Kale and chickpeas make for a hearty sweet potato stew, while the coconut milk adds just the right amount of smoothness to this cozy and delicious recipe.
As the weather gets chillier, I start turning to soups as the perfect weeknight meal. Not only are they filling and delicious, but they also can usually be whipped up fairly easily and are budget-friendly. And when they are full of ingredients that are amazingly good for you, what’s not to love? This sweet potato stew just might be the epitome of health in a bowl. I mean, sweet potatoes, chickpeas, AND those infamously good-for-you leafy greens?
After a bowl of this, I felt like I had some kind of nutrition chi going on. Plus, it tastes incredibly good. The kale and sweet potatoes make a hearty combination, and the coconut milk adds just the right amount of smoothness. If you’re not a sweet potato fan, you might become a believer with this one — remember, they aren’t sickly sweet unless you douse them with syrup and sugar. The sweet potatoes in this recipe are made even healthier if you leave the skins on (yes, sweet potato skins are edible!). Sweet potato skins are packed with fiber, beta carotene, and vitamins C and E, just to name a few of their many health benefits. So save yourself the effort of peeling the sweet potatoes and reap all the benefits of eating them.
How to make sweet potato stew
When buying the ingredients for this hearty sweet potato stew, make sure you’re getting unsweetened, full-fat coconut milk. The coconut flavor won’t dominate this stew, and is the key to making it super rich and creamy. I’d also recommend purchasing salt-free vegetable broth so you can control the amount of salt you use. Just remember to season every layer of this sweet potato stew to balance out all the flavors! Finally, you can use any type of kale you find at the store; the tough leaves hold up well in this stew and add a delightfully earthy flavor to the final product.
If you have leftover sweet potato stew, make sure to store the rice and the stew separately. This will prevent the rice from soaking up all the yummy broth and going mushy. If you’re not a fan of rice, this stew would also be great plain or with a thick slice of bread.
Looking for more sweet potato recipes?
Sweet potatoes are one of the most versatile ingredients, and we always have a few on hand for easy meals. Outside of this kale, chickpea and sweet potato stew, here are a few of our favorite vegan sweet potato recipes:
- Moroccan Chickpea and Sweet Potato Stew
- All-Star Sweet Potato Chili
- Crispy Baked Sweet Potato Fries
- Sweet Potato Soup with Harissa and Greens
This recipe is…
This sweet potato stew is vegan, plant-based, dairy-free, vegetarian, and gluten-free.
Related: Try using our Homemade Vegetable Broth for this recipe!
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Kale, Chickpea, and Sweet Potato Stew
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
Description
Kale and chickpeas make for a hearty sweet potato stew, while the coconut milk adds just the right amount of smoothness to this cozy and delicious recipe.
Ingredients
- 2 cups dry brown rice, for serving
- 1 medium yellow onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, minced
- 3/4 pound kale
- 2 large sweet potatoes
- ¾ teaspoon turmeric
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 can (15 oz) chickpeas
- 6 cups (1 ½ quarts) vegetable broth
- 1 cup canned unsweetened coconut milk
- Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
Instructions
- Cook the rice according to the package instructions (or use our Instant Pot rice method).
- Prepare the vegetables: Dice the onion. Mince the garlic. Mince the ginger. Wash and roughly chop the kale. Dice the sweet potato into bite-sized cubes.
- Prepare the soup: In a large pot, heat at about 2 tablespoons olive oil. Cook the onion until translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, ginger, turmeric and red pepper flakes, and cook for 1 minute.
- Stir in the sweet potatoes. Then add the vegetable broth and bring to a simmer.
- Once the stew is simmering, add the kale and chickpeas. Simmer for about 20 minutes until the sweet potatoes are tender.
- Stir in the coconut milk.
- Add salt and pepper to taste, and serve over brown rice.
Notes
Inspired by Joy the Baker
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: sweet potato stew
I like the addition of the coconut milk. I’m sure it adds a nice oomph to this healthy and hearty looking soup.
Talk about health in a bowl! But, what a wonderful way to eat healthy. Love it! I’ve got a butternut squash or two that I need to use up so I may substitute but I’m going to try and get this made in the next couple of weeks. Thanks!! kate @kateiscooking
The soups looks really amazing! It sounds healthy and delicious. Love the chickpea and sweet potato recipe :)
This is one I’m very excited to try!
Looks great! I am trying it this week for sure.
I will have to try this soup.. I love the flavour combination. :)
I made something similar earlier this month, but it was too thick to be a soup. It had vanilla, raisins and garam masala.. delicious. I can’t wait to try your version.
This was mine: http://tastespace.wordpress.com/2010/11/10/vanilla-sweet-potato-and-kale-curry/
We’re making this tonight. Chickpeas are in the photo and the title, but not in the recipe or instructions. I can figure it out, but thought you’d like to know :)
I don’t know what you are talking about. It’s right there in the directions… :)
I made this tonight was bland at first so I added some sugar cilantro and way more seasonings
I made this a couple weeks ago and still can’t stop thinking about it, so I finally got around to posting about it on my blog. Thanks for the great recipe!
Yum! This soup was delicious! I did it with brown basmati rice, which added another layer of aromatics.
I’m always looking for different stews to cook for the whole family. This was a hit with everyone, especially my 10 month old! Thanks :)