creamy vegan soup — Blog — The Grains Of Paradise

This recipe was inspired by a soup made on Rachel Ray’s cooking show over 15 years ago! Over the years I’ve made some tweaks to the soup, which includes making it vegan, by swapping the heavy cream in the original recipe with full-fat coconut milk. If you prefer, you can omit the coconut milk completely to make a delicious, very low-fat soup. It’s totally up to you, but I highly recommend including the coconut milk. It adds a velvety creaminess that compliments the heat of the cayenne and the tang of the lime juice so nicely. Originally Rachel Ray served her soup with cheese quesadilla slices. If you would like to do the same but are looking for a healthier, plant-based alternative, here’s my quesadilla recipe HERE.

Southwest Pumpkin Soup - Serves 6

2, 15oz cans of 100% pure pumpkin puree ( not pumpkin pie mix )
4 cups vegetable broth
1 cup full-fat coconut milk
1 large yellow onion, diced
1, 14.5 oz can of black beans, rinsed and drained
1, 14.5 oz can of roasted diced tomatoes ( including liquid )
1.5 Tb curry powder
1.5 tsp cumin powder
1/4-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper ( salt with 1/4 tsp and then check the heat level at the end before adding more )
Juice of one lime
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup chopped cilantro ( optional )

To Prepare

*In a large pot over medium-high heat, saute diced onion in a couple of Tbs of water ( or 1 Tb of olive oil ) until translucent ( approximately 5-7 minutes ). Add curry powder, cumin powder, and cayenne powder to the onion and saute for another 30 seconds to lightly toast the spices. Careful not to burn.

*Add remaining ingredients ( except the cilantro ) and bring soup to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the freshly chopped cilantro. Now, taste the soup and adjust salt, pepper, cayenne and/or lime juice if needed.

To serve

Distribute soup into shallow serving bowls. Topping suggestions include baked corn tortilla strips, chopped cilantro, chopped chives, THESE spicy pumpkin seeds, and/or a dollop of vegan sour cream ( sour cream recipe is under my dips/sauces )

This recipe freezes well if anyone is interested!

Last weekend at the Upcountry Farmer’s Market I spotted a ton of fresh gorgeous leeks. Having no idea what I was going to do with them, I bought them anyway and figured I’d come up with something eventually.

It’s still hot as hell on Maui, and the last thing I’ve been wanting to do is heat up the entire house by turning on the oven, so stovetop cooking is about all I can handle these days. My husband suggested making a creamy soup with the leeks but I was thinking, “Really? A hot soup while you’re still sitting between 3-floor fans in the living room?” But ya, this is what he wanted, and he promised to do all the chopping so you gotta take advantage when you can.

I was too lazy to grocery shop for additional ingredients this particular evening, so I managed to throw this together with what we already had in the pantry and I gotta say, it turned out freaking amazing. I would imagine it would be even more amazing if the humidity level in my house wasn’t “Amazon Rainforest” so yes, sometimes I envy you people living in those bigger latitudes.

This soup is nutrient-dense, decadent, and bursting with crave-worthy flavors. Enjoy this on a crisp fall night with some warm sourdough smeared with vegan Miyoko’s butter. Delicious!

Truffled Potato Leek Soup

1 tbs olive oil ( or a few tbs of water if avoiding oils )
2 large leeks or 3 small ( white and light green parts only ) cleaned and sliced
1 large white onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
4 Medium Russet Potatoes peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
5 cups vegetable broth
juice of 1 lemon
2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp sea salt ( or more to taste )
1/4 tsp of cracked black pepper
1/2 tsp or more depending on taste, truffle oil ( optional but so delicious )

Topping suggestions - chopped flat-leafed parsley, chopped chives, croutons, vegan sour cream, and/or additional truffle oil.

In a large soup pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat add olive oil ( or water ). Next, add leeks, onions, garlic, and a pinch of salt. Saute until wilted ( about 10 minutes )

Add vegetable broth, thyme, potatoes, lemon juice, truffle oil, salt, pepper and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to low, and then cover and simmer for approximately 15-20 mins or until potatoes are easily pierced with a fork.

Puree soup either by using a handheld emulsion blender or a high-speed blender. If using a high-speed blender, be very careful with a hot soup. Hot liquids can “explode” in a blender if the canister is overfilled or started on a “high-speed”. Either puree soup in smaller batches on low speed or let the soup cool first ( then re-heat on the stovetop ). Puree soup until desired consistency is reached. Serve with topping suggestions listed above.

The soup should last about 5 days in the refrigerator.