Winter Detox Moroccan Sweet Potato Lentil Soup (Slow Cooker)
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A soul-warming Moroccan sweet potato lentil soup recipe. This soup is made in the slow cooker and requires hardly any work at all. Plus, it makes the whole house smell warm and cozy!
It about that time again!
SOUP TIME. Which, in my very humble opinion is the best kind of time there is. Unless it’s chocolate chip cookie time, which, goes without saying, is obviously better. And which obviously this is NOT. Ahem, what? Where were we? Detoxing. That’s right. Bringing you this moroccan-style detox lentil soup loaded with all the goodness straight from your refrigerator plus pantry with tons of soul-warming spices to brighten up these cold, cold winter days.
Now that’s what i’m talkin’ about.
So January. We’re already half a week into 2017 guys. How? But also – I don’t know if it’s just me – but is anyone else just now officially starting the detox from all the holiday eats and treats? Anees’ birthday is the day after New Years Day so we tend to get a slow start with the whole January cleanse thing.
But with all of the birthdays and parties finally out of the way, i’m just itching to get another pot of this warm lentil soup on and am ready to hit the clean-eating reset button now.
Of course, lentil soup isn’t just limited to those of us that are desperate for a reset either. In fact, it’s even more delicious if you decide to serve it with pan-fried pita wedges and a healthy dollop of whipped greek yogurt or sour cream to just mellow out all those glorious spices.
I kept this lentil soup completely vegan/vegetarian friendly so everyone can enjoy this. Know that it’s easy to make this a more protein packed meal though. Just sauté ground turkey, chicken, beef or lamb or any other kind of ground protein you like and add it straight into the crockpot with all the other ingredients. You’ve instantly got the perfect bagged lunch for the week. This lentil soup would also work well over a mound of fragrant basmati rice incase you like the whole Indian ‘daal’ scene. Lentil-anything was made to be paired with rice.
One of the best things about having a blog is getting to name all the recipes. I say that now. If you rewind back to a few years ago, you’d see this definitely was not the case. I realize it’s important to be clear and precise when naming a recipe. With that said, this is a detox lentil soup recipe that comes loaded with all those wonderful cleansing ingredients that are like a toothbrush for our insides. And, yeah that’s totally weird, but go with it, will ya?
Added bonus : under 250 calories per serving.
It all starts with the trinity – onions, carrots, celery. Then of course, tons of pressed garlic, which is a completely normal thing around here and it totally caught me by surprise that garlic has all these detoxing properties which NO BIG DEAL – but only it is. It’s HUGE. Love these kinds of happy coincidences. But, HOLD THE PHONE there’s more, turmeric, cumin, and cinnamon. We all know about that turmeric trend of 2016 right? Let’s carry all the good things into ’17 with us now. Loaded with anti-inflammatory properties and perfect for when you’re a leeetle under-the-weather to boost your immune system.
Now here’s how simple this lentil soup recipe is. Grab all your ingredients, add them to a slow cooker and let them hang out of low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4-6 hours. One the lentils has softened all the way through, puree ½ of the soup in your blender and pop it back into the slow cooker along with tons of chopped baby spinach and just let it wilt. Pro tip: make this one day ahead for even more flavor. So pop it into the slow cooker when you get home from work tonight and into the fridge before you head to bed. Puree it when you get home from work tomorrow, add the spinach and just heat it through. Squeeze ¼ cup of lemon juice right into the slow cooker or serve lemon wedges on the side. It’s seriously the perfect spicy, tangy, veggieful soup ever.
The hardest part about the whole thing is that it requires a bit of prepping, but if you buy store-bought mirepoix mix (ze onions, carrots, and ze celery) then all that really requires your attention is the sweet potatoes. And let me just say when it comes to customizing this lentil soup, you can easily swap the sweet potatoes for pre-diced butternut squash chunks and swap the brown lentils for greens or even use chickpeas along with all the other good stuff in this soup.
But here’s the thing – even with all it’s simplicity, it’s a warm, FEEL GOOD food. Kinda perfect for those of us that have decided to pack more lunches this year and make smarter choices.
It’s quick to throw together, completely straightforward, and easily adaptable to your dietary preferences.
It’s gotta go with you to lunch this week!
Winter Detox Moroccan Sweet Potato Lentil Soup (Slow Cooker)
A soul-warming Moroccan sweet potato lentil soup recipe. This soup is made in the slow cooker and requires hardly any work at all. Plus, it makes the whole house smell warm and cozy!
Ingredients
- 1 lb. sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed into small pieces
- 1 cup carrots, chopped
- 1 cup onions, chopped
- 1 cup celery, chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 6 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
- 1 ½ cups green or brown lentils, rinsed and picked over
- 1 ½ teaspoon EACH coriander AND cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon curry powder (or more to taste)
- ½ teaspoon EACH smoked paprika, ground cinnamon, AND turmeric
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 6-7 cups low sodium broth (vegetable or chicken)
- 2 ½ cups baby spinach, roughly chopped
- ¼ cup lemon juice or lemon wedges for serving
Instructions
- Place the sweet potatoes, carrots, onions, celery, red bell pepper, garlic, lentils, spices, and 6 cups of broth into a slow cooker. Cover and cook on the low setting for 6-8 hours or on high for 4-6 hours. Check the lentils for doneness. If you're lentils have been in the pantry for a while, note that they'll take a bit longer to cook through.
- Place half the soup into a blender along with a little additional broth (½ cup or so) and blend till smoothish. Alternately, you can use an immersion blender directly in the slow cooker but be sure to not blend all of the soup if you want it to have a chunkier texture. Add the puree back into the slow cooker. Stir in the baby spinach and lemon juice. Cover the slow cooker, unplug it, and allow the ingredients to just hang out for 30 minutes or so until the spinach wilts down.
- Season with salt, pepper and curry powder to taste as desired. Thin with additional broth to desired consistency. Serve warm with whipped greek yogurt, fried pita bread, and tons of fresh herbs (parsley or cilantro) on top!
Notes
- MORE PROTEIN: You can sauté 1 pound of ground lamb, beef, chicken, or turkey and add it in with all the other ingredients to the slow cooker for a more protein-filled meal - note that you may need a little bit more of each of the seasonings to balance flavors when adding protein.
Is this a good choice for you?
Based on 8 servings.
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115 Comments on “Winter Detox Moroccan Sweet Potato Lentil Soup (Slow Cooker)”
Loved this! Will definitely be making again. I added tbsp chia seed and will add a little more + hemp seed next time for extra plant based protein! Thank you!!
I used red lentils and a Moroccan spice mix I bought at the health food store. The flavors are very complex, but I’ll be making this often. May be the best lentil soup I’ve had.
Do you have to put half of the soup in the blender or can you just eat it the way it is?
You don’t have to blend it if you prefer a chunkier soup, totally your call!
I followed the recipe and all my vegetables were mush. I plan to try again but cut the cooking time in half to maybe 2 hours on high. 4 was to much.
I grew up on lentil soups, they are literally my favorite type of soup, BUT this one, oh my goodness it is hands down the best lentil soup and soup EVER! We have made it over 10 times already and it never gets old! I’ve made it with ground turkey and that adds a little extra protein as noted!
Also noting for instant pot users, I cook this in the IP for 21 minutes
Thanks for the note for how to convert the recipe in an Instant Pot!
P.S. If any of you are on Weight Watchers Freestyle, this soup makes 8 servings and is 1 smart point per serving (I use 2 medium sweet potatoes in the recipe).
I have made this twice now on the stove top because I am not patient enough for a crock pot. I use a 3 quart soup pot and start by adding the onions and garlic with 1 tsp olive oil and cook 3-4 min until onions are translucent. Then I add everything else–chopped veggies, veggie broth, and spices. Once it starts boiling, I turn the temperature from high to med-low so it still simmers but doesn’t full on boil. I check the lentils at around 40 minutes, and if they are done, I remove 1.5 cups of the soup and put it in my blender. Once blended smooth (30 sec), I return that to the pot and stir. I have tried the recipe both with and without the spinach and lemon. Honestly, I am fine with or without it, but I think I lean a little more toward leaving it out unless you really want the pop of green color with spinach and want to cut the sweetness with lemon. This soup is so hearty and really appeals to this vegan for a satisfying meal. Thank you! 😀
I had to sub butternut for sweet potato and didn’t have celery and one of the spices. In fact, I used split peas (I guess I thought they were lentils. lol). In spite of this, it was very good. I would make it again – maybe next time for my friends. It tasted complex and I like the small calorie count. This is the 4th recipe that I have tried from your site and like them all. Beef & Broccoli, enchiladas, and chicken wild rice soup (not the instant pot kind). Good stuff!!!
Great taste – added, as one already mentioned earlier the spinach at the table, more chili and I didn’t blend it on my second try. I prefer that ?. Thanks for sharing this delicious recipe!
I made this in my Instant Pot tonight by throwing everything but the lemon and spinach in for 20 minutes on manual. Then let steam natural release, blended 1/2 with immersion blender, added the spinach and lemon and served over brown rice. Definitely one of the best things I’ve ever tasted ? and it’s WFPB!
When looking at the photo is see something red that looks like a sliced red jalapeño. It can’t be the red bell pepper because it’s too small for that. I just wanted to find out what it was incase there was an error.
It’s just a red pepper used as a garnish for pictures!
Made this soup yesterday! The flavors were good, but I think I added too many lentils (I have a 4 quart crock pot- didnt think to reduce the lentil measurement haha) And I added waaaay to much lemon juice so it was really acidic. I will make it again. I’m sure if I get the ratios right it will taste waaay better
I’m super excited about this recipe and I’m getting ready to make it this week. I’m hoping to use some lentils I batch cooked and froze. I’m going to put them in near the end so they aren’t overcooked but any suggestions how much I should adjust the broth? Just enough to cover the veggies?
Hmm, I’d think you’d need about 4 1/2-5 1/2 cups of broth if you’re using cooked lentils but you may end up needing a little bit more or less depending on your preference of soup thickness. Hope you enjoy the soup!
OMG this was AMAZING!!!! We are traveling and didn’t have a slow cooker, so we did some of it our own way, BUT we used your recipe. And it was wonderful! Thanks so much for this healthy, light soup! Usually lentil soup is heavy!
LOVE this soup and happy I found the recipe. Thanks for sharing. What serving size is the nutritional information based on? A cup of the soup?
A few notes… 1) The hardest part is getting everything chopped but the food processor became my best friend after I was done chopping up the sweet potatoes and celery. Work smarter, not harder! 2) I sauteed ground chicken with the onion, garlic, and pepper. I added it to the Crockpot and flicked a little bay leaf in there too. 3) I added a chicken bouillon cube for an extra oomph instead of salting the soup.
After 8 hours of cooking, my lentils were still surprisingly hard so I had to let the whole thing cool down, stuck it in the fridge, and will finish it up on the stove when I get home from work tonight. However – I did taste it (duh) and it tasted so, so good. I used madras curry since that’s what I have from overseas and I loved the combo of all the spices. I am certain it’s going to be delish once the lentils are soft. I will be making another batch for my colleagues tomorrow evening and I plan to soak the lentils beforehand and maybe omit the bay leaf and use ground beef instead. A wonderful recipe, thanks for sharing!!!
Do you think this would work in the Pressure Cooker? If so, guesstamate on broth and time? Just long enough for lentils to cook? Would think this would be excellent as the PC holds flavor and nutrients!
Hi Lisa! I’d say anywhere from 15-20 minutes in the pressure cooker (depends on how long your lentils have been around). I’d start with just enough broth to cover the ingredients (that should be about 5-6 cups). If it ends up being a little thick, you can always adjust with a little more broth at the end.
Marzia, what size slow cooker do you use here?
I used my 7-quart crock pot for this recipe. 🙂
Any thoughts on how the flavor of the soup would be altered if Coriander was not added? I’m totally out of coriander and was wondering how crucial coriander was for getting the flavor right. Thanks!
Coriander does lend quite a bit of flavor to this recipe. If you’re out at the moment, I’d suggest doubling the curry powder or upping all the other spices by a little bit to make up for the flavor. Hope you enjoy the soup!
Marzia, it reads d e l i c i o u s. Question: Would it work as well without the slow cooker? We just moved into a new place and our slow cooker arrived broken.
I bet you could do this on the stove-top in a heavy bottom pot like a dutch oven. I’m unsure about the cooking times so you may need to play around with it a little.
I made the spicy shrimp pasta as well as this winter detox soup and my husband and I loved both! Thanks for posting the recipe. Will surely try more of your recipes.
Absolutely loved this recipe. Accidentally added chilli powder, about a teaspoon but I love chilli so no problem. I used tinned brown lentils as my store had sold out of dried and it worked out fine. Fantastic recipe for winter (Australian here). And perfect low cal if you are on the 5:2 diet. Thank you so much for the recipe, it’s a WINNER.
This soup looks delicious, did you use lentils from a tin?
I used dry, uncooked lentils for this recipe.
This was a really great soup, the whole family loved it.
Sending another review to correct my previous rating of your recipe to “5” stars. It seemed I missed half of a star. ? Please know that every time I make it, everyone loves it!
Your picture seems to have an oily sheen, did you add any oil? Looking forward to your reply.
Hi Jean! Yes, I added a drizzle of olive oil on top just to make it look a little more appetizing for pictures. Feel free to do the same if you’d like! Thank you so much for taking the time to comment 🙂
I absolutely love your recipe!!!!!! But instead of spinach I substituted with kale and it was perfect. Thank you for sharing your super delicious recipe!
I literally never comment on recipes but I made this Saturday for Sunday dinner with the family. It was very good. It was also flavorful and spiced well so I am not sure what Sierra Sue is referencing. We all finished it with a squeeze of lemon which really brightened up the flavors. I don’t have a crock pot so I cooked stovetop and only added the spinach on the reheat Sunday before serving. I also made a double batch to ensure leftovers. I’ve been making a different soup every Sunday and so far this was the favorite. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for taking the time to comment Hilary! I’m so glad to hear this ones been your favorite thus far 🙂
Hilary,
How long did you end up cooking it for on your stovetop?
I didn’t follow the recipe exactly, but moreso the idea + the spice blend. I subbed butternut squash instead of sweet potato, used 2 cups of lentils, and 1/2tsp salt. Used the curry powder mix from Trader Joe’s for reference. Also, I made this in my pressure cooker, so I sauteed the onion/garlic/carrots/celery/spices first, then threw in the rest of the ingredients, cooked for 4m manual. This soup is GREAT! I cannot currently stop eating it lol. Next time I might add some cayenne to make it a little spicy, but that’s just my taste. Definitely worth a try!
Is it possible to insert a “Print Recipe” button to make life easier?
The ‘print recipe’ button is located right below the picture on the recipe card.
I found this on Pinterest and made it yesterday – DELICIOUS! I have already shared it with a couple girlfriends. I am excited to check out more of your recipes.
And in case anyone is in the same situation…. I only had regular paprika (not smoked) and it still is great
Hi 🙂 I just ran across your blog and this soup looks delicious. I noticed a lot of spices in they recipe. Would you consider this soup to be spicy (spicy in terms of mild vs medium heat). Thank you!
We found it to be mild Caitlyn, but this really depends on the kind of curry powder you use. Feel free to cut it back to your preference 🙂
I didn’t find it spicy at all. I used the curry powder mix from Trader Joe’s for reference. I thought it was a little odd that this recipe doesn’t call for salt up front, so I added a 1/2 teaspoon. Also, I sauteed the onion/garlic/carrots/celery/spices in my Instant Pot pressure cooker and then threw in the rest of the ingredients, cooked for 4m manual. For others thinking of making this, this soup TASTES AMAZING! Love it with the lemon juice at the end, but it tastes great without it as well. And I know it will taste even better tomorrow like most soups do. definitely try it out!
Oh this looks so good! I have a huge jar of lentils that I’ve been wanting to do something fun with. I love the layout of your recipe too. Is it part of your blog’s theme or do you use something different?
Hi Julie! Thanks so much! Yes it’s part of a custom theme our designer made for us. Feel free to shoot me an email if you’re interested and I can put you in touch with her 🙂
Does this soup freeze well? I can’t wait to make it! Thanks
I have a gizmo that vacuum packs, and I simply made a huge load and froze two packages (don’t turn on the vacuum when you seal the bags).
I just bought everything to make this. I found it on Pinterest earlier this week. I imagine I will love it!
Hope it’s even better than you imagine 🙂
Loved the recipe; thanks for sharing!
I made mine using sweated onion with butter and cooked squash instead of sweet potato. My only question involves the recipe vs the pictures. Your picture looks to have parsley flakes and possibly a red serrano pepper or cherry pepper on top. Also is that an oil or the lemon juice in the image? Were these just for eye-candy or did they not work out and thus were omitted from the recipe?
Thanks, so much!!
Oops, forgot to mention I used my pressure cooker, too. 1 hour on high 🙂
All of the garnishes were purely for picture purposes but feel free to add them to your bowl as well if you’d like! I used chopped parsley, a drizzle of olive oil and a sliced red jalapeño.
Do not have a slow cooker, so sauted the vegetables and added rest of ingredients except lentils. Cooked till tender then added a can of drained lentils and half a package of frozen spinach, thawed. Everyone loved it.
This sounds delicious! Question though. What type of curry powder do you use? Red, yellow?
I apologize Dawn, I thought I had already answered this! I used yellow curry powder.
We live in Australia , so summer now , in fact over 100 degs f right now ! I will be making this delicious sounding soup in cooler weather & will pass on to vegan daughter in law ! Thank you !
I made the recipe to a tee, and thought it was very bland. Definitely missing something(s). Unfortunately, I have a lot to eat–I hate the idea of wasting what remains, but then again, I just don’t know how I can finish it being a serious foodie.
Thanks for your feedback, Sierra. With so much garlic and many different seasonings, my intention for this soup was for it to be anything but ‘bland’. If you’d like, you can always doctor the remaining soup with additional curry powder/seasonings or cayenne pepper to your preference.
As another self-proclaimed serious foodie, I would definitely not call this bland. I added a little extra curry powder and smoked paprika at the end, and a pinch of cayenne, and our whole family loved it. Perhaps it was just not to your tastes. And I love that I can feel good about eating it, too! Thanks for the recipe.
Making it now. What can I sub for curry powder?
The curry powder is a crucial ingredient in this recipe, I unfortunately cannot suggest an alternate ingredient that wouldn’t change the taste. Please use your best judgement.
I’m a bit late, but curry powder is often the same as garam masala, or masala spice mixes, and thus the ingredients are a mix of various other spices such as black cardamom, yellow cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, bay leaves, chili pepper, coriander, sichuan pepper, anistar/star anise, fennel seeds, cumin seeds, cloves, kalapsi, tumeric, black mustard seed, salt, garlic granules, saffron, nigella sativa, amchoor, or pomegranate powder. Not all mixes will have all of these, but most of them seem to have cardamom, turmeric, cinnamon, chili pepper and cumin.
Alton Brown did an episode called The Curious Case of Curry which talks about this, and I’ve just figured this out by reading the bottles and bags at various spice stores. Sometimes I think the mixes are far more expensive than buying whole seeds/pods/flowers or just separate bits and pieces.
Hi! Made this tonight and it was DELICIOUS! Thank you so much! I wanted to make a note in case there are other forgetful cooks like me out there. I did this on the stovetop using brown lentils that had definitely been in pantry a while. I let it cook for about 1.5 hours and it was perfect. You could probably even cook it less than that. Just in case you don’t have time to slow cook, this is all good as a quick cook.
Ok, this looks seriously yummy. I’ve made a pig pot of lentil soup before and it was perfection so I think I’m going to try this one tonight! I might add in some protein because….well i just always have to have a bit of that 🙂
Question though! I have a huge stock of black lentils in my cabinet – in my experience, they take longer to cook (if my memory serves me right). You think I can sub out the brown for the black?
Glad to hear you’ve decided to give this recipe a try, Amy! I’m not too sure about swapping the brown lentils for black ones. Like you said, I do think they’d take a little longer to cook and I feel they’d need at least a solid 8 hours on low (if not longer). Do let me know how it goes if you decide to give it a try 🙂
Woke up at 4:00am and could not get back to sleep so I prepped the soup, put in crock pot AND this is the best soup ever! You are right, the house smelled great , dinner ready when we got home and it was fantastic thank you for the recipe. Plenty of left overs for lunch at the office!
Glad to hear you enjoyed the soup, Sheri! Thanks for taking the time to comment 🙂
So good! Love how the lemon juice at the end sharpens it up. It was stew on day 2.
A little water or addition broth should bring it back to that ‘soupy’ consistency 🙂
Would this recipe work with red lentils?
I’m unsure Alexandra. I feel with the red lentils you run the risk of them overcooking in the time listed. If you decide to give it a try, i’d love to know how it went!
We made this yesterday for a casual Sunday supper with the family. We prepped the vegetables the evening before to cut down the morning prep time. Rather than cook the spinach at the end, it was served (separately) with steamed brown rice to be added to the soup bowls as desired. This was delicious and a big hit with the group. This is a healthy and flavorful soup and perfect on a cold day!
OH WOW! I cannot wait to try this recipe. Will def make it this week. I love all the spices in it!
I live in Dallas, TX – where are you guys? I just connected with you on social media. 🙂 Awesome blog! <3
Well hello! I apologize, I thought I had already answered your message! We’re in Houston, so not far from you at all! Thank you so much for the follow and for all your kind words! Hope you enjoy the soup! 🙂
What are the red sliced peppers on top? It’s on the menus for this week! Can’t wait!
Just red jalapeño peppers sliced for pictures!
I just made this recipe and it is delicious. My husband added a tablespoon of sour cream since he had to make sure it wasn’t too healthy. It is just perfect.
It’s funny you say that Christine, my husband does the same thing. Glad to hear it was enjoyed though! Thanks for taking the time to comment! 🙂
I noticed your recipe has an error that might confuse your readers.
Under your Directions – Item 1. the cooking level is “Low” for the 4-6Hr time duration.
You stated in your description of the recipe above that the cooking level should be set on “High” for this cooking time.
Thanks for catching that Michael!