Recently, I attended a vegan wine dinner. You most certainly heard me correctly – no meat, no dairy, no eggs, not even a smidge of honey. No food that had a face or came from a living being. What’s left to eat, you might say? Well, plate after plate of glorious vegetables, cooked to perfection and surrounded by tofu, a comforting sauce, or a hearty grain. Each dish was filling and didn’t leave anyone longing for meat (even bacon!).
Inspired by this dinner (which will be up on FEAST Magazine’s Feed and linked here soon) along with the incoming fall weather and the mounds of vegetables from our Three Rivers CSA, this soup was born.
This recipe is adapted from Simply Recipes, and uses maple syrup as its vegan-friendly secret ingredient. Use Earth Balance as your butter alternative (or olive oil), and your dairy-free milk of choice. Though I typically am a fan of almond milk, soy worked wonders to give this soup a velvety texture.
Vegan Gluten Free Sweet Potato Soup
Keywords: saute appetizer soup/stew side gluten-free vegan vegetarian nut-free Thanksgiving fall winter
Ingredients (serves 4)
- 1 tbsp butter (Earth Balance is the vegan variety)
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1 medium leek, sliced (white and pale green parts only)
- 1 large garlic clove, chopped
- 1 pound sweet potatoes (yams), peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces (about 5 cups total), soaking in water
- 3 cups vegetable stock
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 cup soy milk (or other dairy-free alternative)
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
Instructions
Melt the butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the chopped onion and leek and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and sauté until fragrant, 1-2 minutes.
Add sweet potatoes, veggie broth, cinnamon, and nutmeg and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer uncovered until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.
Using an immersion blender or working in batches with a blender, puree soup until smooth. Return to pot, if needed.
Add milk and maple syrup and stir over medium low heat to heat through. Season soup to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls and serve with bread.
There aren’t many dishes that I make at home that I consider restaurant-quality. This one though. This one tasted full of cream and goodness, though there was no dairy to be found. The cinnamon and nutmeg brought the sweet potatoes full circle, and the maple circle became the bullseye in the center.
The shadows in all the photos above remind me of the season change we’re experiencing. It’s getting dark earlier than ever, and soon I’ll be pulling out the light box. I didn’t have it in me with this soup – it was begging to be eaten!
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On another note, you may have noticed a lack of posts lately. Wedding planning and work are catching up with me, not to mention I just started my fourth BCBA certification class. I’m pushing for one post a week at this point, more if I can get them in (and have time in the kitchen!). I so so so appreciate your readership and hanging around while I adjust my schedule!
Pictures from my Michigan bridal shower coming soon 
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Here are some blogs/sites that were helpful for finding more vegan recipes:
http://www.nomeatmondays.org/
http://ohsheglows.com/
http://healthygirlskitchen.blogspot.com/
http://thekindlife.com/blog/cat/recipes
Also, tempeh and seitan are good “nutty” tasting meat alternatives that I can usually swap in for non-vegan recipes. I love this recipe you posted! I’m for sure going to try it!
Thanks! I used to read Oh She Glows and got away from it, but I’ll check those out! I also have to get some tempeh and seitan…and eat more tofu!
Tofu is still tough for me!
I just haven’t mastered any cooking techniques for it yet!
Stacy-
Thank you so much for coming to our dinner and I’m loving this inspired recipe! I cannot wait to read your Feast contribution!
See you soon,
cayrn
Thank you for the wonderful food and the inspiration!