Moroccan sweet potato and chickpea soup is a very flavorful soup in which these two main ingredients are cooked, blended together, and seasoned with fragrant spices from Morocco. Perfect for a cold day meal, this creamy and comforting soup is vegan and gluten-free.
One of the most popular recipe categories on my blog is of soups. This shows that just like me a lot of my readers are soup lovers too.
So, for my soup-loving readers, I am sharing another very tasty soup recipe from Morocco called Moroccan sweet potato and chickpea soup.
It's a vegan and gluten-free soup that's perfect to be served as a light meal too.
If you are craving a cozy, satisfying meal on a cold day, just make this Moroccan sweet potato soup, dunk a crusty bread in it, and enjoy!
Jump to:
- Moroccan cuisine
- Moroccan sweet potato and chickpea soup ingredients
- How to make (step-by-step instructions)?
- Serving Moroccan sweet potato soup
- Storing, freezing, and reheating tips
- Recipe tips, tricks, and variation suggestions
- Frequently asked questions
- More vegan soup recipes
- More vegan chickpea recipes
- Recipe
Moroccan cuisine
Influenced by a lot of different cuisines and cultures like Berber (North Africa), Arabic, Mediterranean, and even European to some extent, Moroccan cuisine is very diverse.
The spices that are used in this cuisine are almost similar to the spices that are used in Indian cooking like turmeric, coriander, cumin, cinnamon, ginger, fenugreek, fennel, cloves, star anise, etc.
However, Moroccans also use a lot of other ingredients that are generally not used in traditional Indian cooking like oregano, parsley, marjoram, verbena, etc.
These ingredients and different methods of cooking give Moroccan food its unique taste. So, while you get a hint of Indian flavors in a lot of Moroccan dishes it still tastes quite different.
The way garam masala is used in Indian cooking, Moroccans also have a very popular spice mixture made with around twenty-seven spices and it’s called ras el hanout.
If your want to explore this cuisine more then don't miss to check out my other easy Moroccan recipes like Moroccan chickpea couscous salad, Harira, Moroccan carrot salad, or Moroccan roasted potatoes.
Moroccan sweet potato and chickpea soup ingredients
To make this Moroccan soup, you will need the ingredients shown below:
- Sweet potato: Orange or red-skinned, both are fine to be used.
- Chickpeas: You can use canned chickpeas or cook dried chickpeas from scratch.
- Onion: I have used red onion but white or yellow onion can be used too.
- Harissa paste: It's a North African condiment made with dried guajillo peppers, smoky roasted red peppers, garlic, and other ingredients. You can skip it if you can't find it. Else, make a paste by grinding dried red chilies, garlic, cumin powder, and olive oil together. Otherwise, just use red pepper flakes to add some heat to the soup. It won't make the soup as flavorful as harissa paste does but the soup will still be enjoyable.
- Vegetable bouillon cube: Instead of using vegetable bouillon cube and water, you can also use vegetable stock.
- Dried ginger powder: Fresh ginger can be used too.
- Coriander powder: It's the powdered form of dried coriander seeds.
- Cayenne pepper: You can use any type of red chili powder. Choose a variety based on your spice level preference.
- Cumin powder: It's one of the key ingredients in this soup, don't skip it. You can easily find cumin powder in the spice section of most grocery stores.
- Baby spinach: Add greens like baby spinach or kale to make this soup even more nutritious.
Other ingredient details and nutritional information are shared in the recipe card.
How to make (step-by-step instructions)?
To make Moroccan sweet potato and chickpea soup, follow the easy step-by-step instructions given below:
Step 1: Heat oil in a large pot. Add chopped onion and minced garlic. Cook until the onion turns translucent.
Step 2: Add dried ginger powder, coriander powder, cayenne pepper, cumin powder, and vegetable bouillon cube. Saute for a few seconds.
Step 3: Add tomato paste and harissa paste.
Step 4: Saute for around 30 seconds.
Step 5: Add peeled and chopped sweet potatoes.
Step 6: Add cooked chickpeas and salt.
Step 7: Cook for 1-2 minutes.
Step 8: Add water and mix.
Steps 9 and 10: Cover the soup pot with a lid and cook for 35-40 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are cooked well.
Step 11: Blend with a hand blender (immersion blender).
Step 12: Add lemon juice and chopped cilantro. Mix.
Your delicious Moroccan sweet potato and chickpea soup is ready to be served!
Serving Moroccan sweet potato soup
Serve this sweet potato soup warm or hot. You can drizzle some olive oil on top and garnish it with chopped fresh herbs.
To add some texture, top it with some sauteed chickpeas or sauteed sweet potatoes.
It can be paired with a side dish like crusty bread, garlic bread, a crunchy salad, roasted vegetables, Moroccan roasted potatoes, or Moroccan couscous salad.
Storing, freezing, and reheating tips
Store the leftover soup in an airtight container and refrigerate, it will be fine for 4-5 days.
You can also freeze it in batch-size, freezer-safe containers or zip-lock bags for around 3-4 months.
To reheat, either microwave or reheat on the stovetop until heated well. Keep stirring in between and if required, add more warm liquid (water or stock) to get the desired consistency.
Recipe tips, tricks, and variation suggestions
- Canned and home-cooked chickpeas both are fine to be used in this recipe.
- Spices get burned very fast so don't leave them unattended and saute for a few seconds only. You may also add 1-2 tablespoons of water with the spices.
- Instead of ginger powder, you can use fresh ginger too.
- You may add 1-2 bay leaves to the soup while cooking sweet potatoes and chickpeas. Don't miss to remove them before blending the soup.
- Chop sweet potato into small pieces to fasten the cooking process.
- If you prefer your soup with some texture, either don't blend it or blend only a portion of it.
- The soup can be blended in a stand blender too if you don't have an immersion blender. If using a stand blender, let the soup get slightly colder before blending.
- You may adjust the consistency of the soup to your liking. If after blending you feel the soup is too thick for you, add some warm water or vegetable broth and cook for a few more minutes.
- Follow the same recipe and replace chickpeas with red lentils to make Moroccan sweet potato lentil soup.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, frozen sweet potatoes can also be used to make this Moroccan soup.
Yes, harissa is a vegan and gluten-free ingredient.
Yes, they are different names for the same beans.
More vegan soup recipes
If you enjoyed this soup and looking for more comforting soup recipes from around the world then don't miss out on checking the following links:
More vegan chickpea recipes
Looking for more ideas to use chickpeas in your food? The following recipes are worth trying:
If you try any of my recipes, please rate ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ it on the recipe card and also leave your feedback in the comments section below. You can also follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and subscribe to my youtube channel.
Recipe
Moroccan spiced sweet potato and chickpea soup
Equipment
- 1 Large cooking pot
- Hand blender/ stand blender
- Chopping board and knife
Ingredients
- 1 medium-sized sweet potato (3 cups, around 350 grams) peeled and roughly chopped
- 2 cups cooked chickpeas around 350 grams
- 1 medium-sized onion roughly chopped
- 2-3 garlic cloves minced
- Juice of ½ a lemon around 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- Chopped fresh cilantro or parsley for garnishing
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper powder you can use any red chili powder
- ½ teaspoon ginger powder
- Salt to taste
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon harissa paste optional
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 vegetable bouillon cube
- 5 cups water
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Instructions
- Heat oil in a pot. Add onion and garlic. Saute until the onion becomes translucent.
- Add all the spices and bouillon cube. Saute for a few seconds.
- Add tomato paste and harissa paste. Saute for around 30 seconds.
- Add chopped sweet potatoes, cooked chickpeas, and salt. Saute for 1-2 minutes.
- Add water and mix. Cook covered for around 35-40 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are cooked well.
- Blend the soup with a hand blender. If the soup is too thick, add some warm water.
- Let the soup simmer for 1-2 minutes. Turn off the heat.
- Add lemon juice and chopped cilantro. Mix.
Video
Notes
- Canned and home-cooked chickpeas both are fine to be used in this recipe.
- Spices get burned very fast so don't leave them unattended and saute for a few seconds only. You may also add 1-2 tablespoons of water with the spices.
- Instead of ginger powder, you can use fresh ginger too.
- You may add 1-2 bay leaves to the soup while cooking sweet potatoes and chickpeas. Don't miss to remove them before blending the soup.
- Chop sweet potato into small pieces to fasten the cooking process.
- If you prefer your soup with some texture, either don't blend it or blend only a portion of it.
- The soup can be blended in a stand blender too if you don't have an immersion blender. If using a stand blender, let the soup get slightly colder before blending.
- You may adjust the consistency of the soup to your liking. If after blending you feel the soup is too thick for you, add some warm water or vegetable broth and cook for a few more minutes.
- Follow the same recipe and replace chickpeas with red lentils to make Moroccan sweet potato lentil soup.
- More recipe tips. tricks and ingredient substitution suggestions are shared in the post above, please follow them to make this recipe.
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