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
Delish! I didn’t have scallions and sweet potatoes so subbed shallot and butternut squash and it was so good!
I made it again with the sweet potato and it was also great!
Thanks for sharing! Sounds wonderful :)
Outstanding flavor and quite simple to prepare.
Awesome, Vinny. Thanks for your comment and for taking the time to review!
Does it freeze well?
Hi Brian, yes it freezes quite well!
This soup was AMAZING. The curry paste really took it to the next level, and I added twice as much minced ginger than the recipe called for, which may have changed the texture a little, giving each bite a nice crunch. SO GOOD and SO EASY! Thank you Nisha!
Kendall,
This curry is fantastic, I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much too! If you love ginger, there’s no shame in adding extra! :)
Delicious! Such yummy flavors together. I subbed purple onion for scallions. Also, I believe it would have been totally fine without the added sugar. The sweet potatoes are plenty sweet. Overall easy and oh so yummy. Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks for the lovely feedback, Karissa!
this was so yummy! first time using a pressure cooker and it was a little terrifying but all good in the end–used canned chopped tomatoes bc that’s what we had as well as red onion instead of green, extremely good!
This was my very first pressure cooker meal and it is amazing! I doubled the recipe for our family, but kept the chili paste amount the same. We will definitely be making this one regularly.
(It also seems that the print version of the recipe skips the step on blending the cooked soup.)
So glad you loved the recipe, Selina! And thank you for bringing that to our attention, we’ll definitely take a look!
I made this tonight. It is so comforting and delicious; it doesn’t need a single thing! I will be adding this to our regular rotation. Great way for my husband to actually enjoy sweet potatoes. :) Thank you SO much!
Thanks for the lovely feedback, Keri!
For those wondering: I made this on Sunday without an instant pot, just in my regular big soup pot. It’s very easy and takes only some 10 minutes longer. Stir regularly! I added more water and blended it a bit with a hand blender to make it more into a creamy soup (was more of a stew before). Tastes great!
We’re happy to hear it, Manuela! :) Thanks for sharing!
Perfect in every way! I wouldn’t change a thing. The flavors are perfect together. I have made this twice in two weeks and plan to serve it with your naan bread recipe next time.
Thanks for the lovely feedback, Cherilyn!
Hello!
Looks delicious! Can I place all the ingredients in a slow cooker? If so, do I put the ingredients on low or high and for how long do I let them cook in it?
Thank you!
Hi Niki, we haven’t tried making this recipe in a slow cooker and aren’t very familiar with that appliance so we aren’t completely sure. We found the writer of this article has some knowledge on the subject. Sorry we couldn’t be of more help!
Hi – this recipe looks and sounds delicious. I don’t have an instant pot – can I just make it in an ordinary pot? If so, is there anything I would need to do differently? Thanks.
Hi Surrey, we suggest baking the sweet potatoes ahead of time to speed up the cooking process. Otherwise, the recipe will take a bit longer but you should be able to cook it on the stovetop! Always make sure to saute your aromatics in oil first!
Hi there!
I’m hoping to make this tomorrow night, however I’d like it to be more of a curry served with rice rather than a soup. Would you be able to help with ideas of how I can potentially adjust the quantities so it’s less soupy?
Hi Emma-Jane! You’d want to reduce the amount of liquid. Maybe try using 1.5 cups vegetable broth and 3/4 of a can of coconut milk? We haven’t tried this out so we aren’t 100% certain, but please let us know what you try!
Those ratios were perfect! I also baked some broccoli and tofu in the oven and added at the end. It was absolutely delicious!
Perfect, thanks for reviewing Emma-Jane!
Do you use dry or canned lentils?
Hi there Michelle, dried lentils!
So delicious, Nisha!! I love your soup recipes!!
Thanks for the lovely feedback, Maneesha!
I haven’t tried this soup yet – but I am definitely going to!! My fiancée and I aren’t even vegan but this soup looks sooo good. One question though, is the coconut milk unsweetened or sweetened? Should I care? Thanks!!
Hi Zach, we hope you love it! The coconut we are referencing in the video is unsweetened coconut milk in a can. Enjoy!
Thanks for the reply!
We just made it tonight and WOW. What a delicious recipe!! Thanks!
Thanks for the lovely feedback, Zach!
Delicious
Kathy, So glad to hear you loved this recipe!
Do you have the nutritional info?
Hi Kathy, the nutritional information will be added to the website within the next couple of weeks!
Addendum to my last comment: BTW I’m not vegan. Not even vegetarian. Yesterday I made a pasta carbonara with bacon, butter, eggs, and tons of cheese. And it was good. But this is better, actually much better.
So glad you enjoyed the soup, Dean!
I’m making this for the third time in 3 weeks. I woke up with a craving for it. Normally when I make a recipe I got online there’s always something I don’t like about it and I never make it again. But this one is perfect. To be able to make something this good with this little effort is just unbelievable, the holy grail. BTW I’ve made it both with good heirloom diced fresh tomatoes and with canned diced tomatoes and FWIW (surprisingly) I thought the canned ones were better.