Moroccan harira soup is famous across the middle east and known to be one of the best soups you’ll ever have! It’s hearty and nutritious, with a lot of legumes like green lentils and chickpeas, tender cubes of veal, and fragrant Moroccan spices. You can also make this completely meat-free. Keep reading for my easy recipe with a few short cuts!

Harira soup served in a bowl, garnished with parsley with a spoon inside. A pot of soup in the top corner and another bowl in the bottom corner.

Want to Save This Recipe?

Enter your email & I’ll send it to your inbox. Plus, get great new recipes from me every week!

Save Post

By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails from Hungry Paprikas.

5-STAR READER REVIEW

“I cannot say enough good things about this recipe. I tried making Harira during Ramadan and my family absolutely loved it. I actually was asked to make it again multiple times after that. It’s so incredibly flavorful, and so heartwarming and delicious.”

—Abir
Add your review »

A Soup That Can Stand on Its Own

Harira is one of the best dishes across Moroccan cuisine, often sipped on during Ramadan alongside soups like the classic lentil soup.

I love it because it’s delicious and substantial, which makes it perfect as a standalone meal. It’s traditionally made with meat (chicken, beef, veal, or lamb will work), but I have also tested it without meat and found it equally satisfying: there’s enough legumes and lentils in there!

Personally, I make it with only parsley as I have a reputation for despising cilantro, but the one time I did use cilantro…. I have to admit I liked it!

The spices are simple but work so well together: turmeric, ginger, cinnamon. These three spices create a zingy but warm combination of flavours. Finally, never skip the squeeze of lemon!

If you love soups that combine beans and noodles, this authentic afghan aush is quite similar albeit with a different flavour profile; also a must try in my books.

Let’s Make Harira

Gather the ingredients.

Harira soup ingredients which include tomato, celery, parsley, cilantro, onions, veal, brown lentils, chickpeas, olive oil, vermicelli, and spices

The ingredients for the soup are quite straight forward.

Just make sure you use the correct vermicelli noodles: the kind used in harira soup are actually not rice noodles, but in fact vermicelli pasta. The term Vermicelli usually refers to various thin pasta – much thinner than regular spaghetti. They can be tricky to find, so feel free to swap these with the same amount of rice, which will help thicken the soup towards the end.

a small bowl of brown lentils on a pink tiled background
Brown Lentils
a small bowl of vermicelli noodles on a pink tiled background
Vermicelli Noodles

Harira soup is a tomato-based soup, so fresh tomatoes are used, or you can replace with tomato sauce.

Start preparing your ingredients by finely dicing the onions, cutting the veal (or beef) into small cubes (about 1/4 inch in size), as well as washing and draining the lentils and canned chickpeas.

In a soup pot (I use a heavy bottom Dutch oven), start by heating the olive oil then searing the veal until browned. Once the meat is browned, add the onions and continue to cook for 5-7 minutes until they soften and caramelize.

TIP: If the meat ends up releasing a lot of water, ensure you allow the water to cook off and get the meat browned for maximum flavour!

a pot with sauteed beef cubes inside, being browned with olive oil, using a wooden spoon
a pot with sauteed beef cubes and chopped onions, along with a wooden spoon

Add the spices to the pot and cook them for 2-3 minutes to release their flavour. Then, add the tomato paste and also cook it for 2-3 minutes. Next, add the broth and the washed and drained lentils. Cover the pot and simmer for 15 minutes.

a pot with sauteed beef cubes, onions, and spices, as well as a wooden spoon inside
a pot full of a tomato based soup, with a wooden spoon inside

While the soup is simmering, blend the tomatoes, celery and parsley (or cilantro) until liquified and it forms a salsa. Make sure you save a bit of the parsley for garnish.

A one cup blender with chopped tomatoes, celery and parsley inside
A one cup blender with a blended pink mixture inside, made of tomatoes celery and parsley

Add the salsa along with the drained and washed chickpeas to the pot. Cover and simmer for another 10 minutes.

A pot of tomato based soup with a wooden spoon inside

Finally, add the vermicelli noodles to the pot and allow it to cook for 10 more minutes until the noodles soften and plump up. Now you’re ready to serve. Garnish with parsley or cilantro and a squeeze of lemon.

One last thing a lot of recipes call for when making Harira is a flour and water slurry to thicken the soup. I find that I never have to resort to this as a thickener, since this recipe does not use too much extra liquid, and the legumes and noodles end up thickening it perfectly.

harira soup served in a large pot with a ladle, next to a bowl of the soup

Freeze Without Noodles!

Since the soup contains noodles, it is not recommended to freeze it. The noodles will turn to mush and really impact the consistency of the soup. However, if you plan to freeze your batch of harira soup, simply skip the noodles.

Place it in an airtight container and freeze for up to a few months. When ready to heat, thaw it in the fridge overnight, then heat it over the stove top, adding a bit of water as needed to loosen the consistency.

Other Soup Recipes You Will Love

moroccan brown lentil soup served in two soup bowls, with pita bread on the side

30-Minute Moroccan Lentil Soup with Brown Lentils
5 from 9 ratings
yellow lentil soup served in a bowl, on a tray with a bowl of dates and a bowl of lemon wedges

Middle Eastern Lentil Soup (Instant Pot or Stovetop)
4.95 from 58 ratings
Orange/red coloured broth with small pieces of oats in a beige bowl with a spoon, with salt and pepper shakers beside it, a second bowl of soup, a small white plate with parsley and torn pita bread on a blue and white diamond tile background.

30-Minute Oatmeal Soup (Tomato Based)
5 from 4 ratings
Mercimek Corbasi, lentil soup in beige rimmed bowl with 2 metal spoons on the side, drizzled with spiced butter with two mustard coloured salt and pepper shakers, a small bowl with dried mint leaves and another bowl of soup in the top corner on a blue tie dyed background

Creamy Turkish Red Lentil Soup (Mercimek Corbasi)
5 from 28 ratings

If you tried these recipes, please consider leaving a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page – I’d love to hear from you! You can also hop on over to Instagram and say hello!

Moroccan harira soup served in a small soup bowl, garnished with fresh parsley, with a spoon inside the bowl.
4.98 from 37 ratings

Authentic Moroccan Harira Soup with Lentils

Yield: 8 Cups
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 50 minutes
Total: 1 hour
Author: Amina Al-Saigh
This classic Moroccan Harira soup is zingy, earthy, and comforting, filled with nutritious ingredients like chickpeas, lentils and noodles, and flavoured with warm middle eastern spices.
Print Leave a Review Pin Recipe

Ingredients
 

  • 350 g Veal or beef cubes, skip if vegetarian
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 large onions
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 2 teaspoons ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, more per preference
  • 2 teaspoons salt, more per preference
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional for heat
  • 1/2 cup brown lentils
  • 800 ml chicken broth, (can be half water)
  • 540 ml canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 1/3 cup vermicelli pasta, short noodles, substitute with rice if unavailable
  • 2 tomatoes
  • 1 stalk celery
  • 1 cup parsley, or cilantro
  • 1 lemon, juiced

Instructions
 

  • Start by finely dicing the onions, and prepare the veal (or beef) by cutting it into small cubes (maximum 1/4 inch in size)
  • a pot with sauteed beef cubes inside, being browned with olive oil, using a wooden spoon
    In a soup pot, heat the olive oil. Then, sear the veal on medium high heat until its nicely browned. If it starts to steam and release water (due to overcrowding), simply allow the water to cook off until the meat starts to brown
  • a pot with sauteed beef cubes and chopped onions, along with a wooden spoon
    Next, add the finely diced onions to the pot and continue to cook the onions with the veal, until the onions are translucent and lightly golden. This will take 5-7 minutes
  • a pot with sauteed beef cubes, onions, and spices, as well as a wooden spoon inside
    Next, add the spices and cook for 2 minutes. Then, add the tomato paste and allow it to cook and caramelize for 2 minutes.
  • a pot full of a tomato based soup, with a wooden spoon inside
    Add the chicken stock to the pot, along with the washed and drained brown lentils. Cover the pot and allow it to cook on medium heat for 15 minutes.
  • A one cup blender with a blended pink mixture inside, made of tomatoes celery and parsley
    While the soup is cooking, prepare the salsa mixture by blending together the tomatoes, celery, and parsley or cilantro (whichever one you are using) in a blender. See notes if you dislike tomato peel.
  • After 15 minutes, pour the tomato salsa back into the soup pot, and add the washed and drained chickpeas. Cover and allow to cook for another 10 minutes.
  • Lastly, taste the soup and adjust the seasoning if required. Then, add the vermicelli noodles and cook the soup a further 10 minutes until the noodles soften and plump up.
  • A pot of tomato based soup with a wooden spoon inside
    Serve the soup hot, with more parsley/cilantro for garnish and lemon slices for a final squeeze of lemon. Enjoy!

Notes

  • Traditional Harira soup is made with meat, but feel free to make this a completely vegetarian soup by skipping it. It will still be delicious and hearty. You can also replace the chicken stock with vegetable stock.
  • If you dislike tomato peel (but really there’s no need because it does get blended up really well if you use a high-powered blender), feel free to peel your tomatoes. Do this by submerging them in boiling water for a few minutes. Then, the peel should come off quite easily. Then proceed to the blending step.
  • If you can’t find vermicelli noodles, feel free to replace them with medium or short grain rice.
  • If you enjoy spicy soups, feel free to increase the amount of black pepper, or add some cayenne pepper to your preference.
Serving: 1g, Calories: 313kcal, Carbohydrates: 27g, Protein: 17g, Fat: 16g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 8g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 33mg, Sodium: 1026mg, Potassium: 625mg, Fiber: 9g, Sugar: 6g, Vitamin A: 993IU, Vitamin C: 19mg, Calcium: 70mg, Iron: 4mg
Did you make this recipe?Please leave a star rating and review below!