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 have made this so many times and it always comes out delicious. I like soup more smooth than chunky, so I tend to blend at least 3 cups in the vitamix. Also, I don’t include the curry powder and I prefer it without the chopped greens having made it both with chopped kale and without the kale or any other greens.
Thanks for sharing, Jessica!
So yummy! I added some leeks and lots of cayenne to spice it up and it was delish! And it was my first time cooking with lentils! Awesome vegan recipe!!! Definitely a new fave!!
I’m glad you loved the lentils! Thanks for sharing, Dea.
I’ve just found out I’m allergic to tomatoes. Is there anything I can use in place of the diced tomatoes?
Hi! I’m sorry to hear that. Tomatoes really do give this a nice taste and texture. You could try without and increase the carrots and/or lentils, but that will change it of course.
This is a staple in our kitchen! It is my go-to when I don’t have time to stop at the store, because I almost always have all of the ingredients on hand! Tonight I’m adding in some sweet potatoes that I need to use up. Plus my husband is not feeling well, and lentil soup always soothes and nourishes.
Love that! Thanks for sharing, Karen.
Kate, I am not a vegetarian but my husband and I started Meatless Monday’s during the summer. He loves meat but is just eating too much red meat. He agreed to the Meatless Monday idea. I searched Amazon and bought your cookbook. Between your blog and the cookbook most of our Monday meals have been yours. Everything I’ve made has been delicious and my husband hasn’t complained at all.
Even though it’s Thursday (we had your eggplant lasagna on Monday AGAIN-yummo) I really wanted some lentil soup. We usually have it with sausage but I followed your directions and this soup is amazing. We love Indian food anyway so I just added a little more curry than you suggested and even the husband had two bowls.
Thanks Kate for making such wonderful, easy to follow recipes. I will always eat meat but I’m beginning to be totally fine going Meatless 3-4 times a week.
I’m so happy you have been really enjoying my recipes, Ang. I love added spice, too! Thanks for sharing what you are enjoying.
I love this recipe. Add a some dried mint, tumeric, a little curry and hot paprika and you have a lovely merging of flavors. Dollop some low fat yogurt and fresh mint on top and it is heaven!
Thanks for sharing, Katie! I appreciate the review.
This looks delicious! Have been wanting to make lentil soup in my instant pot, but I’m pretty new to the instant pot and don’t know how to convert recipes yet to know how long / what setting to run the pressure cooker. Anyone have advice?
I haven’t tried it, but I know others have! Try searching the comments and see what others have done and worked well.
I crave this soup and make it regularly. So comforting and delicious on a cold winter night.
It’s great on cold nights! Thanks, Haydene for your review.
This is delicious! I used chicken broth instead of veggie. It was perfect. :)
Thanks for sharing, Stella!
This soup was very tasty. I will make again, but wow it does have a lot of sodium. I may cut down on the salt next time.
Thanks for your review, Gail!
I am a simple lentil lady who cooks brown lentils with mung beans , the ‘trinity, carrots and sometimes a starch, like parsnips, but i tried yours and am pleased. At first i must say, the curry gave me pause, but at lunch today, I am glad I have the full recipe in the fridge to consume. My adult son said ” That’s wonderful! ” He is a ‘chef’ in his own right. Thank you, Madame . Good stuff
You’re welcome, Kim! I’m glad you all loved it.
My kids loved it. I simply decreased amount of hot spice, that’s it. It was terribly delicious!
I’m glad you all could enjoy it, Alida!
Absolutely delicious! Never any left when made. The only change I made was to use fresh spinach in place of greens and added yellow summer and zucchini squash to it. Taste much better the next day for sure. This is definitely a keeper, my husband and mother love it! Thank you so much!
Great to hear, Becca!
Just made this recipe for lunch. It’s delicious, just the right blend of spices.
Thanks, Dora!
This soup is amazing! So easy to make and super flavorful. It’s hard to find vegan soups that have this much delicious flavor without being time consuming. Will make again (and again!).
I’m glad you loved it, Katie!
Absolutely love Cookie and Kate recipes! I’ve been mostly vegan for 35 years, and continue to adhere to a conscious lifestyle. Her recipes are so flavorful, and I appreciate her creative use of spices! Thank you so much!!! Some of my favorite recipes are,…healthy granola (I add diced candied ginger that I coat in grated coconut, so it doesn’t stick together ;-), and goji berries bring nutrients and color :-). I give it to my family and friends at Christmas. Yes,…it’s a hit! I also love the vegan lentil soup, that I serve for NYE bringing good luck in the New Year! When I have some veggies in the fridge that need to be used, I can always count on Cookie and Kate to come through for me!
Thanks so much, Stacey! You’re so sweet. I’m glad the blog is a go-to for you. :)
The sodium is way to high for me in recipe so used low sodium stock, no salt added tomatoes and left out adding salt. Tastes wonderful. For those that have to watch sodium was easy fixes. I also cut back some on the oil. Olive oil is great for me but was just a little too much.
I’m sorry it didn’t meet your needs! Thanks for trying it!
Try making your own stock so you can control the salt. I make homemade chicken and veggie stocks and leave them unsalted. Then, freeze and add salt when I use the stock in recipes . This is especially helpful for recipes like homemade ramen noodle soup that already call for soy sauce.
This recipe is outstanding. I was impressed that I made a soup with the depth of flavor this gem provides. The dash of lemon juice is something I would not have considered, but now carry into other recipes. Your granola recipe is ‘money’ as well.
I’m glad you love this and the granola! Thank you for your review, Cory.
I made this soup 3x now. It’s simple to make. It’s delicious.
I’m so happy you love it, Kimberly!
I’ve made many lentils soups over the years but this one is really good. I love the combination of spices.
I did make substitutions because I had them on hand: red lentils and mixed green/yellow beans, chopped finely. Didn’t have kale, and am not too crazy about it anyway. I also cooked out the canned tomatoes for about 25 minutes to eliminate the raw flavour.
Will make it again. Recommended!
Thanks for sharing, Mary!
I first became interested in this site when I tried the veggie enchiladas (cauliflower with red pepper and black beans) with the homemade enchilada sauce which I found on Pinterest. I made it for my meat-loving boyfriend… and both he and I were sold on any and all recipes from here. I love lentil soup but have never made it myself until now… my boyfriend asked what lentils were so clearly this is his first try of them. And we’re both extremely pleased! I did not alter the recipe- I chose chard for the greens, and used green lentils. It’s spicy in all the right ways and is a make-again meal for sure!! I was worried it would be too thin but I blended about 1/2 of it and it thickened right up- highly recommend everyone follow that step (though it is definitely annoying). The flavor is unreal in this soup, and I can’t wait to share it with my family and friends, and for my coworkers to oooh and aaaah at it.
I love it! All great recipes, for sure.
Made this tonight for dinner; it was OUTSTANDING!!! The only change to the recipe: I omitted the water and didn’t strain the tomatoes.
Thank you, John!
This is another sensational soup recipe I’ve found on your site
The first time I made this Lentil Soup, I followed the recipe as is (except used all vegetable broth and no water). The second time, I needed to use some things in my fridge that were about to be past their prime, so I used them in the soup.
I added 1/2 of a red and 1/2 of a yellow bell pepper, chopped, and a minced Serano chili. I sauteed these things with the onion/carrot.
Thank you for the wonderful recipes! I cook for a vegetarian family and they love everything I’ve made from here.
I’m glad you are loving the soup recipes, Lauren! Thanks so much for your review.
I made this last night for New Year’s at an AirBnB in France. It was phenomenal! We had no measuring cups, so eyeballed amounts – the only major change was leeks and fennel instead of onions (delicious, would repeat) – and a lot more curry powder than the recipe called for! Best lentil stew I’ve ever had. Thank you!
You’re welcome! Happy New Year, Delphine!
I’ve made this soup far too many times – it’s soooo healthy but also very delicious! I personally double on the garlic, but I’m a garlic lover what can I say. Thanks for sharing!
You’re welcome, Roxy! Thanks for your review.
This soup is super easy to make and sooooo tasty! Thoroughly recommend it, makes for a great winter warmer. Also, definitely recommend some nice crusty thick cut bread.
Thanks for the recipe!
Thank you, Josh! Delicious bread sounds wonderful to go with it.
What is the purpose of blending 2 C of the soup?
Thank you
Great question, Tasha! It helps with the overall flavor to really sing and with the texture to me more creamy. Hope this helps!
Love this recipe! Have been excited to try it since I found it yesterday! I am pregnant and anemic so been looking for ways to fit more iron in my diet but I don’t eat red meat and this was the perfect recipe!!!!! I made it in my new Instant Pot! So good! I served it with a bit of Jasmine rice on top. Thanks for this recipe!:)<3
Congratulations on the baby! I’m glad you found this recipe and it helping you. I appreciate the comment and review!
How long would you cook this in an instantpot? I LOVE this recipe! Thank you!
I believe others have tried this and provided the instructions of what they did in the comments! Let me know what you think.
Excellent soup! I’ve already cooked it twice in less than two weeks :-)
That’s wonderful! Thanks, Michala.
Wow, this soup turned out AMAZING! Delicious and healthy ingredients :) Will definitely be making more especially for this cold weather! Thank you for the inspiration!
You’re welcome, Erika! Thanks for trying it.
Best lentil soup! Lemon juice was the “icing on the cake”!
I love that, Maggie! Thanks for sharing. :)
This recipe is incredible. I made it today and just added 1 potato… otherwise, I followed the recipe to a tee. My husband came home and said it was delicious and “restaurant quality.”
Hooray! Thanks so much, Allison. I’m so happy you loved it! I will take the restaurant quality comment too!!
What is a cup equivalent to in UK measurements please? I made the soup, & just guessed, the flavour was excellent & I loved the idea of liquidizing part to add texture.
Jennie from Seaford UK
I’m not sure, sorry! I would recommend a US to metric converter or table reference. I believe myrecipes.com has one that’s pretty good.
My friend Cait introduced me to this recipe and I’m making it for the second time right now. I love it so much. Thank you for sharing this Kate. It is simply divine!
I’m glad you love it! Thank you, Niki!
I just made your lentil soup. I added one chopped potato for a heartier version. It is delicious. I’ve already shared your recipe with several friends.
Thank you for sharing, Colter!
I made this soup last night and it was delicious! I didn’t have kale so I used spinach. I also threw in some mushrooms. I was hesitant to use the curry but I think that’s what gives it so much flavor. It’s very different than the lentil soup recipes I’ve used in the past. We all loved it. Will double the batch next time. Thank you!
Thank you for sharing, Angie! I appreciate the review.
I found this recipe and was so excited to try it and man am I even more excited now that I finally got to taste it! It’s absolutely delicious!! I will definitely be making this over and over again!
I love the excitement, Marie! Thanks so much for your comment and review.
This recipe is amazing. I’ve made this soup 4-5 times now and we love love love it! Thank you so much for sharing, Kate!
You’re welcome, Setareh!
This is a great recipe but next time I will cut down on the lemon juice.
Great thing to adjust to your liking. Thanks so much, Jancrs!
I would agree – this is THE best lentil soup! I’ve made it so many times and love it more each time :)
Love hearing that! Thank you, Jackie.
Looks divine! Can’t wait to try your Best Lentil Soup!
Thank you! Let me know what you think, Dayna.
This is, by far, my favorite lentil soup. My kids request me to make it on a regular basis (we just had it for dinner last night). The flavors are spot on and so delicious.
Thank you Kate for keeping my family happy with yummy vegetarian meals. Your recipes never disappoint!
I love that your kids love it! Thanks for sharing, Jennifer.
I can’t wait to try this lentil soup. It looks amazing.
I love all your recipes. Keep up the good work. You make my
dinner choices so easy.
Thank you, Susie!!
Yes, this lentil soup IS the best ever. The minute I first read the recipe I knew it was the one I was looking for! I can’t count how often I, family members, and friends have made it. It’s a staple. I’m very grateful for this! Thank you.
Wonderful to hear, Patricia! Thanks so much for sharing.
Hello, Kate. Funny you posted this recipe today, as I made it for the umpteenth time yesterday. Lentil soup is one of my favorites and when I tried your recipe a few years ago, it became my standard. Only changes I’ve made is increased thyme to 1 tsp and use fire roasted tomatoes. Except in the hottest days of summer, I have soup most every day. Your soup recipes are some of the best. Thank you. Oriana
I love it! Thanks for sharing, Oriana.
Looks amazing. Couldn’t get the nutritional info. esp. carbs. Please respond. Thanks
Thanks for your comment! If you clicked on the header and it didn’t show, make sure you allow pop-ups in your browser. This is a plug-in on my blog and needs to be allowed to generate. I hope this helps!
This is by far the best soup I’ve ever made.Simply delicious!
Thank you for sharing, Ana! I appreciate it. I’m glad you love it!
I just made a batch last weekend and we had it for dinner last night! So good, each and every time. Used Meyer lemons this time and it’s a delicious twist!
Thanks for sharing, Alexa!
I concur about “The Best Lentil Soup”! This is definitely my favorite soup-always the first one I make in the fall. I am too lazy to use the blender-I like it better a bit chunky anyway. Thank you for all your amazing salad recipes too!
Hooray! I’m glad you agree. :)