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.
My sister in law and I share recipes incessantly. She said she loves this one so much she makes it every weekend and eats it for breakfast because it’s so filling and delicious. I’m not a breakfast eater but if I were I’d eat this! Faaaantastic! Made it a few days ago and making again today. Best lentil soup ever. Six stars! No need to search further. Yum Yum!!!! Thank you C and K!
OMGosh Kate! You knocked it outta the park with this spicy vegan lentil soup recipe! I adore lentils any & every way possible, but this soup was the absolute BEST! So delicious I could not stop eating it, same with my spice-loving friends. I want to make it every week in winter! Here are some variations on your recipe that worked great for me: (a) I doubled the amount of greens (2 cups instead of 1) and used a 50/50 mix of chopped kale and spinach, and (b) I did not drain the big can of diced tomatoes (not wanting to waster that tasty liquid) so used less water instead. YUMM-O!!
Sounds like a resounding success, Annie!
Ok ok. I know this is a vegetarian site, and I love this site even though I’m not a vegetarian. I made this recipe with ham stock and it was absolutely amazing. I left out the curry and kale because I didn’t have them on hand. It’s definitely a keeper! The cumin!
Happy you could adjust to your tastes, Laura!
just discovered your recipes ; want to ry so many. especially some of the muffins. but i really want to know the complete nutrition facts – especially the sugar, carb, calorie counts. why is this info omitted?
Hi! Unfortunately, I don’t have nutritional info available for my recipes just yet. I’m looking for a solution, and will update about it once I find one. Thanks!
I’ve made this about 6 times since discovering the recipe in October, 2016…. Thank you so much for sharing it with us!
You’re welcome! Happy it’s a repeat dish.
We agree! This soup is amazing! My husband took one bite and said “This tastes like something you’d get in a restaurant.” It was easy to make and introduced me to using lentils and collard greens. I made a different soup last night for dinner and my husband said “It’s okay, but definitely not as good as Cookie and Kate’s soup!”
This is wonderful to hear, Patti! And glad Cookie is getting the recognition she deserves ;)
My husband LOVED it and I made some for a friend today and she asked for the recipe. Ultimate compliment! Very flavorful!
SUCH a compliment, Leslie!! I’m so happy everyone loved it!
I already love lentils – I always have, and I’ve never met a homemade lentil soup I didn’t like at least a little (and I’ve never met a storebought or cafeteria version that I liked at all). But this was awesome. My husband walked back to the stove for seconds singing a song that went something like “Tasty food, tasty food, tasty food…” and emphatically told me it was a keeper. It’ll be in our soup rotation on Mondays. Thank you!
Love that, Andrea! Your husband’s song made my smile. :)
Yes so good!! With some quinoa! Add fresh rosemary very nice!! All the spices were amazing and had the house smelling awesome! Thank you:)
Fresh rosemary sounds heavenly, Sofia.
This blew.my.mind.
It took no time to make since I had leftover lentils and my husband and I were shocked how good it was. Thanks for a fantastic recipe.
You’re welcome, Cheryl! So happy it was such a hit.
This soup is amazing, the spices make such a delicious experience!!! Thank you for this recipe, my stomach is completely grateful and happy!
:)
So good! I couldn’t find kale so I subbed spinach and it came out perfect!
Sounds delicious, Daniel!
This lentil soup recipe is one of my favourites. I live on an island so i never get kale to put in the recipe but it doesn’t matter its still amazing!! I even make it in summer on hot 38 degree Queensland days because I love it so much.
Thank you so much for sharing!
Love that this is a year-round favorite for you, Bec.
Upped the amount of cumin and curry a bit and instead of using a blender (messy and bothersome) I just gave the soup a quick no muss, no fuss zap with an immersion blender. All turned out well.
Ooh, yes, that’s a gadget I need to get my hands on :)
Made this for dinner tonight and it was EXCELLENT. Added 2 small ribs celery, diced; subbed red lentils for green and subbed spinach for kale based on what I had on hand. Also added 1/4 C chopped, fresh parsley with the lemon juice and used only 1 tbsp of oil. A real crowd pleaser, loved by the whole family. With or without these substitutions, this recipe is a keeper!
Yum! Sounds great. I’m so glad you could use what was on hand.
This really was delicious! It’s my new favorite lentil soup. So glad I saw it on Pinterest and gave it a try.
I’m so glad you found my blog, Barbara!
Hey there, can one use red lentils instead? I don’t know anything about the different kinds.
I’ve made it with red – I recall that it worked fine.
Hi Paula, you probably could, but it won’t turn out the same in texture (or color). Red/yellow lentils break down into a pretty mushy substance (and cook faster), whereas these lentils retain their shape a little better.
This is my favorite – a new staple in my repertoire of healthy, delicious recipes! I make it for friends who have special dietary needs, too. And I adore recipes that rely on mostly pantry ingredients. Thank you for sharing it with us!
Yes! Being able to empty out the pantry is a bonus for this one :)
So grateful to find this recipe tonight and make this soup – – Hearty and so delicious. Absolutely warmed us up. Thank you very much, Kate! I will return to your site often.
I’m glad, Rebecca! Thanks.
This is absolutely the BEST LENTIL SOUP I HAVE EVER HAD!!!! This will be going into my weekly rotation. Thank you Kae (Andy Cookie)!!
Sorry that is Kate (and Cookie). Haha!
You’re welcome, Sarah! Cookie says hi :)
Just made it tonight- it was so hearty and delicious
:)
I’m a long time reader and have made so many of your wonderful recipes, yet this is my first time commenting to say how much I love this lentil soup. It’s perfect for winter with its combination of hearty, flavorful and healthy. I made it for the second time tonight and will return to it again I’m sure.
This makes me so happy, Kiley! Thank you so much.
This is my favorite recipe ever!
Yes! Love it.
This is the most amazing soup I’ve ever had!
When I’m writing exams I just make a big pot of this and eat it for daaaays.
Such a winner.
I love hearing this, Vivian! Exam fuel :)
Love this soup! I usually use the pre-cooked lentils from Trader Joe’s but today im using dried. Do I need to soak them first? Thank you!
Nope, you should be able to just use the lentils as I direct you to here. Just a quick rinse and pick-through before the cooking process. Enjoy!
Just made this delicious soup. I added diced celery to the onion and diced sweet potato with the carrots. Replaced the diced tomato with 1 can of Rotel including liquid and 1 can of tomato sauce. I don’t have thyme, but used some ginger to enhance the curry flavours. I left the remaining ingredients as listed along with instructions. It is a winner.
:) Your version sounds really great.
This came out absolutely incredible. Hands down best soup I’ve ever had. And the smell of it cooking is just as amazing.
Yep, the smell fills the whole house with deliciousness. So glad you enjoyed it!
Hello Kate, This recipe looks great, I have a couple of friends coming over for supper tonight and would love to try it. I only have organic red lentils in stock, can I use these or is there a reason not to?
Thanks!
I’ve made this soup a couple of times, it has definitely become a family favorite! I skip the first part of step 4 (blending the soup) and it is still delicious. Love love love, thank you for sharing Cookie and Kate!
That’s phenomenal!
Today I started making your lentil soup only to discover that what I thought were lentils were peas. Since that was all I had I used the peas. The soup was incredible! The peas took longer than the 30 minutes to soften, but that was the only difference. Very filling also. I will definitely try more of your recipes!
you puree 2 cups worth is that needed. Just asking because i’m lazy and don’t want to have to clean anymore than I do already.
LOVED IT!!! Thank you for sharing.
Snowed a lot in the East this weekend, so I made the soup. Love everything about it, but I would half the olive oil.
Yum.
Fam loved this.
Thank you.
You’re welcome, Karín!
I am a lentil soup snob and this one has become my go-to. I have made it using green lentils and brown lentils and both are great. Freezes well too.
So nice to hear this, Kristen! Especially from a lentil snob :)
Made it and it turned out great! I didn’t have curry or thyme, but I improvised with chili powder and parsley instead. It’s delicious. Thank you.
Delicious. Because vegetable broth can be very salty, I would recommend adding the salt slowly and testing as you go. I found about a 1/4 teaspoon was plenty.
Thanks, friend! Appreciate the tip.
This recipe is a family favorite. Our kids always want more. It’s a perfect soup for everyone. Wonderful flavor and lots of great ingredients. Thank you!!
You’re welcome, April :) Thank you for the kind comment!
I made this recipe last night and although I am not vegan it was delicious!! Anyone who likes lentil soup should try this recipe. Although its vegan with no meat it is really good. I tweeked it and used all chicken broth instead of vegetable broth and water, I added celery, I used cayenne pepper, instead of the red pepper flakes, I used kale, and I added 1 more cup of beans. Mmmmm….Good!
I’m so happy your version worked out well for you!
This soup is glorious. It is so easy to make and lends itself to adding things like celery or leeks( both needed using). It’s so easy to make and full of flavour. Will be one if my go to recipes.. Thank you do much.
You’re welcome, Lucy! Happy this worked with what you had in your fridge :)
How can you make lentil soup taste so good? My go to recipe for lentil soup. The lemon gives it that extra bit of interest. Thank you so much! Sandra
Forgot to give it a well deserved 5 stars!
You’re welcome, Sandra!
This is a great soup! I’m on a very low total fat/extremely low saturated fat diet (heart attack at a bad time in my life as though there is any good time for a heart attack), and with the exception of the 1/4 cup of olive oil this recipe looked great out the gate. I prepared it as specified except with one teaspoon of olive oil for the saute, which seemed to make no obvious difference in the overall flavor. The soup was simple to make, and the blender step definitely thickened it up as it does with many soups I make. I tried a small bowl, then a larger bowl, and will have another before the afternoon is done–it has great flavor and the way I made it has almost no fat. It’s a keeper–thanks!
Oof, I’m really sorry to hear about your health issues, Sean. But, I am so, so glad that this recipe worked for your needs! Thanks for the kind words.
Oops, forgot to rate it–five stars!
:)
I am so excited to have discovered your blog and can’t wait to try out about 10 of these recipes;-) Just wondering how you think this would be without the red peppers. Would you add anything in their absence? My kids are sensitive to spicy. Thank you!
I think this would be delicious with or without the red pepper flakes, Michelle! Taking them out shouldn’t sacrifice any flavor.
I absolutely LOVE this soup! I made it for the second time today :)
This one continues to give, for sure :)
Made this for my loin fruit and I for dinner tonight, she’s 14, prefers pizza over anything else, and we annihilated nearly 1/2 the pot
Thanks so much for sharing, we’ll be making this one again soon!
Oh man, it took me a second to understand “loin fruit,” but when I did, I couldn’t stop laughing. Glad I could distract her away from pizza for a meal!
Oh My-lanta, this was sooo good! The only change I made was to sub smoked paprika for the curry. Thank you for posting so many great recipes
Yum! Sounds really great, Mammabear.
I made this for my parents tonight, and let me tell you, if an 18-year-old with a culinary repertoire consisting of microwave meals, canned soup, and eggs many ways can make this, so can you. Not to mention my parents loved it and couldn’t even tell it was vegan! Thanks for the wonderful recipe, it’s definitely a keeper!
You’re welcome, Veronica! So glad this was simple and straightforward for you.
I typically don’t like anything that contains curry, but this was great! I used spinach instead of kale since I already had it in my refrigerator. I I thought the soup needed a bit of sweet when I tasted it, so I add 2-3 tablespoons of brown sugar and it was perfect!