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.
Great recipe, except it has an overpowering cumin taste. I will reduce it down next time and see how it tastes.
Easy, tasty and cozy for a chilly winter evening.
Fantastic! I loved the warmth of this soup on a cold winter night. Pureeing the 2 cups near the end was genius. Made the soup super creamy wihtout cream/milk. Thanks for the recipe Kate!
I just tried your recipe last night and was delightfully surprised at well this turned out. The soup’s sauce is finger-licking good & definitely deserves the title of best lentil soup of the year!
Best soup ever! I’ve made it several times and it’s incredibly satisfying each and every time.
Thank you for the recipe!
I just made this. Used kale for the first time in my life – and I’m old.
It was delicious and very easy. I used immersion blender at the end.
Will make this again. My hubby loved it also.
Hi! I made this as a side to accompany pan seared salmon over quinoa. My wife ate her approximately 8oz salmon, 8oz quinoa and made her belly hurt by eating 3! Bowls of this lintel soup! I have made several variations of split lentil soup but she said this is by far the best! The only changes I made were adding celery and substituteing a small can of fire roasted tomatoes because that’s what I had.. Thank you and keep up the great work!
Loved the soup! Very best! I adore the curry and lemon…
Have tried the ones with vinegar…not a fan. Will bake again!!
Yep, best lentil soup ever. The Best. But, I’m unable to not modify, and I reduced olive oil by 1/2, added extra cup of kale, 1 extra carrot, 200 gm small-diced sweet potato, 1/4 cup red bell pepper, and 170 gm Trader Joe’s meatless “ground beef” for plant protein. Each 200 gm bowl = 16 gm protein, 12 gm CHO, 2 gm fat. I’m making this again.
I’ve never cooked with lentils before. This is my first, and WOW. This is perfect winter soup. So cozy and delicious. I can’t wait to make more of your recipes.
This was the best lentil soup I’ve ever had!!!! I am certainly keeping this recipe!!! 5stars!!!!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This soup is amazing!! I HATE lentils. I made this soup for my husband and decided to give lentils one more try. I am flabbergasted. This soup is not just “ok,” it is perfection-even with lentils!! I can no longer say I hate these little guys. I will be making this again and again! Thank you so much for this recipe.
This soup is incredible. Only thing I found lacking was a sweet element to counterbalance the acidity from the tomatoes and lemon. I added a diced sweet potato to the mix and it suited my needs perfectly. Thanks for this recipe!
This soup has been my favorite discovery of the season! I’ve made it five times this winter, including twice for home parties where I tripled the recipe, and it always disappears in no time. Several friends have asked for the recipe, and one even made it for her New Year’s party, as lentil dishes are believed to bring good luck in Brazil. I personally love using red lentils—they perfectly enhance the warm, vibrant orangeness of the soup
A question for those who have added a can of chick peas – did you blend the two cups of soup before or after you added the chick peas?
I added zucchini and an orange pepper to the recipe, plus cubed ham. A relative told me it was the best lentil soup he has ever had. Will definitely make again. I was careful not to overcook the lentils after reading reviews for some other recipes. Thanks.
Hi Kate, I’ve made this 2x and both times the lentils are still hard after recommended cooking time. The first time we ate it with hard lentils. The second time I just let it cook for almost 3 hours more and finally they were soft. Am I doing something wrong? Any tips? I used green lentils. Thanks!
I love this soup recipe! I make it often. The only change I make is no oil to make it extra healthy. I just simmer the veggies in a little extra broth. I threw in some of my freezer corn last time and that was good too!
New favourite soup recipe. Do yourself a favour, quadruple the quantity because it’s going to get eaten so fast!
Hey Kate! We’re making your lentil now, pre Chiefs game cooking! It’s in the bringing to boiling stage. We appreciate your hard work to bring us recipes that you work so hard on. Go Chiefs!!!!
Thank you for this recipe. This is my favorite lentil soup recipe ever. I make it every season. I love it! Never fails to make me smile
Delicious! I did not make any changes to the recipe. I love the hint of lemon.
Absolutely the best! I make this on a regular basis. Especially if I’ve overdone less than healthy eating. It just clears the slate and sets me on the right track again! I do actually up the curry, cumin and red pepper flakes just because I love those spices. I’ve left out ingredients I don’t happen to have and it still is amazing. Love using the emulsion blender in the pot to make it more blended. Everyone I’ve made it for enjoys it. Also appreciate that you’ve included the nutrition info here. Whenever I look up recipes and one of yours is featured, I go there first. You are so talented, thank you!!
Best soup I ever made. My sister, a picky eater, said she wouldn’t be having any then ate 2 bowls and asked why I didn’t double the recipe. Did not alter the recipe. Will make often.
One of my favorite soups to make! I make it exactly as written and have shared it with several friends and family members, and they have all loved it and made a part of their super rotation. Thank you for another great recipe!
This is great! I didn’t have any curry powder, so I subbed garam masala, and it’s delicious. I’ll get some curry powder for next time. :-)
I made the lentil soup but I left out the can of tomatoes. It turned out delicious. Thanks.
This is so freaking yummy!!!! It is hearty, heavenly, comforting (a bit addictive) and really hits the spot. A dear friend made it for me and I absolutely needed the recipe because I wanted it again and soon!
I was interested in making my first ever lentil soup and after some research came across this recipe. All I can say is “superb”! Recipe turned out exactly as described. As some suggested I used an emulsion blender lightly in the pot to add some creaminess to the soup. Will definitely keep this recipe on my rotation.
Best lentil soup! I make it multiple times a year. Always tastes great. I go a bit heavy on the roasted red pepper flakes.
I. Love. This. Recipe!!!
Haven’t made it in awhile but the cold damp weather made today a perfect day for soup. I had to make several substitutions but it was still delicious!
Thanks for sharing!
Best thing ( not just soup!) I’ve ever eaten
This is a really good recipe, so flavorful. Lots of spices that come together to give a lot of depth to the soup. I have made it several times and it’s always well received.
So happy I tried this soup recipe. I never made lentil soup before and this was so delicious. Definitely a keeper to make again! I didn’t have an onion but I had dehydrated onions so threw those in. Really yummy!
Just got done making fresh veggie broth. So I used that an extra cup and 1 cup of water, Added Broccoli and fresh tomatoes instead of canned …. Was EXCELLENT
This soup is so easy and so tasty! I skipped the tomatoes and added some cashew milk – it was so good and creamy!
Where are the nutrients listed? Calories?
Beneath the recipes and notes, there is the word “Nutrition” in large letters. To the right of that, there is a box saying “Show Nutrition.” If you click on that, the nutritional information comes up. Hope that helps.
I LOVE this recipe! I have to admit, I sometimes use chicken stock or a combination of veggie and chicken stock. It depends on if my vegetarian son is visiting! As an omnivore, the chicken stock just makes it taste a little richer for me. When making your original vegan version, I add a teaspoon of smoked paprika. We all like the lightly smokey taste with your already delicious spice and herb combination.
I make this soup all the time! It’s a fantastic recipe. P.S. I requested and received your Love Real Food cookbook for Christmas last year and have tried quite a few recipes – all wonderful!
How long in a slow cooker?
I make this in a slow cooker and cook it on low for 8 hours.
Can I substitute red lentils? I have a bag sitting in my cupboard but not sure how different it would be compared to red/brown as I’ve only ever tried lentils once. Thanks!
This soup is fantastic. Just the best lentil soup ever. I could eat this all day when it’s cold. Also love that I control the sodium. Less salt, more lemon. Yum.
Excellent both times I made it, subbing with red lentils. (I had just cooked brown lentils the day before and didn’t want the same, so I trusted the other commenters who’d also used red lentils.) The first time I scaled it by 3x (and followed exact directions) for my big family and decided I probably didn’t need to triple the canned tomatoes the next time. Today, I scaled it by 6x and used about 5-6 cups fresh diced Campari tomatoes and it turned out excellent again. Even my son who’d said it was perfect the first time was okay with the slight change and now the picky son who’d not liked the first batch because of the tomato flavor time is actually eating it. Big win! I’m freezing two gallon freezer bags from this pot to serve guests coming from out of town next month:-) Thank you! This goes into my rotation for sure.
The title says it all – this is the best lentil soup ever! My only regret is not having made it sooner lol
So so good. Thank you!!
Best soup I’ve ever had, and I don’t say this lightly as I eat soup most days for lunch. My hubby came back with his plate and said “you can make that again”! High praise from him indeed. I did forget to add the lemon juice but will definitely try that next time. Other than that and regretting halving it, I made it as per the recipe. The flavours just combine into each delicious bite.
I forgot to give it stars! I’d double them if zip could! Im making it again right now yum
I made this today, it was delicious
But it was a bit too tomatoey taste
I did use fresh instead of tin
Should I have not measured 28oz?
Maybe used less cos they were fresh?
This soup is delicious! Did not add the lemon because I didn’t think it needed any more additions for flavor.
This soup was absolutely delicious! My husband raved about it, my sister-in-law wants the recipe and my two sisters who tasted it want to get together soon and each make their own recipe. The seasoning is perfect, no need to add anything! Thank you so much. I am certainly going to peruse your other recipes and try them!
Delicious
This is a staple recipe in my house…everyone who tries it loves it. I sometimes add potatoes, ground beef, peppers, omit kale, just depending on what I have on hand and want to use up. I also am not one to measure anything when I cook, but it doesn’t matter.
Turns out insanely delicious every time following the base recipe.
It was especially loved when I had gestational diabetes and had to watch carb intake, as it felt like eating a comfort food without raising my blood sugar.
Another huge bonus – it all comes together in one pot quickly with little effort and not much to clean up
Highly recommend!
Your Lentil soup recipe is heaven!
This is my 4th winter preparing this amazing soup. I am not vegetarian so sometimes I prepared it with pork meat (sorry, I imagine this can be shocking to you but I do eat red meat once per week).
Last winter, my sister in law came to visit us and I prepared your soup. She was so grateful for tasting the earthy flavors. Specially, the cumin and curry.
I am Mexican and cumin is in fact part of our culture but we use it like a touch ingredient. So, for not overpowering it, I used half of your recommendation or just a pinch of it.
I added celery (and cooked at the same time with the carrots) and instead of collard greens I use swiss chard.
If I cook the vegan recipe comes delicious and if I cook it with meat it comes extra delicious :)
One time, I brought the soup to the office. I heated up in the kitchen’s microwave and one of my coworkers came to the kitchen and asked me: are you cooking here? I said no, I am heating it up. He replied the whole hallway smells delicious. Poor guy was so hangry.
Thank you so much for sharing this amazing soup!!!
My husband and loved this soup. It is absolutely delicious, hearty and full of flavor! We both had two bowls back to back. Thanks for sharing!