This should be obvious, but I love cooking and testing out new recipes and cooking methods. But, some days, I just want to make the easiest recipe possible. It’s that, or ordering in a large pizza and scarfing it down with a glass of red wine or three.
Enter dump-and-go Instant Pot recipes. If that wasn’t self-explanatory, I’m talking about recipes where you can just dump in a bunch of ingredients into the Instant Pot, turn on the pressure cook setting, walk away, and come back to a complete dinner!
As pretty as this soup might look, this Thai-Inspired Red Curry Sweet Potato Soup is one such dump-and-go recipe. A lot of dump-and-go recipes I’ve seen online seem like the epitome of convenience food and seem to lack flavor—it’s like they’re just mixing canned beans, corn and tomatoes on top of a protein, and calling it a day.
Since I am a stickler for maximizing flavor, that is definitely not what we’re going to do with this recipe!
Why you’re going to like this Thai Red Curry Soup
Dump-and-go. We already talked about this, but how can you not like a recipe that requires zero hands-on cooking??
Weeknight-friendly. See above. You can have dinner on the table and all you need to do is 10ish minutes of chopping. Oh, and one-pot meals also mean minimal dishwashing! Bonus: the Instant Pot inner pot is dishwasher safe!
Aromatic and flavorful. As with any good Thai or Thai-inspired dish, this soup is well balanced in flavors. Spicy from the curry paste, sweet from the sweet potatoes and a spoon of agave or sugar at the end, and sour from the tomatoes and lime juice! I learned how to balance flavors when I took some cooking classes in Thailand, and it’s a principle that I use in all of my recipes to this day.
If you love Southeast Asian flavors, you’ll go crazy for my Indonesian Tempeh Kecap and Thai Butternut Squash Curry. And if you have some more time, go all out and try my Homemade Thai Green Curry Paste to make a phenomenal Vegan Thai Green Curry!
Creamy and rich. Thanks to red lentils and sweet potatoes, this soup is naturally thick. Red lentils break down and get mushy when cooked, making them perfect for curries, soups, or curry-soup hybrids like this! And the high pressure of the Instant Pot virtually melts the sweet potatoes into the soup. Plus, the recipe also adds light coconut milk for extra creamy measure.
Hearty and satiating. Some soups leave you hungry after a couple hours, but this soup will stick to your ribs! We’ve got protein from the lentils, complex carbs from the sweet potatoes, and satiating fats from the coconut milk.
Ingredient Rundown
The aromatics. If you’ve made any of my savory recipes before, you know that I usually like to start with some aromatics. This could be as simple as onions or garlic, but it always varies based on the flavor profile and cuisine of the dish.
Since this a Thai-flavored soup, I’m using green onions or scallions instead of regular onions, along with garlic and ginger. A truly authentic Thai recipe would use galangal, also referred to as Thai ginger, but it’s pretty uncommon to come across outside Asian grocery stores.
This recipe is a bit different than most in that you don’t cook the aromatics in oil before adding the remaining ingredients. That’s because there’s no hands-on cooking involved. But don’t omit the aromatics – they still add a good amount of flavor.
Sweet potatoes. Scrub, peel, and chop them into roughly 3/4-inch cubes. The smaller the cut, the more they’ll melt into the soup. I recommend using garnet sweet potatoes or yams, not Japanese sweet potatoes .While I love the latter, they are naturally firmer, denser, and dryer in texture, so they don’t quite melt into the soup.
Tomatoes. I know, it’s not tomato season, but when the tomatoes are pressure cooked down into a soup, you won’t notice their unremarkable taste. But, if you don’t want to buy winter supermarket tomatoes, feel free to use canned diced tomatoes.
Red lentils. You can use red lentils or split red lentils – they are virtually the same.
Thai red curry paste. My favorite brand is Maesri (available at Thai and Southeast Asian grocery stores, or online), but Thai Kitchen also works decently and is widely available. Whichever brand you use, be sure to read the ingredients to ensure it’s vegan. Some brands might use fish sauce. Another vegan red curry paste to try is from Thai Taste.
Note: keep in mind that there is variance in the heat level across curry paste brands. I find that Thai Kitchen is not too spicy, but if you know that the curry paste you’re using is quite spicy and/or you’re sensitive to spicy food, feel free to use less than the amount called for in the recipe.
Lite coconut milk. Since this soup is really thick and creamy thanks to the sweet potatoes and lentils, there’s no need to use full-fat coconut milk. If all you have is full-fat coconut milk, feel free to use it, but you’ll want to either (a) water down the milk or (b) use more vegetable broth.
Tips for making this Thai Red Curry Soup
This section is going to be super short because, again, this is a dump-and-go recipe.
To minimize the number of dishes you need to wash, puree the soup using an immersion blender. If you don’t have one, use a stand blender and transfer the soup in batches. Remove the center cap from the blender and cover it with a dish towel to prevent steam from building up inside the blender.
After pressure cooking and pureeing, if the soup is too thick for your liking, add some vegetable broth or water, and stir to heat through until the soup has thinned out a bit. The soup thickens even more as it rests, so if you’re serving leftovers, heat it up on the stove with a bit of water or vegetable broth.
How to Garnish this Soup
Chopped cilantro is a must. Optional add-ons include thinly sliced scallions and chili peppers (if you like it spicy), a spoon of extra coconut milk (use a toothpick to make these fancy swirly designs), and/or bean sprouts.
Finally, this recipe couldn’t be simpler, but if you want a visual (always helpful IMO), check out this video on my dump-and-go Instant Pot recipes! This Thai Red Curry Sweet Potato Soup recipe is the first one and begins at the 00:33 mark.
DUMP AND GO Instant Pot Recipes | easy vegan instant pot meals
If you give this recipe a try, be sure to tag me on Instagram with your recreations and please comment with your feedback below!
Instant Pot Thai Red Curry Sweet Potato Soup
Ingredients
- 1 large bunch of scallions, sliced
- 5 garlic cloves, mined
- 2 tablespoons freshly minced or grated ginger
- 1½ pounds (680g) sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into ¾-inch (2 cm) cubes
- 3 medium Roma or plum tomatoes, chopped*
- 4 tablespoons (60g) red curry paste** (use less if sensitive to spicy food)
- 1 cup (190-210g) red lentils, rinsed and drained
- 2 cups (480 mL) vegetable broth
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon tamari (or soy sauce if not gluten-free)
- 1 (15-ounce / 400 mL) can “lite” or reduced-fat coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 2-3 teaspoons agave nectar, coconut sugar, organic brown sugar, or organic cane sugar
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
- Optional Garnishes: extra coconut milk for a pretty swirl, thinly sliced scallions, bean sprouts, thinly sliced chili peppers
Instructions
- Pour the vegetable broth into the Instant Pot. Add the scallions, garlic, ginger, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, red curry paste, red lentils, salt, and tamari or soy sauce, and lite coconut milk. Stir to combine.
- Secure the lid and set the Pressure Release to Sealing. Select the Pressure Cook setting at high pressure and set the cook time to 10 minutes.
- Once the 10-minute timer has completed and beeps, allow a natural pressure release for 10 minutes and then switch the Pressure Release knob from Sealing to Venting to release any remaining steam.
- Add the lime juice, agave or sugar, and chopped cilantro. Stir to combine. Taste the soup and adjust the seasonings as needed, adding more salt for saltiness, lime juice for acidity, or agave/sugar for sweetness. Puree the soup using an immersion blender. If you don’t have one, use a stand blender and transfer the soup in batches (remove center cap of the stand blender and cover blender with a towel to allow steam to vent). If the soup is too thick for your liking, add some vegetable broth or water, and stir to heat through until the soup has thinned out a bit.
- Ladle soup into bowls and garnish as desired. Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 4-5 days. The soup thickens as it rests, so if you’re serving leftovers, heat it up on the stove with a bit of water or vegetable broth.
Notes
This was the best soup I’ve had in a while!! At the end I used the immersion blender to make it more creamy, still left some tender sweet potato chunks.
Hi! Can Garnet Yams be used instead of sweet potatoes? I ordered "sweet potatoes" from GoodEggs and the packaging (and website) both say they are yams but ALSO sweet potatoes, so I’m having trouble deciding if they would work in this recipe.
Yes, you can use those! They should cook down pretty similarly.
Great recipe. Next time I’ll add a chili or two to the pot to make it a bit more spicy, but it’s delicious as is. I’ll definitely be making this every couple of weeks.
Just made and it’s delicious. I used about half the amount of red curry paste because I don’t do a ton of spicy.
Question: will this soup freeze OK?
Turned out great! I skipped the lentils and added eggplant and bell peppers and we had over rice. Definitely will make again!
I love this sooo much! I’ve made it like 5 times so far and it tastes brilliant every single time! ❤️
Made this for supper tonight. Everyone loved it. My husband is on his second bowl now. Thanks for the recipe and the easy-to-follow Instantpot directions.
I saw your Youtube video today. It was in my recommended feed. I realized I had all of the things to make this and since it was so fast it was perfect for today. Instead of calling for a pizza I made it. My 10 and 8 year old kids weren’t fans, but that’s because they hate soup. All soup. It’s crazy. My 5 year old had 3 bowls and my 3 year old had two! My husband and I had a few bowls as well! I thought the spice level was perfect for a family friendly meal. Thank you for the wonderful recipe and help on a hump day!
Hi Nisha,
I love this recipe so much. I love how it is a dump and go and adore red curry flavours!! This recipe is bursting with flavour and healthy goodness all round. Thanks for being such a vegan/plant based instant pot recipe guru. I have ordered your cookbook and am awaiting delivery. I love watching your youtube channel also.
Much love, all the way from Western Australia
Jo
Hi Jo, thank you for stopping by and so nice to hear that you are making my instant pot recipes all the way in Australia! And I love hearing that you enjoy my youtube videos – that makes me so happy! I hope you’ll also enjoy cooking from my book when it arrives :)
Absolutely delicious, though I think there’s a misprint. 4 T red curry paste is an awful lot. Perhaps 4 tsp was meant? In any case, I went with 2 T and it’s still crazy hot. I’ll knock it back to 1 T next time.
Hi Jenny, glad you enjoyed it! I use Thai Kitchen red curry paste, which isn’t too spicy, so 4 tablespoons is actually suitable, though I do tend to like things spicier than most. I will update the post to note that though, because there is considerable variance between curry paste brands!
Hi!
Looking forward to trying this recipe today. Is it ok to sub red curry paste with green curry paste?
Thank you!
Adam
Hi Adam, yes that’s fine! I know at least one reader who has done that and said it was delicious. The color might be a bit less orange but taste should still be good :)
Hi Nisha! I tried this recipe last week and it turned out fabulous! I don’t own an Instapot so I used my good old pressure cooker . I sauteed the onions, garlic, sweet potatoes first, added the red curry paste, followed by lentils and stock. We also like things a little spicy so I ended up adding a dash of sriracha too :)
Thank you for this wonderful recipe!
Hi Poornima, so nice to hear that you loved this recipe and it worked great in your stovetop pressure cooker :) Thank you for sharing how you adapted it. And yay for even spicier haha, I feel the same way!
Dear Nisha, a few months ago I bought your cookbook and we have tried a lot of the recipes and they were all fantastic! I am already waiting for your next cookbook :-)
Regarding this recipe I wanted to ask you if it’s possible to substitute the red curry paste with curry powder and if yes, how much I would need to use.
Thank you for your help!
Kind regards all the way from Austria,Karin
Hi Nisha,Are there a set of instructions for those who don’t have an instant pot?Would pre roasting the sweet potato’s and tomato pre simmering do the job?Thank you
Hi Rowan, I’ve never tried it myself. But yes, you would want to pre-roast the sweet potatoes.
I would saute the ginger, garlic and scallions, then deglaze with the broth (may need a bit more liquid to cook the lentils on the stove) and add the lentils and salt. Cook until the lentils are almost tender, then add the tomatoes and simmer until fully tender. Add the roasted sweet potatoes, tamari, coconut milk, lime juice, and agave, and puree in a stand blender or with an immersion blender.
I hope that works!
Made this for dinner tonight. Yum :) even my toddler asked for seconds!
We’re low on staples right now, so I had to sub garlic powder for the garlic, and onion for the scallions… it was still scrumptious :)
Would love to see more dump and go recipes :D
That’s so fantastic to hear – your toddler is a much less pickier eater than I was at that age lol. Glad that you were able to make some substitutions with delicious results :)
I have a few more dump and go recent recipes here
https://rainbowplantlife.com/vegan-instant-pot-white-bean-stew/
https://rainbowplantlife.com/instant-pot-cheesy-buffalo-cauliflower-dip/ (this one isn’t a "meal" but it is AMAZING)!
I’m going to attempt this without lentils…. Because of the apacolypse, everyone has purchased all of the worlds lentils…. Hope this is ok, wish me luck.
Haha Megan, you crack me up. I saw your Insta stories – it looked good! How did it turn out? By the way, I found red lentils on Amazon recently – it was a weird brand but they seem okay (took about a week to arrive but not too bad)!
Hi Nisha, I made this and loved it! I recommended it to my mom who does not have an Instant pot, any recommendations for stove top cooking?
I made this soup for dinner tonight! Absolutely delish!! I only had full fat coconut milk, so I used one 32oz. carton of veg broth and consistency was perfect. I also didn’t use an immersion blender after it cooked in the IP – just stirred well and it was a nice thick soup. We loved it!
Hi Karen! That’s so great to hear. I am so glad you loved it. Thank you for sharing the modifications you made – super helpful!
I agree with Dawn! I wanted to print out this recipe and I can’t. Bummer.
Love your recipes! Wish they were in a more print friendly format though… 😊