Everybody's Favorite Vegan Sweet Potato* Bisque

Happy (?) 2026! What a year! I live in Minneapolis. It's been real! And surreal. Tragic and terrifying, humbling and affirming. And now it's March and the snow has mostly melted and we are in the midst of a shift. 

Today is one of my favorite days: Ethics Day at the University of Minnesota. Which means I watch an all-day online CLE on research ethics. It's true: I neither work in research nor practice law at present. But I am a lifelong learner and I love CLEs. This one is 100% online, so I can also chop vegetables and make soup while I learn, which is pretty dreamy, at least a couple days a year. (I also enjoy have a cooking/learning day during the Binger Center for New Americans Fall Immigration Forum.) 

This morning, I made two soups. The first was my adaptation of Melissa Clark's Red Lentil Stew. I last made it in December, when my sister visited. She texted me a few weeks later, asking for the recipe. It was pretty handy to have a cakeandedith.com link to text right back to her. That's proven to be of the main functions of this website at this point: it's a library for myself, a readily-available resource for people I know who want the recipe for something I've shared with them, that they enjoyed. Which brings me to the second soup, recipe below: Vegan Sweet Potato Bisque. 

[* Did I say sweet potato? It could be sweet potato, for sure! But it could be carrots - and was, in its original broadcast in Vegan with a Vengeance, one of the best cookbooks of all time, even for non-vegans! (Carrot Bisque, p. 56) - or winter squash or parsnips or a 3-pound mix of whatever sweet, creamy vegetables you've got!]

I have made this recipe for friends recovering from surgery, dinner guests Whole-30-ing (skip the maple syrup, add half an apple with the carrots, or two dates for the last five minutes), and teacher appreciation meals. Folks often want the recipe. I usually type it up and email it. But it's a staple in our home, and it really hits the spot, particularly when the seasons are changing, and you're bracing yourself for winter, or relaxing into its final weeks. Clearly, it was the result of nothing short of neglect that it wasn't added to the Cake and Edith archives before now! Remedied just in time: I've got three quarts in my freezer now, and I think they'll keep me warm until May takes over the task.

Vegan Sweet Potato Bisque
Adapted from Vegan with a Vengeance
Yield: 8 generous bowls

3 lbs sweet potatoes, carrots, winter squash, etc., peeled and diced into 1/2" pieces
1 large onion, chopped
1 tablespoon oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ground ginger or 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger (optional)
1 tablespoon of your favorite curry powder
3-4 cups water + vegetable bouillon (or 3-4 cups vegetable broth)
1 (13-oz) can coconut milk
1 tablespoon maple syrup
Juice from 1 lime
Garnish: cilantro, mint, or scallions

In a large stock pot over medium heat, warm up the oil and then add onions, sweet potatoes (carrots, whatever), and salt. Stir so that veggies are coated in oil and salt, then cover the pot. Cook for 10 minutes, so that the steam and salt help veggies to release some of their moisture and sweetness, opening to stir every 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger (if using), and curry. Stir and sauté for a minute more. Add the water and bouillon, or broth, and increase heat to bring to boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 12-15 minutes, until vegetables are super soft and breaking up a bit.

Stir in the coconut milk and allow the soup to come back to boil, simmer for a couple minutes. Turn the heat off. Using an immersion blender, or - carefully! - in batches using a regular blender, blend the soup until it's super smooth and creamy. Stir in the maple syrup and lime juice. Taste the soup and adjust seasonings: add more salt, lime, or maple syrup, to get the combo you like best. Serve hot and garnish with cilantro, mint, and/or scallions.