This sweet potato and coconut milk stew is a glowing shade of orange with vibrant pops of green from kale and cilantro. We use lots of chili and ginger in this vibrant vegan stew, along with a bunch of other spices. The flavor profile, spice combination, and recipe itself is inspired by Indian cuisine as well as Thai coconut milk-based curries. You get sweetness, spice, earthy vibes, creaminess, texture from the lentils, and a squeeze of lime rounds everything out. Fans of this will love my butternut squash stew with chickpeas & kale, which was inspired by this recipe!
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There is plenty of seasonal, plant-based soup and stew inspiration in my cookbook. You’ll also find vegan dinners, hearty salads and sides, and wholesome desserts.
If you count common spices as one component, this sweet potato coconut milk stew hits at around 10 ingredients. It’s very simple to make, definitely hearty, and accommodating for different dietary sensitivities. If a stew could have it all, this would be IT.
For my taste, it has just the right amount of richness from coconut milk–a real flavor bomb with a deep wholesome glow. Just the kinda thing I’m after lately. I love making it with homemade vegetable stock, but it’s not 100% necessary.
For a quicker, still satiating and flavorful lentil soup with greens, I recommend checking out my Lemony Red Lentil Soup. Just like this recipe, it’s loaded with spices and finished with zingy citrus. Another dinner recipe with similar flavors is my Harissa Coconut Lentils with Kale & Roasted Sweet Potatoes.
This remains one of the most popular recipes on the site and as you’ll see from the hundreds of reviews, it does well with a bit of improvisation! Using whatever greens you have on hand and any odds and ends works well because it has such robust flavor base.
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Ginger Sweet Potato and Coconut Milk Stew with Lentils and Kale
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, small dice
- ½-1 teaspoon dried chili flakes
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- 2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- salt and ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 ½ lbs (690 grams) sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1-inch pieces
- ½ cup dry brown lentils, picked over
- 4 cups vegetable stock
- 13.5 oz (400 ml) can full fat coconut milk
- 1 bunch kale, stems removed and leaves chopped (about 4 packed cups of chopped kale)
- To garnish: chopped cilantro, extra chili flakes, lime wedges, nigella seeds
Notes
- Coconut milk is naturally sweet and so are sweet potatoes. I like to go in with a lot of dried chili to balance things out, but of course add as much as you feel comfortable with.
- Chard or mustard greens would also be delicious in place of the kale.
Instructions
- Heat a large, heavy-bottomed soup pot over medium heat. Add the coconut oil to the pot and let it melt. Add the onions to the pot and stir. Saute the onions, stirring occasionally, until translucent and quite soft, about 5 minutes. Add the chili flakes, coriander, cumin, and turmeric. Saute spices until very fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the ginger and garlic to the pot and cook for another minute. Add a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Add the sweet potatoes to the pot and stir to coat in the spices. Add the lentils to the pot and stir once more. Season everything liberally with salt and pepper. Add the vegetable stock and stir, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the pot. Place the lid on top of the pot and bring to a boil.
- Once the stew is boiling, lower the heat to a simmer. Keep simmering until the sweet potatoes are almost falling apart and the lentils are tender, about 30 minutes. The liquid should also be reduced by almost a third.
- Add the coconut milk and kale to the pot and stir. Place the lid on top and continue to simmer the stew until the kale is wilted and bright green, about 3-4 minutes. Season the sweet potato and coconut milk stew again with salt and pepper. Bring the stew back up to a strong simmer and check for seasoning. Adjust with more salt, pepper, chili etc. if necessary.
- Serve the sweet potato and coconut milk stew hot with chopped cilantro, extra chili flakes, lime wedges to squeeze on top, and Nigella seeds (if using).
yum! This was so good! Spicy and sweet… quick to make and easy to find substitutes (added chickpeas that needed to be used up and frozen green beans because I had no kale). Made me happy today :)
This looks amazing!!
Could I substitute chickpeas for the lentils? Would the cooking time be the same?
Hi Amanda,
You could substitute COOKED chickpeas in this recipe 100%. Just add them along with the sweet potatoes. Dried chickpeas or even chickpeas soaked overnight would not be a recommended substitution for this recipe. They would require a lot more liquid and a much longer cooking time.
-L
Looks yummy Is it possible to get the recipe for that also yummy-looking bread?
Wow! Just delicious
I didn’t have kale such I added some fresh green beans hit the colour and added bonus of a bit of crunch
Thanks for sharing!
i was thinking of serving a simple green salad with this. Maybe an arugula one? Any suggestions?
Something light and peppery like an arugula salad would be amazing. Maybe simply dressed with olive oil and lemon juice with some thin slices of apple and fennel for extra freshness? The stew skews towards spicy and rich; so a light, fresh, and peppery salad would be an ideal pairing I think.
-L
This stew is so good! I replaced a small amount of the sweet potato with chunks of carrot and used green lentils instead of brown, just because that was what I had. I also replaced most of the kale with collards – I just put the collards in earlier as the stew simmered since they take longer to cook. I really liked it with the collards, actually – I’d probably use them again over kale or do a combination of both. The collards come out really silky, which is nice.
hello – would this freeze well?
Hi Debbie,
I think it would freeze great if you left the kale out. Then, upon reheating, you can just add chopped kale to the pot and let it wilt right before you’re serving it.
-L
This is super yummy. I used Swiss chard instead of kale and pureed half of the sweet potato mixture before adding the greens and coconut milk because I like creamy soups. I added in half a can of garbanzo beans at the end instead of using lentils, since lentils are a bit hard on my stomach. The flavours are delicious. Thank you!
This recipe was absolutely amazing! So tasty and comforting! Thank you! As a family we are trying to eat healthier and eat more vegetarian so happy to get yummy recipes. Thank you for sharing.
This is absolutely delicious and beautiful! Thank you for this lovely recipe. The only change I made was instead of beans I put orzo pasta. I will make it again.
THIS is one of the BEST things I have ever tasted. Hands down. I make this pretty much EVERY week. My teens even love it…. Which says a lot!
Hi, can you please update the recipe and note that the spices and combination of ingredients are heavily influenced by Indian and Asian cuisine? I’m sure it tastes great because it’s basically curry. Please attribute all of your recipes where applicable.
Thanks!
Thank you for this wonderful recipe. The only change I made was to use frozen spinach instead of the kale. We will make this again and again, perfectly seasoned and so healthy. This may seem trivial but I appreciate that your recipes can be printed using only one sheet of paper, so many sites format their recipes as to require too many sheets of paper to print. Thanks again for this recipe and so many others we have enjoyed over the time I have been following you.
Oh I also add curry powder to this. Amazing!
This soup is seriously one of the best things I have ever eaten. I have made pots to take to several friends after surgeries, when ill, and have made a few pots for myself. This recipe is an A+
Wow Laura! Look at your new website! Very exciting! it looks great and inspires me to dive into all of it, all over again! :) I think this is the 4th rendition I’ve seen since being your fan, well done and I hope it works really well for you and your adoring audience! Happy Tuesday.
I’m making this for the second time tonight. Excellent combination of flavors. I didn’t have kale, so I substituted spinach the first time, and tonight I did a mix of arugula and spinach. I also used green lentils because that’s what I haev on hand. Excellent – so tasty, satisfying, and healthy. Thank you for the recipe!
Absolutely delicious!!!! A home run!!!! I added a cinnamon stick and 4 cloves to the onions once they cooked down—and carrots and spinach—and used an immersion blender at the end for a few moments. It would have been superb without my doctoring! Definitely, a go to — even in the hot summer!
Hi I just made this Sweet Potato with lentils and Coconut milk. Very Tasty, I left the chili out as my body is both Chili and Tomato Intolerant. What I tend to use is Smoked Sweet Paprika as an alternative. The recipe leaves itself open to many good variations. I happen to believe we are only limited by our own imagination. So thanks for the opportunity to enjoy a Great meal. Regards Ian. jw.org
Hi
I made this with all fresh organic ingredients i followed the recipe to a tee it tasted amazing i will be making this again and again, i found it a bit brownish in colour rather than the orange (apart from the sweet potato of course) i may add a little more tumeric next time and could you use light coconut milk?
Michelle
can I use French lentils instead, or will they turn to mush?
You can use French lentils! They will be great, just not as “meaty” as the brown ones. They won’t turn to mush in the allotted cooing time in the recipe.
-L
Just had it for lunch at Jenns. Bloody Yumoooooo. Going to make some tonight to munch on and for the freezer.
Thanks to Jen.
Petina.
Made this with pumpkin instead of sweet potato. Tasted amazing but looked like complete mush. How did you get yours to look so pretty?
Questions:
1. I would like just the tiniest bit of heat-what could I use other than chili flakes?
2. What kind of bread is that in the photo?
Thanks!
You could simply reduce the amount of chili flakes or even use a dash of hot sauce instead to bring the heat level down! The bread is a quick little flatbread that I made with pizza dough. Just flattened little circles of it and fried it in a bit of oil.
-L
I used fresh Thai chilis in mine and it was perfect. I’d recommend grounding them to release the oils.
Oh my this is really fantastic. I ised ore cooked brown lentils. I was hoping my stew would be that wonderful orange color but mine is green!!
It still tastes great!
I have never before been this excited about a soup! I’ve shared the recipe with everyone I know. My husband doesn’t like lentils or sweet potatoes, and even he liked it. One question: those look like yams in the photos, not sweet potatoes? I used sweet potatoes and canned lentils (all I had, so put them in near the end, since they didn’t need to cook), and then used green onions and garlic olive oil to make it more FODMAP friendly, and it was delicious! I also used my immersion blender to mash things up a bit. Even better the next day with bread and a bit of cheese mixed in (sounds weird; tasted amazing).
Really tasty and super easy. I wanted the same color as the photo, so I added some achiote. Must serve with vegan roti:https://holycowvegan.net/khasta-parathaparotta/
Another FABULOUS meal from you, Laura! This is really delicious and feels so healthy. I made it exactly as written except I added a little homemade red curry paste. So great as always!! Thanks for being such a reliable source of delicious recipes!!
This soup is definitely being added to our list of favorite foods! It’s delicious. BONUS: The house smells AMAZING! Ty!!
I made this last night and it was delicious!
Can it be made in an Instant Pot?
I made it in an IP with a 9 minute cook time and quick release. The sweet potatoes were too soft for me, so next time I will try 8 minutes.
This is delicious. Anybody have experience with freezing it?
Thank You Nate, I cannot wait to try this.
Oh my GOD. This stew. THIS STEW IS GOOD. It’s a 40 degree and rainy night where I am right now and this stew is EXACTLY what I needed so warm, comforting and delicious. 11/10
Some really delicious recpies thank you
Yum! Have made this twice now and love it, it’s gone into regular dinner rotation! I love that its a flexible recipe as well – I sub fennel in for the onion and only had 200ml cans of coconut milk and it was still 10/10!
This stew is the first recipe I’ve tried from your site and is absolutely amazing. All of the recipes on here look great and I can’t wait to try more. Thank you for sharing.
Made this today, delicious! Had to have a 2nd helping. Thank-you so much for sharing this keeper recipe!
If you have some extra time, a good hack is to roast the sweet potatoes (or use a winter squash) and add it at the end! Roasted carrots would work great as well.
Adding a splash of soy sauce and a bit of brown sugar at the end really enhances the flavor!
Made this for Easter dinner! It was easy and super yummy! I made farro to go along with it.
I made this today in the slow cooker, it was delicious! I used red lentils as they were what I had. And I put in less liquid (somewhere around a half to two thirds of the recipe) as slow cooking doesn’t have the evaporation stovetop cooking does. But it was so good it was hard to stop at a single portion, it’s definitely going in my make again folder.
Super good! Perfect for a cool spring day. The only thing I would do different is ‘brown’ the potatoes a bit more before adding the broth. Love the flavors!
This recipe is bananas! SO! DAMN! GOOD! I followed the directions exactly. My family four ate it all up – no leftovers. So, I made it three more times within seven days. What I have found, is if you manage to have any leftovers, it tastes even better day two.
Embarrassing disclosure – I had never cooked with fresh ginger before. Or coconut oil. Or made a dish with coconut milk that wasn’t a dessert. (I warned you it was embarrassing…)
So while prepping and chopping the ingredients, I’ll admit I was a little wary as to what was going to come out of the pot at the end.
But WOW this recipe was so delicious! And so easy! And flexible! For example, Kale? I don’t think we’ve ever – intentionally at least – purchased kale before, but I threw in some spinach we had lying around instead, as well as substituted green lentils for brown ones (do lentils come in brown? who knew?) and it was still fabulous!
Thank you for such a wonderful family dinner. I’m now inspired to attempt a bunch of your other yummy sounding recipes, even if they involve ingredients outside of my usual comfort zone. :)
I made this recipe with my Aunt. She loves it so much that she has been sharing the recipe and has asked me to share it with here again. I was alerted to this recipe on facebook.
This soup is delicious. I am making for the second time in 2 weeks. Seriously good stuff!
Hi! Would lite coconut milk work? We are limited in our ability to find full fat coconut milk at the moment. Thanks!!
Hi Janet,
Lite coconut milk is fine! The stew will be a bit less rich, but will still taste good :)
-L
Wow! Don’t hesitate to make this! The whole family love this easy, one pot dish and requested I make it a new standard. I had to make some quarantine substitutions- Black lentils (which held up to all the cooking so were great), and low fat coconut milk-but the recipe didn’t suffer at all. I also doubled the cumin, coriander and turmeric to 1t. Used only 1t. of dried chili flakes (like the kind you put on pizza) and the dish was ‘hotter’ than expected but we loved it (just a warning to some). Served with Nigella seeds (they even sell them at Whole Foods now), lime, and as I had no cilantro, used pomegranate seeds (had one laying around) over sweet (sticky) rice. Think unsalted peanuts on top would be great too. Will be checking out your other recipes.Thanks!
OMG!!!! Substituted the fresh ginger for ground since I didn’t have any but OMG this is awesome!!!
This dish is ABSOLUTELY FREAKING AMAZING!!!! Thank you so much!!!! I will be making this ALL THE TIME. I added a can of chiclpeas (because why not) when adding the kale and coconut milk, and I had to use ground ginger as that’s what I had. SO SO SO GOOD!!!