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Warm and deliciously fragrant spices make this yummy Moroccan-inspired sweet potato and lentil stew a new family favorite. A fabulous Whole Food Plant Based recipe. Vegan, oil free, sugar free, gluten free, no highly processed ingredients.

Hi, Robin here!

Chris and Katie love Moroccan food. Katie has a friend from Morocco who makes super delicious tagines and stews. They are always raving about her culinary wizardry. They describe her food as spicy, tasty, fragrant, and warm, along with a bunch of other superlatives that come to mind when hearing them talk about their love of the Moroccan cuisine.

Moroccan Cuisine

This dish is a nod to Moroccan sweet potato and lentil stew. It has all the traditional spices, but toned down slightly to suit those who have not tried these flavors. We were looking for “spice” and beautiful flavors, but went with a subtler version to entice our readers who are new to the Moroccan cuisine. We also wanted children, who are new to these spices, to find the dish tasty as well.

Budget Conscious

If you already have the spices on hand, then this dish is very economical. Dry lentils are relatively inexpensive. We buy them in bulk whenever there are sales. I literally have dozens upon dozens of half gallon mason jars filled with lentils in my pantry.

Leftovers

What is so nice about this recipe is, it makes a lot so you are ensured some leftovers for lunch (or dinner) the next day and the flavor develops even more. We were so thrilled with this dish the day we made it that it was hard to imagine it could taste even better the next day. But, it DID! YUMMMM!

Easy as 1, 2, Stew!

What I really love about this dish is how incredibly easy it is to make, you start by sautéing the onions and carrots, then you literally throw everything else into the pot and cook it. It doesn’t get much better than that, right?

Ameera here!

Yup, Chris and Katie have been raving about Moroccan cuisine for several years now. We were long overdue to pull this delicious nod to Moroccan food together.

Let me tell ya, I fell in love with this dish after the first bite. It is bursting with flavor and the texture is the perfect stew consistency. Top it with cilantro for the ultimate tasting experience! Oh yeah!

It is just that easy and oh so delicious. It has this incredible layer of flavors where the savory spices compliment the earthiness of the lentils and sweet potatoes. At the end, you add baby spinach to add another layer of texture. It is thick, tasty, and divine.

Give it a try, we are super sure you are going to love it too!

This post contains affiliate links, and I may receive a very small commission if you purchase through those links at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures! For more information, see our disclosures here.

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clock clock icon cutlery cutlery icon flag flag icon folder folder icon instagram instagram icon pinterest pinterest icon print print icon squares squares icon Moroccan Sweet Potato Lentil Stew Author: Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hours 5 minutes

Total Time: 1 hours 15 minutes

Yield: 6 Servings 1 x

Category: Dinner

Method: Stovetop

Cuisine: Moroccan Print Pin Description Warm and deliciously fragrant spices make this yummy Moroccan-inspired sweet potato and lentil stew a new family favorite. A fabulous Whole Food Plant Based recipe. Vegan, oil free, sugar free, gluten free, no highly processed ingredients. Scale 1x 2x 3x Ingredients 1 large yellow onion , finely diced

large , finely diced 1 large carrot , finely diced

large , finely diced 3 sweet potatoes , peeled and chopped into 1 -inch pieces

, peeled and chopped into -inch pieces 1 ½ cups uncooked small brown lentils *

* 7 to 8 cups water (or broth) *

to cups (or broth) * 1 cup vegetable broth *

broth * 1 – [ 14.5 oz. ] can petite diced tomatoes , pureed

– [ 14.5 oz. ] can , pureed 2 cups packed – fresh baby spinach Herb/Spice Ingredients: 1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon cumin ( see recipe notes* )

( ) ½ teaspoon ground coriander ( see recipe notes * )

( ) ½ teaspoon turmeric ( see recipe notes* )

( ) 2 ½ to 3 teaspoons sea salt (+/-) *

to teaspoons (+/-) * 1/4 teaspoon black pepper (+/- to taste) Optional Toppings: Fresh cilantro – chopped – topping for individual servings Instructions In a large ceramic/enamel-lined Dutch oven or similar stock pot, add the finely minced onion and carrot; sauté over medium heat until they begin to soften, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Add a tablespoon or so of water if the onions and carrots start to stick and/or to prevent burning. Add all the other the remaining ingredients to the Dutch oven, except the baby spinach and cilantro, bring to boil, then immediately lower to a simmer. Stir well to incorporate all the ingredients. Simmer uncovered over medium-low heat for 45 minutes. At 45 minutes, push the potatoes over to the side of the pot (as much as possible) and remove approximately one cup of the cooked lentils and place them in a wide bowl. Smash them with a fork or potato masher, then return to the pot. This will give the stew more varied texture. Test the flavors, add more spices (see recipes notes), if necessary, to achieve the level of flavor you desire. Add the baby spinach and cook for another 15 minutes. Discard the bay leaf. Top individual servings with freshly chopped cilantro. Notes *Small Brown Lentils (Pardina/Spanish Brown): You can substitute any type of lentil for the brown lentil (other than red); however, you may need to adjust the cooking time. Small brown lentils typically cook a little faster than green lentils. We have found that the Small Brown Lentil works beautifully with this recipe. *Diced Sweet Potatoes: Since the sweet potatoes are in the stew for an hour, do not diced them too small or they will disintegrate. Vegetable Broth/Water Ratio: We use Pacific Organic Vegetable Broth. We love this brand because it is Whole Food Plant Based compliant, as it does not contain MSG, has no oil, and does not contain any highly-processed ingredients; however, this brand of vegetable broth does have a strong flavor so less broth is required when compared to the water ratio. We use a higher water to broth ratio because of this. If you use another brand of vegetable broth, then adjust the water/vegetable broth ratio accordingly. For example, if you are using a very mellow vegetable broth, you might consider 6 cups of vegetable broth and 2 ½ cups of water for this recipe. Please adjust the recipe (broth/water ratio) accordingly based upon the vegetable broth brand used if you are not using Pacific Organic Vegetable Broth. *Spices: You can control the spice level and heat level on this recipe. We have included the minimum spice amount to get a hint of the Moroccan flavors. This will allow you to introduce Moroccan flavors to family members who may have not tried the Moroccan cuisine and would love to experience it. However, if you really want to spice things up, you can easily increase the spice amounts indicated in the recipe, or add additional spices to adjust this recipe to meet your own spice preferences; however, be careful, as sometimes when you add too much spice, the flavors start to compete with one another and you end up with a bitter note to your dish. Add small amounts at a time until you achieve the spice level you love! *Water Amount: Use 7 cups to achieve a more thicker stew, and conversely use 8 cups if you are looking to have a less thick stew. Again, please see the notes on adjusting the broth/water ratio based upon the brand of vegetable broth being used for this recipe. *Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.

Storage: Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate. Eat within 7 to 10 days.

This post contains affiliate links, and I may receive a very small commission if you purchase through those links at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures! For more information, see our disclosures here.