The First Mess Cookbook
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.
We’re in that last stretch of Winter where I just want it to be OVER. The sight of a fresh snowfall is, yes, beautiful (like this coconut milk stew!). But I also know that we’re still in for at least another 6 weeks of cold and grey. Embracing the coziness is helpful and cooking new and exciting things is great, but ultimately I just keep imagining myself on a beach somewhere with a blended drink. The thought alone is helpful!
As far as I know, I won’t be getting to that beach anytime soon, so I’m cooking sunshine-y things in my little kitchen instead. This Creamy White Bean Soup with Kale, Rosemary & Lemon is a great example–bright and hearty at the same time.
For a quicker, still satiating and flavourful 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 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 stew, along with a bunch of other spices. The flavour 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.
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 flavour 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 necessary.
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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 (I use Diaspora Co's ground Guntur Sannam Chillies)
- 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
- sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 ½ lbs (690 grams) sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1-inch pieces
- ½ cup brown lentils, picked over
- 4 cups vegetable stock
- 13.5 oz (400 ml) can full fat coconut milk
- 1 small bunch kale, stems removed and leaves chopped (about 4 cups chopped kale)
- To garnish: chopped cilantro, extra chili flakes, lime wedges, nigella seeds
Notes
- Coconut milk is naturally sweet and so are sweet potatoes (obviously). 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.
- You already know: I always recommend making your own vegetable stock. My go-to method here!
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 and set the lid slightly askew on top of the pot so that there’s a couple inches available for steam to escape. Simmer 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, and Nigella seeds (if using).
Very good! Adding to my favorite soup list. Extra chili was perfect for me. Thank you for the awesome recipe!
DELICIOUS. I make this once every 1-2 weeks now. Thank you!!! Also love using the same coconut milk/spices mix for other meals (like chicken etc) SO GOOD
Delicious! The only adjustments I’d suggest are: 1) soak lentils overnight before adding so they are soft, and 2) chop the kale small. That’s just my preference. Other than that, it’s a huge hit!
I just made this! Woah, it’s so delicious. Thank you for sharing
Awesome! And so healthy for you, too. While I wish I had time to make homemade vegetable broth, I used vegetable bouillon. Still turned out great. I also used Trader Joe’s frozen ginger pieces.
Hii So Amazing! Hands down my favorite. Can this be frozen?
Hi Amanda,
This stew can be frozen! I would recommend adding the kale to it upon re-heating if you can, just to avoid that super overcooked grey-ish coloured kale :)
-L
This is so delish! I was out of chili flakes so I used sambal and it worked out well. Yum!! Thank you :)
I make this now every week. It’s absolutely delicious and easy.
This is fabulous! It’s delicious, easy and perfect for the cold and dreary month of lockdown January. I can’t wait to try the others.
So easy to make and truly delicious! We added kale inside the soup and topped w homemade kale chips!
WOW this was so easy and soooo good. It is also very forgiving…I ran out of coconut milk so used less and subbed spinach for the kale and it was still fantastic. Thank you!
This was so flavourful and filling – I ate it five days in a row last week without getting sick of it, and saved the last portion in the freezer for a future night when I want a comforting and healthy meal. I did find it quite spicy, so next time I wouldn’t use the full amount of chili flakes, but the coconut milk helped to balance it out.
This was so delicious!! I can’t wait to eat the leftovers.
This was so delicious! I added some carrots. Very very good. Thank you!
I made this tonight except with a BIG bunch of kale m+ double the spices and it came out super tasty. Definitely adding this to my weekly recipes, thank you!
Made this tonight and the whole family loved it!! I went a bit heavier on the spices and it was delicious and filling. I’m definitely adding it to my bookmarks.
I made this last night and a friend made it the night before. We both agree that it tasted fantastic but which that it was richer and more orangey colored like the photo above. I know I followed the recipe exactly but still found it to be watery. Any thoughts on how I could correct that for next time? But over all very yummy. Today I think I will make some rice and then pour the stew over that.
Hi Rebecca,
You can subtract about 1.5 cups of the vegetable stock and double the amount of coconut milk if you’d like this recipe to be richer.
-L
This is delicious, thank you! A new favourite.
This was delicious! I will make this again!
This is my favorite. I used tuscan kale. So much nicer than regular kale.
This was so delicious… I love sweet potatoes and coconut. Very hearty and healthy. Will definitely make it again.
Used neutral oil and added no garnish. Otherwise followed the recipe to a T. Came out perfect. Will absolutely make again.
Oh no! Meant to put 5 stars. Can you edit?! I’m so sorry!
Oh, such a great idea for a soup. I will surprise my pregnant wife with that recipe :). I love sweet potatoes and I never thought that I can use them for soup. I always prepare them baked or fried. Thanks for the idea, I’ll let you know about the results. Again thank you so much.
Made this tonight and it was perfect. So delicious. Doubled it for leftovers and so glad I did!
While this is an incredibly delicious dish (we loved it) I followed the measurements and directions to a T and it looks nothing like the photo. Did you use extra coconut milk? Just confused how to achieve your bright yellow and creamy broth. Thanks again this! It does taste amazing.
What can i use instead of coconut milk? i’m not sure if it allowed for my pregnant wife.
Very flavorful! Thanks for posting it!
Can I substitute the sweet potato for butternut squash ?
Hi Debbie!
Butternut squash substitutes beautifully here.
-L
My friend group has vegetarians and GF people and we made this yesterday.. it was SO tasty. Thank you <3
I make this when I want to comfort myself and convince carnivores.
Really flavorful. Thanks for posting!
Have made several times since posted with Kale and Rainbow Chard. Shared recipe with a friend. Always delicious – whoever makes it. Thank you for an easy and satisfying recipe.
SO good!! The perfect stew to warm you up on a cold winter night. Love the spicy ginger and pepper flakes with the creamy coconut and sweet potatoes! Also I used 3/4 cup of lentils instead of 1/2 cup because I like lentils. :) Cannot recommend this recipe enough!
sooooo freaking good. so often online recipes fail, this did not. i added jalapeño cuz i didn’t have chilli and used chard instead of kale. sooooo freaking good
One of the most delicious soups/stews I’ve ever made. This was so flavourful and delicious, not to mention really easy to make.
Hello ! Your recipe looks fantastic ! But I have a question : Should I cook the lentilles and the sweet potato before to put them in the pot ? Or should I put them in as you said and put some water so they can be cooked ?
Thanks for your answer !
Hi Marine,
The sweet potatoes and lentils cook as the stew simmers. No need to pre-cook! You can follow the recipe as it is written.
-L
seriously the best. in regular rotation for us now!!
love it!
Oh my goodness when I saw your beautiful picture I wanted to jump in! SO delicious, warming and cozy. So looking forward to a bowl of it!
This looks wonderful! Wondering what you would recommend for a crock pot? Maybe 4 hours on high 6 hours on low ?
This recipe is so good! Will definitely make again.
5 stars! This soup is delicious, and easy to make.The only change I made was to increase the amount of spices. It’s definitely a recipe I will make again and again. It’s substantial enough for a warm meal on a cold winter day. …yum!!! Thanks!
just made this, it’s great! really flavorful. i imainge it would be even better if i had all the toppings and my own veggie broth, but the jarred stuff worked well enough. also just dumped in a bag of frozen kale as i didn’t have any fresh.
So far I’ve made the vegetable stock found in the link above, which is wonderful, however it only made 4 cups instead of 8. Is this to be expected? Judging by the comments below I can’t wait to make the stew. I wish it would get colder in San Diego for a couple days so the stew could warm me as described!
Hi Eileen,
It sounds like the stock reduced a bit extra, but that’s okay and a natural process with stock-making. Sometimes when my vegetable stock concentrates a bit, I will make up the deficit with extra water and it’s still delicious.
-L
Made this for dinner tonight and it is DELICIOUS!!!! Pure unadulterated comfort food! Thanks for sharing this lovely recipe with us!
I just made this today for lunch. It’s soooo good, I will make it again soon and double it to make sure there’s left overs. The flavors are delicious. I used black lentils because it’s what I had in the pantry. Used baby bok choy leaves, because it’s what I had in the fridge. I’m sure they didn’t influence the flavor in any negative way. Anther great recipe from this site!!!!
I have made this every week for a month now. I love it, and so does the family. I take a big container to work so I can have a bowl for lunch a few times each week. Also love the kalonji/nigella seeds as garnish!
Hi! I was just wondering if I should use canned lentils or dried lentils for this recipe?
Hi Christa,
We use dry lentils in this recipe!
-L
This was super delicious. Did not change a thing.
This is one of the most delicious stews I have ever eaten! We followed the recipe, though have a few kids who can’t handle chili. We served Trader Joe’s zhoug, pepitas, and cilantro on the side, and it was so delicious. We whipped up our own version of gf/vegan flatbread to go alongside, and YUM! Definitely going on our list of favorites.