Moroccan Carrot Red Lentil Soup is a meatless soup recipe packed full of flavor! Cumin, turmeric, coriander, paprika and cinnamon complement the red lentils and carrots, creating a creamy, filling soup. This soup freezes great too!
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. I love having a big pot of this simmering away in my dutch oven. 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!
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.
If you like lentils you should also check out some other recipes like this Lebanese Lentil Soup, Red Lentil Curry, Mediterranean Lentil Salad or this Slow Cooker Lentil Soup.
Why Should I Make This Lentil Soup?
- Flavor: You honestly can’t beat the spice mixture in this soup. It is so warm, rich and just pure comforting. It also offers a lot of healthy vitamins and minerals.
- Vegan: 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.
- Freezes Well: 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.
Tip for 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.
Recipe Ingredients:
- Vegetables: I added onion, garlic and carrots in this lentil soup. I love the combo and flavor those add. You also could add things like butternut squash or sweet potato but make sure you dice them very small so they cook quickly.
- Spices: The combination of spices in this soup is my favorite. I used cumin, turmeric, coriander, paprika and cinnamon.
- Lentils: Red lentils are the star of this recipe. Make sure to rinse them and pick through them to get any rocks or other things that shouldn’t be mixed in out of the lentils.
- Diced Tomatoes: I added a can of diced tomatoes. You can used crushed tomatoes or even try fire roasted tomatoes for that smoky flavor.
- Vegetable Broth: I used vegetable broth but you can sub in chicken broth or chicken stock also.
Cooking Tips and Variations:
- Add additional protein to the soup by adding chickpeas or white beans.
- I enjoy extra vegetables in this soup. Trycauliflower, jalapeños for spice, potatoes or sweet potatoes.
- 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.
- For those that want to add meat to the soup try adding sausage, diced chicken, ground pork or even some crispy bacon.
- 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!
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:
- A Mediterranean Bean Salad or Arugula Salad with Pine Nuts is always a great partner to this lentil soup.
- This Roasted Parmesan Garlic Cauliflower or these Simple Garlic Parmesan Green Beans are a nice addition.
- A big bowl of this traditional or lemon hummus is a great side dish to the soup.
Other Lentil Recipes 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
Moroccan Carrot Red Lentil 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.
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
- 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.
- Add the vegetable broth, diced tomatoes and lentils and stir to combine. Simmer on low heat for 20 minutes, or until lentils are tender.
- 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.
- 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.
One cup of lentils would be sufficient. The soup became a paste when I blended it. Had to add another cup of broth. Also, I doubled the spices and added a generous tsp of Garam Masala as I thought it was bland. With those changes I would make it again.
Thanks for letting me know. I have made this time and time again and it never turns into a paste once I blend it. It is definitely a thick soup though which is now I Like my lentil soups. That is a great idea to use the broth to thin it to your liking. As far as the spices if you double the recipe just make sure you double the spices- for me the amount of spice is always perfect when I make one batch of soup but I think that really depends on your tastes. Enjoy!
I am trying this now, but it does not say when to add the herbs and spices 🤷♀️ added them with the stock.. praying it turns out ok 🙏🏼❤️
Hi! It says it in this step: 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.
Adding them with the stock is fine too!
This was easy to make and came out delicious. Just two things: if you blend this in a VitaMix be careful not to use high speed. It will come out as a thick paste. Fortunately I blended most of the soup on low speed and the rest on high, which as I said came out as a thick paste. But the paste mixed into the rest of the soup just fine. The other thing is that I felt it lacked something, so I added a little more of all the spices and now it’s quite yummy!
Thanks for the tips. Yes it is a thick soup which is why I typically just blend half or use a handheld blender. I think the idea of a vitamix for half of it.
Thank you for this soup recipe, which I now associate with a friend we lost to a long battle with brain cancer this year. I wanted to give him something healing as we didn’t live near each other anymore and I could not make it for him myself. He loved it, but he never bookmarked it and kept asking me for it, over and over, which became a running joke. His parents came to visit him in Atlanta from India last year before he passed and he made it for them and it was a grand slam. I will forever think of him when making it, but my gosh, did he and his family love it so much!
Awww what a beautiful story. Thank you for sharing. <3 I am sorry for the loss of your friend.
This soup was absolutely delicious. So amazing. Will make all the time! Thank you!!!
I am so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for letting me know.
I’m here to comment to let you know that, first, I love this soup so much. But the second part is more important. I shared this recipe with a friend who had a form of brain cancer. He loved it, too, he made it for his parents visiting from India and they thought it was delicious. My friend would never save this recipe for some odd reason, so every few months he would ask me for the recipe again, which became a joke because he was very intelligent, but never bookmarked it! Sadly, Ashish passed away a few weeks ago, but he always took so much joy in making this soup for his family even when he was sick. Your recipe touched many lives and all I did was find it on Pinterest to make something with a Moroccan flair. Thank you.
Oh my goodness. Thank you so much for sharing this story with me. It truly touched my heart. I am so sorry to hear that your friend passed away. My thoughts are with you and his family and friends. I am so glad that one of my recipes touched him in this way and it was something he enjoyed. Thank you again for sharing something so personal with me. <3 Now each time I make this soup I will think about your dear friend.
Delicious and easy to make.
Thanks!
In the picture, you’ve topped it with something white and creamy. Is that coconut milk?
Yes..or for a non vegan version you can use Greek yogurt.
Excellent.
Easy to make and very good. I pureed the entire batch.
So glad you liked it! I puree all of it sometimes too which I think makes a nice consistency.