Moroccan Lentil Soup with Sweet Potatoes

Get a healthy and quick dinner on the table tonight with this Moroccan Lentil & Sweet Potato Soup. With lean protein, complex carbs, healthy fats, and veggies, this soup is a filling and comforting meal. Run, don't walk, to make this soup tonight!

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Back during my single years, one of my favorite things to make was a big pot of soup. If I put it together on Sunday or Monday, I could eat it throughout the week for lunch and -- if I was feeling my standard disdain for doing dishes, dinner too.

Minestrone soup, pumpkin and sausage, beef & barley, butternut squash, red lentil… and the list of rotating soups goes on. And it’s a good thing it did because the man of my dreams didn’t end up feeling the same way about it. That is, unless if the soup was either creamy or super stewy.

That’s when this sweet potato and lentil soup was born. About a year into marriage and craving something warm, comforting and filling I was looking for something I could count on for lunch a few days in a row. Technically still a soup, but still not too much liquid to make it brothy.

And did I mention plenty of heft in each bite to make it filling? He still might only want to eat it with me for one or two meals but at least I now have someone to help me with those dishes.

This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Please see my disclosure policy for details.

Why You'll Love This Moroccan Lentil Soup

  • Easy and quick to make
  • Fridge or freezer friendly
  • Perfect for leftovers
  • Gluten-free
  • Full of complex carbs and protein
  • Nutritious
  • Satisfying, but not food-coma inducing
  • Sweet & Spicy
Moroccan Sweet Potato & Lentil Soup With lemon Harissa Drizzle | Mae's Menu

How to Make Moroccan Sweet Potato and Lentil Soup

Whip this Moroccan Sweet Potato Lentil Soup together in a handful of easy-to-follow steps!

  1. Saute onions and carrots in oil for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently. Then, add in turkey (if using) and saute for another 4-5 minutes, or until crumbled and no longer pink.
  2. Add garlic to the pot and cook stirring constantly. We don't want any garlic sticking to the bottom of the pan.
  3. Add sweet potatoes, lentils, and spices to the pot and bring to a boil. Then lower to medium-low heat, cover, and simmer for 25 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or so.
  4.   While the soup is cooking: combine all drizzle ingredients (harissa through lemon juice) in a small bowl and mix until well combined. Set aside.
  5. At the end of 25 minutes of the soup cooking: add kale to the soup pot and stir in until incorporated. Cover pot and simmer for another 3-5 minutes, or until kale is bright green in color.
  6. Remove bay leaves from the soup. Scoop stew into bowls and drizzle 1- 1.5 heaping tablespoons of the harissa drizzle over each bowl. Garnish with any extra black pepper. Serve hot!
Stock pot with sweet potatoes, lentils, bay leaves, and veggies cooking to make Moroccan Turkey Lentil Soup

Recipe Pro-Tips

  • I like to make this sweet potato soup with turkey in it, but it can easily be made vegetarian or vegan. Just omit the turkey and turkey cooking step, add about ¼ cup extra lentils and half a sweet potato more, and use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth.
  • If you and everyone else in your household like your soups more brothy, feel free to add an extra cup or so of broth (and an extra ⅛ teaspoon of salt at finishing) and let me know so I can live vicariously through you. 😉

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Moroccan sweet potato and lentil soup with kale and carrots in a large white soup bowl.
5 from 4 votes

Moroccan Lentil Soup with Sweet Potatoes

Chelsea Plummer | Mae's Menu
A filling stew-like soup made with lentils, sweet potatoes, carrots, kale, and harissa. This recipe has instructions for both turkey and a vegetarian/vegan option.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Course Soup
Cuisine American
Servings 6
Calories 379 kcal

Ingredients
  

Soup

  • 1 ½ tbsp olive oil
  • 1 large onion chopped into ½ inch pieces
  • 3 large carrots peeled and cut into ¼ inch coins
  • 1 lb ground turkey combo of breast & thigh meat, preferably
  • 1 tsp or 2 garlic cloves minced garlic
  • 1 extra-large or 2 small sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into ½ inch chunks
  • 1 cup green lentils rinsed
  • 1 quart low sodium chicken or vegetable broth
  • 1 ¼ tsp sea salt
  • ½ tsp freshly cracked pepper
  • 2 dried bay leaves
  • 3 cups roughly chopped kale-- curly or lacinato

Lemon Harissa Drizzle

  • 3 tsp harissa paste
  • cup olive oil
  • zest of ½ lemon
  • juice of 1 lemon

Instructions
 

  • Heat olive oil in a stock pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Saute onions and carrots for 3-4 minutes stirring frequently. Add in turkey, and saute for another 4-5 minutes, or until crumbled & no longer pink. 
  • Add garlic to the pot and cook for the next minute, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom of the pot (to make sure no garlic is sticking to it).
  • Add sweet potatoes, lentils, broth, salt, pepper & bay leaves to the pot and bring to a boil. Then lower to medium-low heat, cover, and simmer for 25 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or so.
  • While the soup is cooking: combine all drizzle ingredients (harissa through lemon juice) in a small bowl or covered jar and stir/shake until well combined. Set aside.
  • After the soup has cooked 25 minutes, stir in the kale until incorporated. Cover the pot and simmer for another 3-5 minutes, or until kale is a darker and more vivid green color. 
  • Remove the bay leaves from the soup. Scoop stew into bowls and drizzle 1- 1.5 heaping tablespoons of the harissa drizzle over each bowl. Garnish with any extra black pepper. Serve hot. 

Notes

  • If you don’t have low-sodium chicken broth and need to use full sodium, omit the salt when simmering and just season to taste before serving.
  • This amount of harissa in the sauce is at about a low-medium spicy level. Feel free to add more if you like more heat.
  • Leftover soup last covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. It can also be frozen in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.
 
Storage Directions
  • Refrigeration: Leftover turkey and sweet potato soup keeps covered in an airtight container for up to 5 days. 
  • Freezing: The soup can also be frozen in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 379kcalCarbohydrates: 19gProtein: 27gFat: 23gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 16gCholesterol: 78mgSodium: 861mgFiber: 5gSugar: 5g
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5 from 4 votes (3 ratings without comment)

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Recipe Rating




One Comment

  1. 5 stars
    Absolutely amazing Soup, glorious soup, love it
    I visited you via Fall Soup Recipes with Beans & Peas from Your Garden as she linked to this post.
    Come and join us at SeniorSalonPitStop and share your awesome posts with us. You will find the linkup information under BLOGGING.