This lemony lentil soup is made with basic ingredients that are very easily available to most people around the world. Though it’s a hearty and filling soup it also has a very light refreshing touch to it which comes from the easy-to-digest red lentils and fresh lemon juice used in this recipe. You can also enjoy it as a light meal. This quinoa soup is vegan and gluten-free.
Step 13: Add baby spinach.
Ingredient notes
Red lentils: They are split and skinned brown lentils. You can easily find them in Indian or Middle Eastern grocery stores. If you want you can also use green or brown lentils to make lentil quinoa soup but the cooking time will vary depending on the type of lentils that you are using.Quinoa: Feel free to use any variety of quinoa.Onion: I have used yellow onion, you can use white or red too.Baby spinach: You can also use roughly chopped regular spinach, just cook regular spinach for slightly more time than baby spinach. Kale can be used too.Tomato: I prefer using as many fresh ingredients as I could in my recipes. So, in this recipe too I have used fresh tomatoes but canned tomatoes can also be used.Cilantro: If you don’t like cilantro, use fresh parsley.Spices: I have used bay leaves, ground cumin, red chili flakes, coriander powder, cinnamon powder, turmeric powder, and black pepper as they are used a lot in Moroccan recipes. You may add or skip spices and seasonings to suit your taste.
Step 2: Add chopped carrot and celery. Saute for 2-3 minutes. Step 3: Add minced garlic and saute for a minute. Step 4: Add bay leaves, chili flakes, coriander powder, turmeric powder, cumin powder, cinnamon powder, and crushed black peppercorns. Step 5: Saute spices for around 30 seconds. Step 6: Add chopped tomatoes and salt. Step 7: Cook for 3-4 minutes or until the tomatoes are nicely cooked. Step 8: Add rinsed lentils and quinoa to the pot. Step 9: Saute lentils and quinoa with the vegetables for 1-2 minutes. Step 10: Add vegetable stock and mix everything. Steps 11 and 12: Cover the pot and cook for around 25 minutes or until the lentils are nicely cooked. Step 14: Cook until the leaves get wilted then switch off the stove. Step 15: Add chopped cilantro and lemon juice. Mix. Step 16: Remove the bay leaves before serving. Your Moroccan-style lentil quinoa soup is ready to be enjoyed! If you liked this recipe, please leave a star rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ in the recipe card below. You can also follow me on Instagram, Youtube, and Pinterest. You can also serve it with a crunchy Middle Eastern salad like Tabbouleh or Fattoush on the side. Grilled vegetables also make a good side dish for lentil quinoa soup. Moroccan potatoes also taste great with it. It can also be paired with a sandwich like this potato sandwich, corn spinach sandwich, or, beetroot hummus and avocado sandwich. It freezes well too. You can freeze quinoa lentil soup for 3 months. To reheat, transfer to a cooking pot and put on the stovetop until nicely heated. Alternatively, you can microwave it for a few minutes, stirring after every 1 minute until evenly heated. If required, reseason.
Recipe
