This sweet potato soup maker recipe with red lentils is hearty and delicious, making it perfect for a cold Winter's day. It's low fat, healthy and infused with warm spices, it's sure to become a regular favourite!
Includes recipe video to follow along.
If you're looking for a rich and creamy soup maker recipe that warms you up that time of year, then you need to try this spiced sweet potato soup!
It's one of the most vibrant orange soups, full of vitamins, fibre, protein, and carefully selected ingredients to help support inflammation.
And it's a delicious hot soup perfect with grilled cheese sandwiches or crusty bread for dipping. But the best part? No need to get your parchment paper out as there's no roasting required!
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✔️ Why You'll Love This Recipe
Here are a handful of reasons why we think you'll love this spicy sweet potato soup recipe with red lentils:
- Uses pantry staples
- No roasting required
- It's filling and delicious
- It's a quick and easy vegetable soup
- Made in a soup maker - the easy way!
- Versatile with different vegetables and spices
- Nutritious and full of antioxidants and vitamins
- Has natural sweetness - no need for maple syrup or honey
- Easy to make into gluten free, vegetarian, or plant-based soups
🛒 Ingredient Notes
Please see the printable recipe card with exact ingredient quantities and preparation instructions at the bottom of the post.
Cooking oil spray - I use low calorie Frylight for a low fat soup, or you can use a teaspoon of olive oil or coconut oil
Red onion - diced and sauteed to add flavour to the stock. Its rich red colour also offers more antioxidants than white onions. Or I recommend shallots if looking for similar health benefits
Garlic - minced or grated to saute for a more complex flavour and support heart health
Sweet potatoes - peeled & diced water. These are a good source of vitamin A and C, as well as fibre and and antioxidants
Red lentils - no need to pre-soak. They add protein, fibre, and polyphenols for anti-inflammatory properties, etc while also thickening the soup
Seasoning - this is sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Ground cumin - or for simplicity, feel free to swap for curry powder
Mild chilli powder - or use a little bit of chilli or red pepper flakes for extra heat
Ground ginger - or grated fresh ginger if you have it. Alternatively, you can use pureed lemongrass, but I usually use both together
Tomato puree - or swap for red curry paste, excluding the other spices
Stock - this can be chicken broth, stock cubes, homemade vegetable broth
Lemon - lime juice or orange juice, including zest for sweet acidity for the perfect balance
📋 Instructions
1. Add oil to a large pot or soup maker with a saute function.
Then gently soften the onions and garlic over medium-high heat.
2. Add the warming spices and fry over low heat for 1 minute while stirring.
3. Now add the diced sweet potatoes, lentils, stock, salt, pepper, tomato puree, and vegetable stock in a soup maker or soup pot.
4. Select the smooth function on your soup maker, or simmer for 22 minutes on your stove top over medium heat and puree with a stick blender.
Then add the lemon juice, zest and fresh herbs like mint, coriander, etc.
Tip: for an extra smooth creamy texture, you can stir in a swirl of coconut milk or heavy cream.
👩🍳 Substitutions
Depending on your dietary needs, here are a few simple swaps you can use and still make a really good lentils & sweet potato soup:
- Sweet potatoes - swap for a lentil and carrot soup if preferred or another starchy vegetable like butternut squash, pumpkin, etc
- Red lentils - You can substitute other types of lentils for the red lentils, such as brown or green lentils. Or, swap for canned chickpeas or cannellini beans without affecting the creaminess of the soup
- Spices - swap for 2 teaspoon of your own ras el hanout, which are traditional Moroccan spices, or use Thai curry paste garam masala, curry powder, or chipotle paste
- Stock - use vegetarian, vegan or gluten free if required
You might also like my Spanish chicken and chorizo soup with sweet potato, creamy carrot and red pepper soup, or red lentil dahl.
⚖️ Variations
Here are some different ways you can enhance and truly personalise this recipe:
Roast the vegetables first - for a richer soup taste, you can toss diced sweet potato cubes, onions and garlic in a small bowl with spices and oil, then roast a single layer until golden brown
Use extra veggies - no vegetables are off limits, so you can use what you have or fancy. This could be leftover roasted carrots, parsnips, celery, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, etc
Add extra protein - for satiety, you can add cooked shredded meat like this split pea and ham soup, chicken breast with red lentils, turkey, or meat free options like tofu, soya mince with red lentil etc
Satay - if adding coconut milk for a creamy sweet potato soup, this would be a great time to stir in some smooth peanut butter, almond butter, or cashew nuts before cooking and toasted sesame seeds
Low carb - if following a keto diet and want to reduce your carbs, you can use a small head of cauliflower instead of sweet potato
Extra spicy - for those who love heat, you can stir in some Siracha, top with spicy jalapeno slices, Tobasco, etc
🔪 Equipment
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Soup maker or you can use a large saucepan and immersion blender
Measuring jug, kitchen scales and measuring spoons to measure and weigh your ingredients, or you can use cups by selecting the US customary option in the recipe card
Garlic press to mince a cloves of garlic, or you can use a fine grater
Potato peeler - to peel and trim the sweet potatoes, or feel feel to scrub them well
Chopping board, and sharp knife for chopping vegetables, or you can use prepared vegetables if easier
Salt and pepper grinder to season the soup to taste
❄️ Storage
Storing - we prefer eating this red lentil sweet potato soup freshly cooked, but it can be stored in an airtight container and refrigerated for up to 3 days.
Freezing - cool to room temperature and again, store in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.
Reheating - If you want to eat the next day, defrost in the fridge if required and microwave until piping hot, or reheat on the hob or stove top.
💡Pro Tips
- Use the best or freshest stock you can as it will make one of the biggest differences. By using homemade, you are limiting the additives and preservatives
- Avoid burning the onions and garlic while gently frying, oitherwise you can result in a bitter taste
- If you don't have a high powdered blender, you can use a potato masher to break up the ingredients for a semi smooth texture
- Season the soup at the end for better control
- To enhance the flavours, don't skip the lemon or lime juice at the end, or you can stir in tamarind paste
- Avoid other types of lentils as they can burn at the bottom of a soup maker
🍽️ Serving Suggestions
Here are a few accompaniments you can enjoy with this sweet potato red lentil soup:
Bread - there's simply nothing more soothing than tucking into a creamy bowl of warm soup with croutons, cheesy bread, wholemeal toast, buttermilk scones or homemade crispy breadcrumbs
Sandwiches - dip in fried cheese and ham sandwiches for a French twist, Coronation chicken sandwiches, or homemade quesadilla
Seed and nuts - top with roasted pumpkin seeds, chopped nuts, or a swirl of your favourite nut butter
Homegrown sprouts - for extra nutrition and texture, you can stir in lentil or broccoli sprouts at the end once off the heat
Roasted toppings - you could serve with roasted chickpeas coated in spiced oil, or a handful of roasted sweet potato cubes
❓ FAQ
Yes, you can use frozen sweet potatoes in a soup maker, but I recommend boiling water for more a more consistent texture.
Sadly, from experience, you can only use red lentils in a soup maker as brown and green will stick to the bottom.
You make this sweet potato and lentil soup vegan by using vegan broth or stock, and plant based cream for swirling if using.
Yes, you can make this soup GF friendly by using gluten free vegetable broth or stock.
Yes, it's quicker to make sweet potato soup in an Instant Pot. Simply cook on high pressure for 7 minutes with a quick release. For pureed soup, use a handheld blender while in the pot or transfer to a regular blender or food processor.
After sauteing the vegetables, add the remaining ingredients to your slow cooker and cook on low heat for 6-7 hours or high heat for 3-4 before blending. Or you can slow cook in a large Dutch oven on a stove.
I use an orange flesh sweet potato, but you can use a white sweet potato instead, but they are less sweet and will alter the colour of the soup. But both are rich in fibre, and vitamins B6 and C.
🍽️Pairing
Looking for a side with this sweet potato and red lentil soup? Why not try one of these?
➕ More Soup Recipes
Looking for more easy lunches? Then why not try another one of these soup recipes?
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📖 Recipe
Spiced Sweet Potato & Red Lentil Soup Maker Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 litre water
- 1 onion diced
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 500 g sweet potatoes peeled & diced
- 100 g red lentils no need to pre-soak
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 2 chicken stock cubes or vegetable
- ½ teaspoon mild chilli powder
- 1 tablespoon tomato puree
- Seasoning
- Squirt lemon juice
Instructions
- Add oil to a large pot or soup maker with a saute function. Then gently soften the onions and garlic over medium-high heat.
- Add the warming spices and fry over low heat for 1 minute while stirring.
- Now add the diced sweet potatoes, lentils, stock, salt, pepper, tomato puree, and vegetable stock in a soup maker or soup pot.
- Select the smooth function on your soup maker, or simmer for 22 minutes on your stove top over medium heat and puree with a stick blender.Then add the lemon juice, zest and fresh herbs like mint, coriander, etc.
Disclaimer
*This is an unofficial page and has no affiliation or endorsement from Slimming World. Slimming World's website can be found at https://www.slimmingworld.co.uk/. Any syn values are personal estimates and not verified by Slimming World.
Video
Notes
- Use the best or freshest stock you can as it will make one of the biggest differences. By using homemade, you are limiting the additives and preservatives
- Avoid burning the onions and garlic while gently frying, oitherwise you can result in a bitter taste
- If you don't have a high powdered blender, you can use a potato masher to break up the ingredients for a semi smooth texture
- Season the soup at the end for better control
- To enhance the flavours, don't skip the lemon or lime juice at the end, or you can stir in tamarind paste
- Avoid other types of lentils as they can burn at the bottom of a soup maker
- Sweet potatoes - swap for a lentil and carrot soup if preferred or another starchy vegetable like butternut squash, pumpkin, etc
- Red lentils - You can substitute other types of lentils for the red lentils, such as brown or green lentils. Or, swap for canned chickpeas or cannellini beans without affecting the creaminess of the soup
- Spices - swap for 2 teaspoon of your own ras el hanout, which are traditional Moroccan spices, or use Thai curry paste garam masala, curry powder, or chipotle paste
- Stock - use vegetarian, vegan or gluten free if required
Rabbit
Hi..so, I made this last night and it came out quite thick..what did I do wrong?
Vikkie Lee
Hi, most of my soups are thick so people can thin them with water, a little bit more stock or cream to their desired consistency if they wish.
Thanks,
Vikkie
Kirsten
Desperately looking for your cheese and onion tart recipe, but somehow keep ending up with this sweet potato and red lentil soup. I get the hint, I’d love to try the soup, but I’ve got the ingredients for the tart waiting for me, not a bag of sweet potatoes! Maybe cheese & onion soup for dinner..?
Vikkie
Thank you so much for bringing this to my attention! Here is the link, but it's playing up via smartphone. It does seem to be working fine though through my laptop but will be looking into this immediately.
Sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused!
Sue
Is it dried lentils
vikkie
Yes 🙂
B
Just cooked this super simple winter warmer - thanks 🙂
Rachel
just got this in my soup maker now.i didn't know you could use red lentils in it! thank you
Kaur Pawan
Is there a substitute for “stock” I just can’t stand anything made from preservatives in my home cooked soup. Please advise..
Thank you for the recipe.
Janice
Wii it taste as nice without cuman and chilli powder
Kelly
Going to try this today, can i use green lentils? Thanks
vikkie
Sorry, green lentils will stick if using the soup maker x
tracey
Hi vikkie, just made your soup recipe in my soup maker for lunch..was lovely ! Thankyou ???? x
vikkie
So glad to hear it, Tracey. I'm thinking of making a spiced cauliflower soup next 🙂 x