Sweet Potato, Kale and Chickpea Soup
This hearty and delicious soup is perfect for warming up. It's an easy, nutritious, one-pot meal that makes great leftovers, too!
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on July 17, 2024
The holidays are almost here, but I’ve been eating like it’s Thanksgiving for the past few weeks. Food blogger problems! I’m seeking balance in the meals in between recipe testing by filling my belly with my favorite veggie-packed meals.
Case in point: This sweet potato, kale, chickpea and farro soup, which is both impossible to describe using fewer words. I shared this recipe five years ago, and it’s still one of my favorites.
I’m counting down the minutes until I can heat up a big bowlful of this soup for lunch. It’s spicy, filling, satisfying, and overflowing with so-called power foods and whole grain goodness. The Thai red curry paste might seem like an unlikely pairing for sweet potatoes, kale and farro, but somehow it just works.
I love this soup because each main ingredient contributes flavor while retaining its texture. The farro stays nice and chewy, the chickpeas don’t turn to mush like lentils might, the sweet potatoes retain their delicate bite, and the kale never wilts into nothingness like spinach tends to do.
While remaking the soup so I could take photos of it, I adjusted the ingredients and cooking method a bit. I used a fresh red bell pepper instead of chopping up roasted bell pepper, and found that the soup didn’t need nearly as long on the stove as the recipe originally suggested.
If you’re craving more hearty soups to get you through the holidays, check out my soup archives. Don’t miss the eight soup recipes in my cookbook, Love Real Food. Those soups are downright magical, if I can say so myself.
Vegan Sweet Potato, Kale and Chickpea Soup
This hearty and delicious soup is perfect for warming up. It’s an easy, nutritious, one-pot meal that makes great leftovers, too! Recipe yields 6 bowls of soup.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 1 pound sweet potatoes (2 small to medium or 1 large), peeled and diced (about 3 cups)
- ¼ teaspoon salt, more to taste
- 2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste*
- 1 cup uncooked farro, rinsed** (or 3 cups cooked whole grains, like wheat berries, spelt berries or kamut)
- 4 cups (32 ounces) vegetable broth
- 2 cups water
- 1 can (15 ounces) chickpeas, rinsed and drained, or 1 ½ cups cooked chickpeas
- ½ bunch of kale (4 ounces), chopped (about 3 cups)
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, to taste (optional, if you like it extra spicy like me)
Instructions
- In a large soup pot, heat the oil over medium heat until shimmering. Stir in the onion, bell pepper, sweet potato and salt. Sauté for five minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion starts to soften.
- Add the curry paste and stir until the vegetables are coated and the curry is fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add the farro, if that’s your grain of choice. Add the vegetable broth and water, and stir to combine.
- Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 25 minutes.
- Test the farro for doneness—if it’s tender and cooked through, add the chickpeas and kale. Stir to combine, and cook for 5 more minutes, or until the kale is cooked to your liking. If you chose to use pre-cooked whole grains, add them now. (If the farro is not done cooking yet, continue simmering until it’s tender, then proceed with the kale. This could take another 20 minutes, depending on the farro.)
- Taste, and season with more salt as needed. I usually add about ½ teaspoon—if the soup tastes flat, add more salt. To kick up the flavor a notch and balance the sweetness of the sweet potatoes, stir in the optional cayenne pepper.
- Ladle the soup into bowls and serve. I like this soup even more the next day. Leftovers keep well, covered and refrigerated, for about 4 days. The soup freezes well, too.
Notes
Recipe based on Heidi Swanson’s farro soup in Super Natural Every Day.
Serving suggestions: This soup is vegan, but mighty tasty with a side of whole wheat toast slathered with goat cheese.
*Thai red curry paste: Look for it in the Asian/international section of the grocery store. I like Thai Kitchen brand, which is vegan (some brands contain shrimp). You can substitute 1 tablespoon curry powder for the curry paste, for a totally different flavor.
**Whole grain notes: I prefer using farro as the whole grain because it requires less cooking time than wheat berries, spelt berries or kamut, so it can be cooked along with the soup. The soup is great with those other whole grains, but you’ll want to start cooking those in a separate pot well before the farro; just add the whole grains along with the chickpeas so no ingredients are overcooked or lose their texture.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Here’s the original photo from 2012.
This was delicious and so easy to make! But it was honestly so much better the next day, this may be one you make and not even touch the same day and just dive in the next day bc it was so much thicker and tastier when we had it for leftovers.
This is SO GOOD I ate the whole pot by myself in 24 hours. I actually blended the soup before adding the kale, grains and chickpeas to give it a creamy base. DELICIOUS!!!
That’s great to hear, Emma!
I love this soup. I discovered it several years ago and I’ve made it SO MANY times. It’s a hug in a bowl.
Stupid store was out of red chili paste so we tried green instead, which was fine, but I do think I like red better. Loved the suggestion below (above?) to branch out and try a different brand (Maesri), too. Otherwise made as directed, using kale, and it was pretty delicious. Had most things on hand. As reported, the leftovers are certifiably devourable. Might try the lime squeeze or a bit of cilantro, too. Surprisingly hefty meal with the farro. Thank you.
Wow, this soup is outstanding. The Thai Red curry paste is a game changer. I’ve never used it before and loved it. I’m a big fan of farro, sweet potato, kale and red pepper. I started using kale instead of spinach in most of my recipes. I love everything about this recipe. Thank you!
You’re welcome, Susan! Thank you for your review.
Just wondering do the sweet potatoes just cook in the soup while everything else is cooking or should I par boil a little before adding
Thanks new to the soup cooking tjing
I’ve been making this soup for years now (though kale hasn’t been available in my region for almost as long). It’s a wonderful meal on a cold day, and having it packed up in tubs in the fridge or freezer makes me ever so happy. I highly recommend it!
I love to hear that, Philippa! Thank you for your review.
This soup is phenomenal every time I make it. Thanks so much!
You’re welcome, Sarah!
This soup surprised me with how delicious it was! I had a bag of mixed colored lentils so I added more water than the recipe called for and cooked them right in the soup alongside the chickpeas and veggies and I loved the results. Would definitely make again!
Delicious soup. Thank you! I had something which looked like farro in my cupboard, but took much longer to cook: over an hour. This prolonged cooking made the sweet potatoes melt, and form a delicious velvety base. Next time, I’ll change 2 things:
1. I’ll cook the grains separately (whatever they are)
2. I’ll cook one sweet potato separately, blend it and add it to the soup, using the second one as indicated. I might even increase the weight of the first sweet potato, to have a creamier soup.
We made this while camping w friends. It was both Van-cooking-friendly and a big hit. We could only find barley (no farro) out in the boonies, and that worked fine. Though I love farro so look forward to remaking it.
Would I be able to use quinoa or couscous (because it’s really cold out and that’s what I have on hand)? If so, should I cook it first or with the soup? Thanks so much! I can’t wait to make it!
This is great! Made it with pressure cooked wheat berries. Our red curry paste was quite spicy (jar recommends only 2 tsps in a recipe), so we just did one TBSP and didn’t add cayenne. Topped with lightly toasted cashews and a squeeze of lime juice at the end.
Hi–I love this recipe but have just discovered kale is considered one of the Dirty Dozen and has the most pesticide. What could I replace it with?
Thanks.
Hi Regina, you can use organic kale, which will be free of synthetic pesticides. You could try another cruciferous vegetable, like broccoli. I have also used microgreens as a substitute when I have been out of greens in soups, and just sprinkle them on top. Since they are most often grown hydroponically, they are usually not treated with pesticides. I hope those ideas are helpful.
I made this without the farro because the grocery store was out and I didn’t have a substitute at home. It was so easy to make and was delicious! I’m looking forward to the leftovers!!
Loved this ! My husband and I are trying to eat less meat so this soup hit the spot! I ended up adding coconut milk at the end with some lime juice to give it more of a Thai flavor. Really enjoyed it.
Hi Kate,
Love this soup. My husband unfortunately cannot have anything spicy, and I am wondering what I could substitute for the curry paste? Is there anything?
Thanks so much Liz
Hi Liz, what spices work for your husband? These ingredients work well with lots of flavor profiles, so you can experiment with flavors you’ve enjoyed in other dishes.
Thanks so much for getting back to me. He really likes all spices but nothing with heat. Unfortunately. Very light heat might pass. Looking forward to hearing from you! The soup was fantastic! Thank you!! Love your recipes. Use them a lot. Liz
This is Liz Skaleski. Thank you for posting my question, and when you have time I would love to know the answer. Love your sweet potato , kale chic pea soup, and wondering if there is a substitute for the curry paste? Something with a little less heat that would work? Thanks so much. Liz
Hi Liz, some smoked paprika might be nice, or some thyme or oregano.
I made this a few Saturdays ago and it’s now one of my favorites and in my winter soup rotation. It was very simple and easy to prepare. It usually takes me much longer to complete than what recipes suggests, but this one really was quick and easy. It also tastes great (maybe better?) as leftovers.
Oh wow! Cookie & Kate thank you SO much for this recipe. I honestly think this is the best meal I’ve ever made. It was phenomenal! I couldn’t find farro at my grocery store, so I used a cup of red lentils instead. I also used Japanese sweet potatoes since my partner prefers those. I miscalculated the sweet potatoes and think I probably added just under double the recommendation, but I would do it again! Next time I think I will make some brown rice on the side since it landed somewhere between a soup and a curry. Thank you so much! I can’t wait to make it again!
Wow!! This is so good!
Hey Kate…solved my ad-blocker problem thanks to the help from your tech support people. Thanks! Quick question: my wife hates kale. Can spinach be substituted in this recipe for the kale? If so, fresh or frozen?
Also, I’m going to add some diced chicken to this soup to give it additional protein and make it a meal, rather than “just” a soup! Can’t wait to try it!
Hi Paul, yes I think you can add fresh chopped spinach to replace the kale if that is your preference, if just won’t need quite as much cooking time since it is a more delicate green.
This soup is AMAZING. Yet another Kate recipe going into my rotation. My wife doesn’t like kale, so I just substituted chopped baby spinach…worked just fine. As with some of Kate’s other recipes (such as the Chana Masala), I diced up and cooked a couple of chicken breasts and then added them to the soup when I added the chickpeas and spinach. This turned it into a hearty, healthy meal, with a nice hunk of multigrain bread on the side.