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 has been my go-to lentil soup recipe for a couple of years. I’ve never been a big fan of lentil soup, but this one is the best! Even my kids eat it. Thank you!
Welcome! Glad it is enjoyed by all.
I LOVE this soup. Have been making it at least 2x a month since I found it. The curry + lemon is so bright and yummy. Question – I got an Instant Pot and have been messing around with it and would love to try this soup! Anyone tried it yet? Approx cooking time? Thanks!
I haven’t tried it yet Allie, but I know others have in the Instapot and have had success! I’m not sure how much time. Sorry I can’t be more help.
Delicious. I sauteed the spices for a minute before the onions, just to open them up. I also added a teaspoon of a vegan ham broth base. Everyone loved it and even asked me for this recipe. Very, very yummy!
That’s great, Angela! Thank you for your review.
This recipe has helped me get through my college years on a budget… I always make it as a pick-me-up after a rough day when I feel like I need some comfort and nutrition. I will make this for years to come. Thank you!
That’s great to hear! Yes, it is such and affordable and tasty soup. Thank you, Laura for your review.
OMG this was soooo good! Made it for 8 of us this cold weekend with yummy sandwiches. I doubled the batch and added orecchiette pasta — idea taken from your lentil minestrone recipe in your cookbook. Your recipes never disappoint!
Thank you!
I made this for my family tonight and they loved it! I have 2 kids 6 & 4 years (well 3 but the youngest is 3 months and not eating soup yet lol) and both said it was delicious! My carnivore husband said “if you keep making meals like this, I might even go vegan”. Thank you!
That’s a win, Cyndi! Thanks for sharing. A great soup to get people into a different type of eating for sure. Thanks for the review!
I made this soup last week but used split peas instead of lentils because I forgot to buy them. It was still very delicious. I’m making it again tonight, this time with lentils but because I love spicy soups, I added chipotle in addition to everything else. It’s not even ready yet, and the broth tastes amazing! Love your recipe!
Thanks for sharing, Audrey!
Absolutely delicious!Perfect on a cold winter day.
Thank you!
This soup is absolutely fantastic! I’ve been making it once a week since November thinking I’ll end up with a nice freezer stash. Every time the whole pot gets eaten within a day or two. I love how much flavor is in this soup and how fast it comes together. Today’s batch was made with Muir Glen fire-roasted tomatoes instead of their regular variety. I will make it that way from now on – awesome additional flavor note in the background!
That’s dedication and I love it! Thank you, Helen for sharing and for your review.
So much flavor! Loved it, and my family did too!
Lots of flavor for sure. Thanks, Jennifer!
I love the Vegan Lentil Soup! Such a nice twist on an old favorite. I have been so bored by my standard lentil soup. The lemon and curry in this soup are critical to making it so delicious.
I agree! The lemon really brightens it up. Thank you, Hilary for commenting and providing a review.
found this recipe last year and i keep going back to this soup. what a great recipe, it’s my to go hearty soup! I am now making a huge batch of this and freezing it so i have it ready when my baby comes!
That’s a great idea! Congratulations on the baby, by the way. How exciting! Thanks, Rebecca for the review.
Simply delicious
Thank you!
My husband told me to throw out my other Lentil Soup recipes because this was the ABSOLUTE BEST one ever. I agree. Thanks so much!!
I love that! Thank you, Juanita for sharing.
I must agree with other comments: this is the BEST LENTIL SOUP I’ve ever made! And it’s amazingly simple with basic pantry ingredients. Thank you for an outstanding recipe I will definitely use again. I did half the amount of salt to 1/2 tsp which is my practice…one can always add more….and it was still tasty. Interestingly, I preferred the soup without the lemon juice. I also added more kale partly for more nutrition but also because I had plenty of kale leftover from the small bunch I purchased.
I do have a question: I’ve noticed that you drain the canned tomatoes in many of your soup recipes. Why is that? (I usually add the entire can with juice when cooking.)
Thank you, Maret! As for the canned tomatoes, it really just depends on the recipe and the texture/consistency I’m after for that particular recipe.
I made this recipe last night and I loved it! I made a few changes. I added some celery and purple potatoes. I added the celery with the onions after chopping them finely in a food processor. I added the potatoes in with the lentils. The flavors were delicious! I know I’ll be making this recipe again. :)
Sounds delicious! Thank you, Lisa for sharing.
Amazing taste!
Thank you!
Your Spicy Lentil Soup was THE BEST!!! I didn’t have the kale or collards greens, but did have spinach, and that worked just fine. The only other thing I didn’t put in it was the lemon…only because I forgot it…will be remembering that next time. I plan on making this a staple in the house. Husband had it and said he really like the spinach in it and then went back for 2nds…so you know it must have been good! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Yes, it must have been. I highly recommend the lemon, but it’s still great without it. Thank you, Sue for the review!
Great soup! Can you freeze it? Maybe without the kale?
Me
Yes! I have heard from many readers this soup freezes really well. You can even freeze it with the kale.
One of my favorite recipes. I’ve made it several times, and most recently I added chopped celery in with the carrots. Delicious each time!
That’s great!
I made this and loved it! The second time I made it I added a potatoe thank you for a great recipe!!
Wonderful, Lisa!
Nice addition! Thanks for sharing, Lisa.
Let me start by saying, I’m a horrible cook. I very rarely use spices and I’ve never even purchased lentils before… so this recipe scared me a little. I wanted to cook dinner for a vegan friend so I decided to give it a try. It was DELICIOUS and the directions were so clear. Honestly if I can make this, anyone can.
I’ll definitely be making this again. Thank you for sharing the recipe!
Well, good for you for trying it! I’m glad you think it is simple and delicious. I appreciate the review.
Made this tonight (with 1/2 the cumin). SO GOOD! Ate too much and am now uncomfortably full. Damn you.
Funny! That’s great. Thank you, Angela. I appreciate the review.
Followed recipe as is. It was so delicious!! Thank you!
You’re welcome!
Great lentil soup recipe! I’ve been eating it for lunch all week and still love it. The cumin and curry add some nice depth to the flavour. The addition of kale makes it even more nutritious, healthy and tasty.Thanks
Thank you! It’s great as leftovers. Thanks for sharing, Linda.
love love love this recipe. It’s in the regular rotation for supper. Thank you!
You’re welcome! Thanks, Eden for the review.
I have made lentil soup in the past and by far this was the best. The men in my life killed it. Plan to make more today.
Killed it?! That’s great to hear, Andrene! Thank you for your review.
Absolutely fabulous!! Next time I will double the recipe!
Doubling it sounds like a great idea, Dena! Thank you, for your review.
Great soup, didn’t change anything. I make this at least once a month
Thank you!
If you are going to advertise kitchen utensils then bring on the immersion blender – so much easier than transferring to a counter top blender!
I prefer using a blender, but an immersion blender works well for blending soups too!
I just found this recipe on pinterest. It looks delicious. Do you use dried lentils or canned?
Welcome! This calls for dried lentils. I like to use dried vs canned.
Oh my goodness! This was SO good! It’s the perfect soup for a cold winter day. I finished dinner, copied the link, and shared it with friends.
It is perfect for a cold day! Thank you for sharing the love, Courtney. I really appreciate the support and review!
I was ill! I wanted lentil soup! Usually when all is said & done, I’m disappointed with the results. Not this time! Even my picky vegetarian said the recipe’s a keeper.
I’m sorry to hear you were sick! This season is the worst. But, I’m glad this soup helped you feel a little better. Thanks for sharing, Stef!
Excellent! Can’t wait to make this for my family. Thank you so much for sharing such a great recipe.
Let me know what you think!
A great soup…full of flavour. My husband found this recipe. He doesn’t drain the tomatoes and he leaves the water out. Tonight I followed the recipe, but I blended more than the 2 cups. Either way, it’s very yummy:)
Thanks for sharing!
Beautiful tasting soup. The lemon really is a great touch. Thank you!
The lemon is such a nice finish! Thank you, Anne. :)
Fantastic recipe. Soup is nutritious, rich, full of flavour, easy and budget friendly. Cannoy see any cons, honestly(
I’m happy you don’t see any cons. :) Appreciate the review!
Having this tonight. It is on rotation! A perfect soup for a chilly Labrador evening. It is -34 farenheit with the windchill and the snow is as high as an elephants eye!
My first recipe from your blog. I’ve started my vegetarian journey for a few months now and its been an ongoing struggle to find easy, nutricious, uncomplicated AND delicious recipes I can cook. This is definetly a staple now for me and makes me love being vegetarian a little bit more! I’ll be buying your book and sharing it with my friends! Keep up the good work!
This is a terrific soup that’s loaded with antioxidants. I make it even more so by tripling the cumin and curry powder and to make it even more tasty and medicinal I add a bunch of sauteed garlic and shiitake mushrooms at the end, which also adds a chewy texture.
Thank you for the recipe. Can t wait to taste it!!! Only one question, 1 large can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes means what in grams or oz? I do not have a large cup to measure, thank you very much.
Oh my gosh. I had serious doubts about this recipe, it had such high ratings, so I decided to make this on a cold and super rainy day since I had all the ingredients. And oh my gosh I’m glad I did! This soup is super delicious, packs a nutrient punch, and is pretty cheap to make. I used a lot of leftover kale (~3 cups) and served with crusty bread. Will definitely keep this in my recipe arsenal!
I just made this soup is it was AMAZING!
Thank you so much.
Made half the recipe, as I’m only cooking for myself, but followed the recipe to a T. It was excellent, especially with a dollop of labneh — like a Mediterranean dal.
I would also love to know the nutritional info, if possible.
I love this recipe! I’ve made it twice now and it’s hearty, has great flavor, and just a little bit of heat from the red pepper flakes. I love to serve over a little toasted crusty sourdough. So delicious – and perfect for this cold weather!
That was sooo good! Quite a long prep (since I also home-made the vegetable broth, I didn’t choose the fastest way…) but totally worth it! I didn’t drain the tomato pulp but added less water to compensate. Next time I’ll add more kale.
This recipe is the best!!! I’ve made this countless times over the past few months and its better every time.
I love this soup! My two year old ate a whole bowl of it. Thanks!
hi, how many servings with this recipe for lentil soup?