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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.
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
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 1813 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
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!
This post was originally published on October 11, 2018
Made this tonight and it was outstanding! I used 1/2 tsp red pepper which was just spicy enough and 1 1/2 tsp sea salt. Instead of adding the spinach to the soup, I dished out hot brown rice into bowls, topping the rice with fresh baby spinach, then ladled the hot soup over the spinach, then the cilantro. The spinach was still slightly crunchy which was nice. Served the soup with naan bread as suggested. Delicious!! Thank you!
Thank you for trying this Brenda! So glad it turned out amazing for you! xTieghan
This was so good! I am the first person to get lazy and eat out, but a friend inspired me to make my own soup today. This was fast and easy and I was so excited for it that I forgot to make my rice and just ate it without. Also, I’m not a fan of spinach in soups so I added shaved Brussels sprouts when I put the broth in and it turned out great! I am saving this and definitely making again!
Thank you so much Stefanie! So glad this soup turned out amazing for you! xTieghan
Hi! I will be making this delicious soup this weekend and was curious how many cups in a serving? Thank you!
Hi Anne! I am unsure exactly, but I would think it is around 1 cup. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
I thought I’d surprise my wife. So I made her this soup..Absolutely delicious..She crossed out 4 things off my “honey-do” list because she was soo happy..Keep the recipes coming
Signed—happy in San Diego is ?
Thank you so much Terry! xTieghan
Absolutely love this soup. Made it several times now and shared recipe with the boiler repair man who was in the house once when I was making it and he loved the smell and look of it.
Easy to make, wholesome and healthy. Yum!
Awh that is amazing! So glad you both loved this recipe and its become a staple for you! xTieghan
Would I have to adjust cooking time if I sub red lentils for French lentils?
Hi Lauren! No need to adjust the times. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
Wow!!! I’d give this more stars if I could!! This is my new favorite plant based meal- Healthy, simple, full of flavor and only took about 30 minutes to make. Highly recommend!!
That is so amazing! Thank you for trying this, Melissa! So glad you loved it! xTieghan
I’ve made this soup a few times now, and I love how warm and cozy it is. I like to add chicken at the same time as the lentils and then take it out to cool and shred, adding it back in before the spinach and coconut milk. Everyone loves it!
That is so amazing to hear! Thank you so much Kelsey! xTieghan
I accidentally made a variation to the recipe. I spread the liquid out into too many bowls and ended up with delicious curried sweet potato and lentils over basmati rice – not a soup! Delicious in its own right but next time I’ll watch the liquid to solids ratio. Thank you for pulling together excellent ingredients.!
Hi Marc! Thank you for trying this recipe! I am so glad it turned out amazing for you! xTieghan
Hi! What size insta pot do you have? I have the mini (3 Qt.) and I just wanted to make sure I use the right amounts for everything.
Thanks so much!
Hey Ruth! I have 7 QUART. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
I’m not vegan, but I make this soup at least once per month now! I prefer to use lite coconut milk and sprinkle a little brown sugar on top. Heavenly! 10/10 from me.
Yes! Thank you Laura! xTieghan
Delicious! I made it as written and it was perfect.
So amazing to hear! Thank you Sarah! xTieghan
This was so delicious and easy to make. I didn’t have enough spinach in the garden so I threw in a combo of spinach and rainbow chard…it worked wonderfully. Perfect end to a rainy day!
Thank you Lauren! xTieghan
My husband and I make this weekly! So good and filling. Great for leftovers, too!
Thank you so much Shasta! xTieghan
One of the best soups I’ve ever had. Certainly the best I’ve ever made. AND the easiest. Yum. I used lite coconut milk and it was fantastic. Every dish you’ve created has been fantastic. This didn’t disappoint. I’ve made a double batch this week to freeze as the first batch went instantly. So so sooooo good. ❤️
I am so glad you loved this Beth! That is amazing to hear! Thank you so much! xTieghan