A Cedar Spoon

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Moroccan Carrot Red Lentil Soup

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Moroccan Carrot Red Lentil Soup is a meatless soup recipe packed full of flavor! Cumin, turmeric, coriander, paprika and cinnamon compliment the red lentils and carrots, creating a creamy, filling soup. 

Moroccan Carrot Red Lentil Soup is a meatless soup recipe packed full of flavor! Cumin, turmeric, coriander, paprika and cinnamon compliment the red lentils and carrots, creating a creamy, filling soup.  

MOROCCAN CARROT RED LENTIL SOUP

Lets talk soup. I eat it all year long and this is one I keep on rotation.

Moroccan Carrot Red Lentil Soup is one of my favorite soups of all time and remains one of the most popular recipes on my site.  It is one of those soups that keeps you coming back because of the rich, warm spices and the healthy ingredients. This soup is filling and can stand alone as a meal. Or you can pair a nice salad, some crusty bread or naan and a side dish and call it a night.

Those that know me well, know how much I love soup.  When I go to a restaurant, I almost always start my meal with a warm cup of soup.  If you like creamy soups with a lot of flavor, this Moroccan Carrot Red Lentil Soup is the soup for you. I promise you won’t be disappointed!

Moroccan Carrot Red Lentil Soup in white bowl

Last year I shared a slightly different recipe for Moroccan Red Lentil Soup.  Today’s soup uses that soup as the base but adds in carrots along with a few additional ingredients. The carrots compliment the tomatoes and lentils nicely, bringing a sweet flavor to the soup. 

One of my favorite things about this soup is that you can freeze half for later. This soup freezes really well. It makes a quick and easy lunch on those busy days. 

Moroccan Carrot Red Lentil Soup - easy soup

WHY SHOULD I MAKE LENTIL SOUP?

  1. This soup is vegan, gluten-free and protein packed. It offers you a good dose of vitamins from the carrots, spinach, spices and the lentils. 
  2. I love that this soup freezes so well. Make a big batch of it and save half for later. Portion it out so you can pull it out when you need a healthy lunch option. A tip before freezing: allow the soup to cool to room temperature, then put it in an airtight container, and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. When you are ready to eat it let the soup thaw in the fridge overnight. Then when you are ready to eat it, warm it up on the stove over low heat until it is warmed through. 

Moroccan Carrot Red Lentil Soup is a meatless soup recipe packed full of flavor! Cumin, turmeric, coriander, paprika and cinnamon compliment the red lentils and carrots, creating a creamy, filling soup. 

COOKING TIPS AND VARIATIONS:

  1. Add additional protein to the soup by adding chickpeas or white beans. 
  2. I enjoy extra vegetables in this soup. Trycauliflower, jalapeños for spice, potatoes or sweet potatoes.
  3. Garnishes are always a great way to take a soup to the next level. Some garnishes I love in this lentil soup is feta cheese {of course the soup won’t be vegan if you use feta}, fresh cilantro and parsley, Greek or plain yogurt swirled in to create a thicker, creamier soup.
  4. For those that want to add meat to the soup try adding sausage, diced chicken, ground pork or even some crispy bacon. 
  5. I like red lentils because they break down and become soft. With this soup I blend it, or at least half of it, but you can easily eat this soup as is. If you have brown or green lentils on hand you can swap those in or use half red and half brown or green. Some people prefer the texture of the green or brown-so that is totally up to you! 

Moroccan Carrot Red Lentil Soup is a meatless soup recipe packed full of flavor! Cumin, turmeric, coriander, paprika and cinnamon compliment the red lentils and carrots, creating a creamy, filling soup. 

WHAT SHOULD I SERVE WITH THIS SOUP?

A lot of times when I eat this soup it stands great on its own. I will often warm up a piece of pita or naan to go with it and make a simple salad. Here are some other ideas:

Moroccan Carrot Red Lentil Soup is a meatless soup recipe packed full of flavor! Cumin, turmeric, coriander, paprika and cinnamon compliment the red lentils and carrots, creating a creamy, filling soup. 

OTHER LENTIL RECIPES AND RESOURCES YOU MIGHT LIKE:

What are lentils? Nutrition and Variations by Jessica Gavin

Slow Cooker Taco Lentil Soup by Ambitious Kitchen

Curried Lentils by Budget Bytes  

Beef and Lentil Stew by A Spicy Perspective 

Yield: 6

Moroccan Carrot Red Lentil Soup

Moroccan Carrot Red Lentil Soup is a meatless soup recipe packed full of flavor! Cumin, turmeric, coriander, paprika and cinnamon compliment the red lentils and carrots, creating a creamy, filling soup. 

Moroccan Carrot Red Lentil Soup is packed full of the flavors of cumin, turmeric, coriander, paprika and cinnamon that complements the red lentils and carrots and creates a creamy, filling soup.

Prep Time 12 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 42 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 Tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/2 medium sweet onion, chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 cups chopped carrots or about 4 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric
  • 2 teaspoon coriander
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 2 cups red lentils, rinsed until water runs clear
  • 1-15 oz can diced tomatoes
  • 4 cups vegetable broth
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Garnish:
  • Fresh cilantro or Italian parsley
  • Lemon wedges
  • Crushed red pepper

Instructions

  1. Heat 2 Tablespoons olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Sauté the onion and garlic until soft, about 2 minutes then add the spices and continue to sauté about 4 minutes. Add the carrots and sauté until carrots are tender, about 10 minutes.
  2. Add the vegetable broth, diced tomatoes and lentils and stir to combine. Simmer on low heat for 20 minutes, or until lentils are tender.
  3. You can eat the soup as is with the chunks of carrots, lentils and tomatoes or you can use a handheld immersion blender or regular blender to create a creamy soup. Sometimes I blend half and keep half chunky.
  4. Serve the soup with fresh cilantro, crushed red pepper and fresh lemon juice.

Notes

This recipe makes 6 cups of soup.

This soup freezes very well if you have leftovers.

You can use chicken broth instead of vegetable broth.

If you want a bit thicker of a soup add 2-3 Tablespoons of tomato paste once the onion, garlic and carrots are cooked.

Some other additions that are nice include quinoa or couscous, chickpeas, grilled chicken, butternut squash or zucchini.

© Julia
Category: Soup, Dinner
Adapted from my Moroccan Red Lentil Soup which was adapted from Culinate 

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Comments

    • Julia says

      I hope you like it Debra! My husband usually isn’t into anything with lentils but he actually liked this soup. He couldn’t eat as much as me but the fact he ate a small bowl made me happy!

      Reply

    • Julia says

      Thanks Jess! I can’t believe fall is almost here. It is my favorite season except that it means a Chicago winter is on its way! 😉

      Reply

    • Julia says

      I would think you can. I have not tried using a different lentil but I know that some varieties take more or less time to cook so I would suggest if you sub a different lentil you watch the time it takes to cook and test the lentils to make sure they are fully cooked. Also depending on the lentils you may have to add more liquid..this is something I would asses as you start cooking the soup and see how the lentils are absorbing the liquid.

      Reply

  15. Zsuzsanna says

    I just made this soup – the only change is I replaced 2 cups of stock with a can of coconut milk. It is delicious, I will definitely be making this again! Thanks for the recipe.

    Reply

  16. Jessica Wright says

    Made this for meat eating friends, they loved it! I recommend blending it and adding cayenne pepper for spice. Very hearty, delicious soup!

    Reply

  17. nuts4knits says

    Wow!! This is officially the best carrot soup I’ve ever had. Possibly the best soup I’ve ever had. Thank you.

    Reply

  18. Kristina says

    some great flavors in here – we love lentils and I am always looking for new recipes to use them in, thank you! I know we will both love this one.

    Reply

    • Julia says

      Thanks Sandi! The flavor combinations in this soup work really well together. Hope you try it out and like it.

      Reply

  25. Ka says

    Lovely soup,
    I made mine with red onions and topped it with fresh coriander leaves and homemade finely chopped preserved lemons.

    Reply

    • Julia says

      Thanks for the feedback! I love the idea of fresh coriander leaves and the homemade preserved lemons. Sounds wonderful!

      Reply

    • Julia says

      It depends on how big the carrot are but I used large carrots for my recipe. Next time I make it, I will measure the cups.

      Reply

    • Julia says

      Great question! This is a great article on the difference: http://www.thekitchn.com/whats-the-difference-brown-gre-111139. Green lentils take longer to cook {maybe around 45 minutes} while red lentils take less than 35 minutes to cook {for me usually 20 minutes until tender}. I do think there is a different taste between the two and I like red lentils more in soups than green {green tend to taste more peppery} but I think it is probably a personal preference.Green also stay firm while red lentils get soft {which makes red great for soups}. If you have a blender you can blend the soup pretty smooth, so green could still work. Let me know if you use green!

      Reply

  30. Julia says

    A reader gave me the following notes from when she made the soup:
    1. I cooked the onions and garlic in coconut cream (I had some extra in the fridge) not oil.
    2. I added all the spices to the onions (after they softened) and cooked the spices. My friend from India taught me to do that.
    3. I added 3 tablespoons of tomato paste to the spice and onion garlic mixture.
    4. Then I added the carrots stirred them around for awhile and added 1/2 cup water to get the sticky bits up.
    I added water off and on (about 2 cups) to help the carrots get soft. THEN I just added 4 cups of water after.
    —I used Better than Boullion from the jar and added it to the water. It was fake chicken flavor.

    Reply

  31. Jenna says

    Thank you sooo much for posting this recipe. I never have much luck with cooking but I followed your recipe exactly and my soup has turned out perfect! Gratitude gratitude gratitude for you 🙂

    Reply

  32. Samara says

    I made this a few weeks ago (fantastic!) and I’d like to make it again – any suggestions for how to modify this into a crock pot recipe? I know the veggies get blended up at the end anyway, but I’m not sure how the lentils would be after sitting in the slow cooker all day. Thoughts?

    Reply

    • Julia says

      Hi there! I am so glad you liked it! From what I read most people just put all of the ingredients in the slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours then blend it. I think it would work really well! Let me know how it goes. It is a good idea for me to create a version in the slow cooker so I might do that soon too and post it. 🙂 Great idea!

      Reply

  33. Roberta says

    Hi There Julia! I just made your recipe few hours ago, it was delicious…I couldn’t wait to blend it, ate a bowl of it, will blend it in the morning and freeze some! I didn’t have onion on hand but had some shallot, so I used it and also used fire roasted diced tomato which was what I had. Thanks for sharing your comfort soup! It’s a keeper!!

    Reply

  34. Anita says

    I just made this for a quick lunch. Our fridge was pretty empty as we had just returned from a 3 week trip, but I happened to find a packet of multi-color lentils in the pantry so I decided to look and see what I else I can find in the pantry and freezer. I found a carton of chicken broth, a can of stew tomatoes, and a half bag of medley of frozen carrots, peas and corn, so I decided to throw these in. I followed the method and the soup was ready in 45 minutes.. It was delicious! I love how easy it is and how it tastes like I’ve sweated for half a day by the stove to make the soup. 🙂 Thanks for sharing and this will be one of the regular items on our dinner table.

    Reply

    • Julia says

      I love that you were able to make this with what you had in your pantry! It really is such a versatile and customizable soup. I am glad you liked it. Thanks for the feedback!

      Reply

  35. Gaynor Boyce says

    I’ve just made this soup, as we are out feeding the homeless tonight, it is gorgeous, i used chicken stock, and garam masala as i had no cumin, but had cumin seeds so used both…..i added a 1/4 tsp of chilli powder and it turned out really nice, i’m sure the homeless guys out there tonight will have a warming effect from this soup……..cold out there, hope they like as much as i do…..thanks for posting will defo be making again.

    Reply

    • Julia says

      Thanks for letting me know that you liked it Gaynor! And how wonderful that you are out feeding the homeless. I hope this warms you and them. I am so touched that you picked my soup to make for them. I like your idea to use cumin seeds–I am going to try that next time.

      Reply

  36. Linnea says

    Wow this was absolutely delicious!! Thank you for sharing this recepy. I’m definitly going to make this again, i added only 4 cups of vegetable broth bc i wanted it to be thicker and for me it was the perfect amount. I loved all the different spices in this. De-li-cious! And all the rest of my fam loved it too

    Reply

  38. Jess says

    Thanks so much for sharing this recipe! I made it for “Soup club” at work and was asked for the recipe over and over!

    I accidentally forgot the tomatoes…. I added a good inch of fresh ginger as well. Turned out great. Thanks again

    Reply

  39. Lauren says

    Would this recipe work if i just wanted a moroccan carrot soup? Can I follow the same procedure and skip the lentils? Thanksb

    Reply

    • Julia says

      I honestly have not tried that but I think if I did that I would do less liquid. A lot of the liquid is soaked up when the lentils cook making the soup thicker. I think you could cook everything together and then blend it to the texture you want. You could even add some white beans in for a thicker texture if you want instead of lentils. Let me know how it works out!

      Reply

  43. Carol says

    Hi Carol here from Greensborough Victoria Australia. I just made this soup and I love it. It will be on my winter soup list from now on. Thank you for your delicious recipe.

    Reply

  44. Tracy says

    This soup was excellent! I have a family member who can only have pureed items after oral surgery, and this was a hit/not the typical cream of soup! i used 14oz fire-roasted tomatoes (plus the suggested red pepper flakes)… it had a great spice/was very aromatic! Lentils providing protein an extra plus!

    Reply

    • Julia says

      Love the idea of the fire roasted tomatoes and I am so happy that you liked it! This is one of my favorite soups to make all year round. Thanks for sharing!

      Reply

  45. Chessie says

    I just made this for supper along with a spinach pie (spanakopita). You could call this random combination fusion cooking, right? (ha)

    Very tasty — thanks!

    Reply

  47. Sandy says

    Thankyou for this recipe. I have been looking for a good red lentil soup for a long time and I finally found it. One of your posts mentioned an “Indian friend” so I incorporated some of these tips in too. Yummy!

    Reply

  48. Heather Neufeld says

    This is great soup but the number of ads that popped up when I tried to get the recipe was absolutely maddening.

    Reply

  61. Victoria says

    the winter season is coming soon and i was looking for a healthy soup impatiently. and you made it easy for me. and I’m considering it the best and protein-enriched soup ever. thanks for sharing and keep on sharing.

    Reply

  62. Ezequiel says

    Can’t wait to cook it tomorrow night! I eat lentils soup all year long. Will add coconut milk to your recipe.
    Thanks for sharing.

    Reply

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