Saucy Moroccan-Spiced Lentils

My husband and I really enjoyed this recipe. I used mostly green lentils but also added some quinoa and cooked both together. It was a nice combination. I used the shallots instead of onions and sauteed the shallots and garlic before blending them with the other ingredients. I also used a small fresh tomato instead of the tomato paste. I used all the spices in the amounts suggested and we loved it. A bit of a kick but not overpowering. Five stars from our house!

Delicious… and I’m no lentil fan

SO delicious! Made it for my work lunches and served with pearl barley and steamed green veggies. Was soooo yummy – and unbelievably cheap & easy to make. Literally boil lentils & blitz some veg/spices and you’re done. Definitely in my regular line-up of go-to meals.

This is such a good recipe! I saute the onions and garlic and blend the rest of the ingredients. I’ve made this twice and both times I also threw a big tomato into the blender, too. Once I put this in the eggplant rolls, and the second time I just served this as is with rice. My husband and toddler both approve!

Delicious!!!!
My hubby likes his food served warn so after mixing everything together i brought it to a boil on the stove. The slices were phenomenal. Im always looking for new ways to eat lentils and this is good enough to come back to regularly (:
Sidenote: i didnt have tomato paste. Instead i added ketchup and sundried tomatoes for that flavour.

I thought the spices were perfect. Must try with parsley next time. My husband accidentally bought cilantro, and I’m one of those people with the genetic mutation that makes it taste like soap. I narrowly avoided putting the soap-weed in my food, but I think it needs something green and leafy all the same :) Definitely parsley next time! We had it over quinoa as a main course. We both thought it was delicious, and my husband is not a raw food kind of guy. I love the complex flavors. Maybe some of the folks who don’t like this have my issue with cilantro? Cilantro tastes terrible to me.

Made this in the Instant Pot and it was great! Like others suggested, I sauteed the onions, red peppers and garlic for a couple minutes first before pressure cooking.

I did just what you said maybe because I am a bit lazy and it turned out great, a bit spicy but great. I had it on seeded toast!! YUM!

Delicious although a little heavy on the turmeric! I also roasted the red peppers and sautéed the onions before blending into the sauce, which made for a smokier flavor!

Wow, you are a genius! I roasted the pepper with a little olive oil then fried the onions & garlic together before adding all of it to the food processor, but everything else I followed the recipe perfectly & it was amazing!!!! Lots of people complaining about the bitterness haven’t added the sweet ingredient which is crucial to give it the all around magnificent flavour. I made some pearl cous cous (sometimes called Israeli cous cous) then added the lentils & sauce to it – an incredible dish.

This is delicious!! The combination of so many spices is something I wouldn’t know how to do on my own, but totally works with instruction. I appreciate that all spice measurements were X Tbs “with more to taste”, since that’s pretty much how all my cooking works, haha. And the guide for adding more flavor based on sweet or heat or acidity, etc., was awesome. Great recipe!

I don’t know what I did wrong but mine turned out super bitter ? What could have happened?

This recipe was just as delicious (and crazy-simple!) as I remembered it from last year. So flavorful…just perfect!

Just finished whizzing this up in the food processor. Delicious! and I haven’t even added the lentils yet. I can adding olives or capers to this for a bit of a different flavor, but I love it as is.

I made a double recipe so that I could serve half of the lentils at tomorrow’s party and half for the next day’s dinner as part of the eggplant recipe. Tasting the final product tonight, I felt that there was too much bite from the raw garlic and onion. Since it was too late to sauté those two ingredients before adding to the sauce, I decided to sauté the whole thing, lentils and sance, in a little olive oil. I added a bit more tomato paste and was thrilled with the results. Still spicy but no biting aftertaste. I’m sure our raw food/vegan friends wouldn’t have minded the raw garlic, but I think this will please the crowd. Next time I’ll sauté the onions and garlic before mixing.

I made this and added a organic zucchini to the red sauce. I have a toddler so I love sneaking in extra veggies whenever I can! He loves the sauce & it’s a win since it’s has veggies in it.

Such a delightful recipe! Thank you so much! My family and I loved it!

Really clean and easy preparation for an inexpensive dish bursting with flavour! I like that you can also alter the taste by sauteeing the ingredients a little.

This was really good! I’ve been trying my hand at yemsir wot lately, and it hasn’t turned out good at all (not sure if you’re into Ethiopian, but I’d definitely try your recipe if you made one – I love all of your recipes). The flavors don’t turn out like at the Ethiopian restaurant, and it always turns out mushy. When I saw this recipe on your site, I knew I had to try it. I cooked the pepper, onion, and garlic down, added the seasonings, and then blended it in the blender. I then added the lentils that I had pressure cooked to the sauce pan, added the blended sauce, and cooked down a bit more (I added some water to the sauce to get it to blend in the blender, so I wanted to cook it off a bit) with some olive oil. I served it with rice, cilantro, and some avocado. I’m going to have to try this sauce technique next time I try yemsir wot, and I’ll use green lentils instead of red.

I too struggled with the bitterness of this dish. It smelled and looked so good…I was really looking forward to getting stuck . But the bitterness killed it. I am not a big fan of the cold sauce being added to the cooked lentils. Felt the sauce just didn’t reach its potential.

So…inspired by the wonderful ingredient list, I will attempt this again but with a more traditional cooked approach to the sauce.

Your recipe has inspired me to tweak a few things, so thank you!!!

I was looking forward to making this for weeks, and was excited to have a weekend at home to try it out. I am a vegetarian and love lentils, am always looking for new ways to prepare them—this definitely looked interesting. Unfortunately, my partner and I both found this recipe super bitter and honestly not at all tasty. The only thing I changed was that I initially omitted the maple syrup because I really dislike sweet flavors in my food; otherwise followed the recipe exactly. I ended up adding the syrup at the end to salvage this because the flavor was so unpleasant—I admit it did help, but I would definitely not make this again as described. I believe the raw onion and garlic are what gave it such a bad taste, so wish I had read through the comments first. Pretty disappointed in this one. Felt I should leave a review so other folks might consider using a different method than described, or skip this one entirely.

I made this on Tuesday for myself and my boyfriend. It was good – he liked it. But it tasted bitter to me. I think what I would do differently next time is roast the red pepper in olive oil and then blend it all together. I think that would have taken away some of the bitterness. However, I had a lot of leftovers and wanted to use it for a dinner I was cooking for a friend last night so I just heated it up with a little bit of veggie broth, olive oil, and a touch of cinnamon and it turned out perfect!! I served it for us over rosemary couscous with a side salad and a side of braised leeks and it was a fab dinner. She wanted the recipe for these lentils! Will make again but with that adjustment. Also want to try the eggplant recipe with this!

Loved this! I like that I had most of the ingredients already in my pantry. The flavor was really nice and warm, just a touch of sweet and heat in there with the wonderful spices. We’ll be making this again for sure.

We made this with red lentils, so it turned out a little mushy, but I actually liked it that way. It was kind of a deliciously flavored sauce to serve over rice. :) I also decreased the cayenne pepper to a quarter teaspoon since MB’s recipes are always a little spicy for me, and that was just right.

I used to shy away from recipes that had a lot of ingredients that we don’t normally have at home (in the Philippines). But your hummus recipe (which my husband loved) inspired me to try cooking with an adventurous spirit. This turned out great even if i had a few missing ingredients (bell pepper, paprika, ginger, coriander, herbs). I cooked everything in a large pot (I made 2.5x the recipe using a whole bag of lentils). I’ll be bringing this to our family potluck lunch tomorrow. Planning to add some herbs and lemon juice to finish it off before serving. Hoping it will be a hit!

Thanks very much for this, love the spicing! I actually got 3 meals out of it: first as a main dish with roasted eggplant and sweet potato on the side, then as the main filling of a veggie wrap (used radicchio leaves :) ) and I just had the remains as a pasta sauce with mushrooms and a garlicky avocado paste on top. Will definitely make this again!

I think I did something wrong, as the vinegar was overpowering. I used this in the stuff eggplant dish, but will need to do something with the remaining lentils so I can enjoy them. Followed everything to the letter except the sugar. Just wishing I had not included the vinegar. I might add spinach as I read someone else had done. I definitely want to try it again though. My version tonight was 3* and hopefully I will end up with a 5* next time, so I will leave a rating of 4* to balance it out.

I loved this recipe, made it twice two weeks in a row now and I just can’t get enough. I’m a vegan and my partner is pescatarian but he eats his meals with me and he said this was one of the most filling and delicious vegan meals he’s ever had :) pleasing all eaters with this one! Thank you.

Delicious! I don’t have a good blender or food processor so I just made the sauce as a sauce, sauteed the onion, garlic, bell pepper with the spices, added a little frozen spinach, and then cooked the (canned) lentils in the sauce. It was smoky, earthy, and spicy, just the flavours I was hoping for. I forgot to add sugar but I think it worked well without it. I had some extra lemon wedges on the side, too.

I made this tonight. What a quick and tasty weeknight meal. Extremely flavorable and makes you want to go in for another bite. I like it because it’s so healthy and has amazing flavor! Thank you! I am a big fan!

Very tasty and easy to bring together. My mistake was to use fresh ginger because that’s what I had on hand. It altered the flavor too much. When I make it again, I will skip the ginger altogether. Thank you for the great recipe!

I love lentils and how they can work with just about any cuisine! I really loved this recipe but I roasted the red peppers before pureeing them. It was phenomenal! I also used harissa powder instead of cayenne because it is what I had on hand. My plan was to make your stuffed eggplants but, in the end, I placed a slice of grilled eggplant over a heap of herbed quinoa and used the lentils as a sauce. I never fail with any of your recipes!

this recipe is a show stopper, for sure. i used spicy smoked paprika, which at 1TBS, is quite a kick, when you add the cayenne as called for, as well. It definitely took a little more time than 30 min, but not much. I only used 1TBS of maple syrup, but I think next time I would do the whole 1 1/2 without a problem. I did all cilantro, but that’s also because I served it with brown rice that had a ton of freshly chopped parsley in it. Everything else I did as per the recipe, and I think it is wonderfully complex. I look forward to making it again, but I have a feeling that won’t be for a while, since I have so much leftover!!!

Amazing and sooooo flavourful! awesome recipe!!!!

I made this today. I did sauté the shallot and garlic, then added the tomato paste and cooked for a couple minutes and then added spices and cooked for a few more minutes. Even with these extra steps, I was able to make the sauce while the lentils cooked. I used maple syrup as my sweetener. I doubled the recipe. Served with baked sweet potato and peas. Had plenty left for freezer meals. We thought it was delicious and will definitely make again. Could certainly use the sauce for rice, quinoa or chickpeas! Thanks for the recipe!

This.
Was.
LEGIT.
I’m so glad I have leftovers!! I made it in the Eggplant Boat style instead of roll ups.
Very delicious and super filling. I made this for the Moroccan Lentil Stuffed Eggplant, and this is definitely a recipe I will keep in reserves.
10/10 for sure.

I had some guests over today and i made this as a side dish. I sauteed the onions, garlic and peppers. I also added a bit of water to make it more runny/saucy. I followed the rest of the recipe to the dot and it turned out great. Everyone loved it. Will definitely make it again.

These were awesome…my new-favorite lentil dish. I love the spicy sauce so much that I’m thinking how versatile it will as a quick way tospice up black or pinto beans. I wilted in some fresh greens at the end which probably took the raw garlic/shallot down a notch, and found the spice level just perfect. So quick and flavorful! Thanks Dana!

Just made this. I pureed the garlic, onion and spices, then sauteed it for a few minutes in a nonstick pan before adding the cooked lentils. This retains the consistency while also ‘cooking’ the onion and garlic. Delicious-thank you.

I made this for dinner tonight. It was delicious. I have small children and they don’t like flavors that are really strong. So I roasted the red pepper, garlic and shallots before I put them in the food processor. I didn’t have to add coconut sugar because the roasting provided the sweetness. It turned out really good. The whole family enjoyed it.

Just had this for lunch, yum! I added some coconut milk at the end & warmed the sauce through with the lentils. I agree there was a slight bitter taste, but I don’t think it was the vinegar… Also, it doesn’t serve 6 in our family! More like 3-4. Easy& quick to make. Thanks for another great recipe.

Made it today. The sauce is a BOMB! So smokey and flavorful. Thank you for the recipe. I added more salt, garlic and lime juice for our taste but it is still was good without my “addition”, just altered to our taste buds ;-)
Sauce can go pretty much for everything!

This was delicious! A few modification: like many other people, I sautéed the onions and garlic before adding. I substituted the coconut sugar for date caramel because I’m avoiding added sugars- worked perfectly. I actually would have preferred it less sweet. Inspired by someone else’s comment, I sautéed some carrots and the other half of the onion I used in a pan and added the sauce and lentils to them and heated it together as my last step. Served it on top of some Wasa crisp bread (I do this with practically everything though). Thanks!

Came out horribly. Thin, liquidity, no flavor. Not sure what I did wrong.

I made this a few weeks ago for meal prep for the week and it has to be one of my favourite recipes I have ever made. I feel like this dish is so versatile that you can use it for so many different things. I wouldn’t leave anything out of this recipe, AMAZING!!!

Made this last night. Didn’t have any maple syrup so substituted with a little soft light muscovado sugar. I also sautéed the onions and garlic a little first, and then added the spices to cook off for a minute or so. In my experience, raw spices can have a bitter aftertaste. It was very good indeed! Thank you! Going to try the stuffed aubergine with it tonight.

Super yummy! I cut the cayenne in half and still had plenty of spice to suit us. I recommend starting with a couple of dashes and adding as desired. And next time, I’m going to roast the peppers for added depth of flavor. Oh, I nix any sweetener whenever possible, so no maple syrup. Sugar is for dessert! We ate this on corn tortillas with sprouts, chopped tomatoes, and a slice of avo…?

Really good! I reduced the spices because I’m sensitive to them. but next time, I will use the full amounts, as they get diluted with the lentils. I cooked all of the sauce and put it over warmed up lentils. I used canned fire roasted tomatoes, as needed for a saucy sauce. Thank you. I have been enjoying the carrot apple muffins and this is my first main dish!

So good! Didn’t have any lentils so I subbed chickpeas :)
Also I hate cilantro (i’m one of those people…I know) so i just left it out and it was great!
Will me making again!

I wish I just didn’t add the maple syrup – I added less than the recipe and still found it way too sweet. I tried to balance it with lemon and apple cider vinegar but it wasn’t enough.

This was delicious! But I love harissa, so this saucy adaptation was perfect. I served it with rice. I also had a bit of avocado sitting around that I decided to add. Random, perhaps, but it was actually SO good.

I made this twice. The first time I made it as written, except that I accidentally used Italian Style tomato paste. It was awesome. The second time I used regular tomato paste, and sauteed the onion and garlic. It was good, but I like the first one better. Great idea, looking forward to trying curried lentils next!

I made this for lunches this week with red quinoa. Beautiful, flavorful and filling. I cooked the onion up a bit like others and went for cilantro. This will definitely become a lunch staple. So good!!

Perfect for a quick weeknight dinner. Delicious!

I made this and found it to have an unpleasant bitter taste to it. So I just decided to make a morrocan curry out of it, adjusted the spices and added coconut milk. It ended up tasting pretty good serverd with rice.

I doubled the tomato paste, spices, and vinegar in this. It just didn’t quite have enough flavor at first…They were great after that though…

I used sprouted lentil trio & it came out really well.I left out the maple surup & did not miss it. I will prbably kick it up a notch with another dash of cayenne as we like spicey food. Putting in the recommened was a little tame for me. The tomato past & cider vinager gives it a nice bite. I blended my parsley with everything else also. Great recipe! Something out of the norm.

This is just delicious! I’ve made it twice in one week. I did put some carrots in for color and crunch and the second time I used the lentis as a stuffing for acorn squash. I added a little feta at the end, just before serving. My husband thought it was so pretty, he took a picture and sent it to friends. My son loved it. Thanks for this terrific recipe.

Hi! I really loved this recipe! It was great over cauliflower rice! The only changes I think I’ll make next time will be to add more tomato paste just to make it more saucy., And half the Cayenne. It’s spicy enough for me but he huns won’t eat it.

I made this for a new year’s eve party and it was a big hit! I made a few changes though. The big one is that like many others I made it a cooked sauce rather than raw. Specifically I sautéed the garlic and spices for a bit in some oil, then added in everything else as a rough chop and then pureed it with an immersion blender.

The other change I made was to use my infusion smoker wand to impart some applewood smoke, which gave it an amazingly intense smoky flavor (moreso than what the paprika could provide), and that is what really won everyone over. :)

Just tried this recipe for the first time tonight and it’s definitely become a new favourite! Amazing flavours and so good with the red pepper especially. I did use raw onion and garlic but I’m gonna sauté them in a pan first next time before blending. Definitely got that strong aftertaste that I personally didn’t like but wanted to follow the recipie first to see how I found it! Was still very happy with how it turned out otherwise!

Really looking forward to see what you’ve coming next!
Thanks Dana!

I have made this , without tomato paste because I did not had any!

turn out a delicious lentils salad, with morrocan taste!! Delicious!

I made this tonight and would agree that it tastes AMAZING!! and that pan frying the shallot and garlic first would be nicer. I did not have a small amount of tomato paste, but did have oven roasted tomatoes from the garden that I used instead. I also used fresh ginger. WOW did this taste great!

Great dish! I used fresh ginger and tumeric. Next time I would panfry the onion and garlic before mixing. The raw taste was a little too strong for me.

I just finished making this. It’s AMAZING!!! It’s exactly what we needed after coming back from the Florida Keys. We ate far too much unhealthy food but still wanted to indulge. This recipe is perfect for that. Spicy and sweet. I also love the use of green lentils. I’m always looking for interesting ways to cook them.
I paired this sauce with Thai jasmine rice. I think it would be great with white fish as well. I will definitely be making it again.
Thanks for creating this and your hard work in posting it.
We loved it!

I made this last night for dinner. Got out the HUGE saute pan and browned chunks of carrot, celery, onion & cauliflower. When the lentils ( cooked separately) were ready i added them with the sauce to the veg and it came out perfectly. To give some warmth and sweetness, I added a touch of cinnamon and finished with cilantro. My husband loved it and said, “Put this on the hit list!” We ate this along with a salad. Thank You! With all the preparations for the holidays, it’s harder to come up with a quick dinner…or I just lose interest in cooking and would rather bake. Ha Ha!