Sweet Potato Soup with Red Lentils and Chickpeas
, Updated Sep 07, 2025
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This hearty and delicious Sweet Potato Soup with Red Lentils and Chickpeas ticks all the boxes: healthy, vegan, gluten free and Slimming World friendly. Quick to make it in your Instant Pot or stove. A reader and personal favorite with dozens of five star reviews! ★★★★★
You will also love my Satay Sweet Potato Curry!
There’s nothing quite as comforting as a bowl of homemade sweet potato soup — smooth, creamy, and full of flavor. This version takes things up a notch with red lentils and chickpeas, which make it extra hearty and protein-packed while still being completely vegan. Whether you’re making it in a pressure cooker for speed or simmering gently on the stove, this is a cozy, nourishing soup that feels like comfort in a bowl.
And I have a new obsession – Sweet Potato, Chickpea and Red Lentil Soup. OMG it is so good that even my husband who thinks soup ‘is not food’ came around. Have made this baby twice in this week, that’s how yummy it is. 😋
Sweet potato soup is popular around the world, often blended smooth and enriched with spices. This version borrows inspiration from Mediterranean and Indian cooking, where pulses like chickpeas and lentils are used to add heartiness and nourishment. The result is a soup that’s budget-friendly, healthy, and packed with flavor.
Here’s why it’s a must make
- It is simply packed with plant-based power and goodness
- Low in calories but hearty and satisfying
- Vegan and gluten-free
- Budget conscious with easy to find purse-friendly ingredients
- Cooks in 10 minutes in a pressure cooker or 30 minutes on the stove
- Suitable for freezing (see tips)
How to make Sweet Potato Soup with Red Lentils and Chickpeas
- Heat the oil in your pressure cooker using the ‘sauté’ function. Add the onion, garlic and ginger and cook for 5 minutes, stirring, until softened.
- Add the spices, salt, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, lentils, chickpeas and stock and stir.
- Now add your sweet potatoes, chickpeas, red lentils, stock and finally the chopped tomatoes.
- Set vent to sealing and cook on high pressure for 5 minutes, then release the pressure manually.
- Transfer a couple of ladlefuls of the soup to a jug or a blender. The more blended soup you add the thicker the serve.
- Blitz using an immersion stick or in your blender. Pour the blended soup back into the pot and stir to combine.
- Stir in some lemon or lime juice to add some acidity – I used 1 tablespoon.Taste the soup and season with salt and pepper as needed. Serve the soup garnished with chopped coriander (cilantro), lemon zest and a handful of crunchy seeds.
Stovetop Method
This soup is just as easy to make on your stove. Heat the oil (or use a low-calorie cooking spray for Slimming World version) in a deep pot. Add the onion, garlic and ginger and cook over medium-low heat for 5 minutes, stirring, until softened.
Stir in the remaining ingredients and simmer for 20 minutes until the sweet potatoes are cooked through. Follow steps 5-7 of the Instant Pot method.
Recipe Tips
- This recipe straddles the line between soup and stew – it is very thick and really satisfying. If you wanted to add a bit less stock and serve it over rice or quinoa, then I say go ahead!
- You could also pack it with even more nutritious yumminess by adding some chopped spinach right before serving so that it wilts.
- Replace the sweet potato with cubed butternut squash or use a bit of both.
- Dry or cooked chickpeas: I used ready cooked (canned) chickpeas here, but you could also use dried chickpeas if you wanted. If you use dry chickpeas they will need 40 minutes cooking on high pressure if unsoaked and 25 minutes cooking if soaked overnight. On the stove, cook soaked chickpeas for 40 minutes until soft.
- Don’t forget to reserve the chickpea brine (aquafaba) – it may come in handy if you want to make vegan macarons!
- Leftovers will keep for up to 3-5 days in the fridge stored in an airtight container. Cool completely before storing.
Freezing instructions
If you wish to freeze the soup then cool completely, portion into suitable containers, label and use within three months. Allow the soup to defrost in the fridge overnight or transfer to a microwave safe bowl and blast for a couple of minutes. Break the soup up and then heat for two minutes on full power, stir and heat for another minute or until piping hot.
More Instant Pot Soups
Have you made Sweet Potato Soup recipe? Post a photo on my Facebook page, share it on Instagram, or save it to Pinterest with the tag #supergoldenbakes. I can’t wait to see your take on it!
Sweet Potato Soup with Red Lentils and Chickpeas
Video
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large onion finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 14 oz (400g) canned chickpeas , drained
- 2 tsp ginger paste or finely grated fresh ginger
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp ground coriander
- 14 oz (400g) canned chopped tomatoes
- 2 large sweet potatoes peeled cut into small cubes
- 1 cup (200g) split red lentils rinsed and drained
- 5 cups (1.2 lt) vegetable stock (broth)
- lemon juice to taste
- cilantro (coriander) chopped
- lemon zest to garnish
- 1 tbsp mixed seeds to garnish
- pinch red pepper flakes to garnish
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Instant Pot Method
- Heat the oil in your pressure cooker using the ‘sauté’ function. Add the onion, garlic and ginger and cook for 5 minutes, stirring, until softened.2 tbsp olive oil, 1 large onion, 2 tsp ginger paste, 3 cloves garlic
- Add the spices, salt, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, lentils, chickpeas and stock and stir.14 oz (400g) canned chickpeas, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp paprika, 1 tsp ground cumin, ½ tsp ground coriander, 14 oz (400g) canned chopped tomatoes, 2 large sweet potatoes, 1 cup (200g) split red lentils, 5 cups (1.2 lt) vegetable stock
- Set vent to sealing and cook on high pressure for 5 minutes, then release the pressure manually.
- Stir in some lemon or lime juice to add some acidity – I used 1 tablespoon.lemon juice
- Taste the soup and season with salt and pepper as needed.salt and pepper
- Transfer 2-3 ladlefuls of the soup in a blender and process until smooth, or blitz using an immersion blender. Stir this back into the soup.
- Serve the soup garnished with chopped coriander (cilantro), lemon zest and a handful of crunchy seeds.cilantro, lemon zest, 1 tbsp mixed seeds, pinch red pepper flakes
Stovetop Method
- Heat the oil in a pot. Add the onion, garlic and ginger and cook for 5 minutes over medium-low heat, stirring, until softened.
- Add the spices, salt, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, lentils, chickpeas and stock and stir.
- Bring to a rolling simmer and then reduce heat and simmer gently for 20-25 minutes.
- Transfer 2-3 ladlefuls of the soup in a blender and process until smooth, or blitz using an immersion blender. Stir this back into the soup.
- Serve the soup garnished with chopped coriander (cilantro), lemon zest and a handful of crunchy seeds.
Notes
- You could also pack it with even more nutritious yumminess by adding some leafy greens – stir in some chopped spinach right before serving so that it wilts.
- You can replace the sweet potato with cubed butternut squash or use a bit of both.
- Dry or cooked chickpeas: I used ready cooked (canned) chickpeas here, but you could also use dried chickpeas if you wanted. If you use dry chickpeas they will need 40 minutes cooking on high pressure if unsoaked and 25 minutes cooking if soaked overnight. On the stove, cook soaked chickpeas for 40 minutes until soft.
- The soup will keep for up to 4 days in the fridge. Cool completely before storing.
- If you wish to freeze the soup then cool completely, portion into suitable containers and use within 3 months. Allow the soup to defrost in the fridge overnight or transfer to a microwave safe bowl and blast for a couple of minutes. Break the soup up and then heat for two minutes on full power, stir and heat for another minute or until piping hot.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is always approximate, and will depend on quality of ingredients and serving sizes.
One word – Yummo! Added recipe to my favorites! Next time I’ll add some spinach at the end. Thanks for sharing!
Absolutely delicious!! Adding this to the rotation. As a new vegan I appreciate this so much!!
Glad you enjoyed it!
This recipe is delicious! I didn’t have ginger and worried it would impact flavor but this dish is tasty even without it. I doubled the chickpeas, subbed homemade chicken stock, used smoked hot paprika and diced tomatoes with green chiles and added spinach at the end. The lemon juice and zest added such a brightness of flavor so don’t skip those! My son who normally dislikes sweet potatoes and spinach ate a second helping and actually admitted to liking it! Thanks for a great recipe and I can’t wait to check out other ones on your site.
The flavor is out of this world! I loved how chunky mine ended up! This recipe is going in the rainy day rotation! Thanks!
This should be criminal to be this tasty. Lol! I am so dang excited to find this recipe. It is soooo good. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. This will be in my biweekly rotation for SURE, maybe even weekly lol. I am definitely subscribing following this one. 😍
😉❤️😘
I used butternut squash (roasted) instead of sweet potatoes and added about 1/2 cup of uncooked quinoa for extra fiber/protein. I was also a little more liberal with the spices and lemon juice, because I like strong flavors. Turned out delicious!
This soup is so delicious and so healthful! I would consider it adaptable, too. I only had one sweet potato (but it was pretty big), so I added an extra can of chickpeas. I also threw in some fresh baby spinach at the end. The seasoning was spot on, and my husband and daughter loved it. Thank you for this wonderful recipe! Next time, I’ll try it with the right proportion of sweet potatoes and chickpeas.
This soup is delicious! Even my husband who doesn’t like very many soups loved it!! I threw a handful of fresh spinach and it blended in well!!
If using the stovetop method, should I use a cover when simmering?
You can partially cover the pot if you like once the simmering is gentle
Easy and delicious!!
I am having trouble finding red lentils. I live in Northern California and am surprised I can’t find them. We have Whole Foods and other healthy places to shop. I found orange lentils. Any suggestions?
Hi Linda suspect orange lentils are the same thing. I would use those x
I buy red lentils online from Vitacost.