Healthy Sweet Potato, Kale, & White Bean Soup (Vegan)

If you’re someone who craves hearty soups this time of year (read: the second we pass the autumn equinox), you gotta give this sweet potato soup recipe a try. 

Make this soup for a warm, cozy meal on a night when you have less than an hour to cook. It’s a one-pot recipe that comes together beautifully with just a handful of wholesome ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry and fridge. 

This will be your new go-to recipe for a vegan, gluten-free, and low-fat dinner. 

SWEET POTATO KALE SOUP RECIPE

This is a great recipe to play around with the ingredient amounts or toss in other veggies you’ve got hanging out in your fridge. 

Ingredients for This Easy Soup Recipe

1 large onion, chopped

2 large cloves of garlic, finely chopped

3 celery ribs, finely chopped

2 bay leaves

2 cans of white beans or 3 cups cooked white beans 

4 c chopped sweet potato (approximately 2 medium-size sweet potatoes)

1 c farro, rinsed

4 c vegetable broth

2 c water, divided

8 oz tomato sauce

2 c kale, stems removed, chopped, and packed

1 t salt

1/4 t black pepper

1 t Italian seasoning 

Optional Toppings:

fresh rosemary sprig

fresh thyme sprig

croutons

Ingredient Notes

• Onion – White, brown, or red onion will do great. Use whichever you have on hand. 
• White Beans – I recommend cannellini beans (also called white kidney beans) or Great Northern beans. Beans add fiber and protein to soups. 
• Sweet Potatoes – Rich in fiber and antioxidants, this is the ingredient that really ramps up the nutrition of cozy soup recipes. Feel free to use white, orange, or purple sweet potatoes. You could also add some regular potatoes if you’d like. 
• Tomato Sauce – This ingredient adds a little acidity. You can replace with a can of diced tomatoes if that’s all you have. 
• Kale – You can use whichever type of fresh kale is your favorite—Lacinato kale (AKA dinosaur kale), curly kale, red kale, etc. Kale is full of antioxidants, vitamin C, vitamin K, and beta-carotene. It does so many good things for your body, and it’s especially great to eat during cold and flu season. 

Directions 

You’re less than an hour away from a delicious soup. Note that you’ll wait till the last minute to add the kale leaves. This helps them keep their pretty green color. 

Step One

Chop the onion, celery, garlic, sweet potatoes, and kale. (Tip: The smaller the sweet potato pieces are, the quicker and more uniformly they’ll cook.) 

Step Two

Heat a large dutch oven or a large pot on medium heat. Add 1/4 cup water, onions, and celery. Sauté onion and celery for 5 minutes, or until onion is translucent.

Step Three

Add garlic and sweet potatoes, and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes.

Step Four

Add bay leaves, beans, farro, vegetable broth, water, tomato sauce, salt, and Italian seasoning.

Step Five

Bring to a simmer and cook for about 30 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes and farro are cooked through. 

Step Six

Remove bay leaves and stir in chopped kale. Let sit for 10 minutes while the kale softens. 

Step Seven

Serve with crusty bread if you would like. Enjoy!

Substitutions:

This is an easy recipe to adapt if you’re missing an ingredient at the last-minute. Here are some suggestions:

• If you’re not a kale fan, you can use spinach instead. That way you can still feel good about getting in your daily greens.
• Don’t have farro in your pantry? You can leave it out or use white, brown or wild rice. Cooking times will need to be adjusted.
• This is an oil-free recipe. If you’d prefer, you can use 1 Tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil to sauté the onions and celery instead of water.
• Instead of sweet potatoes, you can use white potatoes.
• Want it spicy? Add 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes for a little kick.
• Need more protein? Add some diced firm tofu.
• If you don’t have Italian seasoning, you can use Herbes de Provence instead.

TIPS TO STORE AND REHEAT SWEET POTATO KALE SOUP 

This is a great recipe for meal prep, so here are some tips to keep it tasting delicious. 

To Save Soup:

• Soup leftovers will keep in the fridge for 5 to 6 days if stored in a covered container. 
• For longer-term storage, let soup cool completely and put in a freezer-safe container. Soup will keep for two to three months in the freezer.  

To Reheat Soup:

• If soup has been frozen, thaw it first in the refrigerator before warming it up.
• Re-heat soup on low heat on the stove, or microwave in 30-second intervals. Stir well. Re-enjoy!

I see a hearty and healthy and oh, so cozy (not to mention actually heart-healthy) meal in your near future. Let us know if you enjoyed this recipe in the comments below!