This Red Lentil Soup is simple to make and packed with delicious and healthy ingredients. This filling dish is perfect to warm you up after a cold day or serve to your family on a busy weeknight.
This Red Lentil Soup is one of my favorite recipes because it's not only flavorful and easy, but it's also great all year round. You can enjoy it with toasty bread in the winter to warm you up after a cold day, or serve it in the summer with some vegetables or a cold salad. It's also easy to double, so perfect for serving to a group.
This recipe is really healthy, with protein and fiber-filled lentils, fresh vegetables that have lots of vitamins and minerals, and antioxidant-rich spices. It's a satisfying meal that you can feel good about eating. Let's take a closer look at the delicious ingredients that go into this tasty Red Lentil Soup.
Video Tutorial
What you'll need
- Lentils. Red lentils work best in this recipe, although you could use green or brown lentils instead. It's always a good idea to rinse your lentils before adding them to the soup.
- Veggies. Diced potatoes, carrots, onion, and minced garlic, offer great taste and texture to this soup.
- Tomato Paste. Adds nice sweetness to the soup.
- Oil. You can use any oil you prefer, including olive, avocado, or grapeseed oil.
- Veggie Broth. You can use homemade or store-bought vegetable broth for this recipe. (I actually use Better Than Bouillon Vegetable Paste and water instead of vegetable stock.) Any one of these options is fine.
- Spices. Cumin, paprika, oregano, red pepper flakes, and salt (if needed) give the soup its complex and delicious flavors.
- To Serve. Fresh herbs, such as dill, parsley, mint, or cilantro, can be used as a garnish. Plant based cream or coconut milk can also be used to add a splash of creaminess, and lemon wedges, if desired, can be served with this soup.
How to make it
1. In a 4-quart pot, cook the diced carrots, onions, and garlic in olive oil for about 5 minutes over medium heat.
2. Add the tomato paste, cumin, paprika, oregano, and red pepper flakes, and then cook for another minute.
3. Now add the potatoes, rinsed lentils, and vegetable broth to the pot. Bring the soup to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 25-30 minutes.
4. Remove the pot from the heat and puree half of the soup with an immersion blender. Or if you do not have an immersion blender, then you can transfer half of the soup to a regular blender, process until smooth, and return the lentil soup to the pot. Stir to combine and serve. Garnish with fresh herbs, if desired.
Tips for the best Red Lentil Soup
- Rinse your lentils. This helps remove any dust from the lentils, but also gives you a chance to look through and make sure there are no foreign objects, like small rocks, mixed in.
- Dice the veggies to similar sizes. This will help them cook and soften at the same rate. This is not meant to be a chunky soup, so keeping these to a smaller size is optimal.
- Allow it to simmer the entire time. It's tempting to shorten the simmer time to dig right in, but let it simmer the full 30 minutes. Not only will it thicken and soften the lentils, but the flavors will really blossom.
- Blend some of the soup. Doing this will give you a more creamy and smooth soup, but not without some texture. Only process about half of it to give it a nice balance.
Add-ins and Substitutes
- Substitute diced tomatoes. If you have no tomato paste, you can process diced or crushed tomatoes as a substitute. It will be more liquidy, so you'll need to drain some water out.
- Add other vegetables. Cauliflower, kale, leeks, celery, collard greens, or peas could be added to this Red Lentil Soup for extra deliciousness.
- Substitute different seasonings. You can use other spices to flavor this dish if you like, such as curry, garlic powder, onion powder, and ginger.
- Add herbs. Try this soup with lemongrass, rosemary, sage, thyme, or basil. Fresh herbs always taste better, so choose these when possible.
How to Store
Store this Red Lentil Soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. If you want to freeze it, place it into either individual-sized freezer-safe containers or freeze it in a ziplock bag laying flat and then store it vertically to save room. Always leave a little room for expansion. Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat this soup in the microwave or on the stovetop until warmed through.
What to Serve with it
- As is. This Red Lentil Soup makes a really satisfying lunch or dinner. It's the perfect meal when you want something light and warm.
- Bread. Serve this soup with some pita bread, naan, or cornbread muffins. This is great for dipping or sopping up every delectable drop.
- Vegetables. Serve it alongside Cauliflower Steaks with Roasted Pepper Sauce, Vegan Stuffed Peppers, Eggplant Roulades, and Mexican Stuffed Sweet Potatoes.
- Grains. This lentil soup is delicious with rice, bulgur, sorghum, millet, couscous, and buckwheat. Try this Rice and Beans, Quick and Tasty Bulgur Salad, or Spinach Rice alongside it.
I hope you enjoy this flavorful and simple Red Lentil Soup. It's the perfect dish for a cold day.
More tasty vegan lentil recipes you'll enjoy:
Red Lentil Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 medium carrots, diced
- 2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp. tomato paste
- 1 tsp. cumin powder
- 1 tsp. paprika
- 1 tsp. oregano
- ¼ tsp. red pepper flakes, or to taste optional
- 3 medium potatoes, diced
- 10 oz. red lentils, rinsed
- 7 cups veggie broth
- parsley, to garnish
Instructions
- In a 4-quart pot, cook the diced carrots, onions, and garlic in olive oil for about 5 minutes over medium heat.
- Add the tomato paste, cumin, paprika, oregano, and red pepper flakes, and then cook for another minute.
- Now add the potatoes, rinsed lentils, and vegetable broth to the pot. Bring the soup to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 25-30 minutes.
- Remove the pot from the heat and puree half of the soup with an immersion blender. Or if you do not have an immersion blender, then you can transfer half of the soup to a regular blender, process until smooth, and return the lentil soup to the pot. Stir to combine and serve. Garnish with fresh herbs, if desired.
Notes
Add-ins and Substitutes
- Substitute diced tomatoes. If you have no tomato paste, you can process diced or crushed tomatoes as a substitute. It will be more liquidy, so you'll need to drain some water out.
- Add other vegetables. Cauliflower, kale, leeks, celery, collard greens, or peas could be added to this Red Lentil Soup for extra deliciousness.
- Substitute different seasonings. You can use other spices to flavor this dish if you like, such as curry, garlic powder, onion powder, and ginger.
- Add herbs. Try this soup with lemongrass, rosemary, sage, thyme, or basil. Fresh herbs always taste better, so choose these when possible.
I made this tonight and it was quite tasty. Finished it with sour cream and freshly cracked salt and pepper. Very nice. Simple recipe. Immersion blending half the pot was a nice tip. Gave it smooth to chunky texture spectrum. All around quite nice. Thank you!
Thank you very much!
This is the First recipe I've ever commented on because it's delicious! Simple, healthy, and tasty. I doubled the spices and the garlic, took your suggestions and added a small can of petite diced tomatoes (I also kept the tomato paste) and sauted a punch of soft kale and added that at the end, as well as a third of a can of coconut milk.
Thanks for the great recipe.
Thank you so much, John!
Great base recipe, but if you want to instantly make it enormously better, just add the juice from about half a lemon. You really need some acidity to bring out the rest of the flavours in this soup, but once you do it's incredible.
Thanks for the tip, Pete! Lemon juice would definitely fit well here.