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 is my “go to” soup recipe and have shared it many times with friends. It is delicious, super easy, healthy and perfect for cold winter nights. Thank you!
You’re welcome, Deborah!
Delicious
Fabulous soup. It’s a winner!
Great to hear, Stacey!
I’ve made this soup several times. It’s become a staple during the cold winter months, it really is the Best Lentil Soup recipe I’ve ever tried. Thank you Cookie and Kate!
Great to hear, Dawn! Thank you for your review.
Cooking this right now I’m so excited :)
I’ve made this recipe again and again. The flavors are wonderful and it’s a hearty, healthy soup.
Great to hear, Lorraine!
Definitely the best lentil soup! Easy to make, and extremely flavorful. Thank you!
The recipe says it makes 4 servings . What would be the approximate amount would that be cup wise or specifically how many cups of soup does one recipe make?
Hi Linda, a serving is typically 1.5-2 cups.
This soup was perfect! So delicious, can’t wait to share it with others. Do you have the nutritional information for this?
Hi Divine! The nutritional information is below the notes section of the recipe.
Could you substitute spinach for the collard greens?
Sure, I know others that have tried that and didn’t mind the results.
Best Lentil Soup Ever! Adding lemon at the end gives a certain brightness lentils have never had. And adding some to a blender is a great idea. This recipe is delicious and I’ll be making it again on the cold, snowy, damp days in New England! Thank you! I give this recipe 5 stars.
Very tasty!!!
Delicious soup! My husband and I each had two servings and there’s still lots left.
I make this lentil soup at least once a month. I love it.
Great to hear, Sandra!
Absolutely my favorite lentil soup recipe. I make it at least once per month and my whole family loves it.
Kate, this soup is absolutely divine! I can’t stop eating… (:
Kate, this soup is absolutely divine! I can’t stop eating… (:
Subbed spinach for kale and added 79 more lentils.
<3 ALlison
Thank you for sharing, Allison!
I tried the best Lentil Soup recipe and have to agree. This is the best soup ever!
I now make it every week love the rich flavors. Thank you!
Good tasting soup
I love this soup! In fact, I love it so much I am bringing it to a gathering on Sunday. To make a larger than usual batch is it ok just to double all the ingredients?
Yes, you can double this just make sure you have a large enough pot.
This is my favorite lentil soup and I make it often. I add cilantro along with the kale. Delicious!
Great to hear, Geri!
Love this recipe. Our changes after making it several times are to cut the amount of tomatoes in half and double the greens. And add a squeeze of lemon!
Can you sub in canned pumpkin for the tomatoes? Thanks!
I don’t think that will get you the results you want, sorry!
I made this 2 years ago and funnily enough I remembered this recipe after a picture of my meal popped up in snapchat memories from 2 yrs ago today. So glad I was able to find this same recipe so I could recreate it! It’s fantastic!!! The flavors truly sing!
This was far and away the best lentil soup I’ve made!! I added fresh cilantro and sprouted my lentils and threw in a green pepper and zucchini for good measure because why not?? also used homemade bone broth which made it super nutritious! But the spices and the lemon finish were the pies d’aresistance
This has literally been a staple for me over the past few years. I make this every couple of weeks, split into jars, and then freeze. I take it with me to work, on trips, etc. literally the best soup I’ve ever had. I even had a friend ask me to make her a lot for Christmas! I have made a few changes over the years. I cut out the onions and add a bell pepper and celery instead (I just really hate onions). I also cut the cumin in half and add a teaspoon of chili powder and double the greens (I always use kale bc it maintains its shape and firmness even after freezing and reheating). Thanks so much for this recipe!
This lentil soup is so good and I make it often. Sometimes I make veggie stock from scratch but if I don’t have time or use boxed stock if I don’t feel like making it from scratch. I’ve made it with and without kale or used frozen or fresh spinach if that is what I had on hand. Sometimes I top it with sliced ripe avocado.
This is the best lentil soup ever! I follow the recipe exactly except for adding a bit more collard greens. I highly recommend it.
Do you have to soak the lentils overnight before cooking?
No need to soak. I hope you enjoy this soup, Chisomo!
SO GOOD! My partner and I both had seconds, the chilli flakes made all the difference! I over-blended and I was sad there were no loose lentils but it was PERFECT!
I love this soup I added fresh Jalapenos and shrimp and it added an extra kick, my kids even loved it.
That’s great to hear, Tiffany!
It truly is the best lentil soup! I’m making it for the second time by special request from my family. Thanks from Albuquerque NM.
You’re welcome, Rita!
Hi! I only have red and black lentils- which do you think would hold up to this recipe? Thanks!
Black would work better than red. However, I know others have used red. It just requires less liquid and cooking time.
One of the BEST soups I ever made…I’ll be making g it again, many times…thank u
This soup is aptly named, it is the BEST! Thank you
You’re welcome, Vicki!
I LOVE this soup and have made it many times, but I want to make it for a friend who can’t have tomato or lemon! I can leave the lemon juice off at the end, but is there a good substitute for the diced tomatoes?
I don’t have a good subsitute for the tomatoes. I would suggest just to omit them.
This is, without a doubt, my favorite soup recipe. I’ve been making it at least twice a year for at least 6 years. Sometimes I sub out the greens for spinach, depending on what I have on hand. Definitely recommend!!!
One of my go to STAPLE recipes! I make it all of the time and for friends its such a hit! I LOVE the flavors in this.
That’s great to hear, Audrey!
Really yummy! I’ve made it lots of times! I found if you use some red lentils, which have a nuttier flavor, it’s taste a bit like tortilla soup!
Do you know how one would make this in an Instant Pot?
Yes, best lentil soup – cooked exactly as directed and now cook it on repeat:)
Can I use chicken broth if I don’t have vegetable broth?
Sure, others have tried it and didn’t mind the results.