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 soup is a staple in my house. It’s the recipe that most closely approximates the flavors of the lentil soup my mom would make when I was growing up. If you’re not vegan, try putting a scoop of cottage cheese on top to boost the flavors, creaminess, and protein factor.
I did! I loved it. I didn’t have cumin, so I made some adjustments. I also added tahini and hummus because I put too much bullion in. Thanks so much!
I’m glad you’re making money but your recipe comes with so many pop-up’s and advertising that I can’t print it! When is enough, enough!
This recipe is simple, but delicious!
I decided to modify the recipe..I am pregnant, so I wanted to make it even more nutritious and protein dense. Instead of carrots, I added leeks, green beans, and peas. I also added about 10-15 garlic cloves! I can never have too much garlic in my recipes. I did not add the kale, I thought about adding spinach, but I already had a lot of greens. Instead of vegetable broth, I used chicken bone broth and added 8 cups total and omitted the water. I wanted to add as much protein as I could into the meal. This is a European thing, but after I made myself a bowl, I added a dollop of plain green yogurt for creaminess and even more protein!
This was my first experience eating lentil soup, much less making it! I found the recipe to be simple and DELICIOUS!!! My only modification was to substitute chicken broth for the vegetable broth, as that was what I had on hand.
Loved it!!!
Wow! I was nervous that this soup would taste too “healthy.” That is not the case. This soup is hearty, earthy, and rich! Instead of just an onion, I added the Holy Trinity (Onion, Celery, Bell Peppers). As for spices, I added some smoked paprika (I love Morton & Bassett San Francisco Smoked Paprika-expensive but so good!). For the broth, I didn’t have veggie so I used chicken. I didn’t have any Kale or Greens, but it was still DELCIOUS! Also, I went a little heavy on the red pepper flakes, so I had to add in some canned coconut milk to balance it. And of course even better the next day after the flavors mend together. As I was eating it, I was thinking what could make this even better…I think adding some okra at the end would be SO good, as the soup reminded me of gumbo!
This is the best lentil soup I’ve ever made, great recipe, quick, easy and 100% delicious, even my daughter loves it and she doesn’t really like lentils!
Very good soup. Thank you for sharing.
Ooops, I added one pound of lentils instead of one cup, haha… just added more water…. it’s simmering now and tastes delicious. I used a little bit of bacon fat to cook veggies along with olive oil. Tossed in some zucchini with the chicken broth, out of veg broth. Cant wait for it to be done. Wish I had some homemade sourdough bread to go with it! Next time. Thanks for delicious recipe.
Lentils aren’t typically apart of my diet but wanted to try out something new. This will definitely be added into my meal rotation, along with more lentil dishes. This soup is delicious, savory, and so easy to make. I have a lot of family members with allergies/food sensitivities and this is something everyone can enjoy!
Your stuff rocks.
This is one of my go-to recipes that is a regular in my rotation and totally reminds me the Detroit Area which has a great food scene due to its diverse ethnic population. I am not a fan of red pepper flakes so I substitute with Iraqi Curry (which according to the container says Tumeric, Black Pepper, and Spices). When making this for my Mom I use the normal recipe then simply add 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of Iraqi Curry to my bowl and serve. Overall, this is an excellent recipe so Thank You!!!
Excellent recipe! I love making soup and this was my 1st shot at lentil. Absolutely love it and will add to my soup rotation :)
I had all ingredients, save the greens, so! put a handful of fresh spinach in the bowl and ladled soup over it.
Me and my family love this recipe! It’s easy to make and delicious!
I have made this soup before for a family in need of support and got great comments. Since then it has been one of my go-to recipes.
I love your recipes particularly soups and salads. Definitely 5 stars
This was my first time making a lentil soup.It turned out so yummy. Very flavorful. I’ve already shared with my grown children. Will definitely make again.
I did add some crumbled sausage, but it would be perfect without as well.
I made this one and loved it. I just tried another recipe v similar but no way as good! You’re right, this is the best ever lentil soup recipe!!
This is the BEST lentil soup I’ve ever had!! I’m making it for the second time right now.
Living in Texas, I don’t often eat soup, but we had a cold front last time and another one now!
Also it freezes really well. I’m single, so I froze three containers, and when I thawed it out in the fridge and heated it up, it was even better than I remembered!!
Thank you so much for sharing your vegan recipes!!
Made this for dinner tonight and it turned out amazingly. Great flavor and fairly easy to make as well.
On a raw wintry day, this was the perfect soup to make. I shared some with a friend and three jars went into the freezer. I didn’t have lemon, but it was still delicious.
I found this soup while looking for nourishing postpartum freezer meals and I’m so happy I found it! I added 1/2 cup of quinoa when I added the lentils and used bone broth instead of veggie broth. Overall a great stable recipe and simple to modify. Love it!
Great soup. Great basic recipe that can be modified a little or alot. I liked the cumin curry spice combination. I used roasted crushed tomatoes, but did not see any sense in draining & discarding the delicious liquid & used it to replace 1 cup of water.
I’m exploring spices & would appreciate recipes & suggestions for other spices as a change up to the flavor profile.
Addicted to this delicious easy soup. I now make this about every three weeks and we never tire of it. Some slight modifications—usually a smidge more of the spices-sometimes I vary the curry powder as well. Added parsnips a few times when they had been hanging around too long. I add all the liquid from the tomatoes and mix up the proportions of water/broth depending on what’s in the pantry. Same with the greens. And, I’ve never puréed any part of the soup. I’m sure it’s wonderful but for me it’s not needed. Never skip the lemon at the end-I’ve also used Myer lemons for a slightly sweeter taste. It’s so easy I can make it on a weeknight.
I’ve made this one before and the adults loved it. I added butternut squash last time, and plan to do the same this evening. Also adding some chickpeas for additional protein and fiber.
I LOVE this recipe, make it monthly since I don’t eat that much meat. Wanted to share I use a large can of Rotel diced tomatoes and green chilies, small petite diced tomatos and vegetable stock. It is just the best! Even my daughter eats it and she don’t like bean soups.
This recipe is simple but so very flavorful! The curry spice takes it over the top! It is our favorite lentil soup! We love all your recipes Kathryn.
i made this with a few substitutions snd loved it. i used a combo of red lentils and brown basmati rice. didnt have curry pdr. used more of the other herbs and spices and some bouilllon. i will make it again very soon!
Delicious lentil soup. I never liked my lentil soup that much. This just made me a big fan of lentil soup. I will never go back to my old recipe. Thank you so much!
Love. Love, love this Lentil soup recipe!!! Just the perfect amount of each ingredient to make it my absolute favorite! I try to cook it at least 1x a week. My kids and grandkids love it too!
Best lentil soup I’ve made. I received many, many compliments. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
My only regret is not doubling the recipe because I’m sad it’s gone. 10/10. This will be a staple in our house
Made your soup . Added a few little different things but it turned out amazing !! Added the lemon also. Added a garma masla slice blend. I was missing a few spices in my cupboard. Will make again.
This lentil soup was amazing. I made a double batch and we ate it for dinner plus packed leftovers for lunch for a few days. I was so excited for lunch each day to enjoy this soup again.
This is just lovely. I’m. Not a vegetarian and wanted to change the macros a bit and increase the protein so I added some ground turkey and substituted homemade chicken bone broth for the vegetable broth… otherwise I followed the directions. I was wondering about the lemon…. Holy cow that is the key!! The initial taste test before was pretty good, but oh wow, after adding the lemon and a little more salt I was blown away. I can’t wait to enjoy this for lunches this week with fresh homemade bread.
This soup was so good! I made it exactly as written, except I had some extra yellow and green chives in my fridge that I added. So delicious. It’s also very low in calories. The nutrition listed says there are only four servings in this recipe, but this makes a lot of soup.
Perfect exactly as written, but also delicious when you don’t have exact ingredients and need to improvise.
And now, I add curry to all my soup recipes!
Oh my goodness, this was so good! Perfect for a winter night. I added a few small potatoes and a little celery and subbed spinach for the kale, since that was what I had. I also used Aleppo peppers instead of red pepper flakes. This will definitely go on regular rotation. Delicious!
Bit of a rookie here. Does 1 cup of lentils refer to uncooked ones? I have both. Just want to be sure.
Thanks.
if it says rinsed and sorted/picked through, dried.
There can be little stones in dried legumes, but not in canned/cooked.
This is hands down my go to soup when I’m wanting an easy and delicious week night dinner. I like to use sweet curry, and I usually add more lemon! I make this recipe almost once a week, my boyfriend and family love it as well.
My wife has been asking for lentil soup for a while, I never made it before and wasn’t a huge fan of lentils. This recipe is awesome and we both love it. Thank you!
I had to restrain myself. It was very tasty & delicious. I think I could have eaten the whole pot in one day.
This lentil soup recipe is absolutely delicious—so comforting and packed with flavor! I love how simple the ingredients are, yet the taste is so rich and hearty. It’s perfect for meal prepping too!
I’ve been using a “Sublime Groceria” app to keep track of ingredients for recipes like this, and it’s been a total game-changer. It makes shopping and planning so much easier!
Greetings from Sweden! I did the receipe last night and my family loved it. So delicious and tasty – or simply as you say “Best lentil soup!” I had some difficulties converting to the metric system from ounces and cups. Would it be possible to add the metric option to the receipies? I’ve seen this from other food creators. Thanks in advance.
Hi Anna, I’ve been thinking about finding a way to do that but want to make sure it is easy to follow and accurate. Thanks for sharing your input.
Well this was aptly named. It really is the BEST lentil soup! My only modification was adding 3 stalks of celery and doubling the amount of kale. Like another commenter, I used roasted crushed tomatoes and didn’t drain them either. I used my immersion blender to thicken it easily. I was generous with the spices too making them heaping teaspoons and such. I’ve had low iron and have been looking for something high in iron to eat like lentils and kale. Perfect! This one’s a keeper! Thank you!
Made this to have on Friday’s during lent, very easy to follow recipe and comes out delicious.
This is my go to recipe for lentil soup. Sometimes I add a little Braggs aminos or tamari just to give it a little bit more depth. But it is an amazing and easy recipe. I always have extra to store in my freezer too.
Yum! So good. I added some chickpeas for a bit more “heft” to the soup, and I subbed fresh spinach for the kale, as that’s what I had on hand. Delightful!
This is truly my favorite lentil soup recipe ever – I’ve had it for my birthday dinner the last 2 years and almost every rainy day. I’ve recommended it and/or made it for pretty much everyone in my family. I’ve never reviewed a recipe before but this soup is 100% worth it!
This lentil soup is on repeat at my house! So flavorful and healthy!
I made this lentil soup for my family. I followed the directions and this turned out DELICIOUS! I will be making this again.
This is the best lentil soup. My family loves it and it’s become a staple in our home.
One of my favorite recipes that I make consistently. I like substituting the onion with shallots.