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 love lentil soups and enjoy finding new variations. I’ve tried curried spiced versions and often the flavor overpowers the flavors of everything else but not this one. It’s really delicious! In an effort to use more quality fat, I used 3 tablespoons of organic triple filtered coconut oil in place of the olive oil (no coconut taste). It also allows sautéing of veggies at higher temps without the worry of oil burning (olive oil can do that if heat is too high). I also used baby kale because that’s what I had in my fridge (2.5 oz). I used an immersion blender briefly still leaving plenty of lentils and veggies whole to get the thickness/creaminess without having to transfer to a blender (easier and less cleanup). Friends and family enjoyed it too.
The family loved it. What more do i need.
I didn’t have stock…so quickly used up 1 maggi cube.
This is, in fact, the best lentil soup. I make the recipe exactly (except for adding more garlic, which I think goes without saying) and it comes out amazing every time. People are constantly asking me for the recipe!
Made this for dinner. Yum!
Kate, I agree with you – best lentil soup I’ve ever had! I made this a few weeks ago, enjoyed a bowl, and put the other three servings in the freezer. I grabbed one on my way to work this morning and am currently sitting at my desk in awe of how good it is (how did I forget so quickly?)! It’s hearty, slightly acidic, and perfectly spiced. This is going in my regular rotation (meaning I might just have it every day for lunch). Seriously, thank you for such an awesome recipe.
That’s great to hear, Sarah! Thanks for sharing it worked well in the freezer. I don’t test all my recipes in the freezer so always good to know from my readers what works well! Enjoy the other leftovers.
All I can say is THANK YOU thank you THaNk YoU, for this gem of a recipe!!!!! This is my go to recipe for when I need a quick dinner, want to meal prep lunches, have surprise company (serve with a crusty loaf of bread and salad), and everything in between. It is PERFECTION. I have seriously made this no less than 20 times since I discovered the recipe last fall and it will stay in my recipe box forevvvaaa!
So happy to hear that, Mikaela! It is nice to have a go-to when life gets busy. Thanks so much for your comment and review!
I love this recipe! It is so good! I used crushed tomatoes so that I don’t have to put anything in the blender. Also added higher proportion of lentils for extra protein. It is so good! The perfect lunch!
Thank you, Jennifer for your review!
I was making this for the first time last night and realized I ONLY had crushed tomatoes in my pantry, so I was going to see if anyone had tried it with crushed instead of diced. Thank you for posting this review and letting me know it would still be great! This turned out AMAZING. Seriously phenomenal flavor and will be on regular rotation in my home. I’m contemplating the addition of arborio rice added in the future, as another lentil soup I used to make incorporated that and it was a really nice touch.
This is my new favorite lentil soup recipe! It is really fantastic. The first time I made it exactly like the recipe but the lentils didn’t get get all the way soft. So the second time I left out the canned tomatoes intending to add then toward the end, but I forgot. It honestly didn’t change the taste that I could tell. Both times I loved it!! Thanks, Kate! I plan to check or more of your recipes.
Great! Thank you for sharing and for your review, Kay. For the lentils, what type did you use? As directed? Sometimes lentils can take a little longer so you may need to adjust. Happy you still liked the soup, though!
I’m not sure what kind I used my first two times. Today I bought a new pack of organic brown lentils and they still didn’t get all the way soft even after a long time cooking. Should I try leaving the tomatoes til the end? At any rate, we love this soup! My friend agreed that the texture was fine (I pureed qui
te a bit of it) and the soup tasted great!
Yum!! Super delicious and hearty. When I made it the first time, I thought sweet potato would be a nice addition. So I diced one up small and added it in. Thanks!!
Sounds wonderful! Thanks, Sally for your review. If you would like to leave a star review, I would appreciate it.
Reallyyyyy good soup!! Very simple to make yet very hearty and flavourful! It’s the first time I come across your site. I guess I’ll be trying other recipes soon!! Thank you ;)
It is a good one to start out with, that is for sure! Happy you came across the blog, Nisrine. There are a lot of recipes to try :)
We had this soup over the weekend, and it really is the best lentil soup we had ever tasted. This one will be made over and over again throughout the winter months. A little crusty bread, and this was one hearty and sensational meal. Thank you so much for posting it. Even my meat loving husband loves the recipes I make from your site.
Thank you for trying it! I appreciate your feedback and review. Winning over husbands can be hard, but happy to help out. Love that you are having success!
I don’t normal comment… but this soup is so delicious I had to!! Thank you! Finally found the Perfect lentil soup recipe
I am happy you commented, Karen! Thank so much for your review.
Hi I’m making this now. It is a good recipe. I enjoy trying vegan soups. I added potatos.
How did it turn out? Thanks so much for the review, Britany!
Made this for a friend who’s battling cancer and kept some for myself. It’s amazing! (My friend agreed, so this isn’t just me tooting my own horn). I didn’t include the leafy greens because I didn’t have any, but I don’t think it suffered for it. I will definitely make this again.
I just had two bowls of this soup. It’s so delicious! It’s a symphony for the palate! I didn’t have curry powder, so I found a recipe online to mix my own, and I put in a pinch or so of some of the spices to taste. Hopefully I’ll be able to replicate it next time. Thank you! Every recipe I try from you always is perfect.
You are sweet, Liz! I am happy your homemade version of the curry powder worked well. Thanks so much for your review!
How important is it to puree the 2 cups of the soup? I just moved abroad and I don’t have a blender :(
It just makes it less stew like and more creamy. But it would still be great even if you couldn’t blend two cups :)
Awesome! Thank you for the quick response :)
Great recipe! We’re transitioning to a more plant-based diet and I’ve been looking for great protein-rich dishes to make. This is a winner!! I doubled the recipe and added diced sweet potato and zucchini (and a chunk of ginger to reduce gas) but pretty much kept to the recipe as written. We ate it for dinner and my 11-year old was very pleased. The best lentil soup I’ve ever made, and honestly among the best I’ve tasted.
Hooray! That is great to hear. Thank you, Jennifer for your comment and review. Happy plant-based eating :)
Oh my goodness – this soup is the nicest, loveliest, heartiest, tastiest soup I’ve ever made! I will never make another…! I made it with red lentils instead though as I didn’t have any brown or green. It works well too, top marks to the inventors of this recipe.
You are sweet, Kerry! Thank you for your comment. If you would want to leave a star review since you liked it so much, that would be great!
I give this soup I️t is the best I have ever had it’s delicious and very satisfying, my children loved I️t as well..from now on I will make this soup for my family…
That’s fantastic, Sylvia! Since you liked it so much, I would love a star review- if you wouldn’t mind :)
Deliciously warm and comforting on this cold day. I ran out of diced canned tomatoes and lemons and the roads are too icy to drive to the store today so I used fresh diced cherry tomatoes, a splash of balsamic vinegar in place of lemon and extra red pepper flakes. Served with homemade warm crusty bread – delicious!!!
Sounds wonderful, Melissa! I am happy you had a warm soup on such a cold day :) Thank you for your review!
My fall goal is to make a new soup every week. My first two weeks have been your recipes. This was my second (tortilla soup was the first, also delicious!). I’m really impressed with how this recipe turned out. I didn’t have thyme but substituted some rosemary and it still turned out delicious. I added some bell pepper and mushrooms because I needed to use them up. If you’re a mushroom fan, I would recommend this addition!
I love that goal, Kiirsti! Thanks for your comment and review.
Followed the recipe exactly and wow, I have to agree this is the best lentil soup I’ve ever had. Great job!
Thank you, Pete! I am glad you like it so much.
I LOVE this recipe and so does everyone I’ve served it to, thank you for posting it! Lately I’ve been garnishing it with fresh walnut butter! YUM.
Sounds like a great addition, Teresa! Thank you for your comment and star review.
Perfect. We make this once a week!
It is a good one for sure, Rachael! Thank you so much for your review.
My mom and I enjoyed the soup but I found it a bit tart. Any suggestions for ways to help offset the acidity? I’m wondering if it’s because I didn’t drain the canned tomatoes (I put all the juice into the soup).
Hmm… it could be the juice from the tomatoes or even the lemon juice at the end. Some tastebuds can pick up the acidity in the lemon more than others. Possibly add less lemon juice next time or omit it altogether.
Thanks Kate! I’ll try that.
I have made this soup three times and each time it turned out extremely good. I made it in the Instant Pot twice. I reduced the water to 1 cup, used HP for 15 minutes, added the kale after releasing pressure, and kept everything else the same.
Thank you, Chris for sharing! I appreciate your note for the Instant Pot. I don’t try most of my recipes like this so I love hearing what you did.
I have made your Vegetarian Lentil Soup many times and it has become a big favorite. Nice rich texture and flavors, I sometimes make a non-vegetarian version by adding about a half pound of browned sausage. Either way, it’s delicious!
Thank you for your review, Diane! Happy to hear this is a big favorite of yours. It is so good!
I’m always a fan of your recipes and this one does not disappoint! I Literally so good. I only had about 3/4 lentils- no problem. I skipped anything spicy (so my kids would eat it). And I didn’t have kale but still what a delicious soup. I think the magic is in the spice blend. Thank you for producing wholesome, easy and delicious recipes! Also sending well wishes to Cookie!
Thank you on all fronts, Shoshana! I’m happy you were able to enjoy it.
My brother made this recipe for our family and my wife and I loved it. We decided to try it ourselves and it was great. We enjoyed each bite and are looking forward to making it again soon.
That’s great. Thank you for your comment, Jessica!
I followed the recipe except I used on,y half the spice as my guest cannot handle spice. I Jean added a stalk of celery and when I added the lentils, I also added 1/4 cup of quinoa and once I blended it at the end, it was very much like a stew. It is lovely.
I think this soup could be great with only two or three cloves of garlic instead of four and I am eager to try that next time. With four cloves, the garlic steps on the other flavors.
The addition of curry creates a soothing, Indian flavor. Very welcome to the palate! Again the garlic gets in the way a bit.
Overall, very easy to make and a nice, hearty soup for the winter months.
Hi Karen – I am sorry you are disappointed by the amount of garlic. I think the recommended of course works well with the other flavors, but understand how you would want to cut it down. I think that is a great idea to bring to soup more to your liking! :) Let me know the next time you make it with less garlic and what you think it does to the flavors.
KATE! I welcome this chance to update the number of stars to FIVE! So the soup was super garlicky when I first made it, but after it sat overnight in the fridge, it was PERFECT! I brought it to work to share and my friends went nuts. My vegan friend, Robin, said she was inspired and is going to get a blender so that she can make the soup too. We love Cookie. :-) And, it means a lot to me that you responded. Consider us loyal fans!
Delicious!!! My husband n I loved it
That is great, Anna!
Thank you so much for this wholesome deliciousness of a recipe! I’ve made this lentil soup a few times and this time I quadrupled it. I want to make sure I have some for neighbors and xtra for us. This has such amazing flavor, light not heavy and I use what I have on hand which is basically the recipe ingredients. This is a keeper and is my go to lentil recipe. Thanks again!
You are very welcome, Dunia! You are so nice to share with your neighbors.
So AMAZING! I had a very small wedding in the mountains and served this at our reception. YES, I made this the night before the wedding. Thank you Kate!
Congratulations, Madison! I am honored to have a recipe feature on your big day. I hope it was just perfect :) Thank you for your review.
I made this recipe on Thanksgiving and got LOADS of compliments. Thank you!
Esther (Maryland)
Great to hear, Esther! Thank you for making it and for your review. I appreciate it.
This soup is hands down my favorite! I’m so thankful for your recipe. I have made it many times and a go to favorite. I add shredded rotisserie chicken for my meat loving husband, and always use lacinato kale….so yummy.
I love to hear that, Karen! It is a favorite of mine as well. Thank you for your review!
This looks delicious. My husband doesn’t like the taste of cumin. Will it be okay without or do you suggest any substitutions (perhaps chili powder or extra curry)? Thank you!
You can add extra curry or try chili powder, for sure! Let me know what you think.
Hi! Wondering if I can use any other lentils that I have on hand..? Thanks
Hi Saads – I recommend green or brown based on how firm they are. These are usually easy to find in the store. Others can soften too much in the soup and can fall apart. If you have others, you may need to adjust the cooking time, but make sure you cook the vegetables long enough to make-up for the less time for the lentils. I hope this helps!
Loved this recipe. I really like curry so this was awesome. I used red lentils instead and bok choy because that what I had on hand. Definitely saved this recipe and will be making again! Thanks for posting.
I am happy to hear you were able to use somethings on hand! Thank you for trying it and for your star review. I really appreciate it!
Why does it look like there are chickpeas in it from the picture?
Hi Samantha – Those are the lentils used for the soup. Since I used green lentils, they are lighter in color. Hope this helps!
I know this is an old post, but just had to tell you how much I love this recipe! I’ve made it numerous times for my vegan daughter and friends and for non-vegan guests too, and it’s a favorite! I double the cumin and curry though, because I love the flavors. Thanks for a great recipe!
No worries! I love hearing from you. Thank you for your comment and review, Lori.
Fantastic lentil soup recipe! Real comfort food. Thank you so much for sharing. :)
You are very welcome, Diane! Thanks for your review.
I love this soup so much! I found this recipe maybe around the end of 2016, and a year later I’m still making it! In fact, ever since then, I always make sure to have it stocked in my freezer. Anytime I run out, I immediately make more. I’ve even made it for a few friends and family and they love it as well. Since I’ve made a few batches, each one ends up with slightly different ingredients. I’ve added corn, mushrooms, zucchini, spinach and more veggies before (even used multiple different kinds of lentils) and it always turns out amazing! Thank you!
I love that! What a great thing to always have on hand, Zoe. Thanks so much for your comment and review!
This soup is amazing and sooo easy! Thanks
Thank you!
This is THE BEST lentil soup recipe! I followed your instructions exactly as stated and it’s pure perfection….thank you for the goodness. I wouldn’t want to change a thing about it. I use a white onion and kale for the options.
Thank you, Marion! I am glad you like it so much. I appreciate the review!
It’s Marlon not Marion, but that’s ok! Happens all the time.
Thank you for this! It’s absolutely gorgeous!!
Thank you, Caroline! I appreciate the comment.
I know this recipe has been around for awhile, but this is my favorite never-fail soup! It’s comforting, enticing, and hearty without being heavy and over-indulgent. I love making this soup for friends or freezing a big batch for myself to eat throughout the month. I make this recipe using Tagine seasoning instead of curry powder and it still tastes wonderful! Thanks for making this omnivore crave lentils!
It’s a favorite for sure! I am glad you think so as well, Lauren. I appreciate the comment and review.
made this soup couple times now and its amazing!!! i love it, my husband loves it and all our friends too.
thank you for sharing this recipe its awesome :)
Happy to hear it’s a hit with your circle! Thank you, for your feedback Tanya.
This looks great. Can I try tomato sauce or paste instead of diced tomatoes?
You will want the diced tomatoes for the consistency and flavor. Hope this helps!
Best lentil soup I’ve had. So flavourful.
Love that! Thank you, Shannon.
So delicious and hearty. I had a bowl 2nd then went back for another. Vegan since July and looking for new recipes. Trying not to eat so many of the packaged protein meats. *****
This is a great one for sure!
Just made this and it turned out SO well! Used collard greens… I’m in heaven!
That’s great!
Made this tonight because it is cold and rainy out! It warmed me right up. Soo good. I love that it can be a great dinner or lunch. I have already put it in portioned containers for the week.
It’s great leftover for sure!
This is honestly the best soup I’ve ever eaten. I’ve made it twice in 2 weeks. My 10 month old son and 3 year old daughter LOVE it. My daughter told me she wanted soup for breakfast this morning when she woke up! So delicious with warm buttered sourdough bread. Thank you for this recipe! It freezes beautifully too so we’ll pretty much always have it on hand!
It’s a favorite that is for sure. Thanks so much, Amy for your review!