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.
I don’t have any kale on hand. I’m going to make it without it. I hope it will turn out ok.
I really like this soup, especially in Winter.I do recommend it to others.Many thanks.
Can you use lime instead of lemon juice
Absolutely delicious recipe! This really is the best lentil soup ever. Curry is the key.
Thank you so so much.
Great to hear, Kim! Thank you for your review.
This soup was great. Thanks for the heart healthy options :)
Do the lentils need to be soaked in water before being added?
Do I pick over and rinse them wet or dry?
You can pick them over dry and then rinse them.
Hi,
I don’t have collard greens or kale, do you think fresh spinach will be good for this recipe?
Sure! I know others have substituted spinach and didn’t mind the results.
This soup was easy & delicious. I enjoyed the herbs and spices that were used, which elevated this above other lentil soup recipes i’ve tried. For greens, I used chopped kale. I forgot to add the lemon juice at the end, but I will definitely use the lemon the next time I make it.
Thank you for your review, Susan!
A wonderful soup, very satisfying and flavorful. You always seem to get the flavors just right! Thank you
I love your Best Lentil Soup recipe. I have tried an alternative with the canned tomatoes by using fresh tomatoes, so far it taste good. Since there are many types of tomatoes, I am taking my time to pick the right tomato for my Lentil Soup. Of course, the tomatoes are locally harvested. Thank you for this recipe.
You’re welcome, Rachel!
Don’t like lentils. Don’t like curry. And I’m not a soup person. BUT I AM OBSESSED WITH THIS RECIPE. I follow it to a tee (sometimes add okra) and it’s just the perfect balance of lightness, brightness, richness and heartiness. Rare to find a super-healthy meal that’s as flavorful and satisfying as this one. Bravo Kate!
I really like this recipe. I made some modifications to it since I didn’t have some of the ingredients, but I am still very pleased with the way it came out. I didn’t have the collards/kale that was called for, but I had some carrots that I diced up and used. Also I didn’t have any lemon juice so I used a bit of rice vinegar to give it sort of a tangy flavour. I also used beef broth instead of vegetable broth since it was what I had. I’m sure that if I had the ingredients it called for it would have been even better.
Truly The Best! This has become my main winter staple.
Any recommendations for making this in a crockpot or IP ? Looking to bring this to a work event.
I tweaked your recipe slightly for my taste. It turned out great, and I’m making a 2nd batch this week. Instead of diced tomatoes, I used a larger can of crushed tomatoes, and a wee bit of tomato paste to thicken the sauce – yum!!!! Its a great, hearty soup ❤️
Really delicious soup! I’m impressed. I wasn’t sure if I was going to like curry in my lentil soup, because I usually buy Italian-style lentil soups, but this was a welcome change. I followed the recipe as written except I used four very ripe tomatoes instead of the can of tomatoes. I will be making this again!
I was suspicious of the title, because I’ve tried and been disappointed with a lot of lentil soups, but this really was the best one! I picked low sodium broth, started with a mirepoix instead of just onions and carrots, and used frozen spinach instead of collard greens or kale (and skipped the lemon entirely), but it still turned out better than any other lentil soup recipe I’ve made. I had the leftovers for lunch at work, and even my boss – who doesn’t think a meal is a meal without meat and won’t even eat a salad on the side – said the smell was making him hungry.
I was so happy I ended up buying your cookbook, which honestly isn’t something I would have done if I hadn’t enjoyed the recipes on the blog so much.
Hi there, I make this soup like once a month – it’s a great recipe. Thank you.
Do you happen to know how many calories the soup is per serving?
Thank you again,
Alaina
So yummy! My husband loved it and he’s not a lentil eater or vegetarian.
Finally –a fantastic lentil soup! This is definitely the best one I’ve ever made. Thank you.
This recipe is soooooo good. I’ve shared it with friends and now it’s their favorite too!
It is literally the best soup ever!! I love this recipe and it’s so easy! I haven’t changed a thing (and I always change something).
Just made this and it’s absolutely perfect for a cosy curl-up. Used chopped up cavelo nero, added a couple of potatoes and celery sticks to bulk it up a bit, used half green, half red lentils, and this was an absolutely delicious soup I will make over and over.
oh my goodness – I don’t think I’ve ever had a soup as tasty as this one. I almost ate the entire pot by myself. This is going into my heavy rotation category.
So good. I use canned lentils when in a hurry. !
Absolutely delicious! I was generous with the curry and added some cauliflower I had in my fridge, but otherwise followed exactly. Thank you!
This was delicious, thank you! Made a big pot for myself and my neighbour who is recovering from a broken rib.
It’s the second time I have made this lentil soup and perfect for a chilly winter day.
It uses my favorite spices and I serve it with Naan bread.
Thank you for sharing your recipes.
Great recipe. I used chicken broth and added chopped celery and bell peppers with onions. Everyone loves it!
Absolutely the best ever lentil soup!
Thank you for sharing this delicious soup!
I too almost eat the whole pot in 2 days !!
I made this recipe for our Christmas Eve with family so my daughter would have a vegan option. It is delicious!! Best lentil soup / dish I’ve ever had.
Thanks for sharing it.
Janet
This recipe was very easy to make and super delicious! I added a can of chickpeas to boost the fiber and protein! I highly recommend everyone try this…I’m sure it’ll become a weekly favorite!
First time making lentil soup. It turned out really good.
No kale, I used baby spinach. No thyme, but my spices were Madras curry powder from India, ground cumin from Morocco and Spanish SOSO salt mixed with several paprikas or peppers.
Excellent!
Prepared this delicious soup for my daughter after she delivered her first baby. Very nutritious and perfect for a nursing mom. It was delicious and will definitely make again.
Hello, just made the soup and am thinking it doesn’t need the water added
I’ve been making your lentil soup recipe for years, I love the brightness from the lemon and little kick from the chilli flake. I swap out any greens I have on hand. It’s always easy and delicious and even better the second day. Thanks for creating so many great recipes!
I’ve made this recipe for years. It’s a go-to in our house and always smells and turns out amazing. I’ll often double the recipe for meal-prep for the week. Thank you for this wonderful recipe!
This recipe is wonderful. It is a staple in out home. We make a large batch and freeze the extra for weeknights. I highly recommend a splash of malt vinegar on top.
This is my “go to” every winter. Double the recipe, the soup freezes well.
I made this lentil soup for the first time a couple of weeks ago, and since then, I’ve been thinking about it non-stop! I used red lentils (as that was what I had in my pantry), which seemed to have reduced the necessary boiling time. I left the soup chunky instead of blending it and it was still delicious! Thank you for this wonderful recipe!
This is the best lentil soup I have ever made. Will be making it often. Thank you!
Having tried lentil soup a long while back and not liking it, I came across this recipe and with a new year decided to give it another try. WOW! This soup is delicious and so easy to make. Emulsifying part of the soup is key to this recipe as it gives it a nice consistency. Thank you.
Love this soup! Love your blog, but hate the ads. I’d rather pay you directly then have ads. Any chance you would consider an app or a membership section that doesn’t have ads? It would be more kid friendly too – we are always making your recipes.
I second this idea because I love your recipes, but the ads and the constant refreshing of the page gets to be troublesome.
It turned out graet. Snowing out now and is perfect for today. I will add more curry next time.
This soup is the BEST. It’s a great comfort food that still feels really nutritious. Make it!!
This is so delicious! I love the flavor and will definitely be making this over and over. Thanks for always sharing such tasty recipes. ❤️
Truly the best lentil soup! On heavy rotation at my house in the fall and winter. I routinely add a finely diced zucchini but otherwise make as written and it is just perfect! Hearty, comforting, house favorite. Thank you!!!
OMG indeed this theee BEST lentil soup ever. Each ingredient dances on your tongue they kinda marry each other with each bite. Today I’m snowed in today so I’m excited to have a bowl later on for dinner. I know the taste will be EVEN better
I have never made a decent lentil soup. Made this today, followed recipe except i didn’t have kale or collards so I substituted frozen spinach…it was GREAT. My husband ate 3 big bowls!
I’ve never commented on a recipe, but I just have to say that I LOVE this soup! It’s so filling, so delicious, and is great to make a big batch of and freeze for easy weeknight dinners. I’ve made it with chicken broth when I didn’t have vegetable, and that’s been great too. This is becoming a staple in my home!
DELICIOUS!!!!! Added a little extra red pepper flakes. Next time, I think I’ll add some chorizo!
I made this today and it was great. I will definitely be making it again. However, I did leave out the curry as I am not a fan.