I get a lot of emails from readers with recipe suggestions and I love them all, but don’t get the opportunity to make many of them. Every once in a while, though, an email comes through with a recipe that happens to be exactly what I’m in the mood for eating that week. That’s what happened when I got an email from Rachel with a link to this amazing Moroccan Lentil and Chickpea Soup from Wegmans.com. The first thing that I noticed is that it has almost the same blend of warm and intoxicating spices that makes my Yellow Jasmine Rice so irresistible. So, of course, I had to try it!
I switched up the spices a bit to match what I had on hand (no coriander and changed quantities). I had a half bag of lentils in my pantry, so I just went with that instead of a whole pound. To make up for the smaller amount of lentils, I added a half-pound of frozen cauliflower florets, which were also hanging out just waiting to be used up. The cauliflower was an absolutely perfect match for this soup and I think it made the ratio of beans to vegetables perfectly balanced.
I can’t express how much I love this soup. It has so much flavor and texture, plus it’s filled with fiber and anti-inflammatory spices. Then, after making it and wolfing down a bowl, I noticed that, “Hey! This is vegan!” That’s the best type of vegan food—the kind that’s so good that you don’t even notice till you stop and think about it.
I didn’t have time, but I highly suggest making some Homemade Naan to dip in the amazing broth. Do it. You won’t be sorry.
See this recipe used in my weekly meal prep.
Moroccan Lentil and Vegetable Soup
Servings 8 (1.5 cups each)Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.26)
- 1 yellow onion ($0.32)
- 4 cloves garlic, minced ($0.32)
- 4 ribs celery ($0.75)
- 1/2 Tbsp ground cumin ($0.15)
- 1 tsp turmeric ($0.10)
- 1 tsp cinnamon ($0.10)
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper ($0.02)
- 1 15oz. can chickpeas ($0.69)
- 1 28oz. can diced tomatoes ($0.89)
- 1/2 lb. frozen cauliflower florets ($0.70)
- 6 cups vegetable broth ($0.78*)
- 1 cup brown lentils, dry ($0.70)
- 1 bay leaf ($0.15)
Instructions
- Dice the onion and mince the garlic. Sauté both in a large pot with olive oil over medium heat until softened. Dice the celery while the onions and garlic are sautéing, then add to the pot and continue to sauté for 2-3 minutes more.
- Add the cumin, turmeric, cinnamon, and cayenne pepper to the pot. Stir and cook the spices with the vegetables for 1-2 minutes.
- Add the diced tomatoes (with juices), chickpeas (rinsed and drained), and cauliflower florets (no need to thaw). Stir the pot until everything is well mixed.
- Add the vegetable broth and bay leaf, turn the heat up to high, place a lid on the pot, and allow it to come to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, add the lentils. Stir and let it come back up to a boil, then turn the heat down to low. Let the soup simmer on low, with the lid, for 30 minutes.
- After simmering for 30 minutes, the lentils should be tender. Remove the bay leaf and give the soup a taste. Add salt if needed (this will depend on the type of vegetable broth used. I did not add any additional salt), then serve.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Notes
Nutrition
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How to Make Moroccan Lentil and Vegetable Soup – Step by Step Photos
Begin by dicing one onion, mincing four cloves of garlic, and slicing four stalks of celery (about a half bunch). Add them all to a large pot with 2 Tbsp olive oil and sauté over medium heat for about five minutes, or until the onions are soft and translucent.
Add 1/2 Tbsp cumin, 1 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp cinnamon, and 1/4 tsp cayenne to the pot.
Sauté the spices with the vegetables for one to two minutes. This toasts the spices a little and amplifies their flavor. They may stick to the bottom of the pot a little, but that’s okay. Just take care not to let them burn. Turn the heat down slightly, if needed.
Add one 28oz. can of diced tomatoes (with the juices), one 15oz. can of chickpeas (rinsed and drained), and about a 1/2 lb. of frozen cauliflower florets (no need to let them thaw).
Add six cups of vegetable broth and one bay leaf. Stir everything to combine and dissolve anything that may be stuck to the bottom of the pot. Turn the heat up to high, place a lid on the pot, and let it come to a boil. Once it reaches a full boil, add one cup of brown lentils. Stir the pot, let it come back up to a boil, then turn the heat down to low. Let it simmer on low (with lid) for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, the lentils should be tender. Give the soup a taste and add salt if needed. I use Better Than Bouillon to make my vegetable broth and it’s plenty salty enough, so I didn’t need to add any, but if your brand has less salt, you may need to add a pinch. Remove the bay leaf and serve!
I LOVE how these spices make my house smell. So good! Serve with homemade naan. Oooh it makes my knees weak!
I love this soup. It’s a great cold weather recipe and has so much healthy stuff in it! My body feels so good after eating it. I typically double it so we have leftovers to freeze. This time I added a 10 oz block of frozen spinach at the end and just cooked it until thawed. It was the perfect quantity for the doubled batch and a good way to get some extra greens in. Can’t wait for leftovers tonight!
Happy to hear it Claire!
I threw in two handfuls of fresh spinach tonight. Was delicious.
Is that cilantro in the soup? I didn’t see it in the recipe but its definitely that or parsley? Mine is simmering now but do have cilantro so could add that? Smells delicious!
Yes sometimes Beth puts it on top for a pop of color fo the photos. It tastes delicious!
Delicious!! l very rarely follow recipes for soups, I usually find about 4 and then collaborate them and make my own. BUT this one I totally followed the recipe! Its so quick and easy clean up, very little prep. Plus cauliflower is the only thing in the recipe that I don’t always have on hand (I use fresh).
**I double the spices and added extra tomatoes (because we love spice and tomatoes)**
Happy to hear you found another for your rotation Rebecca!
This recipe is the bee’s knees. I cook it quite a bit longer to develop the flavor and make it more stew than soup. Highly recommend!
This is excellent and so easy! To save time (due to a very hungry boyfriend), I subbed turkey sausage crumbles for the lentils but kept everything else the same. It was delicious! Thank you!
Oh that’s a great idea! I may add this to our flexible recipe list with that addition.
When was the last time the cost of the ingredients was updated? I find the prices way too low. The following prices are more realistic and are the prices when on sale: celery – $3 a bunch or $1.50 for half a stalk, tomatoes – $1.49 for a 28 oz. tin, cauliflower – $3 a head or $1.50 for 1/2 lb. The regular price of these items is much more.
Hi Gail! Yes this recipe is over 4 years old, but the recipe prices do populate through an app on our site to remain current. Beth does a lot of her shopping at discount grocery stores such as Aldi. The prices can vary from store to store, and whether the produce is organic or not etc. We do our best to average the prices.
Because this recipe is relatively simple and yields an amazing flavor, it has become a staple recipe in my house. This makes A LOT, so we half the recipe and just use the whole can of beans anyways.
I made this for 18 people and everybody loved it. I doubled the recipe and even had some leftovers. Super easy to make. I’ll make it again, just for me. I recommend chopping everything up first. GREAT RECIPE!!!!!!
Made this today, a really easy and delicious recipe. I added some butter to the oil for flavour as I didn’t have great stock, and it really helped! Obviously my version isn’t vegan but is still a very healthy and cheap vegetarian dish that’ll have me eating in for a few days.
Anyone know how to make this in an Instant Pot?
I made this on a snowy day. So comforting and delicious. I could eat it everyday. My meat and potatoes husband even loved it. I made it exactly as printed. Yum!
Do you recall how much coriander it would have called for? I love coriander and used a teaspoon, which was pretty good.
I added two sweet potatoes, a handful of spinach and red pepper, since they needed using & used the tricolor cauliflower from Trader Joe’s- prettiest soup ever!
Wow! I bet!
What do you use to get the cost of each ingredient next to the recipe ingredients!?
I calculate it all by hand using my receipts and the information from the package, like serving size and number of servings per container. I wrote a post about how to do it so other people can try it at home. It’s really old, but I still use the same method! How To Calculate Recipe Costs
This is the first time making this very yummy soup,!! Thanks for the recipe…..I don’t care for cauliflower so I added zucchini and carrots and it is delicious!!