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.
Delicious soup! I serve it often for guests, and just ourselves, with some crusty bread and salad. Everyone loves it, and I have passed it on to many friends and family. Thank you, Kate for wonderful recipes!
5*
I make this soup all the time. It’s really the best! The trick with blending portion of the soup makes a big difference for me.
This recipe is very similar to others, except it has more tomatoes and a lack of celery. I rather put less tomatoes. And at the time of serving have your guest to add some pecorino cheese.
Yes love your soup recipes,all very lovely,
Do you have chocolate brownies recipe please.
Very grateful to all,Thankyou.
Hi there. Could you possibly give alternative metric quantities in your recipes as I live in the uk. Many sites now have this option which makes it easier for us to try out recipes from countries that use cup measurements. Many thanks.
Sorry to disappoint, Pamela. I don’t provide conversions at this time. I know others use online converters or have bought US measurements.
Here is the conversion:
Carrots, peeled and chopped: 2 carrots
Garlic cloves, pressed or minced: 4 cloves
Ground cumin: 2 teaspoons
Curry powder: 1 teaspoon
Dried thyme: ½ teaspoon
Diced tomatoes, lightly drained: 1 large can (about 795 grams or 28 ounces)
Brown or green lentils, picked over and rinsed: 190 grams (1 cup)
Vegetable broth: 950 mL (4 cups)
Water: 475 mL (2 cups)
Salt: 1 teaspoon, more to taste
Pinch of red pepper flakes
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Chopped fresh collard greens or kale, tough ribs removed: 150 grams (1 cup)
Lemon juice: 15 to 30 mL (1 to 2 tablespoons, from ½ to 1 medium lemon)
Excellent! I’ve made this soup more than a dozen times. My family and I love it. Thank you for sharing this yumminess! I will note that this is a very forgiving recipe that doesn’t seem to mind substitutions here and there based on what’s in my kitchen, (especially after a grocery store miss – ugh). I’ll also give a shout out to the cauliflower soup on this site – big rewards for little effort – another favorite soup! Thanks again.
This is truly the BEST lentil soup. It’s become a staple in our rotation. Sometimes we add sausage for a smokey flavor. Very versatile…acts like medicine-tastes wonderful, levels out my bloodsugar for the rest of my workday. Thanks kate…you’re a gem. ( just ordered a cookbook – so many of your recipes are favorites here )
Great to hear, Caroline!
Absolutely delicious! I got distracted and forgot to turn the temp down to simmer so mine ended up closer to a thick stew but still so tasty with the perfect spice blend. I think I found my new meal prep recipe!
Thank you for sharing, Kristen!
Love this recipe!! I added potatoes to make it a little more hearty. I love that I can use what I have on hand and it will turn out just as good! I’m going to try acorn squash next. Thank you!
You’re welcome, Marissa!
Wow, acorn squash would be awesome. Let me know how it comes out.
I made this and it was super yummy, and very restorative on a gloomy, chill fall day. I virtually tripled the amount of lentils because I wanted a really thick and hearty soup. I also used a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to deglaze the pot after the vegetables (to add some acid) and also added a healthy amount of tumeric powder. Finally, I threw in some chopped spinach for added benefit.
I think if I were to do this again I would try adding in even more fall spices to match the season, like nutmeg.
Thanks!
Great idea! I’ve made this twice now (I omit the curry powder and carrots), but next time, I’ll at least double the lentils. That will make it perfect for me!
I had a bunch of veggies to use up before I leave town for a few days, and used this recipe as a starting point for a delicious lentil stew! I used red onion and fresh (not canned) tomatoes, added a sweet potato and zucchini, French lentils, and used ras el hanout instead of curry powder. I also left out the water and just used four cups of homemade broth for a thicker stew. It was delicious, and I know any leftovers that I can’t finish before my trip will freeze well!
Thank you for sharing, Abby! I’m happy to hear you enjoyed it.
I’m making this LENTIL SOUP once again. My family loves it! Only difference is I add chickpeas to mine as well. To thicken it up I smash the chickpeas before adding to the soup rather than take lentils out to blend.
This was so good, I couldn’t believe I made it! I’ve had a tiny jar of curry since I got married and it looked like none had been used. I won’t tell you how old it is! I didn’t have kale so I used some diced zucchini-of course kale would’ve been so much more interesting. My family loved every bite-thank you for sharing this amazing recipe!!
You’re welcome, Traci!
My go-to-recipe for lentil soup has been from “Linda McCartney’s Home Cooking” cookbook (1989). Yesterday I made your ‘Best Lentil Soup’ for lunch and it was truly delicious — fragrant, satisfying and warming on a cold, rainy day. Had to have another bowl for supper! Just added some frozen corn and peas to up the vegetable content. Needless to say, this will be my go-to-recipe from now on. Thanks for such a delicious recipe.
Fantastic soup especially for a cold day!
I’ve made this recipe so many times over the years and it always turns out amazing! I don’t change anything except a little bit of extra kale, only because we looove kale. Absolutely delicious.
This was so delicious! I made a few changes I used half the salt and I also used all bullion and no water, added 3/4 cup of extra kale, half of a larger, chopped yam, a quarter pound of leftover ham, chopped, and at the very end, when the soup is complete, I added 3/4 of a cup of cream of chicken, concentrated soup and probably half a cup of milk… super yummy!
What a delicious soup! It was perfect for this cold weather. Even my husband who doesn’t like lentils enjoyed it. My three kids also asked me to add it to our meal rotation. Thanks for a great recipe.
You’re welcome, Diana!
Awesome recipe!!! We added Italian sausage to get more protein. It was a hit
I want more recipe they look nice,it can change life
I’m curious, what’s the rationale for draining the can of tomatoes but then adding water? Doesn’t this lose some of the flavor and nutrition of the canned tomatoes, swapping it with tasteless water?
You can add the liquid if you like. I preferred it without here.
Agree — this is the best lentil soup. I’ve made it half a dozen times now. For fun I scrolled through the comments to see who DIDN’T give five stars, just to see why. I couldn’t find any, and gave up after four or five pages! Thanks for sharing, Kate!
I make this recipe regularly, usually doubling some of the ingredients, resulting in quite a few servings for the freezer. I add celery along with the carrots, and I use frozen chopped spinach instead of the kale. It’s a huge winner!
Very hearty and satisfying.
Could I make this in a slow cooker?
I know others tried it and didn’t mind the results.
I LOVE this recipe. I was sent this recipe from a coworker like 5 years ago and since then I’ve made it dozens of times and recommended it to so many people, and made it for my elderly clients.
It is a great soup for bread bowls!
I just recommended this to an old high school friend who is eating vegetarian mostly also.
Very hearty and delicious!
Someone from the rancho gordo FBpage recommended this recipe. It exceeded my expectations. I used the last of my fresh tomatoes and local spinach, onions and carrots. I loved the blending of some of the lentils. And I so appreciate your adding the national information. If you are going to claim you make healthy food, let us see! It’s helping me to eat healthy and lose weight. This one is a keeper.
This popped up as I searched for a lentil soup. Obviously the blender trick was what makes this special! I had to replace some ingredients (e.g. using tomato pyre and water instead of canned tomatoes, and searching for random greens (it was bell pepper celery leaves and parsley) in the fridge, and didn’t have olive oil (used basic cooking oil), still getting a tasty soup. Hmmm. I’m obviously a glutton. Took a hearty portion and had two moderate portions left for freezing…
I’d join the choir for metric units instead of those antediluvian ones … Needed pencil and paper to make out how much tomato was meant… and did you know that there are FOUR different units called “cup”.
I could guess you used US cup: 235 ml. Then there is imperial cup (280 ml if I remember right), standard cup (meant for soft transition to SI?) 250 ml and then Scandinavian “coffee cup”, 150 ml…
This soup was great. Have made it many times. It’s so easy and delish. Thank you for always having great recipes.
So delicious! My new favourite soup recipe!
Great to hear, Kelly!
Absolutely wonderful!! Followed recipe and the soup turned out perfectly!! My husband and daughter both loved it!! Definitely will make the “favorite soups” list!!! Thank you!!
You’re welcome, Nia!
BEST.RECIPE.EVER! Knowing that the base recipe was from America’s Test Kitchen, and you improved on that, I knew this was going to be good. It was better than ‘good’ as it is company worthy, which is my rating scale. I made it exactly as stated, (other than using spinach instead of other greens) and did not feel it needed any adjustments or additional seasoning. This recipe is definitely a keeper-thank you Kate!
Made the recipe as written. Nothing short of DELICIOUS! It definitely deserves a 10. Thank you for this great recipe. It’s exactly what we all need in the upcoming cold days.
Many people adjusted the recipe by adding a variety of vegetables and spices. I appreciate comments and variety and will also try some.
One of my fave soup recipes! I make it a lot in the colder months.
Has anyone tried canning this soup?
This isn’t designed for canning.
Made your recipe, and it turned out great with just a few modifications (because I didn’t have everything and I didn’t feel like shopping!). I added chopped celery and used spinach instead of the kale (because kale upsets my stomach). Also I only used a quarter of the garlic recommended because garlic also upsets my stomach. I didn’t have the curry but I put in all the other spices, including a dried lemon pepper mix that I had. Immersion blender was the best! It turned out hearty and tasty. Thanks for all the tips!
You’re welcome, Aputnam!
Cookie and Kate is my go-to recipe blog. Yours are by far the most reliably delicious recipes that always meet my dietary values I love this recipe and have made it several times. I just made double the recipe to bring some to my boyfriend’s mom who is Lebanese and it’s always cooking for me and sending him over to my place with tupperwares of food. I knew I could rely on Kate’s lentil soup to pay her back in kind. Last time I made it, I didn’t have any diced tomatoes, so I threw in a tablespoon of tomato paste and a cup of chopped cabbage that I had on hand. Having made it again today, I think I actually prefer it without the diced tomatoes, but it could just be that the ones from Costco are huge and they take up so much space in the soup. I also have started leaving out the water as some have suggested. I’ll keep messing around with it but the original recipe is divine
Thank you for your support and kind comment, Allie!
you did not include diced tomatoes in the ingredients.
what size canned diced tomatoes do you recommend?
Hi Nelly, diced tomatoes are right below the spices.
I made this recipe today. Let’s just say that we have a new favorite soup. This was amazing! Easy to make. Next time instead of using a blender (I made a mess) I’ll use the immersion blender.
really enjoyed this! added celery and beans to the soup as we had some in the fridge and it was yumo!
One of my good friends sent this recipe to me and it’s been in my favorites ever since. It’s so delicious, feels like a warm hug and I don’t feel guilty when I get seconds! My favorite way to spice it up is to put a fried egg on top; trust me, chef’s kiss!
I always come back to this recipe, it’s delicious <3
What is the approximate serving size and calorie count for the best lentil soup? I’m trying to fit it into my fast mimicking diet and calorie counting is important. Thank you!!
Roughly 1.5-2 cups. I hope you enjoy it!
This was delicious and filling! Definitely a keeper!
Thank you for this outstanding soup recipe. I have been making this soup for two years now, Our son has it for lunch everyday in his day program. I have substitute the vegetable pirtion with many types of leafy greens and added mushrooms as well. I used immersed blender and it works great. I got your recipe from “The Frsh-Pressed Olive Oil Club” report in winter 2021….. I just have to thank you for this great recipe.
You’re welcome, Vida!
Hearty and tasty! I also added red peppers and chopped squash to mine
This really is the best and simplest lentil soup! I make it twice a month in the colder months and enjoy for lunch all week. My husband and kids love it, too. Hearty and delicious!
Great to hear, Paige! I appreciate your review.
Spot on flavors! The only swap out I did was to use red lentils. Absolutely delicious!
Love this recipe / it’s my go to starting in the fall cool weather.