In The Kitchen with Laura McKenna: Creamy Sweet Potato Spinach and Bean Soup Recipe

Try making Laura McKenna’s Favorite Creamy Sweet Potato Spinach & Bean Soup. Even the pickiest of eaters will be asking for a second bowl. It’s both savory and sweet and deliciously filling!

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
-a few TBSP of olive oil
-1 large onion*, diced small
-entire bulb of garlic, peeled and finely diced
-1 jalapeno pepper, finely diced with seeds removed
-2 TBSP fresh ginger, peeled and finely diced
-2 tsp ground cumin
-1 tsp ground turmeric
-1 tsp ground coriander
-2 TBSP tomato paste
-2 cups water
-1 can of unsweetened coconut milk
-1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced into soup sized chunks
-1 can of white beans, rinsed and drained
-8 oz. of fresh spinach leaves, roughly chopped
-2 TSBP of lime juice

WHAT YOU’LL DO:
Dice everything accordingly.  You’ll want the sweet potato pieces to nicely fit onto your spoon with each bite.  Everything else should be more diced smaller.

Pour a few TBSP of olive oil into a soup pot and heat.  Add the onion.  (*Pick your favorite onion variety- I like using a yellow or white onion.  While a sweet onion is wonderful in other soups, this soup will get a lot of sweetness from other ingredients so opt for a bit of a harsher onion flavor to balance out the savory side.)

When the onion is starting to look caramelized and lightly browned, add the garlic, jalapeno, and ginger.  Cook for another few minutes, stirring occasionally.

Next add the cumin, turmeric, and coriander.  Stir together.  Then add the tomato paste.  Again, stir all ingredients.  This will clump together- that’s perfect.  Stir clumps for just a moment more you can smell the spices getting a little toasty.

Next add water and coconut milk.   This will release the previous clumps and you’ll want to stir everything again.  Bring to a boil.

After you reach a boil, reduce the heat and add the diced sweet potatoes until it begins to gently boil again.   Keep cooking the soup until the potatoes are tender, maybe 15-20 minutes (but check with a fork to see when they are softened).

Then add beans and stir gently to combine.   Finally add the spinach and stir.   This will look like way too much spinach and not enough creamy broth but the spinach will cook down and release some water/juice.   So just keep stirring until the spinach is wilted and combined into the soup.   Turn on low and cook for another 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and add lime juice, stirring to incorporate into the soup.  

Then enjoy this sinfully creamy soup.   It’s one of my all-time favorites!

Frequently asked questions:
Q: Can you leave out certain ingredients?  
Laura’s answer:  It’s soup!   Of course!  Soup is very forgiving.   Want a little more or a little less of something?  Go nuts!   It will certainly change the flavor but you may very well end up making something you like even better!   I found the original recipe in a magazine and then switched it all up to make it the way I like it so feel free to personalize it yourself.  I think my way is delicious so I hope you’ll try it as written first.

Q:  I don’t love coconut.  Do I have to use coconut milk?
Laura’s answer:   Honestly, I really can’t pick out the coconut flavor when I eat the soup.   I think it just adds a really yummy fat (cream) and richness to the soup.   I also can’t handle a lot of dairy so alternative plant-based milks are easier on my stomach.  I think unless you’re allergic to coconut (obviously don’t use coconut milk if you are!) try it my way before swapping in another milk and I bet you’ll love it.   Just be careful when selecting it-  make sure the can says coconut milk and not coconut cream.  Those are two different things.

Q:  Will the soup be spicy with the jalapenos?
Laura’s answer:   No, but if you want it to be a little more zingy you can leave the jalapeno seeds intact.  But seeding the pepper and dicing it small will just add flavor, not extreme heat.   However, make sure to wear gloves when you chop and seed it!   I learned that the hard way!

Find more of Laura’s recipes HERE.

Want to share a recipe with Laura McKenna? She’d love to hear from you! Email anytime: Laura.McKenna@civicmedia.us
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