Vegan Sopa de Maní (Bolivian Peanut Soup)
Updated Oct. 11, 2023
- Total Time
- 1½ hours
- Prep Time
- 30 minutes
- Cook Time
- 1 hour
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:4 to 6 servings (about 3½ quarts)
- ½cup/about 2 ounces penne rigate or any thin, tube-shaped pasta
- 2cups/9 ounces blanched raw peanuts
- 2tablespoons olive oil
- 2medium carrots, diced
- 2celery stalks, diced
- 1medium yellow onion, diced
- 1small green bell pepper, diced
- 1dried bay leaf
- 6½cups water or vegetable stock (store-bought or homemade), plus more if necessary
- 3garlic cloves
- 1small serrano chile, minced
- 2(9-gram) cubes vegan “chicken” bouillon (such as Edward & Sons Not-Chick’n Bouillon)
- 2(10-gram) cubes vegetable bouillon (such as Knorr Vegetarian Vegetable Bouillon)
- 1½teaspoons coarse kosher salt
- 1teaspoon ground cumin
- 1teaspoon dried quilquiña (see Tip) or dried cilantro
- 1teaspoon locoto powder (optional; see Tip)
- ¼teaspoon nutritional yeast
- 1lightly packed cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped, plus more for garnish
- 1packed cup cilantro leaves and tender stems, finely chopped
- 1medium Yukon Gold potato, diced
- 5ounces fresh or frozen green peas (rinsed if frozen)
- Homemade or store-bought fried matchstick potatoes (optional; see Tip), for garnish
For the Toasted Noodles
For the Peanut Purée
For the Soup
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
394 calories; 26 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 14 grams monounsaturated fat; 7 grams polyunsaturated fat; 30 grams carbohydrates; 8 grams dietary fiber; 6 grams sugars; 16 grams protein; 567 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered byPreparation
- Step 1
Prepare the noodles: Toast the penne in a dry, shallow pan, without oil, over medium heat. (Be careful not to overcrowd the pan, or the noodles won’t toast evenly; separate into batches if necessary.) Using a spatula or tongs, move the penne back and forth so they toast on all sides, until they are just a shade shy of golden, 4 to 6 minutes. Remove from the heat and keep stirring as the noodles continue to darken. Set aside.
- Step 2
Make the peanut purée: In a blender, purée the peanuts and 1½ cups water, starting on low speed and increasing the speed as needed. Add another 1 cup water and blend until creamy. Set aside.
- Step 3
Prepare the soup: Heat the oil in a 6-quart (or larger), heavy-bottomed pot over medium. Add the carrots, celery, onion, green bell pepper and bay leaf and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent, 5 to 10 minutes.
- Step 4
Add the water or stock, peanut purée, garlic, serrano chile, both types of bouillon cubes, salt, cumin, dried quilquiña, locoto powder (if using) and nutritional yeast, plus half the parsley and half the cilantro. Stir until well mixed.
- Step 5
Bring to a low boil while stirring constantly, so the peanut purée doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot. Continue to cook at a low boil, stirring frequently, for 7 minutes. (Keep an eye on the pot, as the soup can boil over quickly.) Add the potato and the toasted pasta then reduce the heat and let simmer until the potato is cooked through and the pasta is just tender, 10 to 12 minutes, stirring in the peas and the remaining parsley and cilantro halfway through. (The soup should have some body, but should not be as thick as a chowder. If necessary, add a little more water or vegetable stock to thin it to the desired consistency.) Discard the bay leaf.
- Step 6
Serve the soup in bowls and top with the matchstick potatoes, if using, and parsley to taste, for a touch of brightness and color.
Tips
- Quilquiña (also known as Bolivian coriander and papalo) is an aromatic herb with a taste akin to cilantro, but stronger. Locoto (also known as rocoto) powder is made from locoto chiles, which are fruity and more potent than jalapeños, ranging in heat level from cayenne to habanero. Quilquiña and locoto powder can be found in Latin markets or ordered from specialty grocers online.
- To make matchstick potatoes, julienne 1 peeled russet potato and fry in ½ inch neutral oil over medium-high heat until golden brown and crisp, turning occasionally, 3 to 4 minutes. Dust with salt.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
el prado
I spent some of my elementary and high school years in Cochabamba- where for school lunch we would line up at the lunch kiosko to get a big bowl of soup, freshly fried potato chips and a glass bottle of soda. Sopa de maní, sopa de quinoa, sopa de fideo- all DELICIOUS and made right there in a big pot. That’s really all you need for lunch.
Regina Sinsky-Crosby
After three years of loving my NYT recipes subscription I will drop first ever note: This soup is FANTASTIC. I’m eating it out of the pot as I write this.
PamE
You can find raw peanuts at Trader Joe’s, and I’m sure whole foods as well. But TJs has good prices on nuts.
Su
A great thing about new recipes can be new ingredients to work into your repertoire in additional ways, with or without a specific recipe. I'm keen to be introduced to quilquiña and to stir it into a batch of egg salad, etc. And then there are the things that can be easily subbed, e.g., replacing the specific bouillon here with whatever you tend to use for concentrated (not-)chicken stock. I hope that folks are turned off of a new cuisine for fear that they'll be stuck with useless ingredients.
Nik Shaw
This better be really good, or my pantry will be stocked with half a dozen things I will never use again.
anna
All the peanut butters I have seen use roasted peanuts, so the flavor would be different
Cheryl
I had never used raw peanuts before but happened to have them from a gift and I had no idea what to use them for. Viola!; I will keep some around in the future because we are a vegan household and the peanuts made the most wonderful cream substitute ever! I had to leave out the locato chili powder but everything was already in our fridge. Getting the skins off the peanuts was pretty fast and the soup was delicious. A meal with a simple salad.
Spice bliss
This sopa is earthy and delicious. Not convinced about using penne here, although the toasting method is interesting. Maybe pearl barley, polenta, brown rice, or some other alternative. Will try next time a little sweet potato with Yukon golds. Substituted urfa biber and New Mexico chili and dried cilantro. Increased cumin a bit.
Dianne
I made this without the quilquiña and locoto as my usual sources (Amazon, etc) did not carry them. Providing a link to an online source for such unusual ingredients would help. Before adding the potato and peas, I tasted it for seasoning. It was a bit on the bland side so I added a bit more cumin and a half cup of aji panca, an ingredient I had recently bought for another recipe I found here at the Times. That did the trick and the end result was a nicely flavored soup that was worth the effort.
Dianne
No, you toast it without cooking it first.
Franhaz
I made this as closely to the original recipe as I could but I did use dry roasted peanuts and left out some ingredients I didn’t have and used a jalapeño pepper. I shared this soup with two other people and we all loved it. I am going to try the toasting of the pasta with other soups when I use added pasta.
ana
Delicous soup. Very forgiving recipe. Don't have quilquina? Make this soup. It will be good. Do you have lightly roasted peanuts instead of raw or blanched peanuts? Not a problem. Make this soup. Have a bunch of cilantro but only a fistful of parsley? Don't be deterred. Make this soup. Its going to work and it will be yummy.
Paola
Tastes just like home!! Delicious, cozy and comforting. Can’t believe it’s this good and vegan, I was stoked to find this recipe. Thank you for featuring Bolivian food!
marie
Fantastic. Did not have time for matchstick potatoes. Yet was amazing. Added a dash of lemon juice.
Cathy
This was fantastic. The time required was accurate, and well worth it.
Just Jewels
Beautiful looking soup that I wanted to love based on other reviews but didn't. It was very, very bland. Made a half-batch but added whole potato and 1/2 cup macaroni (out of penne), needs something more. Don't know if I'll make it again.
mbf
Any ideas for online sources for locoto powder and quilquina? Thanks!
Archruid 1
Another name for locate is rococo, found on line Anther name for quilquina is papalo. Also on line.
Spice bliss
This sopa is earthy and delicious. Not convinced about using penne here, although the toasting method is interesting. Maybe pearl barley, polenta, brown rice, or some other alternative. Will try next time a little sweet potato with Yukon golds. Substituted urfa biber and New Mexico chili and dried cilantro. Increased cumin a bit.
Franhaz
I made this as closely to the original recipe as I could but I did use dry roasted peanuts and left out some ingredients I didn’t have and used a jalapeño pepper. I shared this soup with two other people and we all loved it. I am going to try the toasting of the pasta with other soups when I use added pasta.
Dianne
I made this without the quilquiña and locoto as my usual sources (Amazon, etc) did not carry them. Providing a link to an online source for such unusual ingredients would help. Before adding the potato and peas, I tasted it for seasoning. It was a bit on the bland side so I added a bit more cumin and a half cup of aji panca, an ingredient I had recently bought for another recipe I found here at the Times. That did the trick and the end result was a nicely flavored soup that was worth the effort.
Lisa
This is just Mmmmmmmmmmm. A winter-warmer. Has the cozy comforting creaminess of a pot pie. Hard to believe its vegan! Can’t wait to try with the two unusual herbs/spices mentioned.
eric
This was ok. Fairly bland. When puréeing peanuts. Make smooth before addding water
LT
This soup is fantastic. In addition to the serrano I also added a habanero, I used gluten free pasta (rummo makes the best one), and hickory sticks on top. Will definitely make this again.
Loree Kalliainen
I didn’t have raw peanuts, but I had raw cashews in the freezer, so I subbed those. I didn’t have a regular potato so I used a sweet potato. I subbed a Tbsp of Calabrian chili paste for the minced ancho chili. Absolutely amazing! On the second night, we combined it with homemade beer bread.
Bellaverdi
This is a beautiful soup, and very much worth the effort. I deviated from the vegan paradigm and used chicken stock, and substituted the suggested dried cilantro. Otherwise prepared as written. The result was a full bodied soup with a pleasing subtle flavor. Served with already prepared potato sticks atop. Next time I may make my own potato sticks.
Amy K.
Does it really need salt, in addition to the bouillon which is so high in sodium? I’m thinking I’ll either use less bouillon or no additional salt, when I get around to trying this delicious-looking recipe!
Dianne
Taste it before adding the additional salt. If it works for you then you can skip it.
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