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When you’re in need of warming comfort food, but you also want healthy, this Coconut Sweet Potato Lentil Soup with Rice is just the soup recipe to make. All made in just ONE pot (or in your instant pot), in less than an hour, and using good for us ingredients like sweet potatoes, red lentils, warming spices, and creamy coconut milk. It’s cozy, a little spicy, and filled with vegetables. Finish each bowl off with steamed rice and you’ll have the perfect healthy bowl of sweet potato soup for lunch or dinner.
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When I get stuck creatively, I try to look at flavors and foods just slightly out of my comfort zone. I tend to fall back on cozy foods…pastas, creamy soups, and pretty much anything roasted. Those are my go-to’s and very much in my comfort zone.
This is why, when I get in a recipe rut, I love to step outside my box, and explore flavors I don’t use as often as I should.
Enter this soup.
Lately all I want to cook is the comfort foods I know and love. Which is totally fine, since I whole heartedly believe that you should make what’s inspiring you. With our cold, snowy weather I’m embracing all the comfort foods…after all, I think it’s what I’m best at!
That said, I was ready for a flavor switch up, and decided to explore some Indian inspired recipes.
Instead of googling anything, I text my soon to be sister (because my older brother is gettin’ married this summer!). Lyndsie is one of the more well-rounded eaters I know, and great for recipe ideas. She quickly responded with mulligatawny soup. At first I thought she spelled something wrong. But after some googling I discovered that mulligatawny soup is an East Indian curry soup. It’s traditionally made with veggies, sometimes lentils, sometimes apples, and coconut milk.
Honestly, I saw a ton of different versions online, so I’m not sure what’s really traditional. The point here is that I drew the inspiration for this soup from mulligatawny soup. This is not a mulligatawny soup, but it’s similar…ish, and 100% delicious.
When I set out to make this soup, I knew it needed to include three things: sweet potatoes, lentils, and rice.
I LOVE a rice based soup (have you made my favorite tortilla soup…or my wild rice soup?!). Since I haven’t made one in a bit, I knew using rice for this soup was key. I wanted lentils for protein, and sweet potatoes for, well, just because I love them…and they’re in season!
So those were my three must have ingredients. From here I built up the rest of the soup and it quickly came together.
You’ll start by cooking up some onions, garlic, and lots of ginger. These are major flavor boosters, so don’t skip them. Then toss in your sweet potatoes, yellow curry powder, and a pinch of cayenne for some heat. You could easily add some carrots and celery for extra veggies.
Add broth and red lentils, then simmer until the lentils are extra soft, which only takes about 15 minutes or so. You can also do this all in your instant pot (which I included directions for). But I honestly think it’s just as quick and easy to do this on the stove top.
Once the lentils are soft, stir in the full-fat coconut milk and some spinach, and simmer to warm through. And like that, the soup is done! I don’t like to add the rice directly to the soup. Instead I add the rice to bowls and then pour the soup over. This way the rice doesn’t soak up all the soup’s broth while it sits.
This soup is SO flavorful, SO full of color, and filled with good for us ingredients. Yet it feels totally comforting with the sweet potatoes, creamy coconut milk, and rice. I love serving it with my homemade naan (obviously). It’s our favorite over here.
Best part, well aside from all the deliciousness, this requires only one pot and is ready in less than 45 minutes. Perfect.
If you make this coconut sweet potato lentil soup please be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to also tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Watch the How to Video:
Coconut Sweet Potato Lentil Soup with Rice from Half Baked Harvest on Vimeo.
Coconut Sweet Potato Lentil Soup with Rice
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
- 1 inch fresh ginger, grated
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 1 tablespoon yellow curry powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, more or less to taste
- 4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth or water
- 3/4 cup dried red lentils
- kosher salt
- 1 can (14 ounce) coconut milk
- 2 cups baby spinach
- 2 cups cooked basmati rice
- 1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped, plus more for serving
- fresh Naan, for serving
Instructions
Stove-Top
- 1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. When the oil shimmers, add the onion and cook 5 minutes until soft. Add the ginger, garlic, and sweet potatoes and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Stir in the curry powder and cayenne and cook another minute. 2. Add the broth and lentils. Season generously with salt. Bring the mix to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer 15-20 minutes, until the lentils are soft and the sweet potatoes tender. 3. Stir in the coconut milk and spinach, cook 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the cilantro. 4. To serve, divide the rice among bowls and ladle the soup overtop. Garnish with cilantro. Serve with Naan on the side. Enjoy!
Instant Pot
- 1. Set Instant pot to sauté. Add the olive oil and onion and cook 5 minutes until soft. Add the ginger, garlic, and sweet potatoes and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Stir in the curry powder and cayenne and cook another minute. 2. Add the broth and lentils. Season generously with salt. Cover, select the manual setting, and cook on high pressure for 10 minutes.3. Once done cooking, use the quick release function and release the steam. Set the Instant pot to sauté. Stir in the coconut milk and spinach, and cook 5 minutes. Turn the instant pot off. Stir in the cilantro.4. To serve, divide the rice among bowls and ladle the soup overtop. Garnish with cilantro. Serve with Naan on the side. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
I understand you live at 9,000 feet elevation. We live at 8500 feet. I don’t have an instapot and I am wondering how long the lentils will take to cook at high elevations.
Hi Colleen,
You can go ahead and follow the stove top instructions as is, no need to adjust anything. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions. xTieghan
This is delicious! I made it with what I had at home, so I substituted butternut squash for sweet potatoes and used brown lentils. Also added 2 carrots and a turnip. Feels like this recipe has lots of room for improv. I might use a little less broth/water next time.
That is so great! I am really glad this turned out so well for you!! Thank you! xTieghan
Do you know the calorie information for this?
Hi Christina! I do not have the nutritional info for this.. Sorry about that! I hope you enjoy it! xTieghan
I’ve made this soup a bunch of times since I found the recipe a few weeks ago. can’t get enough. its so tasty. and really easy to make. Everyone I’ve given some to loves it too.
Wow I am so happy to hear that! I am glad you found this one, Denise! Thank you ! xTieghan
Made this last week and it was SO SO SO good!!! Thank you for creating & sharing! I shared it with many friends & family b/c I loved it so much.
Thank you so much Kelly! I am so glad this recipe turned out so well for you! xTieghan
This was SO easy and SO delicious!! We loved it!!
Thank you so much K! xTieghan
So cozy, tasty, and easy! Will be making it again.
Thank you so much! That is so amazing to hear! xTieghan
Mmhm, tried this out with pilau rice and chapati. It was sooo good!!! I’m learning how to cook and might have went a little overboard on the salt. I then compensated by diluting the soup with water. So it came out less creamy than I hoped but none of that took away from the flavor and overall deliciousness. Thank you for sharing this goodness!!!
Thank you so much for trying this Aria! I am so glad you enjoyed it! xTieghan
This soup is delish! We’ve been in isolation for over a month now, and even though it’s a beautiful sunny day outside (minus the huge winds) I just needed some comfort food. This hit the spot – and I had everything on hand! The only substitution I made was frozen instead of fresh spinach. I added it in, frozen, after I added the broth and didn’t add quite as much broth/water (maybe like 1/8 cup less). It turned out great. I love every recipe of yours that I’ve made (I have your cookbook too). Thank you!
There is never a bad time for comfort foods in my opinion haha. I am glad this one turned out so well for you Rebecca! Thank you for trying it! xTieghan
This was dinner tonight and lots of mmmm was heard around the table. Thank you for the instant pot directions. Although I have used my instant pot for a couple years now, I had never used the saute function before. Now I feel kinda silly that I waited so long. Thanks for the lovely recipe!
Thank you Staci! So nice to hear that you all enjoyed this dish! xTieghan
Delicious! I used a whole yellow onion and wild rice, but otherwise followed the recipe as written. I will definitely make this again!
Thank you so much Juliet! I am glad you enjoyed this one! xTieghan
Is there anything else that I can use instead of curry powder? I don’t have any and with the shelter in place orders, I can’t go out and get some.
Hi Anna! The only thing I would recommend is to make your own curry powder if you have the ingredients to do so! Please let me know if you have any other questions or need anything else! I hope you love this recipe! xTieghan
Hi there! I have made this soup before and it is delicious. I wanted to make it again, but no store near us has had any dried lentils the last few times I’ve been. Is there something I could substitute? I have quite a few cans of different kinds of beans, but wasn’t sure if you would recommend any one in particular. Thank you so much! I love your blog, recipes, and cookbooks!
Hi Meghan! White beans should work great in this! I would not recommend using black beans. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Oh my! Another recipe from this blog that brought me joy while making and most importantly, eating! Weird times we’re living, and it’s great to have recipes with pantry ingredients that most of us have already. I couldn’t find the curry powder (somewhere in my pantry, haha), so I swap it for turmeric – figured it adds dept and color. I almost skipped on the coconut milk because it tasted pretty good without it, but good thing I decided to add it. Comforting for the heart and soul. Thanks for sharing! <3
I am so glad this ended up turning out so well for you Sol! Thank you so much for trying this recipe! xTieghan
This soup is delish, my boyfriend and I ate it for 3 days in a row, it just got better and better.
Full of flavor and wellness. Love it!!
Wow love that! Thank you so much Adriana! xTieghan