Next Post
Milk Chocolate Stuffed Jack-O’-Lantern Cookies.
This post may contain affiliate links, please see our privacy policy for details.
When you’re in need of warming comfort food, but you also want healthy, this Coconut Sweet Potato Lentil Soup with Rice is just the soup to make. All made in just ONE pot (or in your instant pot), in less than an hour, and using good for us ingredients like sweet potatoes, red lentils, warming spices, and creamy coconut milk. It’s cozy, a little spicy, and filled with vegetables. Finish each bowl off with steamed rice and you’ll have the perfect healthy bowl of soup for lunch or dinner.
When I get stuck creatively, I try to look at flavors and foods just slightly out of my comfort zone. I tend to fall back on cozy foods…pastas, creamy soups, and pretty much anything roasted. Those are my go-to’s and very much in my comfort zone.
This is why, when I get in a recipe rut, I love to step outside my box, and explore flavors I don’t use as often as I should.
Enter this soup.
Lately all I want to cook is the comfort foods I know and love. Which is totally fine, since I whole heartedly believe that you should make what’s inspiring you. With our cold, snowy weather I’m embracing all the comfort foods…after all, I think it’s what I’m best at!
That said, I was ready for a flavor switch up, and decided to explore some Indian inspired recipes.
Instead of googling anything, I text my soon to be sister (because my older brother is gettin’ married this summer!). Lyndsie is one of the more well-rounded eaters I know, and great for recipe ideas. She quickly responded with mulligatawny soup. At first I thought she spelled something wrong. But after some googling I discovered that mulligatawny soup is an East Indian curry soup. It’s traditionally made with veggies, sometimes lentils, sometimes apples, and coconut milk.
Honestly, I saw a ton of different versions online, so I’m not sure what’s really traditional. The point here is that I drew the inspiration for this soup from mulligatawny soup. This is not a mulligatawny soup, but it’s similar…ish, and 100% delicious.
When I set out to make this soup, I knew it needed to include three things: sweet potatoes, lentils, and rice.
I LOVE a rice based soup (have you made my favorite tortilla soup…or my wild rice soup?!). Since I haven’t made one in a bit, I knew using rice for this soup was key. I wanted lentils for protein, and sweet potatoes for, well, just because I love them…and they’re in season!
So those were my three must have ingredients. From here I built up the rest of the soup and it quickly came together.
You’ll start by cooking up some onions, garlic, and lots of ginger. These are major flavor boosters, so don’t skip them. Then toss in your sweet potatoes, yellow curry powder, and a pinch of cayenne for some heat.
Add broth and red lentils, then simmer until the lentils are extra soft, which only takes about 15 minutes or so. You can also do this all in your instant pot (which I included directions for). But I honestly think it’s just as quick and easy to do this on the stove top.
Once the lentils are soft, stir in the coconut and some spinach, and simmer to warm through. And like that, the soup is done! I don’t like to add the rice directly to the soup. Instead I add the rice to bowls and then pour the soup over. This way the rice doesn’t soak up all the soup’s broth while it sits.
This soup is SO flavorful, SO full of color, and filled with good for us ingredients. Yet it feels totally comforting with the sweet potatoes, creamy coconut milk, and rice. I love serving it with my homemade naan (obviously). It’s our favorite over here.
Best part, well aside from all the deliciousness, this requires only one pot and is ready in less than 45 minutes. Perfect.
If you make this coconut sweet potato lentil soup please be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to also tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Watch the How to Video:
Coconut Sweet Potato Lentil Soup with Rice from Half Baked Harvest on Vimeo.
Coconut Sweet Potato Lentil Soup with Rice
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 1813 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
- 1 inch fresh ginger, grated
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 1 tablespoon yellow curry powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, more or less to taste
- 4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth or water
- 3/4 cup dried red lentils
- kosher salt
- 1 can (14 ounce) coconut milk
- 2 cups baby spinach
- 2 cups cooked basmati rice
- 1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped, plus more for serving
- fresh Naan, for serving
Instructions
Stove-Top
- 1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. When the oil shimmers, add the onion and cook 5 minutes until soft. Add the ginger, garlic, and sweet potatoes and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Stir in the curry powder and cayenne and cook another minute. 2. Add the broth and lentils. Season generously with salt. Bring the mix to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer 15-20 minutes, until the lentils are soft and the sweet potatoes tender. 3. Stir in the coconut milk and spinach, cook 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the cilantro. 4. To serve, divide the rice among bowls and ladle the soup overtop. Garnish with cilantro. Serve with Naan on the side. Enjoy!
Instant Pot
- 1. Set Instant pot to sauté. Add the olive oil and onion and cook 5 minutes until soft. Add the ginger, garlic, and sweet potatoes and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Stir in the curry powder and cayenne and cook another minute. 2. Add the broth and lentils. Season generously with salt. Cover, select the manual setting, and cook on high pressure for 10 minutes.3. Once done cooking, use the quick release function and release the steam. Set the Instant pot to sauté. Stir in the coconut milk and spinach, and cook 5 minutes. Turn the instant pot off. Stir in the cilantro.4. To serve, divide the rice among bowls and ladle the soup overtop. Garnish with cilantro. Serve with Naan on the side. Enjoy!
When I tell you this soup has become my OBSESSION!!!! I dreamed about this soup for a full week before I finally made it and I was worried it wouldn’t live up the hype in my head. I hadn’t eaten lentils in years, the only form of sweet potatoes that I usually eat are in the form of fries, and I’ve only cooked with curry once in my life. So, yeah, I was nervous that it wouldn’t be as good once I finally made it. To make matters worse–I only had brown lentils, not red, only had red onions, not yellow, and I subbed in ginger powder since I didn’t have fresh. But, it was love at first BITE! I ate it for two days straight and now, less than a week later, I have it cooking in the kitchen to enjoy an encore! Still made with red onion and brown lentils, but this time, I have fresh ginger. I am more excited to eat it than I’ve ever felt about food in my life. I know this sounds overly dramatic, but I feel that strongly about this soup! haha Thanks for my newest comfort food that will be a regular rotation.
Wow! Thank you sooo much Jessica! So glad you’re loving this soup! 🙂 xT
Does anyone know the calorie estimate for this per serving? The estimate above says 1,800 which cannot be right 😂
This recipe is forever a favorite! I tweak it for my preference whenever I make it (no rice, add mushrooms) and it is ALWAYS delicious. By far this is my favorite Tieghan recipe.
Thank you Jordan! I so appreciate it! xT
I’ve been making this every fall/winter since 2018 and it truly never disappoints. Not only is it a great excuse to make your amazing naan bread (which also makes the most excellent avocado toast the next morning, btw) but it’s so cozy and delicious. It’s just a winner. When the leftovers are great, which imo is the sign of a truly great recipe.
Hey! Thank you so so much! Love to hear that you’re enjoying this recipe 🙂 xT
Loved the simplicity of this recipe! I made it in the instapot and rice cooker and it was so easy and flavorful! I did not use salt and sprinkled the cayenne on later so my daughter could have a mild version. I used frozen spinach and ground coriander because I didn’t have any fresh and it was still delicious. I especially love the HBH soups and instapot recipes, Thankyou Tieghan.
Hey Erin,
I love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for making it and your review! Happy Sunday! xT
Perfect dinner for a chilly rainy day… in order to have sweet potatoes & lentils have texture reduced cooking time to 3 mins using the instant pot
Hi Beth,
Wonderful!! So glad to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for making it! Happy Thanksgiving! xT
Hi Tieghan! Do you think this soup would freeze well?
Hi Alison,
Yes, that should work well for you! Let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xT
This is my all-time favorite soup recipe. Everyone I’ve ever served it to has loved it. The only alteration I make is using half the cayenne pepper, even though I love spicy food. It just feels like a more pleasing flavor profile for me. Maybe my cayenne is just especially powerful.
Thank you for this fantastic recipe!
Hey Laura,
Happy Sunday!! Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I appreciate you making it and your feedback! x
This was amazing! Made this last night with no adjustments. Perfect for a chilly night.
Hey Karyn,
Happy Friday!! I am so glad to hear that this recipe was delish, thanks for trying it and your comment! xT
Delicious! Thank you.
I’ve made 3 times and tonight’s was the best.
First I used Instant Pot and thought lentils were a little mushy so I tried stove too and decided I liked IP.
Flavor was beautiful each time.
Yay
Made this many times and is a favorite for cool weather. First few times oversalted it (be careful of the salt broth!), and it definitely tipped the balance. Would recommend anyone making this to start conservatively with salt (if at all, if using salted broth) and adjust later in the cooking process if needed. The soup tastes entirely different with just a little too much salt. It’s amazing when it’s just right, the gems that are the ginger and cayenne really come thru, providing the warmth and spice, with rich coconut and sweet potato to balance. One of our favorite recipes. Thank you!
Thanks so much for sharing your notes Andrea! Love to hear that this recipe is on repeat at your house:) xT
Thanks so much Vicki!! Love to hear that you have been enjoying this recipe:) Have a great week! xT
This was super yummy with or without the rice. Thank you!
Hey Heatherly,
Happy Monday!! Love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for trying and your feedback! xT
This was delicious!! Didn’t even use the rice but will try it next time😊
Hi Margaret,
Happy Sunday!!🍂 Thanks a bunch for making this recipe and your review, so glad it was enjoyed:) xx
I made this soup and it was a winner! Very flavourful. I added sliced, fresh mushroom and cooked some scallops to put on top.
Thank you so much for the recipe. It is a keeper!
Hi Peggy,
Awesome!! Love to hear that this dish was a winner, I appreciate you making it and your feedback! xx
So good! I added chopped chicken. Delicious 😋
So delicious and so easy to make!
Thank you!
Thank you so much for trying out this recipe! So glad you enjoyed it! Have a great Halloween 🙂 xT