Best Lentil Soup
This healthy lentil soup recipe comes together quickly with pantry ingredients. Simple spices, fresh greens and a squeeze of lemon make it the best! Vegan.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on October 3, 2024
This soup recipe was a long time coming! Over the years, I made some lackluster lentil soups that never saw the light of day on this website. No vegetarian food blog would be complete without a proper lentil soup, though, so I perfected one of my own.
Here it is. My lentil soup is made with mostly pantry ingredients but includes hearty greens and a squeeze of lemon for bright, fresh flavor. It’s seasoned with a few of my favorite spices and plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Honestly, it’s the best lentil soup I’ve ever had.
The original title of this recipe was “Spiced Vegan Lentil Soup,” which is accurate, but a mouthful. With over 500 five-star reviews, I think it’s safe to call this the Best Lentil Soup. Period.
Whether you’re looking to lighten up your meals or warm up with a steaming bowl of soup, this healthy lentil soup recipe is for you! It’s one of my all-time favorites and I hope it becomes a staple in your kitchen as well.
How to Make the Best Lentil Soup
Five reasons to love this recipe:
- The recipe calls for seasonal vegetables and affordable pantry ingredients, but tastes gourmet.
- This lentil soup has an amazing hearty texture that’s lightly creamy (yet there is no cream). The trick is to blend up a portion of the soup once the lentils are tender, and then pour it back into the pot. It’s like magic.
- This nutritious, well-balanced soup counts as a meal if you enjoy a generous portion. Lentils are rich in protein, fiber, iron and folate.
- Lentil soup packs well for lunch in a leak-proof container, and it tastes even better the next day.
- This soup freezes and defrosts well. Make soup now and enjoy it later!
Watch How to Make Lentil Soup
Please let me know how this lentil soup turns out for you in the comments. I’m always so eager to hear from you.
If you love this soup, check out my hearty vegetarian chili, favorite black bean soup and pinto posole. You can check out all my soup and stew recipes here.
Don’t miss my lentil minestrone recipe in my cookbook—if you’re a fan of this soup, you’re going to love it.
Best Lentil Soup
This simple vegan lentil soup recipe comes together quickly with mostly pantry ingredients. Be sure to have your ingredients prepped and ready before you start cooking! Recipe yields four large bowls of soup, or six more modest servings.
Ingredients
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium yellow or white onion, chopped
- 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 large can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes, lightly drained
- 1 cup brown or green lentils, picked over and rinsed
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 2 cups water
- 1 teaspoon salt, more to taste
- Pinch of red pepper flakes
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 cup chopped fresh collard greens or kale, tough ribs removed
- 1 to 2 tablespoons lemon juice (½ to 1 medium lemon), to taste
Instructions
- Warm the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or pot over medium heat. One-fourth cup olive oil may seem like a lot, but it adds a lovely richness and heartiness to this nutritious soup.
- Once the oil is shimmering, add the chopped onion and carrot and cook, stirring often, until the onion has softened and is turning translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add the garlic, cumin, curry powder and thyme. Cook until fragrant while stirring constantly, about 30 seconds. Pour in the drained diced tomatoes and cook for a few more minutes, stirring often, in order to enhance their flavor.
- Pour in the lentils, broth and the water. Add 1 teaspoon salt and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Season generously with freshly ground black pepper. Raise heat and bring the mixture to a boil, then partially cover the pot and reduce the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the lentils are tender but still hold their shape.
- Transfer 2 cups of the soup to a blender. Securely fasten the lid, protect your hand from steam with a tea towel placed over the lid, and purée the soup until smooth. Pour the puréed soup back into the pot. (Or, use an immersion blender to blend a portion of the soup.)
- Add the chopped greens and cook for 5 more minutes, or until the greens have softened to your liking. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Taste and season with more salt, pepper and/or lemon juice until the flavors really sing. For spicier soup, add another pinch or two of red pepper flakes.
- Serve while hot. Leftovers will keep well for about 4 days in the refrigerator, or can be frozen for several months (just defrost before serving).
Notes
Soup recipe roughly based on America’s Test Kitchen’s lentil soup in The Complete Vegetarian Cookbook, with reference to The First Mess’ favourite lentil soup.
Recommended equipment: I love my Vitamix blender and Le Creuset 5.5-quart Dutch oven (affiliate links).
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
This soup is perfect without any seasoning changes. I doubled the batch and added celery and mushrooms simply because I had them and they needed to be used up. This is a new favorite!! Thank you so much!
dang ngl this recipe is fire. I agree it’s the best lentil soup I’ve had.
Kate – this was excellent, and fun to make! Not to sound too much like a comment in NYT Cooking, but… I didn’t have canned tomatoes, so I used fresh romas and probably got a similar outcome. I tossed in a peeled, chopped potato, too. One thing I would love is if you could include the seasonings and quantities that make up “curry powder.” I Googled it and turned out I had all but the fenugreek in my spice rack – cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, coriander, turmeric – but I only guessed at amounts. Tastes a bit cinnamon-y, but still delicious! Thanks!
Hi Jeannine, If you have fresh and not canned tomatoes on hand, that’s a great choice. THhnks for the suggestion about the curry powder. There are so many different blends! Right now I am using a Penzy’s spice “the now curry” but I have also used the frontier+ coop curry blend and the Morton and Bassett curry powder. I have used fenugreek in Lebanese or Middle Eastern recipes, and it adds great flavor, so if you’re interested, I do suggest picking some up.
Little confused – I don’t see curry powder or fenugreek in the ingredients list. !!
Any chance of specifying the quantities in metric as well as older american imperial.
Hi Tom, curry, thyme, and cumin are the spices listed in the recipe. Curry poweder is a spice blend, and there are many different versions. Some contain fenugreek, a Mediterranean herb.
Tom: Check the recipe again: it calls for 1 tsp curry powder. The fenugreek mentioned in Jeannine’s comment is one of the ingredients used if making your own curry powder. But fenugreek alone is NOT required for this soup recipe.
Great recipe! I didn’t have curry on hand, so I used a mix of turmeric and paprika. Additionally, I used chicken stock and a added some Old Bay seasoning which helped kick the flavor profile up a notch for me.
I have made this many times and find it delicious! Only modifications I’ve made so far is using beef broth at times and adding in a diced/peeled sweet potato! I’ve considered adding some Italian sausage but haven’t yet. So so tasty!
Absolutely gorgeous soup!! I have just finished a second bowl of it and my heart is singing! I did add a couple of stalks of celery to the recipe as I love celery!!! I am under the weather today with a virus and this has been just the tonic. Thank you very much!!
Hi Val, glad this soup was a hit, and I hope you feel better soon.
This dish looks very flavorful and I’d love to try it! I don’t cook with oil (WFPB) or use canned food. What do you recommend as far as replacing the canned tomatoes with fresh diced tomatoes?
Hi Kim, you can use an equal amount of fresh diced tomatoes.
This was good, but I found it had too much tomato flavor. Next time I would reduce the amount of tomatoes and increase the amount of lentils.
Has anyone made this without tomatoes. I can’t eat them due to their high
acid content.
Otherwise, the recipe looks great.
Thanks,
Barbara
Hi Barbara, yes other readers have shared they made it without tomatoes. Add in an equal amount of broth or water, or for a thicker stew-like consistency simply omit.
This was the best lentil soup I have ever tasted. The spices blended perfectly. I did use 2 cups of lentils which thickened the soup so I didn’t blend it. This will definitely be on my top ten soup list. Thank you.
Best lentil soup ever – a perfect winter dinner . So much flavor and freshness . Happy we have some leftover so I can have it for lunch tomorrow! Thanks for sharing your delicious recipe!
It was delicious. Can it be made using coconut ro coconut milk?
Hi Jeff, yes I would reduce the broth or water and add a can of coconut for a rich broth.
I love this recipe. It is sooooo easy to make and soooo delicious. It is a regular lunch in my home
I love your healthy and delicious lentil soup. Will make it again.!
What can you use instead of collard greens or kale? Possibly spinach!
Hi Carol, yes spinach is a great substitute.
I have made this soup twice now. It’ s so good. My husband loves it (he’s a big meat eater) and doesn’t even know there is a kale in it because I chop it up very small. I highly recommend if you are looking for a great lentil soup recipe. It’ s the best I have tried or made. Thanks! I love your recipes and instructions.
Excellent!! Perfect lentil soup for snow days this week. Great blend of spices and just the right amount of heat; it is sorta a twist on a winter chili and curry lentil dish. Packed with nutrition and easy to make. Definitely making this again!
One of my favorite winter soups! And so easy to make! I like to sprinkle a little nutritional yeast on top just for fun.
Absolutely delicious! I have a pizza burn on the top of my mouth but I powered through because it was delicious. I did find there was a lot of liquid so when I make it again I’d probably just use the broth instead of the broth and water. But this is definitely a keep for a cozy, healthy meal.
Best ever lentil soup..is wonderful!!
This soup is the best lentil soup I have ever tasted. I’ve been enjoying this all week long. I followed the recipe exactly and love the spices especially the curry. Thank you for your notes on substitutions or ways to make something Vegan. I am also loving all your kale salads and delicious dressings. Thank you!
I have made this soup as written and it’s perfect. My husband’s favorite and he is from the middle east so he’s quite picky about his lentil soup.
Last time I made it, when I was getting my ingredients together I realized I only had 1/2 cup of green lentils, but I had red lentils. So I used 1/2 cup of the red lentils but added them about 10-15 min after the green. They broke down more and became almost creamy and gave a wonderful texture in contrast to the green. I skipped the step of blending any because I think the red lentils achieved a similar texture. I may just do this in the future.
Very tasty soup! Good receipt but I used celery for more taste. Thank you !
I deviated from my usual lentil soup recipe, and I followed this recipe to a T! I am so glad I did because it is truly delicious! Really restaurant quality flavor in about 45 minutes start to finish. Absolutely delicious, thank you so much and I look forward to trying more recipes!
I had a craving for lentil soup and this really hit the spot! I love the lemon in it!
I am so excited to try this recipe. Can you skip the blending if you don’t have a blender?
Hi Barb, yes you can skip that step, it will just be a brothier but chunkier texture.
OMG what a fantastic, tasty and easy recipe. Thank you
Could you add peeled baby potatoes by any chance ?
Hi Tony, yes this is flexible and adding a few extra veggies works well. Just adjust the amount of broth unless you want a thicker stew.
Fantastic recipe! I put in the cup of water at the end (instead of adding it in step 4) to cool it down. ✨ Would highly recommend ✨
I have made this lentil soup many times. It freezes well. I sometimes top it with a bit of yoghurt.
This was great!! Super flavor and I had everything on hand. Nothing too hard to find. We like soup very flavorful so I increased all spices by 50%. Wonderful!!
Sooo. Gooood! And healthy. Thank you for sharing your art!
Really tasty, going to be a staple in my home from now on.
Hi, I need an easy lunch for parents tomorrow who are coming over to take care of my baby. Can this be made in a crockpot in the AM and ready for lunch??
Hi Jillian, if you sauté the aromatics, then add the other ingredients and cook on high, it should be ready in about 4 hours. I prefer a stovetop method, but others have shared that it worked for them in a crockpot. I hope this helps.
I’ve made this soup in the past *mostly* as written and it turns out great! Good recipes like this have a lot of flexibility in terms of your personal preferences(more veggies, different broth, or spices, etc. ) thank you!
Has anybody made it in the instant pot?
I’m afraid of putting it on for too long and everything coming out like a mush, but I do love the way the instant pot cooks most beans/lentil etc
Hi, Kate!
It’s been years since I’ve written but I still follow and love your recipes. This lentil soup is a favorite of ours. I’m going to make it for our neighborhood “soup night” where one family each week makes soup for all ten families each Wednesday night throughout winter. So I’m going to increase this recipe by 8, I believe (omg!). I just wanted to check to see if there are any ingredients I shouldn’t increase by the original recipe, if that makes sense. Like, do I multiply everything by eight or perhaps for the spices reduce that number at all? Hope my question is clear. I’d be super grateful if you wouldn’t mind advising me on that. Thank you so much!!
Hi Merrie, you can scale the recipe as long as you make sure your pot is large enough. I hope you have a great soup night, that’s an amazing tradition.
This soup is one of my favorite dishes ever and it is now a staple for our family! So rich and comforting. Love it. Thank you
Wow! Impressive Recipe. Leftovers disappeared FAST (& I made a double recipe). I even added a pound of potatoes and it was absolutely fantastic (both before and after the potatoes). Thank you SO MUCH for this recipe. Even my 86 year old mother liked it (she’s newly vegetarian for health reasons and doesn’t like much but this was a hit)! I’ve ordered 3 copies of your cookbook (1 for me, 1 for my mom and 1 as a gift). Would you happen to have a similarly fantastic wild mushroom or potato leek soup recipe? Thanks for all the work that goes into perfecting these recipes!
Hi! I only have red lentils on hand. Will those work?
Hi Chassidie, red lentils will break down and be softer, but still tasty.
I have been making lentil soup for years, seeking anything better than the bland recipies on my radar. Tonight I discovered and made this quick and delicious recipe. It’s a HIT! This recipe is delicious!! Flavors galore, perfect unexpected ingredients (from other bland recipes) finally delivered something delicious to add to the monthly rotation. Well Done!
I love the recipes and look forward to making them!
I made this soup last night for my kids… it’s all gone! Delish! For some added depth… I used homemade carnitas stock, celery at the beginning & fresh parsley to finish it off. Next time I may dice up the rainbow swiss chard stalks with the saute.
We use a french curry called Vadouvan and voila *french kiss* this recipe is perfection.
I’ve made the lentil soup (×3) and like it very much! I made a batch and brought it to work for my coworkers. They absolutely loved it!
I just made another batch and plan to share some with my sisters. This recipe is definitely a keeper!
Another amazing soup recipe! Thank you so much. So much flavor and so filling and comforting and healthy.
I made this to use up some lentils I’d already cooked, so I just added them in when there was 15 mins to go in case that helps anyone wanting to use cooked lentils.