This Moroccan Lentil and Chickpea Soup called Harira is hearty, full of protein and loaded with nutrients. Warming, fragrant spices make this healthy one-pot meal deeply flavorful! Vegan and Gluten-Free adaptable. Video. Looking for more? Check our 25+ Best Lentil Recipes & 25+ Incredible Chickpea Recipes!
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Carol Hegedus
Richly spiced, full of deep flavor and hearty texture, this Harira recipe is so satisfying. As many soups do, it just becomes better and better after a day or two in the fridge. It is a perfect wholesome meal to make ahead and glean from all week. Nothing better for me than to open the fridge to an already-made lunch just waiting to be reheated! Tucking some away in the freezer for a future convenient meal is also always a good thing.
In our meatless version of Harira, red lentils create a rich-bodied broth as they break down quickly, fusing with the tomatoes and broth. Brown or green lentils and chickpeas give hearty texture. Spices infuse the soup with warmth and rich flavor. Fresh cilantro and parsley are added to simmer with the broth and also at the end to add fresh zest and brightness. Pasta is added near the end and just makes it that much more enjoyable to eat! (Feel free to use gluten-free pasta.) Served with a fresh squeeze of lemon. It is common to enjoy this soup with dates on the side. I highly recommend it!
Harira Soup | 60-Sec Video
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- So healthy AND satisfying! The flavor is rich and deep. The lentils and pasta are homey and nourishing.
- It is adaptable! Keep it veggie or add lamb or chicken. Use gluten free pasta or swap pasta all together for rice.
- It freezes well! Tuck some away for a ready made dinner down the road. You will thank yourself!
Ingredients In Harira
Ingredient Notes in Harira
- Legumes: Chickpeas and red lentils, or substitute green or brown lentils.
- Spices: These are what create the delicious flavors- ginger, black pepper, turmeric, cumin, paprika, cayenne, cinnamon stick and saffron.
- Broth: We use vegetable broth, but feel free to swap for chicken or lamb broth.
- Pasta: Whatever you want! Wheat, rice, chickpea- your choice.
- Honey: A touch of honey balances the flavors, however, leave it out if you prefer- it will still be yummy!
- Lemon: Fresh lemon juice makes this soup sing.
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
How to make HarirA
Step One– Prep your veggies, gather spices, chop fresh herbs.
Step Two– Saute onions for 5 minutes in olive oil, over medium heat.
Step Three– Add celery, garlic, ginger, pepper, turmeric, cumin, and cayenne stir for another minute.
Blooming the spices in the oil, deepens the spice flavors bringing out the complexities.
Step Four– Add broth, tomatoes, cinnamon sticks, saffron, salt, red lentils, brown lentils, half of the cilantro and half of the parsley.
Step Five– Bring to a simmer, partially covered with a lid, for 30 minutes.
Step Six– Add chickpeas and pasta and cook 5-10 minutes more. Until pasta is cooked.
Expert Tip: If you plan to save the soup for eating later or plan to freeze some of it, cook the pasta separately and add it in per serving. Especially good for some of the gluten-free varieties of pasta that tend to break down.
Step Seven– Add remaining fresh herbs.
Serve with lemon wedges, a swirl of yogurt and dates on the side.
Harira FAQS
Harira is a traditional Moroccan comfort soup made with lentils and chickpeas in a fragrant tomato broth, infused with Moroccan Spices. During the fasting month of Ramadan, where no food or drink is consumed between dawn and dusk, Harira is often eaten to break the daily fast after sunset. Loaded with fiber, protein and nutrients this soup is very sustaining and satisfying. There are many many variations of Harira, soften including a type of meat, lentils, chickpeas, pasta, or rice in a richly spiced tomato base.
Yes! Use vegetable broth and substitute in your favorite sweetener for the honey (if needed). Swirl in vegan yogurt for added creaminess!
The next best would be yellow lentils, and then also green lentils, or brown lentils will do.
Harira Soup Variations
- Throw in chard, kale, spinach or other greens
- Use cooked rice instead of pasta
- Use orzo pasta instead of broken capellini
- Add seared lamb, beef, or chicken if you want a meatier version.
More Lentil Recipes Soups!
- Red Lentil Soup
- Moroccan Kale, Chickpea & Sweet Potato Salad
- Minestrone Soup with Spring Veggies & Chickpeas
- Moroccan Carrot Soup
- Healthy Middle Eastern Instant Pot Lentil Soup
- African Peanut Soup Recipe
- Harvest Vegetable Soup
Hope you enjoy!
~ Tonia
Love this recipe? Please let us know in the comments and leave a 5-star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating below the recipe card.
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Harira Recipe
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 10 cups 1x
- Category: soup, stew, vegan
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: Moroccan
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Harira is hearty, full of protein and loaded with nutrients. Warming fragrant spices make this healthy one-pot meal deeply flavorful! Vegan and Gluten-Free adaptable.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 stalks of celery, inner leaves are fine, chopped small
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/4–1/2 teaspoon cayenne
- 6 cups broth, vegetable or chicken or water
- 1 28 ounce canned, whole or crushed tomatoes
- 1 cinnamon stick (or 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon)
- a tiny pinch of saffron (optional)
- 1–2 teaspoons sea salt
- 1/2 cup red lentils, dry
- 1/2 cup brown or green lentils, dry
- 1 1/2 cups (1 15- ounce can) chickpeas (garbanzo beans) cooked
- 2 teaspoons honey (if needed)
- 1/4 pound capellini pasta, broken into approximately 1-inch pieces
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro, stems are great
- 1/2 cup parsley
Serve with lemon wedges, a swirl of yogurt (if desired) and dates on the side.
Instructions
- Saute onions for 5 minutes in olive oil, over medium heat.
- Add celery, garlic, ginger, pepper, turmeric, cumin, smoked paprika and cayenne. Stir for another minute. Sautéing the spices allows them to bloom and deepen in flavor.
- Add broth, tomatoes, cinnamon sticks, saffron, salt, red lentils, brown lentils, half of the cilantro and half of the parsley. Bring to a simmer, cover with a vented lid, for 30 minutes.
- Add Chickpeas and pasta cook 5-10 minutes more. (see notes)
- Add honey and remaining fresh herbs.
Notes
If you plan to save the soup for eating later or freeze it, cook the pasta separately and add it in per serving. Especially good for some of the gluten-free varieties of pasta that tend to break down more easily.
Salt will depend on the broth used and the amount in canned chickpeas- so salt to taste.
Variations: Throw in chard, kale, spinach or other greens. Use cooked rice instead of pasta. Use orzo pasta instead of broken capellini. Add seared lamb, beef, or chicken.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 1/4 cups
- Calories: 261
- Sugar: 6.2 g
- Sodium: 340.2 mg
- Fat: 5.6 g
- Saturated Fat: 0.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 41.9 g
- Fiber: 7.2 g
- Protein: 13.2 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Made this soup tonight, soooo good, comforting and filling!! Love the mix of capellini pasta, garbanzo beans and lentils. Thank you!
So happy you enjoyed!
Delicious and actually easy to make.
Great to hear Tara- thanks for circling back and rating it for us- very appreciated!
This was so good. Bursting with flavor and a perfect comfort food for a cold rainy night. Thanks for another keeper.
So glad you liked this one Jim!
This recipe is amazing, and so easy to make!! I was really surprised with how little goes into it given how amazing it tastes, such a deep warm spicy flavour! Another big hit!
So glad you enjoyed this one Ellie!
5/5 for us too. Delicious! It took me about 1.5 hours to make 2x the amount. But I’m not the quickest cook ever!
Thanks Carolyn, glad you enjoyed!
Excellent and filling soup! Just the right amount of spicy 🙂 A definite addition to my soup rotation this winter!
So glad you enjoyed!
I can’t seem to find out how to stop comments coming into my email.
On your email itself- unsubscribe from the comments- at the bottom!
So flavorful, so easy, so DELICIOUS!
You did it again with awesome recipe bestowed upon us! Great for meal prep!
Thank you!
Yay, thanks Kimberly- so glad you enjoyed!
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Hi Sherry, When you leave a comment, there is a box below that you may have accidentally checked that says ‘Notify me of follow-up comments by email’. Just make sure that is not checked and you won’t get the responses in your inbox. 🙂
I made this for my fiance when he had a bad cold and he said it was exactly what he needed. It was great with some fresh spinach added for extra nutrients. Delicious!
So glad to hear this! Spinach sounds good.
Excellent. I was hesitant to add expensive saffron. I did , but I think it gets lost in all the other flavors. I would save the saffron for a dish that is delicate enough to showcase the saffron flavor.
I see your point Joseph. Glad you enjoyed the soup!
A real winner!!! Now one of my favorite lentil recipes!!!!
Wonderful! So happy you enjoyed.
I’m wondering why I cannot view your videos??
Hi Sherry, try using a different browser, or checking that your ad blocker is turned off.
Ohhhhhmyygaawwwwsh!!!
I don’t think I need to say more…lol. absolutely deelicious!! I added more spices though…and dipped buttered Flatbread in it..sooo goood!!
🙂 Yum to buttered flatbread and more spices! So glad you liked it!
oh my. made this for a friend recovering from surgery and it was a hit!!! making it again only 2 weeks later for canning so I can have it whenever I want
Such a great idea!
Absolutely delicious and easy to make! I threw in some chopped home-made preserved lemons and baby spinach at the end and added some Persian feta and the whole was divine and comforting on a cool evening.
Love it Sheena!
This is a great dish!! So soothing and the smell is just wonderful. I substituted the capellini pasta with chickpea flour noodles.
Perfect Caseya!
This recipe is great! It is simple and flavorful. Instead of the pasta, I spiralized some carrots to make it gluten free. I recently went plant based and this recipe is a keeper. Thanks
The carrots sound fun! Glad you enjoyed!
Thank you for the recipe. The taste is just great! Loved the spices mix and balancing. I boiled the pasta separate (used orzo) to gain time and also cause wanted rinse it. Good advice to mix it in, when eating the soup, and not before.
So happy you enjoyed Anca!
Loved this recipe! I added carrots because I had them on hand, otherwise followed the recipe as written (..measured the garlic with only my heart of course). Kept the pasta separate and added to each serving. This was so delicious!! Will definitely be trying more Feasting at Home recipes. Thank you!!
Glad you enjoyed this Emilia!
Just curious why the reason not to put pasta in if wanting for leftovers? Will it not reheat well? I couldn’t really be bothered with the extra step but want to make this soup as it looks divine!
The pasta will swell and soak up the broth. I’m sure the flavor would be good- but it may get thick?
Hi Toni
The pasta will absorb all the liquid in the leftovers
My whole family really enjoyed this soup! It is flavorful and easy to make. I used chicken broth and red lentils because that’s what I had on hand. Also, I like my chickpeas soft so I cooked them before putting in the pasta. I’ll definitely be making this again!
Perfect! So glad you enjoyed.
I am not a big fan of vegetarian, but I’m always willing to give it a shot. This was almost a three strike dish for me because I don’t care for anything that is close to a “curry“ in flavor either. However, my husband is usually a fan of this type of food and he actually prefers more plant-based meals so I try to do a couple at least, every week. This one will be in my keeper box. I did do a few things differently. I left out the honey and lemon, although he may add the lemon later as he likes that little bit of sour in his food. Also left out the cilantro because he hates it (he has no taste). Didn’t have any cappellini and I thought about using broken up spaghetti that I ended up using ditalini. I cooked the ditalini separately and stored in a bowl to be added to each serving. This is good enough that even this non-vegetarian likes it.
Haha Melody, thanks for giving this a try. Love that you adapted and even liked it!
OMG. This recipe is a KEEPER!!! I skipped the onion and garlic due to allergies as well as the celery and cayenne because i did not have any and this turned out absolutely DELICIOUS. Maybe I would skip the honey next time though. This is going to be a staple at my house! Thanks♥️
So glad this worked out for you Isabella!
This was excellent. The spices made the broth taste like it had been on the stovetop all day! My only change was roasting the chickpeas in the same spice blend for about 20 minutes prior to adding to the soup. I realize this may have made no difference but I like a spicy chickpea!
I like that idea, Rita! Glad you ended this. 😉