Chipotle sweet potato soup with spiced pecans
Tonight I made one of my favorite soups, a thick sweet potato soup made fiery and smoky with chipotles. I make this soup often in the cold-weather months, but for some reason I’ve never shared it with you. Well that’s about to change.
I’ll be going home next week and with my clothes a bit snug and my complexion splotchy, I decided to do a quick, two-day detox before the holidays. Over the weekend I drank furry apple juice spiked with cayenne, sipped dandelion tea mixed with lots of lemon and ginger, and downed the occasional glass of almond milk for a bit of protein.
I didn’t have much energy, so I just lay on the couch reading my friend’s book. The weather was mild with high temperatures and gentle breezes, so in the afternoons I’d go for walks by the river. I made up this regime, so I don’t know if I was following proper detox form, but after a couple of days I was less puffy and possessed a sense of peace and restfulness I hadn’t had for quite a while.
But enough about my detox—you want to know about the chipotle sweet potato soup! It’s recommended when you conclude a detox that you shouldn’t overburden your system. So brisket and a big bowl of queso—no matter how much I was craving them—were out of the question.
In my refrigerator, however, were some sweet potatoes. And I knew that this quick soup would be a fine, fine way to re-enter the land of the eating. There’s not much to it, you just throw together your aromatics, the chopped sweet potatoes, some chipotle peppers and spices, pour in some chicken broth and let it cook. After about half an hour, let it cool a bit and then puree it. Ladle it into bowls and serve.
I like to top it with sour cream and some chipotle-cinnamon roasted pecans, for a bit of cream and crunch. You could also top it with a dollop of Greek yogurt and fresh cilantro. But honestly, this soup is equally fine on its own.
After Thanksgiving, if you have leftover sweet potatoes, this is a wonderful way to use them. Or this soup would also make for a stunning starter. Though you don’t really need a special occasion to eat it. I find that I love it best on those cool, quiet evenings when I’m seeking something simple and satisfying. And this chipotle sweet potato soup always does the trick.
Chipotle sweet potato soup with spiced pecans
Ingredients
Ingredients for the soup:
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 2 ribs celery, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 pounds sweet potatoes, about 2 large, peeled and cubed
- 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
- 2 to 4 canned chipotle chiles in adobo, chopped
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Sour cream for serving
Ingredients for the pecans:
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon chipotle powder
- Salt
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil on medium low in a large soup pot, and cook the onions and celery for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the garlic and cook for 30 more seconds.
- Add the sweet potatoes, broth, chipotles, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg to the pot. Bring to a boil and then simmer, covered, for 20 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are fork tender. Turn off the heat and let the soup cool for 10 minutes.
- As the soup cools you can make the pecans. Melt the butter in a skillet on low heat. Add the pecans and stir them until they are covered in the butter. Add the cinnamon and chipotle powder and stir to coat. Cook the pecans, stirring occasionally, for 8-10 minutes. Add salt to taste.
- In batches, puree the cooled soup in the blender. If you prefer, you can use an immersion blender in the pot instead. Once the soup has been pureed, stir in the lime juice and add salt and black pepper to taste.
- Serve topped with a dollop of sour cream and some of the chopped cinnamon-chipotle pecans.
Love this soup! Only modification I make is I put chunks of ham in it, and top it with pumpkin seeds instead. Thanks so much for a great recipe!
Interesting all the little variations … An excellent recipe!!!! I used Greek Yogurt as my stir in, and sprinkled with roasted and salted pipitas right out of the bag … excellent … Someone was surprised at the heat of the chipotles… I use the cans with some regularity and find some peppers are just hotter than others so you never know if you need more or less till you try … and it can be different each time. Excellent!!!! (my tip… freeze extra chipotles from the opened can in a ziplock bag placed flat with all the air squeezed out .. then can just break off what you need next time.
Yum yum! Just made this tonite! Loved the flavor! Was in the mood to have soup and looked online for sweet potatoes soup and found you had recipe! Whoo hoo! You sure are a great cook and love your ingredients and of course pictures that tempts us! I didn't have celery, cloves or nutmeg and neither did I have pecans. I added Jamaican allspice, coriander and cumin (1/2 tsp for each) plus a few drops of tamari. Mashed by hand. Will definitely make this every winter! Thanks for this recipe! Ya rock!
DELICIOUS! I just made this – it is wonderful! I thought I was taking it easy on the heat by "only" using two chipotle peppers – my mouth is on fire! But it's a tasty burn! 🙂
I've been looking for a heart healthy sweet potato soup and yours sou ds perfect. There's a store here in town that makes one I love that I'd like to diicate but yours sounds even better. Thanks for sharing this recipe.