Sweet Potato Cashew Soup (Vegan)

While I do have the luxury of working from home and making most of my meals when and how I’d like, I still try to prep at least one dish that I can eat as leftovers all throughout the week. This way, on those busy days when I can’t or don’t want to cook, I have a healthy option already made sitting in the fridge. Soup is the best for this!

Sweet Potato Cashew Soup (Vegan)

I might be late to the party with this one, but I just learned that cashews can be used in soup as a dairy substitute to give it a thick, creamy texture without the milk/cream. I couldn’t wait to try this out—especially since I’ve been playing around with my new Ninja Ultima blender nonstop (I talked more about it in this post, but long story short: I’m in love with a kitchen appliance).

Yield: 6-8 servings

Ingredients

• 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into ½” cubes (about 4 heaping cups)
• 1 cup raw cashews
• 5 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
• 1 head of califlower, chopped (about 4 heaping cups)
• 1 sweet onion, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp dried basil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Put 3 cups broth, the potatoes, onion and garlic in a pot and simmer on med-low heat for 5 minutes.
2. Stir in the cauliflower and basil and let it continue to cook, covered, for 10-12 minutes.
3. While the pot is simmering, put the remaining 2 cups broth and the cashews in a blender. Blend until cashews are totally incorporated into the liquid (it’ll look kind of like milk).
4. Stir in the chashew/broth mixture to the pot along with desired amount of salt and pepper. Let simmer for 3-5 more minutes.
5. Place half the soup in the blender and blend until smooth. Mix back into the pot.
6. Serve and enjoy!

Notes

If you want a really thick, smooth soup, put all of it through a blender. If you want a chunky soup with a thinner base, don’t put any of it through the blender at the end.

This soup is like a comforting, creamy chowder but completely dairy-free—I love it! It’s filling and satisfying, and perfect for rainy, cloudy days like today. Try it out and let me know what you think!