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A soul-warming Moroccan sweet potato lentil soup recipe. This soup is made in the slow cooker and requires hardly any work at all. Plus, it makes the whole house smell warm and cozy!
SOUP TIME.
Which, in my very humble opinion is the best kind of time there is. Unless it’s Chocolate Chip Cookie time, which, goes without saying, is obviously better.
And which obviously this is NOT. Ahem, what? Where were we? Detoxing.
That’s right.
Today, I’m bringing you this Moroccan-style detox lentil soup loaded with all the goodness straight from your refrigerator plus pantry with tons of soul-warming spices to brighten up these cold, cold winter days.
Now that’s what I’m talking about.
This Moroccan-inspired sweet potato and lentil soup is WARMING. Warming in a very pleasant way. We aren’t talking spicy – I mean spiced. To perfection. Along with an abundance of vegetables, we’ve got ground coriander, cumin, curry powder, paprika, cinnamon, turmeric, and nutmeg in the mix. So there’s plenty of flavor that the lentils and sweet potatoes will soak up.
Did I mention it also happens to be freezer-friendly since we don’t have a noodle situation here. It’s also budget-friendly because lentils are a great way to pack in fiber and protein without breaking the bank.
And it just happens to be around 250 calories a serving. So the leftovers can go into portions in the freezer for meal prep when you need a quick lunch with tons of veggies.
Ingredients for Sweet Potato Lentil Soup
- Sweet Potatoes: we’ll use about 1 pound of sweet potatoes to the ¾-1 pound of lentils in this recipe. Peel and cube the potatoes into small pieces so that they cook up in roughly the same amount of time as the brown lentils.
- Carrots, Onions, and Celery: The trinity for a good bowl of soup! Feel free to use a store-bought mirepoix mix if you’d like as this recipe calls for equal parts of each.
- Red Bell Pepper: Adds natural sweetness to the pot of soup along with the ground cinnamon.
- Garlic: you’ll need a handful of cloves for this recipe. I opt to add fresh pressed garlic as it has a more potent flavor. Jar-lic works too but you’ll probably need a little over 2 tablespoons to give it that same taste.
- Lentils: You’ll need brown or green lentils for this recipe. I typically use red lentils for my Turkish Red Lentil Soup recipe or my Indian Style Red Lentil Dal Soup along with some coconut milk, but since we’re loading this into the slow cooker and letting it simmer away, the texture would become too mushy. With the longer cooking time, brown or green lentils work better for this particular recipe.
- Spices: You’ll need some ground coriander, cumin, curry powder, smoked paprika, ground cinnamon, ground turmeric, and nutmeg. Feel free to swap the paprika or chili powder, or add both if you want the smoke and the heat.
- Broth: feel free to use vegetable broth or chicken broth depending on whether you need this recipe to be vegan-friendly or not.
- Baby Spinach: I personally love baby spinach for this recipe, but feel free to swap it with kale if that’s what you like or if that’s what you have on hand.
- Lemons: Fresh lemon wedges really brighten up the soup. Finish he soup with the lemon or squeeze into individual bowls if you’d like.
I made this tonight and it turned out fantastic! I will definitely be putting this in my soup rotation.
Making Sweet Potato Soup
- Load it all up. Seriously, add everything but the baby spinach and lemon juice to the slow cooker. You can cook tis on high for 4-6 hours or low for 6-8 hours. Keep in mind that all slow cookers are different, so yours may take more or less time than what is listed. Check for doneness after the first 2-3 hours and then adjust as needed.
- Blend it up. Check to see if the soup is done my piercing the sweet potatoes with a sharp knife. The knife should go through easily without needing much force. Press the lentils down using a spoon to see if they mash easily. When done, transfer half of the soup mixture to a blend and pulse until smooth-ish. Stir this backing the soup pot and then add the baby spinach and lemon juice. Cover and let the soup hand out for 30 minutes or until the spinach wilts down.
- Adjust and serve. Taste and adjust the soup to your liking. You might need additional salt, black pepper, or more curry powder to your liking. You might also need another splash of broth depending on how much liquid the ingredient absorbed while cooking. Serve with whipped yogurt, fried bread, and fresh herbs on top. Enjoy!
Other vegetarian-friendly soup recipes
- Secret Ingredient Tomato Basil Soup
- Luxurious Turkish Lentil Soup
- Cheesy Rice and Black Bean Soup
- Roasted Honeynut Squash Soup
- Roasted Garlic Potato Soup
- Chipotle Butternut Squash Chili
Moroccan Sweet Potato Lentil Soup (Slow Cooker)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound sweet potatoes peeled and cubed into small pieces
- 1 cup carrots chopped
- 1 cup onions chopped
- 1 cup celery chopped
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 6 cloves garlic minced or pressed
- 1 ½ cups green or brown lentils rinsed and picked over
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 ½ teaspoon cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon curry powder or more to taste
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 6-7 cups low sodium stock vegetable or chicken
- 2 ½ cups baby spinach roughly chopped
- ¼ cup lemon juice or lemon wedges for serving
Instructions
- Place the sweet potatoes, carrots, onions, celery, red bell pepper, garlic, lentils, spices, and 6 cups of broth into a slow cooker. Cover and cook on the low setting for 6-8 hours or on high for 4-6 hours.
- Check the lentils for doneness. If you're lentils have been in the pantry for a while, note that they'll take a bit longer to cook through.
- Place half the soup into a blender along with a little additional broth (½ cup or so) and blend till smoothish. Alternately, you can use an immersion blender directly in the slow cooker but be sure to not blend all of the soup if you want it to have a chunkier texture.
- Add the puree back into the slow cooker. Stir in the baby spinach and lemon juice. Cover the slow cooker, unplug it, and allow the ingredients to just hang out for 30 minutes or so until the spinach wilts down.
- Season with salt, pepper and curry powder to taste as desired. Thin with additional broth to desired consistency.
- Serve warm with whipped greek yogurt, fried pita bread, and tons of fresh herbs (parsley or cilantro) on top!
Notes
- Add more protein: You can sauté 1 pound of ground lamb, beef, chicken, or turkey and add it in with all the other ingredients to the slow cooker for a more protein-filled meal – note that you may need a little bit more of each of the seasonings to balance flavors when adding protein.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like This? Leave a comment & rating below!
What is the serving size in relation to the nutritional facts?
I’ve made this many times, but now am trying to keep track of protein grams. Also, I don’t know how anyone can prep this in 15 mins. It’s taking me about 1.5 hours!!! Maybe I am just slow… A tip that I have to offer though, is when I measure up the spices – I measure out spices for 2 separate recipes since there are so many. Then I keep 1 batch of spices in a jar labeled Moroccan Soup Spices.
Excellent! We added a pound of ground of lamb but it would have been good without meat. We doubled the onion and garlic and added about 3/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes. We would definately make again.
Just made it. Delicious. I did add more curry and salt at the end. I doubled the recipe and alas it didn’t fit in my slow cooker. Used a dutch oven on top of the stove. It took about two hours at a simmer.
If I want to make this Moroccan lentil soup on the stove top, what alterations would I make? How long would I simmer it?
Thank you.
I just made this on the stove top. No alterations. Simmered it in a dutch over for about two hours until everything was soft.
I am making this tomorrow. I was wondering if it freezes well? TIA
Can this be made in the Instant Pot? If so, what would the recommended cooking times be? I’m excited to try this soup!
I made this tonight and it turned out fantastic! I will definitely be putting this in my soup rotation.
I followed Ileana’s Instant Pot instructions, and it came out great! I live at 9,200 ft above sea level, so I cooked it for 13 minutes instead of ten. Perfect! I added an extra teaspoon of curry powder and half a teaspoon of smoked paprika at the end. Served it with a dollop of plain greek yogurt, chopped cilantro, and chopped parsley on top. Delicious, filling, and nutritious. The recipe made plenty, so we have containers in the freezer for easy work-week lunches. This is definitely going into my regular rotation. Thank you!
Super delicious soup, probably the best lentil soup I’ve ever made or eaten! I mostly followed the recipe but prepared on stovetop, using a mix of brown, green and red lentils (total cook time 40 mins, added red lentils at 20 mins), and I added a bay leaf and parm rind for extra savory depth of flavor. I had no spinach so separately sautéed chopped kale and added after passing the immersion blender on low for a brief moment. Didn’t measure the lemon juice but it was probably a couple of tablespoons, then plenty of salt and pepper, and a shake of nutritional yeast for umami/protein enhancement, with an extra sprinkle of smoked paprika. Absolutely delicious and I am so looking forward to day two and three as it further develops. Thank you for this wonderful recipe!!!
It’s a keeper! I shamelessly change recipes all the time, so I did personalize it, but what a great blend of spices! I would never have put all those spices together. It works! My favorite change was using balsamic vinegar instead of the lemon. ACV works too.
Super delicious, cooked it stovetop, just sauteed the vegetables first. Also, I used frozen slices of okra instead of spinach.
do you think this will freeze well as is? Or should I omit the sweet potato? Thanks!!
Hi – in the picture, is the red veggie on top sweet bell pepper?
Making this yummy sounding dish this weekend.
Thank You!!
I made it in the instant pot and it turned out delicious and was so quick and easy! I got a very creamy consistency from my lentils, the flavors were so bright and delicious, and I spent about 15 minutes assembling it before turning on the IP. Including cooking time, the whole meal was ready in about 30 minutes. I made only a few minor recipe adjustments that I’ll detail below for anyone else who wants to try the pressure cooker way. Just note that I used a large instant pot, so times may be a little shorter in a smaller one.
1. Start the IP on sauté mode and add 2T ghee or avocado oil. While the pot’s heating up, measure out all your spices into a bowl (trust me, this was necessary).
2. When the IP is hot, add the spices and stir them into the fat, toasting them until fragrant, about 30 seconds (if you measure them out when the pot is hot, you’ll burn them).
3. Add carrots, celery, onion, and bell pepper, scrape the pot until spices are mixed throughout. Cook, stirring occasionally for five minutes until well incorporated. Add garlic and stir for one minute until fragrant.
4. Add 7C broth, sweet potatoes, lentils, and salt and pepper to taste and stir just enough to make sure that nothing is stuck to the bottom of the pot.
5. Close the lid and set instant pot to beans mode, 10 minutes. When the IP hits 0:00, use the quick release method to open the pot.
6. Puree with a stick blender until chunky, and stir in lemon juice and kale/spinach (and any cream/coconut milk if you decide to add that). Stir until kale/spinach is wilted, or replace lid and set to warm until ready to eat.
Oh yum! Totally trying in IP!
THANK YOU for the IP instructions!!!!
Can kale be used instead of spinach? I have not tried the soup yet.
Hi Karen! Kale should work just fine! You might want to add it in a bit earlier since kale requires a bit more cooking than spinach.
Sounds so yum! I’m not so good with cooking lentils – yet! Could I use tinned lentils and put in closer to the end??
Hi there! I haven’t tried that before myself, so I’m not 100%, but I do think it should work just fine! 🙂
I love this soup! I’ve made it a few times now. It’s wonderful as a vegetarian soup or with lamb. I also added some Harissa for a little extra kick. Yum!
Love that you added Harissa!
Sounds yummy. Can it be made in a instant pot/pressure cooker?
We really enjoyed this soup and am sharing this site with my daughter.
Thank you for a great recipe.
This is my go to when ever I want something savory, hearty and satisfying! Especially in the fall and winter, but I’ll make it in the summer as well. Love it and it makes my apartment smell like a high end restaurant, my neighbors always comment on the fact that it makes them salivate and stimulates their appetites whenever they smell it cooking from my apartment.
I have to agree, the smell is so so good!