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!
This was delicious! My family of 4 and even neighbors tried this dish – Awesome. Will make again.
Love the stew all year around ! I enjoy all the recipe s .
Could I substitute potatos for the cauliflower?
Sure, I don’t see why not. :)
Learned myself a lesson in lentils this time around. I thought I had been using green lentils (they looked greenish to me), so when I had to buy more lentils at a huge, super-fancy whole foods, they had like twice the variety as my other WF. I went for these green lentils that looked different – bigger and greener than the last ones I had. Well, they definitely took twice as long to cook. My cauli turned to mush. I love the flavor of this so much, it won’t be a problem for me to finish it. But I will stick to brown lentils from now on. Just a warning if anyone uses green instead – don’t add the cauli until the lentils have cooked at least 30 minutes – took me an hour to cook those damn things!
I made this tonight with just a few modifications. I had some carrots laying around, so I added those. I also added the teaspoon of coriander back in (I like coriander, and I had it around so why not?). Last thing I did differently was to use red lentils and decrease the cooking time by about 10 minutes (that’s what I had on hand, otherwise I would’ve used the brown ones.
This tasted (and smelled) great, and was just the thing I needed to clean out some leftover ingredients! Thanks for sharing!
I’m not a vegetarian, but I try to have at least 3 meatless meals a week. Sadly, my repertoire of plant-based recipes is not that vast (yet) and I often fall back onto salads that I add some grains or pulses to, or pasta dishes. I made this stew for lunch today and it was fabulous! My only changes were using fresh cauliflower and green (not brown) lentils that I had on hand. Everything else I did as suggested. It was truly delicious, and I’m looking forward to having some more later this week! Many thanks for sharing this recipe.
YUM!! Loved this soup!! So healthy and flavorful. Thank you, Beth!
Good and simple recipe. i had zero ingredients in my new place, so including the spices i spent about $22, but now that I have those “staples”, it will probably only cost around $7 to make another pot. It was easy to make, healthy, and tastes great! The cinnamon added a nice subtle touch on top of the cayenne and cumin.
Made this just now. No cauliflower on hand and only half a can of tomatoes, so I added a can of marinara sauce. I didn’t have any stock but its still tasty. I was just under a cup on my lentils, so I added jasmine rice to reach the 1 cup line. Going to squeeze a lime into a bowl and eat! I also added a few small red potatoes which I realized was a bad idea, they don’t break apart like the russets.
You know what Beth, it’s not just that your recipes are amazing but it’s also awesome how you show your personality in what you write as well! (True story!) Sometimes your honest humour gives me that added push to try a dish (this being one of many!) that I never regret! Thanks so much for your website, it’s been so helpful for me and my family :)
PS. This recipe is schweeet by the way!
Awwww, thank you!! :D
I pinterest all day looking for recipes and never comment, you have the best site! Step by step photos is exactly what I needed. Thank you so much!!!!!
This is one of my most favorite recipes on Budget Bytes because it is so versatile. Hmmm, I’m low on cash but I have lentils, carrots, kale, and a handful of baby spinach that’s going to go bad. Moroccan lentil vegetable stew is the answer!
We had this tonight for dinner. My meat loving husband is getting used to eating vegan/vegetarian once a week. This one was another winner. I added about twice as much cauliflower, and I added a diced sweet potato. Flavours blended really well.
Thanks again,.
I’ve been a lover of your blog for a long time. I tell EVERYONE I know about it, and have recommended SO many of your amazing recipes. Sadly, this is my first comment.
Anyway.. This is by far one of my FAVORITE recipes! The flavors go so well, and I could literally eat it EVERY DAY. My husband hates cauliflower (yet I still married him!?), and celery. However, he begs to add this to our dinner rotation at least weekly!!
Thank you SO much for sharing all of your amazing recipes with all of us. :)
Looks tasty 😋 going to give these dishes a go..