Sweet Potato Kale Soup (Vegan)

This cozy vegan Sweet Potato Kale Soup is healthy and packed with chunky vegetables! It's made with chickpeas and cooked in a savory broth.

The late summer and early fall months are some of the best to enjoy fresh vegetables from the garden or your local farmer's market. It's the perfect time to whip up a batch of healthy soup like this Kale Sweet Potato Soup!

Homemade soup is one of the best dishes to utilize fresh vegetables, especially during the months of harvest season. A good vegetable soup is prepared simply with fresh ingredients, which really allows their natural flavors to shine.

This soup is naturally vegan, gluten free, and dairy free but at the same time super hearty and comforting. It's perfect served with some toasted crostini or bread for dipping.

It's made with sweet potatoes that are sautéed in a Dutch oven along with garlic, onions, and bell pepper. The veggies are simmered in a savory tomato broth along with chickpeas and lots of kale.

This is a no-fuss, no-frills soup that's great served on its own for lunch or a light dinner, or paired with a sandwich. It can also be frozen and enjoyed at a later time.

Jump to:

• How To Add Flavor To Vegetable Soups
• Ingredients For Sweet Potato Kale Soup
• Do The Sweet Potatoes Need To Be Peeled First?
• How To Make Kale Sweet Potato Soup
• How Long Does Sweet Potato Soup Take To Cook?
• Can I Sub Any Of These Ingredients?
• What To Serve With Sweet Potato Chickpea Kale Soup
• How Long Does This Soup Last In The Fridge?
• Can It Be Frozen?
• Sweet Potato Kale Soup (Vegan)

How To Add Flavor To Vegetable Soups

This Sweet Potato Kale Soup is the type of dish that cool fall evenings were made for. There's nothing better than putting on a big pot of soup when you start to feel that first chill in the air.

It's made with only a few ingredients and without any meat or dairy, so there are a few tips and tricks I like to employ to ensure that I can get the most flavor out of vegetable soup like this one.

• It's important to use plenty of aromatics, such as garlic and onions. Sautéing the aromatics in olive oil at the beginning of the cooking process helps to create a solid base that flavors the entire soup.
• Season the soup generously with kosher salt and pepper throughout the cooking process. Adding enough salt to the vegetables as they sauté in the Dutch oven helps to bring out their natural sweetness, creating a more robust flavor.
• Adding an acidic ingredient, such as tomatoes helps to brighten up the flavors of any soup. For even more brightness, you can add a splash of vinegar or lemon juice.
• Dried or fresh herbs are a great way to add depth of flavor to any dish. This soup is made with dried Italian seasoning, but it can be brightened up even more with the addition of your favorite fresh herbs.

Ingredients For Sweet Potato Kale Soup

In addition to the fresh veggies all you need are a few pantry staples to prepare this soup.

Here's what you'll need to make it.

• 6 cloves Garlic
• 1 Onion (any color)
• 1 Red Bell Pepper (can use orange or yellow bell pepper)
• 1-2 Sweet Potatoes (yields 5-6 cups chopped)
• 2 packed cups Lacinato Kale (also known as dinosaur or Tuscan kale) (or hearty greens of choice, such as Swiss chard or spinach)
• 2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
• 4 cups Low Sodium Vegetable Broth
• 1 cup Crushed Tomatoes
• 1 15.5 oz. can Chickpeas (also known as garbanzo beans)
• 1 tsp. Italian Seasoning
• 1 tsp. Kosher Salt
• ½ tsp. Pepper

Do The Sweet Potatoes Need To Be Peeled First?

In general, it's not necessary to peel sweet potatoes and to do so or not is really a matter of preference.

For this soup, though, I recommend peeling the sweet potatoes because the skin tends to be kind of tough and fibrous.

If you choose not to peel the sweet potatoes, make sure that you thoroughly wash and scrub them before chopping in order to remove any dirt or bacteria.

How To Make Kale Sweet Potato Soup

As far as soups go this one is pretty minimal in its ingredients and amount of preparation needed to make it. All that's required is a cutting board, sharp knife, and a Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed soup.

1. Start by mincing 6 cloves of garlic and 1 onion (any color).
2. Dice 1 bell pepper (can sub orange or yellow bell pepper).
3. Roughly chop 2 packed cups of lacinato kale (or hearty greens of choice of choice such as Swiss chard or spinach).
4. Peel 1-2 sweet potatoes using a vegetable peeler. Chop the sweet potatoes into chunks, making sure that they are relatively the same size to ensure that they cook evenly (yields 5-6 cups chopped sweet potatoes).
5. Drain 1 15.5 oz. can of chickpeas (also known as garbanzo beans).
6. Place a cast iron Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed soup pot on the stove top and heat to medium-high. Once heated, add 2 Tbsp. of olive oil.
7. Once the oil is heated, add the minced garlic, onions, and bell peppers to the Dutch oven. Sauté for 4-5 minutes, stirring often.
8. Add the chopped sweet potatoes along with 1 tsp. kosher salt, ½ tsp. pepper, and 1 tsp. Italian seasoning. Sauté for 5-6 minutes, stirring often.

How Long Does Sweet Potato Soup Take To Cook?

It's a common misconception that soup takes a long to cook, but that isn't the case with many soups.

This Sweet Potato Kale Soup only takes about 20 minutes to cook once all of the vegetables have been added to the pot. Cooking times may vary slightly, but this soup should be ready in under 45 minutes.

1. Once the veggies have sautéed, add 4 cups of low sodium vegetable broth to the pot along with 1 cup of crushed tomatoes. Stir until completely combined.
2. Bring the soup to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook for 15 minutes.
3. After 15 minutes, add the drained chickpeas and chopped kale. Stir until combined.
4. Cover and cook for another 5 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are soft, but not mushy and the kale wilted.

Cooking times may vary slightly but it's best to cook the soup until the sweet potatoes are soft, but not mushy. They should be easily pierced with a knife or fork.

Feel free to cook an additional couple of minutes if needed.

Can I Sub Any Of These Ingredients?

I love this soup because of the balanced flavors. The sweet potatoes and bell pepper provide sweetness, the kale and chickpeas are earthy, and the crushed tomatoes provide a great acidity.

This ingredients are versatile and a number of them can be subbed for similar ones if you prefer.

• Feel free to substitute butternut squash or pumpkin for the sweet potatoes.
• Cannellini beans, Great Northern Beans, Lima Beans, Kidney Beans, or any other canned beans may be used instead of chickpeas.
• Any hearty greens such as Swiss chard, collard greens, mustard greens, arugula, or spinach may be used in place of kale. Any variety of kale such as curly, flat leaf, or Lacinato kale will work great in this soup.
• Orange or yellow bell pepper may be used in place of red bell pepper. I do recommend a sweeter variety of bell pepper in place of green bell pepper if possible.

What To Serve With Sweet Potato Chickpea Kale Soup

Feel free to garnish the soup with some freshly minced herbs such as parsley, basil, or chives for extra color and flavor.

I love a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese on top of soups like this one for a little added richness. You can use vegan Parmesan if you'd like to keep it dairy free. Or, you can leave it off altogether.

This chunky sweet potato soup is perfect with some toasted crostini or warm, crusty bread for dipping. These cheddar chive scones or buttermilk biscuits are also great dipped into this soup.

Soup and sandwiches are a great pairing. This Italian mozzarella grilled cheese, pesto grilled cheese, or Gouda chicken grilled cheese are all tasty choices.

A flatbread like this Mediterranean flatbread pizza or pesto chicken flatbread also work well paired with vegetable soup.

Looking for more hearty vegetable soups? Don't miss these!

• Chunky Vegetable Soup
• Curried Cauliflower Potato Soup
• Tuscan Vegetable Noodle Soup
• Cannellini Bean, Kale, and Carrot Soup
• Vegetable Orzo Soup
• Vegetable Stew

How Long Does This Soup Last In The Fridge?

Any leftover soup should last 2-3 days stored in an airtight container in the fridge.

Make sure to allow the soup to cool completely before transferring to the refrigerator for storage.

Can It Be Frozen?

This Sweet Potato Soup makes an excellent freezer meal. It contains no dairy and all of the vegetables are nice and hearty so it shouldn't break down and get mushy while storing.

How To Freeze

1. Prepare the soup as directed and allow it to come to room temperature before freezing.
2. Once cooled, place in heavy-duty freezer bags or airtight food containers, label with the date, and freeze up to 3 months.

How To Reheat

1. Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat on the stove top.
2. You can also place the frozen soup in a Dutch Oven or heavy-bottomed soup pan, add some water or broth, thaw and reheat on the stove top.

Love vegan soups? Check out these recipes!

• Harvest Vegetable Soup
• Vegan Potato Corn Chowder
• Cauliflower Lentil Soup
• Potato Leek Cauliflower Soup
• Hearty Lentil Soup
• Roasted Carrot Soup
• Root Vegetable Soup

Looking For More Healthy Comforting Soups? Don't Miss These!

Healthy Mushroom Soup

Healthy Broccoli Potato Soup

Pressure Cooker Creamy Garden Tomato Soup

Roasted Cauliflower and Garlic Soup