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.
A bit too much cumin for my tastes. I think next time I make it I’ll cut that in half and add some tomato paste to up that flavor.
I’m sorry to hear that! Thanks for sharing, Kyley.
This is a favorite in our house! With fall temperatures in the air, we made the first batch of the season! Absolutely love this recipe, thank you for sharing your recipes!
You’re welcome, Jan! Soup season is upon us. :)
i can’t remember if i already reviewed this. Anyway, i love this soup! it’s one of my favorites to go back to and make over and over again. i love having it for dinner, and then saving leftovers or freezing for lunch for weeks to come!!
I’m glad you reviewed again, Angela! Thanks for sharing!
Ok, I want to say first that this soup was so delicious! I served my 7-year-old a small portion, (thinking he may not like it) and he complained about me serving him so little because it was so good! That said, I wanted to ask if there was anything that I could use in place of the curry because I LOVED the soup but it gave me some bad heartburn.
P.S. I have a weak stomach so I know it’s not the soups fault. :D
Thanks in advance!
Edi
Thanks, Edi!
Fantastic- spicy, tasty, filling.
First Lentil soup I ever made, as my ditisen has me on A no milk, wheat diet- and only 2x weekly meat.
Thanks John
Thank you for your review, John!
So SO SO tasty!!!! Seriously, the best lentil soup. Can’t believe it’s vegan. Cheers!
Cheers, Lana!
We eat bean, split pea, or lentil soup for breakfast every day. We started doing this ten years ago to support a weight loss diet, and now when we take an occasional “day off” or two, we’re happy to get back on the plan. So, I make a gallon of soup at a time and we have the same soup for 3 days. I am always looking for variations and ideas for meatless legume soups, and this one is a winner.
In this recipe, the lentils, which can be hard to season adequately, have a rich flavor, the base soup is creamy and pleasant, and spices are great. Since we like savory foods, I doubled the curry and spices generally- that’s a question of taste. I also used low-sodium soup base (both beef and chicken) in place of vegetable, as we do eat meat. I didn’t have heavy greens on hand, so used fresh spinach and that worked well. I look forward to trying it with kale in particular.
We’re almost through the batch I made this week and I have just printed out the recipe. It’ll go into the breakfast soup rotation. Thank you for a terrific soup!
I’m glad you enjoyed this lentil variation, Carolyn! Yes, having extra soup is always nice and it’s usually better after it has sat for awhile.
This recipe is amazing! I didn’t have curry powder, so I substituted probably .5-1 teaspoon of chili powder and man o man it is so goooooood! I also had some leftover cooked chicken breast in the fridge, so I chopped it up and threw it in there too. Delicious! I will definitely be keeping this receipe in my repertoire ❤️
Wonderful, Sierra!
LOVE this excellent recipe. Made it again today. It’s the only lentil soup I ever want to make now. Best fall/winter soup ever.
Wonderful to hear, Kerstin!
I’m new to your site. We eat vegan/vegetarian about half the week, so I’m always looking for fresh inspiration & this really hit the spot. Question for you – I’ve had issues in the past with lentils remaining crunchy, even after hours & hours of cooking. A chef friend pointed out that cooking lentils with salt keeps them crunchy. I’ve always cooked them in broth, for the flavor, but wonder now if the salt in the broth is the problem. This recipe worked out well with broth & brown lentils, but red & yellow lentils always seem to be troublesome. Any advice?
Thanks!
Hi Fiona! Great question and I think it also depends on the type of lentil you use (some are more dense than others) and how long you cook them for. Red and yellow lentils do tend to get mushy that’s why I prefer brown or green. Hope this helps some!
Great recipe! I used 2 cloves of garlic and didn’t blend it, and it was hearty and delicious.
Thanks for sharing!
You’re welcome, Natalie!
I made this soup recipe and it was a huge hit with vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike!! It was just delicious. My mother said it was the best soup I’ve made and I can’t believe how fast and easy it is.
Thank you for all of your wonderful recipes!
You’re welcome! It’s the best, I would agree. Thanks, Karen!
I’m a big fan of this recipe! As a matter of fact I’m enjoying a bowl of it right now! It’s loaded with antioxidants but I triple the cumin and curry powder to boost it even more. So good! Sometimes I add sauteed shiitake mushroom slices which makes it even better.
Thank you Kate!
First hand experience, I love that! You’re very welcome.
I am no cook but this recipe could make someone believe I was. I would pay top dollar for this at a restaurant and be happy to do it over and over again. The only problem with the recipe is that it needs doubled. I’m 212lbs and ate half of it in one sitting.
Thank you for sharing, Doug!
I made your Spiced Vegan Lentil Soup today. Decided to cook it in my crockpot while I was gone during the day. (I did saute the carrots, onion and spices before adding to crockpot).
I absolutely love this soup and I have a feeling it will be a favorite this winter at our house! Thank you for the most delicious lentil soup ever!
You’re so welcome, Pam!
This was easy, very flavorful and appreciated by my family. I will make a triple recipe for freezing.
Thank you, Tink!
Made this tonight. I might have slightly over-liquidized it but it was still delicious – very strong flavor. Mine came out like a thick, hearty winter soup (which is just right for tonight). Have doubled and will freeze half :-) Thanks again for another winning recipe!
Thank you for sharing, Miriam!
Loved this! In a house with 3 growing college boys who are NOT vegetarian, there were rave reviews. This is going onto our list of go-to meals! Thank you for such a delicious, hearty, and healthy soup!
Win! I bet you are busy! Thank you, Jamie.
Made this for dinner tonight and I agree, it’s one of the best lentil soup recipes I’ve ever had. LOVE the little bit of curry flavor. My kids and hubby ate this right up too! Delicious!
Wonderful, Jenn!
I love it ! Made it many times and it has become a family favorite …
Wonderful to hear, Barb! Thank you for your review.
I made this last week and my husband said its the best lentil soup he has ever had! I’m making it again today but added a cup of sliced cabbage and a can of black beans. We’ll see….
Hooray! Let m e know what you think if you change it up, Elaine!
Can’t wait to make this lentil soup today….I would like to double the recipe though as my 2 grown sons are living at home right now and eat ALOT! I’m always afraid to just double everything in a recipe though…Do you have any suggestions?
This recipe will work just fine if doubled. :)
After tasting some foods, I say, “I could eat this every day for the rest of my life!” The foods are few, but this is one.
The flavor of this soup is phenomenal! There is just enough spice to raise it to the “warm” category; those who don’t enjoy “hot” foods will be fine with it, however. The only modification I made was to dice up some celery into it because, well, I like celery in my lentils.
Thank you for the great recipe!
Sincerely, Huntington Beach CA
Wonderful, Ian! Thanks so much for your review. :)
Can I add potatoes to this?
If you like potatoes sure! I would recommend sweet potatoes!
This recipe turned out fabulous. Made it for a Church fellowship lunch, thinking I would have some leftover to bring home to eat later. Every bit was gone. Huge success! Very delicious recipe. Will make again.
That’s good (and bad if you wanted leftovers. :) ) Thanks for sharing, Karen!
I have made this lentil soup so many times, and it’s become my favorite go-to soup. I just made a batch today and felt so comforted after a hard week. I use red or green lentils, add red bell pepper and celery when I have it, sometimes skip blending, and once in a while toss some diced sweet potato in there. It works every time, no matter what! Thank you for sharing it!
You’re so welcome, Emily! Thank you!
This was the best soup. I’ve already shared it with other people. Definitely going to make it again! Thanks!
Hooray! Thank you, Jessica.
I made this soup today and it is incredible! Easy and quick to make; and so delicious! I’ve put some in my pint jars in the freezer and will share some with co-workers. I used an immersion blender and it worked fine for pureeing the soup. I give this 5 stars and will make it often!
Great! Yes, this does freeze well.
As I type this, there’s a big pot of this delicious soup simmering on my stove, and I figured it’s due time for a review, considering I’ve made this recipe 6 or 7 times now. It’s safe to say it’s one of my favorite soups ever (Katie’s African peanut soup is another fav) and my absolute go-to recipe when I am sick. I made this for the first time when I was under weather, and I felt exponentially better the next day. What a magical soup! I’ve started to add grated ginger or straight up ginger juice right at the end for an added immune kick. Thanks for another stellar recipe!
That’s a lot! I’m glad it made you feel better. Maybe I need to name it magical soup. :)
Why does it look like there are potatoes in the picture of the soup but not in the recipe?
They are actually carrots. :)
Can I do this with red lentils?
Red lentils tend to get soft/mushy quickly. I would recommend green or brown. Hope this helps!
I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this recipe! This is BY FAR the best lentil soup I’ve ever had as well! Definitely a new staple in our home!
Thank you, Christine!
I love this recipe! Definitely a go-to that I make fairly often
That’s fantastic, Sofia!
This soup is incredible! I’m a college student and don’t have a blender/immersion blender at school, so I just skipped the blending step. It still turned out to be delicious – I now have healthy and hearty dinner prepared for the week! Thanks so much for this awesome recipe!
Happy to hear you like it, Kelsey!
The lentil soup was incredible. Best lentil soup recipe I have made. Loved by my whole family including 4 teenagers!! This post is long overdue. This is my first comment after spending all summer making one of your recipes almost every day!! Everything I have made is 5 stars!! I get so many compliments and tell everyone its all Kate. I just execute. Thank you.
Parent win! Thank you for the compliment.:) So glad you like this and many others!
I made Best Lentil Soup. So delicious. I used my canned tomatoes and Swiss Chard from the garden. Couldn’t believe how good it is. Will freeze some and give to grandkids to take to college. Thank You so much.
This is my go-to soup now!! I’ve made it more times than I can count. So delicious!
It’s a great go-to, I agree! Thank you, Camille!
I always come back to this as a starting point when I am making curry lentil soup. I love this recipe! I did add a few ingredients including 3 stalks of celery with leaves, some tomato puree, turmeric, and veggie bouillon. So good! Thank you!
You’re welcome! Thanks so much for the review, Myranda.
I have never commented on any sort of blog post before but I just wanted to say that I have made this soup probably10 times since I first found the recipe and I never get tired of it. It’s seriously the most perfect lentil soup! Thank you so much for sharing the recipe :)
I’m so glad you commented, Grace! You’re welcome. It’s a great repeat recipe!
I love this soup! It’s hearty yet the lemon juice makes it taste fresh. The lentils and greens make it feel healthy. The spices you use are perfect and the amount of heat is just right for me. Thank you!
You’re welcome! The lemon is key. :)
Ive made this recipe countless times, it holds a special place in my lentil-loving heart as this was the first lentil soup I ever made!
I add a little tumeric and a lot of celery to the mix for extra goodness. I also use all my veggie scraps for the past month that I freeze as I go, and make a large batch of veggie scrap stock which I use in this soup. I always feel like I might wake a mega-human with all these nutrients I’m consuming in one sitting! Thanks Kate!
You’re welcome! I think we can all feel like a mega human when we eat this. :) I like that!
OMG Thank you for this recipe! I make lentils all the time and came across this recipe a couple years ago. These lentils are AMAZING! I follow the recipe exactly as it’s written. My family request it all the time and I’ve shared this link with numerous friends. Thanks again Kate! Yummmm
You’re welcome!
It’s unbelievable how good this soup is! I make it every 2 or 3 weeks. I’ve forgotten to blend it a few times and it’s just as good. I sometimes add some fresh ginger root and sometimes used canned whole tomoates.
Thank you so much for posting this, I’m very grateful as it’s become a real staple for me!
You’re welcome, Curtis! I like the fresh ginger. I will need to try that!
Great recipe recommended by a friend! I made it twice in two weeks and shared with my sisters overseas as it’s an easy one and my kids enjoyed it too. We have it for dinner with a salad and then I send leftovers to school for lunch the next day. The lemon really adds something, don’t be tempted to skip!
The lemon sends it over the top! Thanks for your review, Jo.
One of my favorite meals ever. I make this soup all the time and cannot get enough of it. I’ve tweaked my recipe a bit.. one being adding okra!! Love love love! Recommend everyone try!
Oh, that’s interesting! Thank you for sharing, Lauren.
Seriously delicious!
Thank you! Happy you loved it, Jess.
So hearty and great for a rainy fall day. I have made this many times and it always comes out wonderful. Thank you!
I couldn’t agree with you more, Katie!
Absolutely the best lentil soup I have ever tasted! Made it exactly as written and even my four year-old loved it! It will be on permanent rotation throughout the winter! Thank you!
Hooray! Great to hear!
Wow, the picture looked yummy but I was not expecting it to taste so amazing – I cannot get enough of it! The recipe makes enough for leftovers (thank god!) – it even tastes good cold. Honestly the best dish I’ve ever made with lentils!
I’m glad it surpassed your expectations, Lexie!
The use of fresh lemon in the soup adds such a delicious bright acidity. Off the charts! Delicious!
The lemon is a lovely finish, I agree! Thank you, Abbey.