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 made this for my neighbor who was burning the candle at both ends, trying to get his PODS packed for his big move. He absolutely loved it!!!
Per my Daughter’s request, I am making it tonight for supper
I have made this soup countless times, it’s by far the BEST lentil soup I’ve made – thank you so much for this recipe! I am 5 months postpartum and nursing and always so hungry and this soup is perfect – plus I triple the recipe each time so I can cook less and freeze some. I basically have been living off this soup. And I’ve had a bunch of house guests who I end up serving it to and they all love it. I’ve made quite a few of your recipes and I’ve never been disappointed- you’re my favorite food blogger hands down!
Congratulations, Sandra! I’m glad this soup is helping to provide nourishment for you and your baby. Thank you for taking time to review!
This turned out great, very flavorful and comforting. Perfect meal on a chilly fall day. I didn’t have curry powder so substituted garam masala and it worked well. Thanks!
This is the best lentil soup by far. The cumin and curry take this soup to a whole new lentil soup level. Thank you for sharing
I have a really good lentil soup recipe but this was wonderful and my husband loved it. Thank you!!
You’re welcome!
This is a wonderful recipe. Thank you!
The only sub I made was added spinach. A welcome meal on a chilly evening! Delicious!
I’ve never left any review for a recipe before but honestly, this soup is probably one of the best soups I’ve ever tasted. Definitely the most delicious recipe I’ve ever tried. I’ve made it twice in the past two weeks, I just finished off a pot of it and I’m already craving more. So simple, so cheap, so amazing. It’s perfect in every way.
I’m so glad you left a review! Thank you for sharing.
Excellent flavor and easy to make! Loved it. Used spinach instead of kale but I’m sure any leafy green would have worked well. I recall that my grandmother would sometimes use dandelion greens in her soups. Thank You!
I grew up on hambone lentil soup. I forgot to get ham last shopping trip. Decided to try this recipe, It’s wonderful. It’s somehow both light and bright tasting while being filling and hearty. This will defiantly enter into my goto recipes.
I liked this soup and my husband did too. The key is the broth. I used a rotisserie chicken carcass to try to make good broth with a bunch of veggies boiled for 1 1/2 hrs and I still ended up adding some Knorr. I haven’t really found the trick to doing it well. Nice hearty soup. Added rotisserie chicken at the end. Thanks!
Kate, this was delightful.
I doubled the recipe to have leftovers and cooked it as written, apart from slightly reducing the oil, offsetting the tomatoes’ acidity with some brown sugar, replacing the kale with frozen spinach, and using up several tablespoons of whole wheat penne I had lying around. Although I am usually not fond of curry, it blends perfectly with the other spices and gives the recipe some warm depth.
The meal worked so well that my family described it as “unbelievably delicious.” Needless to say, there were no leftovers. Thank you for all that you do.
So good! I’ve made this several times already in the past month, and it tastes even better on the second and third day (if it lasts that long!). I also appreciate how it’s easy to make and doesn’t require too much chopping. Thanks for another great soup recipe!
We’re not vegetarian, but I try to slip in meals like this, once in awhile. My culinary audience? A clown-show of 4 teens, on both ends of the spectrum–from one upset by the carbon footprint of meat, to those who would eat meat exclusively. I just made this and WOW! Delighted even my most finicky eater! I’ve used Alton Brown’s lentil soup recipe, a NYT recipe and the results were fine, but no rave reviews. This is truly delightful and the perfect dinner, for post-Halloween candy-binging! Thank you, for another great recipe!
Your comment has made me very happy.
Extremely flavorful, super healthy and easy to make. Thank you!
Can I use Indian Mix Dal instead of the recommended lentils?
Hi, I’m not sure how that would turn out as I haven’t tried it myself. Sorry to not be of more help!
Hi…I add yellow dal to lots of recipes,including lentil soup
they add a thickening to soups to say nothing of great nutrition and lower calories than lentils..they aren’t as dense, take less time to cook…i may try them in a cauliflower, cheese soup I plan to make, as well as a Mexican garbonzo bean soup I make…go for it it..dal is so healthy and versatile! janieben, Honolulu
Soo delicious ! Thanks .
Delicious, but why drain the tomatoes, when you’re just going to add water? I put the tomato juice in with the tomatoes and lessened the amount of water. Also used some vinegar since I didn’t have a lemon.
right!!?? i thought the same thing….. don’t drain all that good tomato juice, use it :)
This is seriously the BEST soup ever! I’ve made it dozens and dozens of times and it never disappoints. The soup is super rich in flavors, it’s inexpensive to make, super nutritious, and really healthy. The whole family loves it, including my two year old, which is definitely a plus.
I’m glad you think so, Marie! Thank you for your review.
This really is the BEST lentil soup recipe. I’ve made it a few times and often requested by my 12-year-old vegetarian. I’ve been known to eat this for breakfast! Thank you for creating and sharing your recipes. I’ve tried quite a few of them and they are easy to follow, healthy and flavourful, some of which are true favourites with my family such as this lentil soup.
My favorite lentils soup! Flavourful and healthy!
This soup is amazing! I made it on the first rainy day we had and it was perfect with the cold weather. It’s the kind of soup that you could incorporate any wintery vegetable and it would taste good, I added some potatoes. My partner and I had three bowls each!
My vegetarian daughter-in-law is allergic to the proteins in meat products. And being from Puerto Rico, she hasn’t had an opportunity to try lentil soup until I made your recipe. Her amazement at the robust flavor and textures was heart lifting to witness.
Wow! I just made it and can’t get enough it is the yummiest soup ever!
Only change I made was adding a leek at the beginning as I didn’t have kale. Oh and red lentils as that was all I had!
Great recipe, well balanced flavors. highly recommended, I did make minor tweaks to my personal preferences- reduced tomatoes by half, no salt added, extra garlic, added a stalk of celery and slightly reduced the oil.
We really enjoyed this
This soup is superb! A real meal and seriously healthy. Just been told my bloods all wrong and possible NAFLD. So wanted fibre, legumes and to get away from the Keto with probably too high fat which I have been on for 5 months. This is truly delicious and I’ll happily have it once a day. Thank you
I never cook lentil soup because my daughter’s Greek grandmother makes it all the time, and I don’t want to over-lentil my kid. But move over Yaya, ’cause this actually is THE BEST lentil soup ever!
Really good! Also, my favorite food blogger :)
Thank you! That’s so kind I’m happy you love this soup, T.
This is a staple in my house now. I have a freezer full. Can’t live without it.
This was Amazing! My lebanese husband was very impressed thanks for the recipe!
This is THE best lentil soup I’ve ever had! Even hubby who claims to “hate lentils” said it was really good, and there’s never been any leftovers! That’s the highest praise there is! Thanks for such a great recipe – I’ve literally never left a review for a recipe before but this earned one! Truly! 5 stars all the way!!!
I have made this soup before (several times) and loved it! I have used fire roasted canned tomatoes and added a little jalapeno as well!
Any tips for (or perhaps folks don’t suggest) making this in a crockpot?
Hi! I haven’t tried it in a crockpot so I can’t speak to that method. I would suggest seeing what others recommend, Sara.
Excellent!!! I made this twice added some jalapeño, red pepper and smoked paprika and submitted kale with spinach the soup disappeared once done!! Great recipe to tinker around with!!
This soup was fantastic ! I omitted the onion and garlic because of my IBS , but it was still perfect. I subbed spinach for kale and added a sprinkle of Parmesan at serving ! My vegetarian ( picky ) daughter Loved it!! Will be in the regular rotation
The name is correct – it is the BEST!!!
Hooray! I’m happy you think so, Donna.
Wine pairing? Love the soup and would like to serve for family.
Thank you for tonight’s delicious dinner! Simple. Easy. Nutritious. Followed per your instructions with spinach substitute. Loved it!
I made this today…delicious‼️❣‼️
I realize that tastes are subjective. So, having said that, I followed this recipe precisely and found it wanting. Too much diced tomatoes and a bit heavy on the curry IMHO. I prefer a simpler lentil soup recipe that isn’t dominated by tomatoes and excessive spices.
I’m sorry you didn’t love this one, Michael.
This is literally the best lentil soup I’ve had. I use red lentils instead of green and added kale at the end. Superb..
I made this soup for the first time last night. This recipe is perfect! The idea of blending a portion of the soup is pure genius. I served it over plain basmati rice and it was divine.
I have lots left over in the freezer, but I can see myself making this again!
Only addition I would make is that I used canned lentils instead of dry so I added them in the last ~5 minutes of cooking and would recommend the same for others.
(I also substituted curry powder for tumeric by mistake, I used sriracha instead of red chili flakes, and added a can of tomato paste along with two roma tomatoes — everything still turned out really yummy.)
I made this today for lunch for all the kiddos and they initially thought it was bland so I added another round of the seasonings to their delight. They all had 2 servings and I loved it.
I love that! Thank you for sharing, Tammy.
I made this soup over the weekend. It was FANTASTIC!!! My only regret is that I didn’t double the recipe! It was amazing the way the whole pot just woke up and popped with the addition of the lemon juice at the end. Really great! Thanks!
This has become my go-to lentil soup recipe!! Even better than most lentil soups in restaurants
So delicious!
Not only the best lentil soup, the best soup ever. So much flavour and its healthy!
This is now my favourite lentil soup recipe – delicious and healthy!
Excellent recipe. We began by frying a 1-1/2 pound ham hock with the onions then added fresh oregano and rosemary from the garden and We always add an extra cup or two of liquid because I prefer the broth. Long ago we learned its best to let stews and soup rest for a few hours before serving because it enhances the flavor even more. The cumin, crushed pepper and curry give the Lintels a decent ‘bite’ and excellent flavor.
Made this for dinner and its delicious!! Tripled the kale, and added half before simmering. Used a little lime juice instead of lemon. Paired it with brown rice. Will definitely be on my dinner rotation.
This looks so delicious and hearty! Do you think I could put some cabbage in, instead of kale/collared greens? I don’t have greens on hand but have a ton of cabbage to use up. Thanks so much!
Hi! I haven’t tried it with cabbage, but it may work just fine. Let me know what you think!
First time leaving a recipe review but this one was worth it! I’ve been coming back to this recipe for over a year and it’s still just as good as the first time! I like to add a bay leaf and some celery but this is perfect as is. Even had non vegetarians give rave reviews. Thank you!
This is the best soup I’ve ever made – and I’ve made many! The squeeze of lemon at the end elevates the flavors brilliantly. Thank you!
This is the first time I have made lentil soup. It was absolutely amazing and I am looking forward to making it again. The only thing I did differently is I cut the salt in half and added a 1/4 cup of cooked brown rice in the bowl three ladles full. Such a fantastic recipe and I appreciate you sharing it!