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.
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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!
So good and easy!
Delicious!
Made this for a dinner with friends last night. It got rave reviews and was easy to make. It was a bonus that I already had nearly all the ingredients.
Easy and tasty! Thank you for the recipe!
I happened upon this recipe on Pinterest, and just made a batch of this soup, and it is stupendous! A keeper for sure, and took very little prep and time to cook. The best part is having pretty much all the ingredients on hand.
Thank you so much.
YUM…I am wanting to try it AND wonder if I can use almost any of the beans like Cannelli etc., as I have JUST discovered to my disappointment that Garbanzos are ‘PHYTOESTROGENS” and my breast cancer was estrogen receptive, so …SADLY I will give up garbanzo … and best thoughts about alternative…THANKS!!!
Hmm, I bet cannellini WOULD actually be good with this! Nice thinking! :)
I made it with white beans instead of garbanzo and it was fabulous. Go for it!
This was amazing!! Didn’t even miss having meat.. tried the naan recipe with it.. killer!!!
Tasted great, looking forward to having it again for the next few days. Used aubergine (eggplant) instead of cauliflower as someone else suggested and used up a couple of fresh red chilis I had spare instead of cayenne since it was sold out when I went shopping!
How could I incorporate sweet potato into the dish? I’d like it in chunks throughout the stew but not sure how to cook it. Does it need cooked a little beforehand or will it cook fine adding it in raw before simmering?
I think if you cut the cubes small enough it will cook through while it simmers. Small cubes usually need to boil for about ten minutes or so to become tender.
Tried this recipe again but with courgette, carrots, sweet potato and cavolo nero in place of the cauliflower/celery, plus extra lentils, extra onion and double spices.
Wow, I could seriously eat this all day! Cavolo nero didn’t really work but the courgette/carrot/sweet potato combo was awesome! Will definitely add celery back in next time, maybe some aubergine too.
I just made a version of this now with sweet potato and other root veg, I just added it in after the onions had cooked a bit and it cooked thoroughly, was lovely and soft/squishy so I wouldn’t worry about it, S.potato cooks v fast ! (Though if you did feel the need you could steam it before hand)
Can I make this in a slow cooker?
I think I’d need to test it out first to see if any adjustments would need to be made.
My bad, Beth. Here are your five stars.
Nice, Beth. I made the following substitutions:
Half an unpeeled eggplant in place of cauliflower.
Six good sized garden tomatoes in place of canned.
I also added a bit more cinnamon.
Thank you for the recipe!
Fantastic. I added some zucchini to give it extra color as well as adding a bit more cayenne pepper.
This is also awesome over sweet potato. I had a baked one in the fridge that needed to be eaten (I prep a few each week for easy dinners) and decided the pairing could be just crazy enough to work.
This was very flavorful. I served it over rice. It will have to go into heavy rotation as a healthy option. Thanks for all of the awesomeness. Kudos.
This is one of the best things I’ve ever made! My boyfriend and I make it at least every other week and sometimes freeze it to have on hand.
We eat it alone or serve over this amazing black grain rice we buy in bulk.
YUMMM.
I just made this. The wife and I agree this is delicious and uber-healthy. I served it on rice, and it was scrumptious. Thanks for your continued awesomeness Beth.