Have you been noticing that your eating patterns are a bit off track? Get back into the groove by serving our Moroccan lentil stew for supper tonight. It's vegan, gluten free and absolutely delicious!
If you love eating healthy meatless soups, you'll want to try our creamy roasted cauliflower soup and our copycat Panera creamy tomato soup.
Ingredients
Our Moroccan lentil stew is made with pantry staples that are easy to find at the grocery store. Let's talk about some of the key ingredients.
- Vegetables: We used onions, carrots, sweet potatoes, and diced tomatoes. You could also try butternut squash, pumpkin, or cauliflower.
- Protein: We used green lentils.
- Spices: We used garlic, cumin, coriander, turmeric, sweet paprika, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. We also used fresh cilantro as a garnish.
- Liquids: We used vegetable broth, lemon juice, and water.
- Greens: We used fresh spinach, but you could also try kale, Swiss chard, or beet greens.
How to Make
Gather all the ingredients for our Moroccan lentil stew. Chop the onion, mince the garlic, and dice the carrots. Peel and cut the sweet potatoes into bite-sized pieces, then squeeze the lemons.
- Let the oil heat up in a Dutch oven over medium high heat, then add the onions and carrots. Sauté until soft, then add the garlic and cook until fragrant.
- Add all the dry spices and cook for one minute, stirring constantly. This will intensify the spices' flavor. Deglaze the pot by pouring in ½ cup of broth and scraping the brown bits off the bottom of the pot with a wooden turner. This will add more flavor to the Moroccan lentils.
3. Pour in the diced tomatoes with their juice, the cubed sweet potatoes, and the rinsed lentils.
4. Pour in the 4 ½ cups of vegetable broth. (Keep the remaining 2 cups for later to thin the stew.)
5. Cover the Dutch oven and bring the Moroccan lentil stew to a boil, then simmer covered for 45 minutes, stirring once and a while to prevent the vegetables from sticking to the bottom.
During the last 10 minutes of cooking the Moroccan lentil stew, pour in 1 to 2 cups of vegetable broth. During the last 5 minutes of cooking, stir in the spinach so it will wilt.
6. Mix in ½ cup of chopped cilantro.
7. Add the freshly squeezed lemon juice at the end of cooking, and stir with a large wooden spoon until well combined. Taste and adjust seasonings for the Moroccan lentil stew; we added another ½ teaspoon of salt.
8. Serve the Moroccan lentil stew hot and garnish with the last ½ cup of chopped cilantro.
Who knew a bowl of stew could be so good for you? Experience the health benefits of clean eating today by using our recipe for delicious Moroccan lentil stew.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, it most certainly is, so feel free to have seconds. It has 293 calories in a 1 ¼ cup serving. This recipe is high in vitamins A and C from the spinach and sweet potatoes, and high in iron from the lentils. It also has turmeric in it, so it will provide many antioxidants which are great for improving your cellular health. For more nutritional facts, scroll past the recipe card.
Green or brown lentils would be best for this recipe. Try to use dried lentils, as they cook quickly, and avoid using canned lentils.
Green: These lentils have the longest cooking time at 45 minutes and are tender when cooked, but don't break apart. They have a peppery taste.
Brown: These lentils have a cooking time of 30-45 minutes and hold their shape when cooked. They have an earthy flavor.
Red: These lentils cook the fastest at 10 to 15 minutes, but tend to break apart when cooked. They're best in purees and dips.
No, this recipe is meant to be chunky, but if the texture or look isn't what you are after, you can blend half the soup.
Yes, our recipe is gluten free. Check the label on the vegetable broth to make sure it doesn't contain yeast extract, as that is made with wheat.
Serve
If you are looking for more food ideas to round out the Moroccan lentil stew, try adding naan bread or pita. If you are a rice lover, serve the stew on top of a bed of rice. A low carb option is adding a crunchy green salad to the menu and some dates or figs for dessert.
Store
- Make Ahead: Yes, you can our Moroccan lentil stew the night before. Since the lentils absorb liquid easily, you might want to add a bit more vegetable broth or water to the stew before serving and then adjust the spices.
- Leftovers: Our Moroccan lentil recipe can last up to 5 days in the fridge, as along as it is it cooled completely and stored in an airtight container. Keep in mind that the turmeric in the stew will stain plastic containers or zip-top bags.
- Freeze: Our Moroccan lentil stew freezes well. Remember to allow it to cool completely before transferring to a glass airtight container or freezer zip top bag. Keep in mind that the stew will permanently stain plastic utensils or containers.
- Reheat: To reheat, allow it to thaw in the fridge overnight and warm up on the stovetop over medium low heat until heated through.
Variations
- Want it creamy? Add 1 cup of coconut milk.
- Want to add a grain? Try quinoa.
- Want dried fruit? Try adding raisins, dried apricots, or dates.
- Want to add meat? Try cubed beef or lamb.
Expert Tips
- Want other garnish ideas? Try a drizzle of olive oil, dollop of sour cream or Greek yogurt.
- Have leftovers? If you have leftovers, you'll want to add a bit more broth/water and then adjust the seasonings because lentils absorb liquid the longer the stew sits.
- Want it spicy? Add 1 tablespoon of harissa (a North African hot red chili paste) or ¼ teaspoon of red pepper flakes.
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Recipe
Moroccan Lentil Stew
Ingredients
- 1.5 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cups onion, chopped
- ½ cup carrots, finely diced
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- 2 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground coriander
- 1 ½ teaspoons turmeric
- 1 ½ teaspoons sweet paprika
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- 7 cups organic vegetable broth, reserve 2 cups for the end
- 15- ounce can petite diced tomatoes
- 3 ½ cups sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-size pieces
- ⅓ cup lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- 1 ½ cup brown or green lentils, rinsed
- 4 cups spinach
- 1 cup cilantro, chopped (reserve ½ cup for garnish)
Instructions
Stovetop Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium high heat until the oil shimmers. Add the carrots and onions and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and saute for one minute, stirring constantly.
- Add all the spices and cook for another minute, stirring constantly. This is called blooming, and will intensify the flavor of the spices.
- Pour in ½ cup of broth to deglaze the pot by scraping the brown bits off the bottom of the pot with a wooden turner.
- Pour in 4 ½ cups of broth, the cubed sweet potatoes, rinsed lentils, and diced tomatoes and mix until well combined.
- Cover and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Turn the heat down to low and simmer for 45 minutes with the lid on, stirring occasionally to prevent the stew from burning.
- In the last 10 minutes of cooking, add 1-2 cups of vegetable broth to thin the stew.
- During the last 5 minutes, slowly stir until all the spinach until it is wilted.
- Remove from the heat. Mix in ½ cup of chopped cilantro and the freshly squeezed lemon juice to brighten the flavors. Taste and adjust seasonings, if necessary. (We added ½ teaspoon of salt.)
- Serve warm. Garnish each bowl of soup with the other ½ cup of chopped cilantro.
Crockpot
- Sauté the carrots, onions, and garlic in olive oil until soft.
- Bloom the dry spices by toasting them for a minute along with the onion mixture. Deglaze scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the pot with a wooden turner.
- Transfer the onion mixture to a crock pot. Stir in the tomatoes, sweet potatoes, lentils, and the 4 cups of vegetable broth. Cover and cook on high for 3 to 4 hours, or on low for 6 to 8 hours.
- Turn off the slow cooker, stir in the lemon juice, spinach, and cilantro. Let the greens wilt for 30 minutes before serving. Taste and adjust seasonings.
Notes
- A drizzle of olive oil, or a dollop of sour cream or Greek yogurt would be other tasty garnishes.
- Lentils absorb liquid the longer the stew sits. If you have leftovers, you'll want to add a bit more broth/water and then adjust the seasonings.
- Want it spicy? Add 1 tablespoon of harissa (a North African hot red chili paste) or ¼ teaspoon of red pepper flakes.
Nutrition
Serving sizes and nutritional information are only an estimate and may vary from your results.
Our Moroccan lentil stew recipe was originally published on March 16, 2018 and was updated on September 12, 2019. It was republished on August 26, 2022 with resized images and refreshed content.
Doris
This is by far the best recipe I have found and have made and enjoyed it each time! I love that I can enjoy it the day after since the flavors are so much stronger the day after.
Emma
We're so glad you enjoy this recipe, Doris! Thanks for your review!
Kate
Do you need to pre-soak the dried lentils?
Emma
Kate, There is no need to pre-soak the dried green or brown lentils for this recipe. If you want to pre-soak them to increase the mineral absorption, soak in cold water for 4 to 24 hours then rinse with cold water.
Colin
How many people does this serve as a in?
Emma
Colin, This recipe makes 10 cups. A serving size is 1 1/4 cups. Hopes this helps.
Petra
Delicious
Emma
We're glad you enjoyed it, Petra!
Anita
Wow! This stew has so much flavor and is very filling. Enjoyed it!
Emma
Anita, we are so glad you enjoyed this stew. Thanks for letting us know!
Elizabeth
Delicious
Emma
We're so glad that you enjoyed the stew, Elizabeth!
Beth
This soup is a beautiful blend of sweet potatoes, lentils, and spinach. The citrus is lovely with the soft sweet potatoes, and the lentils are great with the hints of spices.
Emma
Thank you, Beth! I really enjoy eating this lentil stew. It's delicious!
Alex
The spices blend well together, and the spinach adds a bright color and good taste. The broth is warm and spicy, and packed with lentils.
Emma
I agree--this is a very tasty stew. Thanks for your comment!