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 is the best lentil soup I’ve tried! Such great flavours and filling. I’ll have to add the lemon next time. Loved it.
I just made the BEST LENTIL Soup. And it REALLY IS THE BEST! I did add a little more Red curry and cumin. I had spinach used that and used 8 cups of veggie broth. The tomato base gives it depth and don’t skip blending 2 cups of soup and putting it back in the pot. Loved it! Thank you for the recipe.
I just made this and absolutely the best lentil soup, just the right spice. I used frozen spinach instead of Kale as I didn’t have any kale
This is indeed the best lentils soup ever! I love it! I’ve been making it for a few months now and every time a cook it, I fall more in love with it! Thank you for sharing the recipe!
I made this soup last week as I was trying to use up some vegetables and lentils. It was so tasty that I decided not to freeze the leftovers, even though I went away for the weekend. I had the soup for dinner tonight and it was even more delicious. Will definitely be making this recipe again.
FYI – I made it in my slow cooker and it took about an hour. Lentils were perfectly cooked and the colour amazing after so blitzed some of the soup.
This is the best lentil soup ever. I did change a few ingredients. I used 2 cups of beef broth instead of water. Instead of one large can of chopped tomatoes , i used a smaller can of chopped tomatoes and half can of tomato sauce. Instead of chopping the carrots, i used shredded carrots. Every spooned had shreds of carrots. It was so yummy…
How did you make it in the slow cooker?
My slow cooker has several settings/functions. I set it on a slightly higher one and after about an hour checked on it. It was perfect so I shut it off.
Thank you!
This was super yummy! Used fresh tomatoes and spinach from the garden and veg stock I canned last year. Also added a big spoonful of dried mushroom powder. Served over mashed potatoes. Definitely putting this in the dinner rotation :)
This was absolutely delicious. We had it with fresh turkish bread from our local artisan bakery ;) thanks for sharing.
Best lentil soup recipe I’ve ever made! I added chopped leeks to the onion and carrots sauté and then poured some red wine into the pot with the stock (I had Cabernet Sauvignon on hand) which brought it to another level! Very rich and the taste was out of this world. Also sprinkled some BelGioioso shredded Asiago/Fontina/Parmesan/Provolone in the bowl when serving. Beyond delicious!
My daughter and i made this recipe last night and i cant disagree with the name. It was delicious and very simple to make. I would post a picture but it is GONE!
Thank you, Kate, for this delicious soup. I’m in love with it. I’ve prepared it a couple of times (with fresh tomatoes) and even frozen it for later.
I’ve already shared the recip with several friends.
Wonderful, Janna! Thank you for your review.
This is definitely going to be a go-to recipe for this Fall/Winter. The lemon juice gives it a nice tangy flavor in addition to the curry powder.
This soup is amazing. I live in a very small apartment where it’s difficult to make things on a stove and so I purchased a crockpot. I made this in the crockpot. I skipped the two extra cups of water thinking that it would be too much liquid and I was right. The vegetables stay crunchy yet lightly cooked.. It’s mouth-watering with fresh kale added at the last minute. The lemon squeezed over-the-top really brightens up this recipe. You’re an amazing cook, thank you for this recipe, I’ll use it again!
I couldn’t control my snacking. It’s unbeatable.
Just made it this evening. Followed the recipe just as written. I’m not vegetarian but found it very satisfying. I suspect it’s going to be even better tomorrow. Thanks so much!
What a fantastic recipe! I used it as a base and guide for how to cook lentils- as I am new to plant based living and was slightly terrified of this itty bitty bean.
I modified it a bit based on what I had in the cabinet (added seasonal zucchini, fresh tomato, Garbanzo beans, and red kidney beans). Didn’t have veg broth, kale and some of the spices, but it was still super flavorful with salt/pepper/cumin.
Thank you for this- I can’t wait to make it again! Definitely 5 stars
I came across this recipe about 2 years ago (ish). It truly is my favorite soup recipe ever! I made it for my husband and he said “Whoa! This is delicious!” And he is not a big fan of kale or curry. I make it all the time! It is so full of flavor and so incredibly healthy! The only thing i do differently is I use fresh grape tomatoes instead of canned. This soup freezes beautifully! My husband often asks me if I have “some of that kale soup” in the freezer. Yeah – it’s that good folks!
That’s great to hear, Kim! Thank you for sharing.
Great soup recipe – thank you for sharing! I used a medium-size can of tomatoes (14.5 oz) and red lentils because that’s what I had. I added extra kale and topped it with homemade croutons (and of course lemon!). I loved it and I will be making it again soon!
This is a really good soup! I added extra carrots, 1 rib of celery, 2 zucchini and around 3 cups of leftover steamed broccoli right at the end as well as subbing frozen spinach for the kale. (I like our soups super veggie filled, and can rarely leave well enough alone.) I also used my immersion blender for a short while instead of the blender as I was making sweet potato soup in the blender for my picky 5yo, and that worked out fine. Thanks for the recipe! This will be made again!
I have a question, please – why is the sodium so high on this recipe?
Hi Marilou, please reference my nutritional disclaimer. You can adjust by not adding salt, using low or no sodium canned ingredients. I hope this helps!
I really liked this soup. It will be one of my favorites for this Fall/Winter seasons coming up. I know lentils are very good for us to eat and I want to try an incorporate them more in our diet. This soup will help me be able to do that. I give it 5 Stars
This was delish!My lentil soup with be made this way from now on.The only thing I added was some sazon (without annatto). Thank you. :)
What about making with black lentils? Lentil type seem so discrepant! That’s all I have though.
Hi Jess! It would likely require longer cooking time and possibly more liquid. I have a lentils post that may help guide you.
This is DEFINITELY going into my plant-based recipe rotation! I have found most lentil soup recipes to be flat, without much depth of flavor. This was surprisingly rich and tasty. Blending some into the base really helped. Thanks for a lentil soup recipe that makes me want to make it again.
I love the flavor of this soup and it was very filling. My only complaint is my lentils took forever to cook and even after 2 hours on the stove they were still crunchy. Dont get me wrong tho, the flavor is all there in this soup but I would maybe cook my lentils in a separate pot before hand and add later.
Hi,I am having the same issue with my lentils not cooking easily today. I didn’t think about it til just a bit ago, but I learned sometime ago that when cooking beans with tomatoes, the tomatoes slow down/stop the beans from cooking. Next time I make this recipe, I think I will add the broth, water, and lentils, let them cook for a bit, then add the tomatoes. But the end result, either way, is very tasty. Yvonne
I cooked my lentils separately because I’ve had that happen before. The older lentils seem to take longer. I now have extra cooked lentils in the freezer. The soup was amazing and kid approved.
Absolutely love this recipe, great taste. Didn’t have kale so used roasted butternut squash instead the combination worked. Will definitely make it again
Any advice for cooking in the instant pot?
I want to make this receipte and am wondering the same thing!
Hi Tyler, sorry I haven’t tried it in an isntant pot.
I looked at other recipes and modified the cooking times (and didn’t add the water) and it turned out pretty dang great. My carnivore boyfriend wouldn’t stop raving about how incredible it smelled.
I had the soup in the instant pot for 15 minutes with a 15 minute natural release. Everything came out the perfect texture and I couldn’t be happier with this recipe.
Hi! Sorry, I like this one stove top and haven’t made it in an instant pot so I don’t have clear direction for you.
I made the Lentil soup but I don’t have Instagram plus it was gone so fast I didn’t have time to take a picture. ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!! Thank you!!! This will be a regular in our house.
Love this recipe so much!! I typically add sausage to it and it goes great with all the flavors!
Wow, this was so good! It was my first time cooking lentils and it came out perfect. Didn’t have thyme so left it out, but didn’t miss it at all. I ate this to the last drop. Will definitely be making again.
Can’t wait to try this soup. A friend made me pots of lentil soup when I was in graduate school and had almost no money for food for myself and my son, so it has a special place in my heart. Lentils are soooo good for you, stick to your ribs and pack a lot of protein. Making this yummy creation tonight!
I have tried many lentel soup recipes but this by far is my favorite. I made it exactly as listed. Made some yellow rice and poured it over the rice. Fall weather outside and this hit the spot.
A great soup to start out the season! Thank you for sharing, Linda.
It came out very well
This is so good! I made this because my boyfriend loves lentil soup. I wasnt sure how it would go down though because he doesnt like curry powder or cumin. After the first bite though he told me to make sure I save the recipe to make it again. He is right, its delicious!
Hooray! Yes, the curry in this sends it over the top. I’m happy you both enjoyed it, Whit. Thanks for your review.
The Best Lentil Soup is my favorite go to recipe. I make it for all my friends when they visit.
I am asked for this recipe. It’s so easy to make. Delish!
Thank you!
Sandy
You’re welcome, Sandy!
amazing recipe! the spices make the soup very wholesome and warming. you can swap in any veg you like and the soup is super filling! i think the lemon juice at the end is absolutely key!
I made the soup today and it is indeed very tasty. My family loves the way the house smells and cannot wait for dinner.
Delicious!!! Added spinach and chopped zucchini at the end. No vegetable stock, used chicken. My boys don’t like tomatoes, so I added a small can to tomato sauce.
This soup is amazing! Thank you!
This was the best lentil soup I’ve ever made! It’ll definitely be on heavy rotation this fall and winter. Thank you.
You just did teach this old cat a new trick :)
I am 69 – cooked many pots of lentil soups in my life – none as delicious as this one. :)
Also, love many of your other recipes.
I discovered you first by finding your soba noodle salad recipe a few years back.
Funnily, my niece who lives in Toronto also goes to your blog for recipes as We discovered by accident to both of ours great delight :)
Seriously the best. I wouldn’t change a thing!
Love this! I have made lentils before, but like others have said, this will be my new go to! I didn’t have thyme, but the flavor was extraordinary even without it. It took a bit longer that noted but it was worth the wait! I purchased your book and can’t wait to explore! Thanks and cheers to you❤️
You’re welcome, Rosanne! Thanks for letting me know you loved this soup.
This really is the best lentil soup ever. My husband went back to the pot 3 times!!!
That’s amazing! I’m happy to hear that, Nicole. Thank you for sharing.
The best lentil soup was delicious. I substituted Swiss chard for the kale as I prefer it. Even better the next day
I’m happy you loved it, Siobhan! Thank you for your review.
My (lentil-suspicious) husband teases me, as this is my go to recipe whenever he is gone for a few days for work. It’s like a form of self care at this point! As suggested by some early reviewers, I doubled the curry/cumin/thyme, and I double the chopped kale, too. So much about this soup is so smart, and it feels like a warm hug. Thanks for sharing this!
I can’t believe I’m commenting on a recipe. I have never commented on anything before. This is so delicious. I added parsnips, used turnips greens and tripled the curry. This is the best soup I’ve ever had. Not just the best lentil soup but the best soup of any kind. I dont know what I was expecting but I am pleasantly surprised. Blending a portion of the soup really sends it over the top.
Just made this best lentil soup and I agree with the name. Absolutely wonderful. Thanks
I’m happy you think so, Sarah! Thanks for reporting back.
Thank you so much for not wasting my time with yet another lentil soup recipe that is so so. This is amazing. I used Chana Dahl instead of lentils, but the end product would be very similar I’m sure. I washed and then soaked my dahl overnight and then pre-simmered them for about an hour before turning off the pot and letting it sit. I have had trouble with getting my chana dahl to soften, but this did the trick. It was a beautiful, creamy soup. Thanks again.
Okay, I’m not a fan of cumin or curry…not a fan at all. The reviews compelled me to try something new, and I just finished my 2nd cup. OMG…it’s SO GOOD! I can’t believe it, but it IS the best lentil soup I’ve ever had!!! Added mushrooms and celery to the recipe, used kale for the greens but made no other alterations. Pureeing the 2 cups of soup changed the whole texture of the pot, so don’t skip it. I make a lot of soups…none more nutritious or delicious than this one!
Delicious! Everyone loved
It is my favorite lentile soup!!
Tmade the best lentil soup today. Thanks a lot. Delish. Turned out great!
Weekly staple! This is the best soup I’ve ever had or made. I’m always impressed with how tasty it is every time I make it. I make some modifications bc I don’t use oil. So I omit oil and use vegetable broth or stock in its place. To make up for any lost flavor from not using oil, I use veg broth instead of 2 cups of water also. Lastly, I prefer spinach instead of kale. Thank you for this recipe!