 minutes, depending on your texture preference.

Video

Keyword baked oatmeal, Breakfast, carrot, carrot cake

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

May 7, 2021May 7, 2021

JessLeave a comment

Banana Ice Cream

Ice cream. It’s the go to treat at my house after dinner. My husband LOVES it, and has instilled the love to my children. I mean really, what’s not to love in terms of flavor?! For me, I indulge maybe once a week. Not because I am lactose intolerant or dieting. More so, I know my taste buds will want more than a servings’ worth and my “health conscious” stomach won’t dig the aftermath. Then I discovered chocolate banana ice cream and I instantly fell in love. It’s creamy, the right amount of sweetness, and full of good for you ingredients. A dessert I can enjoy a serving (or two!) a few times a week and know I’m actually fueling my body. In fact, I realized it makes a great pre-workout snack before my longer runs. How can it get much better?!

To create this delicious treat, it will take a little planning and ideally a large food processor. No 5-7 cup food processor? No worries! An immersion blender will work well in a pinch. Just know that it will likely need some help along the way as you blend the frozen bananas. (And this may seem like common sense, but make you unplug it before clearing the blades out. Believe me, I have the hospital bill and scar on my finger to prove it’s a good idea. Yikes!) Let’s get started!

Your ingredients

3 ripe bananas
2 tablespoons nut butter, your choice
¼ cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon almond milk (or other milk), as needed

Optional mix ins:

Coconut flakes, chopped nuts, chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, you name it!

Your steps

Line a jelly roll pan with wax or parchment paper. Slice bananas into ½ inch slices and place on paper. Stick the pans in the freezer and allow the bananas to harden, generally over a few hours. (If you are like me, you’ll forget about them for a few days, open the freezer and declare, “OH! MY BANANAS!” It’s okay, I get you 🙂 )

Remove bananas from pans and place in food processor. Add remaining ingredients and pulse to blend until smooth. This will take some time, but be patient. Add more milk if necessary to get desired texture. Add optional mix ins and pulse just a couple times to incorporate them into the blended bananas.

Use a spatula to smooth banana ice cream into a freezer safe container and return to the freezer. Since there is minimal milk in the blended banana, it will freeze harder than normal ice cream. I usually take it out 5-10 minutes before I want to eat it to allow it to soften slightly. My absolute favorite is to sprinkle a little coconut and some salted nuts on top. SO GOOD! And even better news? You now have another idea for those overripe bananas you have sitting on your counter.

As for the equipment I use

Initially, I used an immersion blender and loved it. I didn’t want to drag out my large food processor. Like I said earlier in the post, this did result in me being silly and trying to clear out the frozen mess with my finger and heading to the hospital. Learn from me, don’t do that 🙂 However, my mind was changed once I brought out my 7 cup food processor. It’s SO much easier to use and clean up isn’t bad at all. That being said, I ADORE both kitchen tools and they get used often in my home. Check out the links below if your interested in adding to your kitchen tool collection!