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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.

Kale & sweet potato stew

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:

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


  • Author: a Couple Cooks
  • 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

Scale
  • 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

  1. Cook the rice according to the package instructions (or use our Instant Pot rice method).
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. Stir in the sweet potatoes. Then add the vegetable broth and bring to a simmer.
  5. Once the stew is simmering, add the kale and chickpeas. Simmer for about 20 minutes until the sweet potatoes are tender.
  6. Stir in the coconut milk.
  7. 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

About the authors

Sonja & Alex

Meet Sonja and Alex Overhiser: Husband and wife. Expert home cooks. Authors of recipes you’ll want to make again and again.

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26 Comments

  1. 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

  2. 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 :)

  3. 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!

  4. 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 :)

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