This hearty sweet potato, lentil and tahini soup is perfect for cold winter weather. Warmly spiced and comfortingly creamy as well as vegan!
It's still soup weather out there and after my success with carrot soup, I was eager to experiment more with tahini in soups. The vegetables were basically what I had left in the fridge so could easily be changed for whatever you have. I think aubergine would be fantastic in this soup.
It's amazing that just a little bit of tahini makes the lentils taste really creamy. I know it doesn't look that pretty or appetizing in the picture, but if you like lentils and tahini then I'm sure you would love this. For a slight variation peanut butter would work really well too and probably any nut butter.
Ways to adapt this tahini soup
The recipe below is really a rough guide only. When I make soups I tend to throw in as much of each vegetable as I have or feel like using.
The spicing also varies. If you feel like making this super hot and spicy then please do. Just add more chilli peppers or more curry powder. You can even use a spice paste instead of the curry powder.
The same goes for if you don't want a really hot soup. Depending on how hot you like it you can remove the seeds from the chilli pepper or even remove it altogether.
Can you swap the red lentils for green or brown ones?
I used red lentils in this soup and they are brilliant as they break up as lot and help to thicken the soup. You can certainly use a green, brown or puy lentils instead but the soup will be different. They don't break down in the same way that red lentils do and so they won't help to thicken the soup.
However, it will still be a really tasty soup.
Can you batch cook this tahini soup?
Like most soups, it's very easy to increase the quantities of this sweet potato and lentil soup and make a larger batch.
Storing and Freezing
If you do make a large batch, just store the remainder in the fridge or freeze it in individual portions.
It will keep well for three days in the fridge or three months in the freezer.
You can then reheat it on the hob or in the microwave.
More delicious soups
I've even got a whole recipe collection devoted to easy homemade soups! This time of year is perfect for making soup so why not have a look at one of these delicious soups!
Sweet Potato, Lentil and Tahini Soup
Ingredients
- 1 onion finely diced
- 1 green pepper diced
- 1 garlic clove crushed
- 1 chilli pepper finely sliced
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 1 tbsp red lentils rinsed
- 1 sweet potato peeled and diced
- 1 tbsp tahini
Instructions
- Put a little oil in a sauce pan and fry the onion gently until soft (about 5 minutes).
- Add the green pepper, chilli, garlic and curry powder. Stir and cook for a minute and then add the lentils and sweet potato. Cover with water, bring to the boil and then lower to a simmer. Cover the pan and leave for 20 minutes.
- Check the lentils and sweet potato are cooked. Leave for a bit longer if necessary. Stir in the tahini until it dissolves and then serve.
Notes
Nutrition
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Sandra
Is it only 1 tbsp of lentils? I'm guessing its 1 cup? Cooking this right now! It looks delicious!!
Corina Blum
Hi Sandra
I hope the recipe worked for you. It is just one tablespoon of lentils. The quantities in the recipe are for one large serving. However, I'm sure it would be great with more lentils in although if you add a whole cup it would definitely serve more people.
Mona
This soup looks heavenly! I'm so into tahini lately. Love the idea of it with sweet potatoes!
Corina
I'm so pleased you like it! It's one of my favourite recipes.
Jeanie
Thanks for a great soup. It's now my new go-to sweet potato soup.
Choclette
Oh I've not tried adding tahini to lentils before, what a great idea. I love lentils and it makes one of my favourite soups, so will have to try this.
jacquelineroll
Wow, who knew that adding tahini to soup could jazz it up so much? Thanks for the tip Corina!
Juliana
So interesting the combination of sweet potato and tahini...sounds very flavorful Corina.
Have a wonderful week ahead 🙂
Kahakai Kitchen
This looks like such a creamy and delicious combination of flavors. Great comfort food. Thanks for sharing it with Souper Sundays. 😉
Katerina
Tahini is a very powerful ingredient and contains so many vitamins! Although here the weather is very warm I would love a bowl of such a soup late at night when chill starts.
Kristina
Your soup sounds delicious! I've never used tahini in a soup before but the flavor sounds amazing, especially with the sweet potato and lentils. It's only going to be 46 degrees today at home.. yuck! Perfect soup weather 🙂
Corina
I hadn't used it until recently but now I'm using tahini in everything! It's definitely worth trying in a soup.
Tandy
I have to try this! Have a super weekend 🙂
Corina
Have a great weekend too - and let me know what you think if you do try it.
Joanne
This is such a great variation on the carrot/tahini soup! In fact, given my adoration for sweet potatoes, I'm pretty sure I'd like it better!
Corina
I'm now putting tahini in everything since making that first soup. It's so good to give a creamy taste but not use cream.
Choc Chip Uru
This soup is so full of awesome ingredients - much loved indeed 😀
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Corina
Thank you