Wondering what this Vegan Miso Sweet Potato Soup tastes like? Well, it's silky smooth, velvety, creamy without the dairy, and so delicious with a nice umami flavor and a little warmth from the ginger. In other words, it's like a soup that gives you a hug for lunch. And the best part is that it's healthy and totally customizable with whatever ingredients you have on hand!
This soup is naturally gluten-free, low calorie, and is loaded with nutrients.
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Miso sweet potato soup
Miso excited to share this sweet potato soup recipe with you! Alright, that was pretty bad. Sorry.
I love creamy pureed sweet potato soup, it's such a great way to eat your veggies while eating a meal that feel super comforting! Sweet potatoes pair really well with savory umami flavors, so I add a little white miso paste and fresh ginger to this soup. These two ingredients add a subtle Asian twist to the soup and a nice depth of flavor.
The rest of the ingredients for this soup are pretty simple! Onion, garlic, celery, carrots, broth, salt, and pepper.
More vegan soup recipes: Creamy Vegan Cauliflower Soup
Soup with miso paste
I used white miso for this soup (which is actually a little beige/yellow), which has the sweetest, mildest flavor out of all the miso pastes out there. It almost tastes like soy sauce (that wonderful, umami fermentation), but without the salt.
If you're not sure about how much you like miso, you can start by adding a little less and blend in more at the end.
You can find miso paste at all Asian stores, most American large grocery stores, especially if they're health food stores. You can also find it at Whole Foods / Amazon in a convenient container, or just order miso on Amazon.
More vegan pureed soups to try: Creamy Vegan Potato Soup
What to make with leftover miso paste
If you're concerned about buying a container of miso for this recipe and then forgetting about it in the fridge, don't worry!! I got you. Here are 4 more vegan recipes to make with miso:
- Vegan nacho cheese (one of the top recipes on this site!!)
- Vegan mac and cheese
- Vegan broccoli cheese soup
- Vegan cheddar cheese
Ingredients for sweet potato miso soup
- 1.5 lbs sweet potato (about 2-3 large), cubed and peeled if you don't want the skin on
- 1 medium yellow onion
- 2 stalks celery
- 2 medium carrots
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon olive oil (or try coconut oil for a hint of coconut flavor)
- 2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
- 3 cups vegetable broth (I love using any of the vegan Better than Bouillon pastes to make instant broth)
- 1 cup water (or add an extra cup of broth)
- ¼ cup white miso paste
- Salt, to taste (you might not even need salt depending on how salty your broth is)
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper (or to taste)
- Optional garnish: fresh cilantro leaves, or finely minced parsley
More vegan soup recipes: Creamy Fresh Tomato Soup
Equipment
Aside from the obvious equipment, such as a cutting board, knife, measuring cups and spoons, you'll need:
- ~3 quart soup pot with a heavy bottom and lid
- Immersion blender (or regular blender)
More vegan soup recipes: Creamy Red Lentil and Chickpea Soup
Instructions
Step 1: Peel or scrub clean the sweet potatoes. Cube the sweet potato. The smaller you cut them the faster they will cook, but I don't recommend going smaller than 1 inch because you'll still need to wait for the carrots to cook and you'll waste extra time cutting the potatoes.
Step 2: Dice the onion and celery finely. Peel and dice the carrot. Peel and mince the garlic.
Step 3: In a large, heavy bottomed pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, carrot, and garlic. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring regularly, until the onion starts to turn translucent.
Step 4: Add the sweet potato, grated ginger, broth, and 1 cup water.
Step 5: Cover and cook over medium-low heat for 15-25 minutes, or until all the vegetables are very soft.
Step 6: Add the miso paste (if you have never cooked with miso paste, you have the option of adding less at first, then adding more), salt (if using), and pepper.
Step 7: Remove from the heat and use an immersion blender to pulse everything until smooth (or leave it a little chunky if you prefer that). Alternatively, allow to cool slightly and then use a regular blender. Taste and adjust the flavor with additional salt, pepper, or miso paste. Serve hot, garnishing with fresh herbs.
More vegan soup recipes to try: Vegan Cream of Zucchini Soup
Recipe notes and tips
Read these recipe notes before getting started!
Should I peel the sweet potatoes for soup?
It's up to you whether to peel the sweet potatoes for soup. If you have organic sweet potatoes that are not old and have smooth skins, you can scrub them thoroughly to clean them and leave them unpeeled. The skin will soften as the sweet potatoes cook, and will be completely unnoticeable after the soup is blended.
If you don't like the idea of eating sweet potato skins or the skin on your sweet potatoes is very tough with lots of blemishes, you can absolutely peel the potatoes!
More vegan soup recipes: Vegan Taco Soup
Can I add other veggies to this soup?
This soup can work well with many other veggies! Try parsnips instead of carrots. Add a few Jerusalem artichokes (sunchokes) scrubbed clean. Add a bell pepper (red, orange, or yellow), diced and seeds removed.
More vegan soup recipes to try: Vegan Black Bean Soup
Can I make this soup creamy?
Yes There are a few ways to make this soup cream:
- Add a can of coconut milk to pureed soups. Use a can of lite or full fat coconut milk, skip the milk, and reduce the broth to 2 cups. You might need to add a little bit of water to top off the pot and mostly cover the sweet potatoes, or to the blender if the soup is a little too thick.
- If you want to go lower on the calories, you can use unflavored plant milk from a carton (try oat milk, almond milk, or cashew milk) and add a splash at the end before blending.
- Blend in a some vegan sour cream or vegan cream cheese with a blender. So good!!
- Add a handful of cashews to the soup as it boils, then blending the cashews in. This will add bulk, nutrition (and calories), and rich creaminess to the soup.
- Add silken tofu before blending.
- Stir in some plain vegan yogurt after removing the soup from heat.
It's up to you how you want to make this sweet potato creamy, depending on your dietary preferences, nutritional needs, or food allergies.
More pureed vegan soups to try: Vegan Parsnip Soup
Make it cheesy
I add nutritional yeast to soo many dishes!! But I held back here. If you like, you can add 2-3 tablespoons of nutritional yeast to the soup right before blending. It will add a little cheesy flavor to the soup!
What toppings can I add to sweet potato soup?
Like all pureed soups, I like to add a little texture by using different soup toppings! Here are some ideas:
- Crispy roasted chickpeas
- Croutons
- Vegan bacon bits
- Tortilla chips (I know, I know, totally wrong cuisine but the salty tangy lime flavor of these homemade vegan chili tortilla chips are so good with creamy sweetness from the sweet potatoes!)
Can I freeze sweet potato soup?
Not only does this soup keep well in the fridge for up to 3-4 days, but it also freezes well. I recommend freezing the soup either in freezer-safe containers, or in portioned out servings in freezer-safe zip lock bags, laying the bags flat until they freeze.
To thaw sweet potato soup, place in the fridge at least 24 hours before you plan on reheating and serving it. If thawing in a zip-lock bag, I highly recommend placing it in a bowl or another container in the fridge, just in case the bag starts leaking from being broken in the freezer.
To reheat sweet potato soup, just heat it up in the microwave or in a small saucepan until hot. Stir to combine if it separated a little during freezing or thawing.
If you enjoyed this recipe, let me know with a comment and a star rating below. And don't forget to share it on Facebook and save it on Pinterest for later!
Recipe
Vegan Miso Sweet Potato Soup
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs sweet potato, (about 2-3 large) peeled if you don't want the skin on and cubed
- 1 medium yellow onion
- 2 stalks celery
- 2 medium carrots
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, or try coconut oil for a hint of coconut flavor
- 2 teaspoons fresh grated ginger
- 3 cups vegetable broth,
- 1 cup water, or add an extra cup of broth
- ¼ cup white miso paste
- salt, to taste (you might not even need salt depending on how salty your broth is)
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper, or to taste
- optional garnish: fresh cilantro leaves, or finely minced parsley
Special equipment
- Immersion blender (or regular blender)
Instructions
- Peel or scrub clean the sweet potatoes. Cube the sweet potato. The smaller you cut them the faster they will cook, but I don't recommend going smaller than 1 inch.1.5 lbs sweet potato
- Dice the onion and celery finely. Peel and dice the carrot. Peel and mince the garlic. Grate the ginger1 medium yellow onion, 2 stalks celery, 2 medium carrots, 2 cloves garlic, 2 teaspoons fresh grated ginger
- In a large, heavy bottomed pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, carrot, and garlic. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring regularly, until the onion starts to turn translucent.1 medium yellow onion, 2 stalks celery, 2 medium carrots, 2 cloves garlic, 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Add the sweet potato, grated ginger, broth, and water.1.5 lbs sweet potato, 2 teaspoons fresh grated ginger, 3 cups vegetable broth, 1 cup water
- Cover and cook over medium-low heat for 15-25 minutes, or until all the vegetables are very soft.
- Add the miso paste, salt (if using), and pepper.¼ cup white miso paste, salt, 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- Remove from the heat and use an immersion blender to pulse everything until smooth (or leave it a little chunky if you prefer that). Alternatively, allow to cool slightly and then use a regular blender. Taste and adjust the flavor with additional salt, pepper, or miso paste. Serve hot, garnishing with fresh herbs.optional garnish: fresh cilantro leaves
Martha Rowen
I just made this soup and it is wonderful, a perfect winter day lunch! I added cashews as suggested, which made it wonderfully creamy. I used chopped up fresh ginger because I was confused about what the ingredient "fresh ground ginger" meant. I assumed it wasn't powdered ginger but I don't otherwise know of ground ginger. Is there a form of ginger I'm unaware of?
Kate
Thanks so much for trying this sweet potato soup! So glad you liked it! I just clarified in the recipe, thanks for calling that out.