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You are here: Home » Soups

Lentil Soup with Moroccan Spices

Jan 10, 2021 -May contain affiliate links

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Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe·5 from 2 reviews
Bird's eye view of a blue terra-cotta dish filled with lentil soup.

This easy Lentil Soup is filled with Moroccan spices, tomatoes, and rice for a hearty meal that has everyone coming back for seconds! Serve it with a simple salad or a loaf of crusty bread for the perfect weeknight meal.

Bird's eye view of a blue  terra-cotta dish filled with lentil soup

You only need a few pantry ingredients and a bunch of spices to make this quick and easy lentil recipe. We love cooking with lentils, because they don't need to pre-soak. You can have a filling and comforting hot soup ready in less than an hour.

Are Lentils Good for You?

Yes! This is one of our favorite reasons to make lentils recipes--they pack a major nutritional punch. Lentils are a plant-based source of protein while being low in fat and high in fiber that will keep you full longer. Your body will thank you for including lentils in your meals!

An image that show 5 different types of lentils. Each type of lentil, black, green, pardon, red and brown are labeled

The Best Lentils to Use in Soup

Any type of lentils will work! There are so many different kinds of lentils to choose from that it can be overwhelming! Pretty much any lentils you find in the grocery store will work, although red lentils will result in a totally different kind of soup. Black, Pardina, or green lentils hold their shape better while cooking and we prefer them over regular brown lentils. Brown lentils have an earthier, mild flavor and are usually easier to find. They’re still a great option for this Mediterranean Lentil Soup! Just give pick and check your lentils for any debris and little stone and give them a good rinse. If you need more detailed information about lentils check out our Mujadara Post.

How Long to Cook Dry Lentils

One cup of lentils needs about 3-4 cups of water to cook, and depending on the type of lentils, plan on 25-40 minutes of cooking time.  One cup of dry lentils makes about 2 ½ cups of cooked lentils. If you want to save a bit of time you can use canned lentils. Just rinse them before adding them in and reduce the simmering time! Dry lentils do not need to be soaked before adding them to soup or any other dish. Lentil do need to be picked over to take out any debris or small rocks.

Brown Lentils in metal mesh colander

Storing Lentil Soup

You can keep this easy lentil soup in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. The leftovers are absolutely delicious! It can also be frozen for up to six months and enjoyed whenever the craving hits.

Bird's eye view of lentils soup ingredients, labeled. Lentils, onions, diced tomatoes, rice, olive oil, and spices

Spices We Used in Our Moroccan Lentil Soup

We included some of our favorite spices to bring warmth and flavor to this easy lentil soup recipe!

  • Turmeric
  • Paprika
  • Coriander
  • Cumin
  • Black pepper
  • Cinnamon
  • Allspice

If you want to get adventurous with spices you could also add our garam masala, shawarma, or curry seasonings!

How to Make Lentil Soup From Scratch

We know that Lentil Soup isn’t the most exciting sounding meal in the world, but when it’s made right, you’ll be craving leftovers for lunch as soon as dinner is over! We start with a sauteed onion and garlic (along with any veggies that may take longer to cook, like carrots, celery, sweet potatoes, or butternut squash). Add in the lentils along with broth and spices. This gives the lentils time to soak up all the delicious flavors as they cook! Finish your soup with canned tomatoes and any quicker-cooking vegetables or grain you’d like (spinach, kale, swiss chard, rice, bulgur wheat, quinoa, ).

Side view of a blue terra-coat dish with lentil soup and a piece of bread sticking out of the soup

More Lentil Recipes You Must Try

  • Red Lentil Soup with Lemon and Cilantro  
  • Red Lentil Soup Recipe with Fennel and Turmeric
  • Lentil Curry
  • Lentil and Sweet Potato Chili
  • Easy Rigatoni with Lentil Bolognese
  • Avocado Tomato and Lentil Salad
  • Beluga Lentil Recipe with Baba Ghanoush 
  • Lentil Meatballs with Tahini and Turmeric Sauce
  • Freekeh Lentil Stuffed Peppers

DID YOU ENJOY OUR LENTIL SOUP RECIPE?

If you enjoyed this recipe, it would help us tremendously if you left us a star rating in the comments below or on the recipe card. Do you have any questions about the recipe? Do you need a swap for any of the ingredients? We are here to help, just leave us a question in the comments below.

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Bird's eye view of a blue terra-cotta dish filled with lentil soup

Lentil Soup with Moroccan Spices


5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 2 reviews

  • Author: Vicky & Ruth
  • Total Time: 1 hour
  • Yield: 12 cups 1x
  • Diet: Vegan
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Description

This easy Lentil Soup is filled with Moroccan spices, tomatoes, and rice for a hearty meal that has everyone coming back for a second helping! Serve it with a simple salad or a loaf of crusty bread for the perfect weeknight meal.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 large onion, diced small
  • 3 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp ground sweet paprika, you may also use smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp ground turmeric
  • ¾ tsp ground Allspice
  • ½ tsp ground coriander
  • ½ tsp ground cumin
  • ½ tsp ground cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp black pepper
  • ¼ tsp hot pepper flakes or Aleppo pepper (optional if you like a little heat)
  • 2 cups brown lentils picked over and rinsed, you may also use green lentils (See Note)
  • 8 cups veggie broth, veggie chicken broth or water
  • 1-2 teaspoon salt (See Note 3)
  • 1 - 28 ounce can of small diced tomatoes, you may also use crushed tomatoes
  • ½ cup basmati, jasmine rice, or any rice you have on hand. (See note 2 if using brown or wild rice)
  • Schug ( Optional)

Instructions

  1. In a large pot  heat the olive oil
  2. Add diced onions and garlic cook on medium-high for 3 minutes, add the spices, cook for an additional 3 minutes.
  3. Add water or broth and lentils, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and let the lentils simmer covered for 25 minutes or until tender, but not mushy. Some lentils may require a longer cooking time. ( See Note 1). Do not leave the lentils unattended or they will burn when most of the water has evaporated.
  4. Add salt ( See Note 3), canned tomatoes, rice and bring to a boil again. Reduce heat, simmer covered for 20 minutes or until rice is cooked. ( See Note 2).  Same advice again, do not leave the soup unattended or it may burn when most of the water has evaporated.
  5. If the soup is too thick add some water to achieve the desired consistency.
  6. Serve hot with some Schug on top (optional)

Notes

  1. You may use Pardina, green or black lentils.  Cooking times may vary between the different types of lentils.  See this post for a detailed description of the different types of lentils.
  2. If you are using brown or wild rice you may need to add more water or broth and the cooking time for the rice will be longer. It's always better to add the salt once the lentils are tender.  They will cook faster this way.
  3. We used 2 teaspoon of salt, you may want to start with one teaspoon and add more salt to your taste.
  4. If the soup is too thick or it thickened in the fridge add some water.
  • Prep Time: 10
  • Cook Time: 50
  • Category: Soup
  • Method: Stovetop
  • Cuisine: Moroccan

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1.5 cups
  • Calories: 241
  • Sugar: 5.8
  • Sodium: 473
  • Fat: 2.7
  • Saturated Fat: .4
  • Unsaturated Fat: 2.3
  • Trans Fat: 0
  • Carbohydrates: 43.3
  • Fiber: 7.6
  • Protein: 14
  • Cholesterol: 0

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @mayihavethatrecipe on Instagram and hashtag it #mayihavethatrecipe #tahiniandturmeric

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Karen

    January 11, 2021 at 2:30 pm

    Is there something missing between or in steps 2 and 3...when to add the lentils?
    Thanks - I'm always looking for good pareve soup recipes, and look forward to making this one when the instructions are clear (and hope everything else in the recipe is accurate).

    Reply
    • Vicky & Ruth

      January 11, 2021 at 2:46 pm

      Hi Karen, you add the lentils right after you add the water or the broth. Sorry about the omission. Enjoy the recipe!

      Reply
      • Karen

        January 13, 2021 at 10:48 am

        Thanks!

        Reply
  2. cindy

    January 14, 2021 at 11:16 am

    Just made this soup-it's a chilly 60 degrees in Florida! I have a lot of baharat spice that I want to use up so I substituted that for most of the spices. The is a wonderful soup!

    Reply
  3. Diane

    January 25, 2021 at 3:55 pm

    Love this soup! It is so nourishing, flavorful, filling, satisfying. I added a few other vegetables- carrots, celery, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, green onion, leeks, which made it even yummier. Used black lentils and black rice. Eating it today on a cold rainy day and it really hits the spot. Now I have a batch of this and a batch of your delicious vegetable soup in my freezer at the ready. Thank you so much for your fabulous recipes!

    Reply
    • Vicky and Ruth

      February 28, 2021 at 8:43 pm

      Thank you! Keep Cooking!

      Reply
  4. Eden

    November 11, 2021 at 10:45 am

    Was really excited for this soup, but it had a metallic taste for some reason. Was easy to follow and in theory it was good maybe something in my pantry was bad!

    Reply
    • Vicky and Ruth

      November 11, 2021 at 12:55 pm

      Sorry to hear that, it could have been the tomatoes or the pan where you cooked in. Check out this article. https://www.cooksillustrated.com/how_tos/5665-when-cookware-turns-food-tinny

      Reply
  5. Ilene

    December 30, 2024 at 7:29 am

    OMG, it was wonderful!!!
    Quick and easy. Put it together and cooked while I did other things in the kitchen.
    Of course, it was even BETTER the next day.
    I will definitely add this to my meal rotation.

    Reply
    • Vicky and Ruth

      December 30, 2024 at 12:44 pm

      Thank you so much Ilene, so happy to hear that you love it! Yes! You are right, it's always better the next day!

      Reply

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Welcome!

We are Vicky & Ruth, authors of the vegan cookbook Tahini and Turmeric. Born and raised in a multicultural Jewish-Lebanese-Spanish household our culinary journey began in Barcelona, Spain where we learned from our family the rich flavors of Lebanon, Turkey, Israel, Morocco, and Spain. From our mother's fragrant Lebanese dishes to our grandmother's secret Sephardic Turkish specialties, our Moroccan friend's fragrant recipes, our sister's vibrant Israeli creations, and our neighbor's authentic Spanish fare, each dish was a key that unlocked new exciting yumminess.

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