Moroccan-inspired lentil soup

Tasty recipe for Moroccan-inspired lentil soup

After many years of keeping this recipe in my arsenal (aka my freezer), I am finally sharing this awesome, tasty and filling lentil soup recipe.

A white bowl containing moroccan lentil soup, which consists of vegetables and lentils, garnished with feta cheese, fresh cilantro and olive oil.

the story behind this recipe

During the (sorry, trigger warning) pandemic, my partner and I were looking for new recipes. I had just begun diving into different recipes as I got used to making the same ones every week. Working a 9-5, I didn’t really feel like trying new things all the time. But being stuck inside our condo during Covid, I had nothing else to do except looking at new ideas.

My partner had been talking about lentils. We already were using chickpeas in our cooking, but we wanted to diversify our beans. So I started looking for a lentil soup recipe. I had never made lentil soup, so I really didn’t know what to look for.

After a quick Google search, I had a few options, but I wasn’t sure about which one to make. And quite frankly, at this point I don’t remember which one I made because I’ve made a bunch of changes to this recipe throughout the years… But I know it was inspired by a moroccan lentil soup recipe; which is why I name this one my moroccan-inspired lentil soup recipe.

why you need to make this lentil soup recipe

This soup has saved our butts so many times. Sometimes, you just need a quick meal with lots of vegetables and will fill you up; this lentil soup is exactly that. It is packed with carrots, potatoes and lentils, with lots of other good stuff. I always make a big pot of it and have it for a bunch of times. You can eat it right away, keep it in the fridge for a few days, but I highly recommend packing it up in containers in the freezer. It is so easy to pull it out for the freezer in the morning, and have something ready when you want dinner. And you can add to it; we often will add more protein to the soup (I’ve added lamb meatballs to it and it was delish).

A white bowl containing moroccan lentil soup, which consists of vegetables and lentils, garnished with feta cheese, fresh cilantro and olive oil.

Moroccan-Inspired Lentil Soup

This moroccan-inspired lentil soup is packed with lots of vegetables, lentils and great flavors.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings: 8 portions
Course: Soup
Cuisine: Morrocan, Vegetarian
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 1-2 tbsp Olive Oil
  • 2 cups Chopped Onion
  • 2 cups Chopped Celery
  • 2 cups Chopped Carrots
  • 2 cups Chopped Potatoes
  • 2-4 Garlic cloves, minced (to taste)
  • 1 tbsp Salt
  • 1 tbsp White Pepper (1/2 tbsp if using Black Pepper)
  • 1½ tbsp Turmeric Powder
  • 1 tbsp Ground Cumin
  • 2 tbsp Ginger
  • 1 tbsp Paprika
  • ½ tbsp Cinnamon
  • 1 tbsp Curry Powder
  • 1 cup Green Lentils
  • 2 tbsp Tomato Paste
  • 1 cup Red Lentils
  • 4 cups Chicken Broth
  • 4 cups Water
  • 1 can Coconut Milk
  • 1 Lemon, juiced

Method
 

  1. Heat the oil in a pot on medium-high heat.
  2. Add all the chopped vegetables to the pot. Sauté for 5 minutes.
  3. Add the garlic. Sauté for 2 minutes.
  4. Add all the seasonings and tomato paste. Cook for 2 minutes.
  5. Add green and red lentils. Sauté for 2 minutes.
  6. Add chicken broth and water, and stir. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 40 minutes. Stir occasionally.
  7. Remove from the heat and stir in the coconut milk and lemon juice.
  8. Enjoy with crumbled feta cheese, fresh cilantro and jalapeno-infused olive oil.

Notes

You don’t need to be precise with the measurements for the vegetables. If you have more or less of one, just use what you have.

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