This hearty, nourishing Moroccan Red Lentil Quinoa Soup is vegan, easy to make and made with simple everyday ingredients. Flavorful and aromatic, the warming spices are especially cozy. This can be made in under 30 minutes in an Instant Pot or on the stovetop and keeps well for midweek meals. Video!
Check out our 20 Amazing Quinoa Recipes and our25+ Delicious Lentil Recipes!
Enter with love the temple that is your own heart.~ Ramana Maharshi
This simple nurturing soup is so easy to put together and made with very simple ingredients. That being said, the flavors don’t disappoint. Infused with fragrant Moroccan Spices, this Red Lentil Quinoa Soup is not only vegan and healthy, it is cozy, warming and comforting.
Using quick-cooking split red lentils and quick-cooking quinoa, this soup only takes 5 minutes of pressure cooking in an Instant Pot or 10-12 minutes on the stovetop. SO FAST!!! And that is why you see them paired here together. They take roughly the same amount of time to cook!
Make it ahead for the busy week and feel comfort in knowing you have something healthy in your fridge, at all times. It’s really a nice feeling. This week I had it for lunch, then once for dinner, and then as a midnight snack (instead of reaching for chips). It was a good diversion, and suprisingly satisfying.
Moroccan Lentil Quinoa Soup | Video
How to make Lentil Quinoa Soup
It starts off with ingredients you probably have. Split red lentils and quinoa and fresh veggies.
Today I’m using colorful carrots I found at the farmers market. Other root veggies would work well here too- sweet potatoes, yams, parsnips, celery root.
I added a chili for a little kick of heat, but feel free to leave it out.
Here I’m using the Instant pot for quick and easy preparation, but this also works well in a pot on the stove.
It’s the fragrant spices that turn this Red Lentil Soup into something magic. This reminds me so much of the frugal meals my parents would make growing up. Just very simple humble ingredients, but turned into something special with the spices. Very economical.
Once the ingredients are in the Instant Pot, pressure cook for just 5 minutes! How easy is that?
Then just serve it up with something fresh on top. I love crunchy radishes and fresh herbs like cilantro, mint, parsley or even dill. Scallions are nice too. A drizzle of olive oil is delicious and if you want extra richness, a swirl of yogurt is nice too.
For those of you who like a bit of sweetness, feel free to toss a few raisins into the pot- sooooooo good!
I hope you give this Moroccan Red Lentil and Quinoa Soup a go this week!
More Favorite Lentil Soup Recipes!
- Red Lentil Soup
- Mushroom Lentil Soup
- Instant Pot Mulligatawny (Curried Indian Soup)
- Healing Lentil Beet Soup
- Lentil Chili
- 20 Instant Pot Recipes (from around the Globe!)
- 25 most popular Vegan/Vegetarian Soup Recipes!
- Moroccan Chicken Lentil Soup with Saffron and Preserved Lemon
- Healthy Middle Eastern Lentil Soup
- Moroccan Lentil and Chickpea Soup (Harira)
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Moroccan Red Lentil Quinoa Soup
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 15
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 8 cups 1x
- Category: soups, vegan, gluten free
- Method: Instant Pot, Stovetop
- Cuisine: Moroccan
Description
This Moroccan Red Lentil Quinoa Soup is made with simple ingredients, easy to make and full of delicious flavor! Make this in an Instant Pot or stove top.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- one onion, diced
- 5–6 garlic cloves, rough chopped
- 3 carrots, diced (2 cups) ( or sub other root veggies- yam or sweet potato, parsnips, celery root, sunchokes)
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1 poblano pepper, diced (optional, for a subtle heat)
- one 14-ounce can diced tomatoes (or sub 1 1/2 cups diced tomatoes with juices)
- 4 cups veggie broth (or chicken broth)
- 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme (or add a few bay leaves)
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup ( or honey)
- 3/4 cup red lentils (split lentils)
- 1/4 cup quinoa
- optional addtions: 1/4 cup raisins
Garnish: fresh cilantro,parsley, scallions or mint, a squeeze of lemon or lime, a drizzle of olive oil (or swirl of yogurt) or even sliced avocado.
Instructions
See notes for the stovetop.
- Set Instant Pot ( Pressure cooker) to saute function and heat the oil. Add the onion and garlic and saute 3-4 minutes, stirring until fragrant. Add the carrots, bell pepper and optional poblano and stir 2 minutes.
- Add the diced tomatoes (and juices) and broth. Stir in the salt, cumin, chili powder, coriander, cinnamon, turmeric, thyme, and maple syrup. Stir in the split red lentils and the quinoa. You will be tempted to add more but don’t. 🙂 Give a good stir. At this point, you could also toss in 1/4 cup raisins (or add after).
- Set instant pot to high pressure for 5 minutes. Manually release (cover the spout with a kitchen towel).
- Taste, adjust salt if needed. For a bit of acid, a squeeze of lemon or lime is nice. The stew will thicken as it sits.
- Serve this up with fresh radishes and herbs. Add a drizzle of olive oil (or for extra richness and a swirl of yogurt).
Notes
Stovetop directions:
- Heat the oil in a large pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute 3-4 minutes, stirring until fragrant. Lower heat to medium, add the carrots, bell pepper and optional poblano and stir 3-4 minutes.
- Add the diced tomatoes (and juices), broth. Stir in the salt, cumin, chili powder, coriander, cinnamon, turmeric, thyme, and maple syrup. Stir in the split red lentils and the quinoa. You will be tempted to add more but don’t. 🙂 Give a good stir. At this point, you could also toss in 1/4 cup raisins (or add after).
- Bring to a boil, cover, and lower heat so it’s gently simmering. Simmer until lentils are tender, about 10-12 minutes.
- Taste, adjust salt if needed. For a bit of acid, a squeeze of lemon or lime is nice. The stew will thicken as it sits.
- Serve this up with fresh radishes and herbs. Add a drizzle of olive oil (or for extra richness and a swirl of yogurt).
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1.6 cups
- Calories: 265
- Sugar: 8.8 g
- Sodium: 759.7 mg
- Fat: 7.5 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 42.1 g
- Fiber: 8.5 g
- Protein: 10.6 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Hi Sylvia, in your instructions for the stove-top method of this soup, you say to add the broth and water, but there is no water listed under the ingredients. So I added a cup or more, as I doubled the recipe, and I have to say the soup was delicious!
Perfect on this rainy day we’ve had on Vancouver Island.
I see the error- thanks and fixed!
A simple recipe that came together quickly and well with wonderful flavors. Especially liked the poblano pepper. I did a carrot and sweet potato combo and also a few stalks of celery. I can see a bunch of different options with this one. Thank you Sylvia!
I am making this right now and wondering if I should wait to add the quinoa if I am. not eating it until tomorrow? I do this with my rice for black bean soup so it doesn’t get too thick and gooey.
I would just add it? The leftovers are good – so I think it should be fine!
very tasty, i would definately reccomend boiling the carrots seperately or sauteing for alot longer as they were very firm. I used half the cinamon as i find it can be over pwering and half the to be healthier and salt can be added after. The lime ives it a lovely zing at the end.
Excellent! This recipe was so easy to follow and so yummy!! Thank you Sylvia! I love your recipes and this one is superb!
A winner like most things here. I didn’t really measure things as the Instapot saute setting freaks me out and I was late to making dinner :). I had no coriander, and used one sweet potato diced rather than carrot. It really made the flavors blend well. Also did the raisin which worked with such a small amount
This is one of my favorite instant pot recipes. I just made another batch last week and froze them for pre-made weekday lunches!
Sylvia , this recipe is very very good one indeed. My grandfather came from the middle east and lentils are used in variety of dishes there. I added black beans to your recipe and it seemed to add more consistency and the added taste of the beans was perfect. Not only is this dish very tasty it is very healthy.
Can this be frozen without losing texture and consistency?
I haven’t tried freezing but my guess is it would freeze fine.
It’s great to freeze!
This was delicious. I have no relation to the author, so this is totally honest. Also I’m not vegan, and eat a fair amount of not great stuff so, it’s not like my taste buds have adapted to naturally love healthy things 🙂 I came across this recipe a month ago and this if my 3rd time making it and I’m doubling the recipe today. Last time I added pumpkin, still great. One time I didn’t have a spice and substituted cardamom, still great. I froze it in little bags to pull out for lunches for myself, and they were all gone within two days. A huge win.
This was delicious – thank you
Yummy so much fiber and flavor. Im learning how delicious lentils are. Great way to use my veggies.
what is the serving size?
Roughly 1.5 cups
Recipe mentions adding broth and water but no water measurement noted,
The broth is 4 cups, listed in the recipe. I don’t see where it says water?
Step 2 under stove top “Add the diced tomatoes (and juices), broth and water.”
Best recipe ever! Topped off with mozzarella cheese simply delicious!
Great to hear, thanks so much!
Best recipe ever! Topped off with Mozzarella cheese so 😋 yummy!
Hi, I have been searching for a lentil soup recipe that was not too heavy in turmeric since I am not a fan of it. This had just the right combo of spices! And I looked this up last minute for dinner today and had the ingredients on hand 🙂 My only concern was that the carrots were still a bit hard and my fresh tomatoes a little under cooked(for my liking). My nearly 2 year old picked out the carrots b/c they were too hard for him too. So did I cook them to quickly? I did the 5 minute pressure quick and a quick release as soon as the 5 minutes was up. They were baby carrots chopped up. I don’t know if that makes a difference. Also, mine did not look as thick as yours did in the photo.
Sorry the carrots were not cooked all the way through. I will double-check the recipe.
Thanks for the great recipe. I would say unless someone is using a salt-free broth, that it would definitely be wise to cut back on the salt, at least initially. You can always add more.. My gut told me 2.5 teaspoons for the double recipe was going to be too salty so I cut it to 2, but it was still too salty for me and I’m not one to be stingy with the salt.
Incredibly delicious! Swapped sweet potato for the carrots as suggested. I used the amount of salt recommended and it was perfect, but it may be a bit on the salty side for some. I was very tempted to add more quinoa and lentils but I did not and was very glad. The consistency is perfect, stew-like but not too thick. It was amazing, will definitely make again. thank you!
Thanks Jenni!
Made to a T and then stirred in some spinach at the end that I needed to use up. Delicious. Am definitely going to make again and again.
Perfect!Glad it worked for you! 🙌
I’m not great with measuring, so take this with a grain of salt. I used the same ingredients but probably 1 1/2 as much, basically “a little more” of everything. 🙂 I added frozen green beans. I like that this is a pretty flexible recipe. The spice mix was delicious. I’m trying to please my father, who is newly vegan for health reasons and is very bitter about it. He also has to watch sodium. I did not add any salt beyond what was in my vegetable broth (better than bouillon). I didn’t miss the salt. Thank you for a quick and simple recipe with a uniquely different flavor!
super quick and delicious. a splash of coconut milk at the end adds a curry feel
Awesome- glad you liked it! 🙌
Did, done, delicious! Thank you Sylvia.
LOL!Yay!!! Great to hear. Thanks for sharing! 🙌
Wonderful, wholesome delicious soup! I made this with one cup of sweet potatoes and one cup of carrots. Added and pinch of cayenne for heat because I didn’t have poblano on hand. SO SO good. I will be adding this soup to my rotation. Currently we are remodeling so don’t have a kitchen. I just quickly chopped the pepper and carrots (bought frozen chopped sweet potatoes and onions) and tossed everything in after sauteing! So easy 😋💕
Sounds perfect!
This is an excellent recipe with wonderful spices to create amazing aromas. I must admit I’ve made it several times over the last couple of months…we just don’t tire of it. Plus, leftovers are awesome.