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.
Thank you for this recipe – it’s a keeper! I’ll be making it many times this fall and winter. Heck, it’ll be great for our cool spring days too.
An easy substantial soup that easily feeds the two of us for at least three meals.
This will be one of my go to soups from now on.
I used Puy lentils, I love the way keep their shape way more than brown or green lentils and if I want the soup thicker I’ll just boat motor it more.
But if I only have brown or green lentils I think I might add another cup or two of stock.
For more depth of flavor I added a teaspoon of coriander, some oregano – a big pinch ( tsp or so depending on how I feel) and way more garlic – 4-5 cloves at least.
I wonder how it would be with black lentils – maybe add a bit more curry powder?
For big meat eaters I sometimes add a bit of fried sausage meat or pancetta to soups. If I don’t have anything of that sort around it’s really amazing how adding some smoked paprika leads many to think that there is some kind of meat in soup. That should work with this recipe too.
One of the best things about this soup, I think it will lend itself to so many different kinds add-ons: spinach, cabbage, parsnips, potatoes (plain or sweet) or squash, to name a few.
Hi Azaelea and Kate – I tried to post my individual comment but kept getting an error message.
Anyhow, I just finished making it and had a couple tablespoons so far…SOOOOO DELISH!!! I wanted to comment before I forgot. I used some of Azaelea’s suggestions for add ons and love it! I grew up eating lentils but as a bean sauce with rice and meat. This is just another level of soup – which is my favourite any time of the day! Thank you so much for the recipe and for the add on suggestions. Definitely a keeper! Hopefully, won’t take me 2 hrs next time LOL. (I like o check and recheck recipes until I’m comfortable :)))
I have a can of green lentils that I’d like to use up – can I use that for this recipe or are dried lentils better?
Thanks!
Hi Emma, I prefer dried. I do know others have used canned. You will just need to use less liquid since you don’t need to cook them and may want to shorten cook time. Let me know what you think!
This is probably the dumbest question on the planet:) So many lentil soup recipes are made with curry. Can this be made without curry?
The curry really makes this the best. I hope you try it. Or you can omit it, but it won’t be the same.
Wendy, like Kate said about her recipe, the curry makes it. It was the difference for me between ‘it’s ok’ when making lentil soup to loving Kate’s recipe. And, draining the tomatoes makes it richer. I started doing that when I make other soups with tomatoes. I’m back here at the recipe because it’s a rainy day and I thought I had to make lentil soup!
I have made this tonight and it is indeed the best lentil soup I have ever had. I was a little more generous with the cumin and lemon juice, and used some spinach that was dying in the fridge, but oh my god, I can not believe this is not click-bait, it is factually the best lentil soup. It blew me away, it was so good that it made me come here to write a comment about it. Thank you for bringing this into my life ❤️
Hi Emilia, I did the same – a little extra cumin and lemon juice and I used dried lentils as that’s all I had in the cupboard and it turned out great!
I’ve made this soup for the past year or so now, but today was the first time I’ve made it for someone without the spices. Person I’ve made it for today can’t keep solid food down after surgery, and she doesn’t like spicey food. Still a good hearty meal.
Is this a spicy recipe? Or (I presume) because your friend need a bland, nutritious meal?
Made the Best Lentil Soup and, turns out, it is the best lentil soup ever! If you make it, I suggest you double it. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
I’m glad you loved it, Barb! I appreciate your feedback.
I used a lentil mix, added some eggplant, and didn’t drain the tomatoes but other than that I followed the receipt and it turned out amazing! Even my husband whose not a fan of lentils loved it. This will be in my rotation for sure. I like how easy and versatile it is and being empty nesters, that I can make a big batch and freeze some.
Hi! How did you prep the eggplant? Cube and fry first or just put in raw? Thanks!
Delicious! Well-seasoned, flavorful, and hearty soup. Perfect for fall and winter.
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Katherine! I appreciate your review.
I’ve made this soup at least 30 times. It’s my #1 fav. I’m curious if anyone has just put all the ingredients in a slow cooker before? Do you think that would turn out?
I’m glad you love it! I haven’t tried it in a slow cooker so I can’t provide direction there. I believe others have, so I would see what others suggest in the comments.
I made this lentil soup for the first time today. Absolutely delicious and perfect now when the days are colder.
I only have red lentils… will this make a high difference? I havent cooked with lentils before.
Hi! You will want to reduce the liquid and cook time. See my How to Cook Lentils for a guide.
Really delicious! Much richer and more complex than so many other lentil soup recipes. My baby loves it! I added half of the olive oil after it finished cooking, in order to prevent the heating of it and it is good that way too.
Can this be made in a crockpot?
Hi, I prefer it best as written. However, I believe others have and didn’t mind the results.
I make it always in my intant
Pot . I sauté the vegetables and then once I put everything in , than I slow cook it for like 6 hours and it tastes amazing.
SO dang delicious. i forgot the two cups water and it was still tasty! thank you!!!
Can I sub a lime for the lemon?
Sure, the flavor will be slightly different but should work.
IMHO, I think there is too much cumin in this recipe. It overpowered the dish for me. Sorry, I will keep looking for my perfect lentil soup.
I’m sorry you didn’t love it.
Just add less cumin and I’m sure this recipe will be up to your expectations.
Hi, I made this recipe for the first time today, my first time making any lentil soup. I made a few substitutions/modifications based on food tolerance and personal preference (celery instead of onion, half the garlic, half the oil, low-sodium organic chicken broth instead of veggie, frozen kale and spinach mix instead of fresh kale). I’ve only tasted the soup so far — I’ll have a bowl tomorrow, when flavors are more blended — but my impression was definitely too much cumin. I will make the recipe again but will try 1/2 or 1 tsp. of cumin rather than 2. Otherwise, I like it and look forward to a bowlful tomorrow!
I’m glad you loved it, Lynn! Thank you for your review.
I just made this delicious Lentil soup recipe. I have tried many other recipes and this is by far the best! I had extra lentils & added another 1/2 cup of lentils so I increased the cumin to 3 tsps! Otherwise I left everything the same. Thank you for this recipe, I will return to this recipe every time I have a craving for lentils!
I’m glad you loved it, Martha! I appreciate your review.
This soup is amazing, it is quick to make, delicious and full of nutrients, I have made it so many times, and everyone in my family really enjoys it, in my humble opinion this is an award winning recipe.
Thank you Kate for sharing.
Made this soup today and LOVED it! Very full of flavor and the extra bonus is that it’s healthy too!! So glad this one popped up first while searching for a lentil soup recipe. I used a very large onion and an extra tsp of curry…delish!
if I only have red lentils how much would I reduce the liquid by??
Hi, I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure. You likely won’t need some of the water, if not all of it. You will need less cooking time for the lentils as well.
Beautiful soup! I like spice so I added just a little extra curry powder and a couple pinches of turmeric and cayenne. I had already cooked lentils for C & K’s lentil taco recipe so I added them with the broth, decreased the cooking time and omitted the water. I will make this again and again. Thanks Cookie and Kate for another great recipe.
You’re welcome, Mitzi!
This is one of our favorite soup season recipes to make and has been a stable in our home for a couple years now. Thank you for a great recipe!
This was my first time making any kind of soup and it is absolutely delicious! Super easy to follow the recipe. I added two extra garlic cloves and oregano, served over brown rice. I can’t wait to share it with others! thanks :)
This was my first time making any kind of soup and it is absolutely delicious! Super easy to follow the recipe. I added two extra garlic cloves and oregano, served over brown rice. I can’t wait to share it with others! thanks :)
I love this recipe! I used 1 cup brown lentils and 3/4 cup green lentils. I doubled the garlic (of course!) and added celery + butternut squash and a pinch of smoked paprika too… I puréed the Butternut squash and 1/2 of the soup -just yummy!
My husband asked me for seconds + wanted to know if there was meat it in the soup…
Thank you kindly for your delicious recipe! :)
Thank you for sharing how you made this! I appreciate you sharing. I’m excited your husband wanted more too.
My first ever attempt at a vegan recipe (I’m a meat & potato guy, who, due to getting out of shape too easily as I grow older, wants to try a healthier lifestyle). This was totally awesome! If all vegan recipes are as good as this one, my “struggle” will be a pretty smooth one. Thank you for this.
How many cups per serving? Didn’t say on the nutritional info. Pretty good!
Hi Jackie, roughly 1.5-2 cups per serving.
This was definitely the best lentil soup I’ve ever made! I instead used red lentils but other than that, I followed the recipe as written. Even my husband liked it, and ordinarily won’t eat lentil soup!
I love to hear that, Cathy! Thank you for your review.
Absolutely delicious! My husband, who claims to dislike beans and lentils, loved it! Froze leftovers and cannot wait to indulge in them come a cold, rainy day in our future. Thanks, Kate!
You’re welcome, Christine! This is perfect on a cold and rainy day.
This has become the GO-TO recipe for lentil soup for my husband. Today I’m making it myself for the first time. It is wonderful and so flavorful!! Thank you!!
I’m glad you love it, Cris!
How many cups is a ‘medium’ onion?
Hi, 1-1.5 cups I believe. Use your best judgement depending on your preference.
Made the best lentil soup and it was delicious! Thank you for the recipe! It was beautifully seasoned! Instead of red pepper flakes I used a chopped jalapeño and I also added a sweet yellow pepper. Multi colored lentils were also used. It truly can be labeled Best! Kudos to Cookie and Kate!
This is finally it! Tried so many Lentil Soup recipes but this one is a keeper! A couple minor subs: I used fire roasted tomatoes for the canned tomatoes, alder smoked sea salt in place of the regular salt, beef broth because I ran out of veg stock, and spinach vs kale also bc I had ran out. I also added a pinch of saffron threads for the culinary/herbal sunshine since it’s dark a lot this time of year where I live. I will be making this again!!! Thank you for sharing this “repeater” (how the fam grades the new recipes I try).
Thank you for sharing how you made this, Sarah! I appreciate your review.
Are you supposed to pre-cook the lentils or just add the dry lentils to the mix?
Hi! The lentils will cook in the soup.
Soup was delicious! I served it with warm crusty bread which was a filling companion. Everything on your site has been excellent. You are my go to and I am not a vegetarian. Thank you!
Best Lentil Soup is correct. Have made this multiple times since finding the recipe. We really like the hint of curry. Im guilty of upping the curry amount just a bit. Plan on making it tomorrow as cooler weather arrives.
Thank you for sharing, Dottie! I appreciate your review.
My new favorite soup recipe. I get asked for the recipe every time I make it. Easy, delicious. I have made it with chard, escarole, and no greens. I have used whatever tomatoes and broth I have on hand. It is so adaptable. Thanks!
You’re welcome, Cathy!
Amazing recipe! One our of favourites during the wintertime. This dish is best served with a dollop of vanilla Greek yogurt.
It really is the best lentil soup, and I made quite a few! Thank you.
You’re welcome, Patty! I appreciate your review.
This was an absolutely STELLAR recipe! I’ve made lentil soup many times but have always added Italian sausage. I’m trying to go meatless and decided to try this recipe. It’s so much better than my recipe. We couldn’t believe how rich and flavorful it was. I can wait to eat the leftovers and look forward to trying more recipes from this website. I used most of the ingredients in the recipe. I used mustard greens for the greens because that is what I have in my garden. I added some fresh parsley, a bit of Italian seasoning and a splash of Worcestershire sauce. This is a KEEPER!
Great to hear, Joyce! I appreciate your review.
This is by far the best lentil recipe I’ve made. The legumes retain tooth, the veg are lovely and the seasoning just right. I left off kale (because I didn’t have any) and subbed spinach.
My curry of choice is Penzey’s Sweet Curry Powder. Just the right kick, never too much.
I’ll be making this regularly through the winter. With less liquid as a stew over brown rice sounds good too, doesn’t it?
Second time making this !
I love how it truly is mainly ingredients already on hand!
Your recipes never disappoint!
Great to hear, Julie! I appreciate your review.
This was tonight’s dinner! If I could give this MORE stars I would!!!
After hunting for a good recipe (which based on ingredient lists is fairly predictable haha) I was happy yo have found yours. I made it exactly with the addition of some farmers sausage.
Thank you for sharing!
Tried your recipe, and you are right, it is the best lentil soup. Thank you so much, it was delicious.
This is one of the best quick lentil soup recipes I have ever come across: from the best foundational ingredients to the lively mix of dried herbs and spices; and the lemon splash at the end! Perfect!
Fantastic! I substituted LS Chicken Broth, and skipped the greens…. I also eyeballed all spices, oh, also added a hambone! Terrific layers.
I’ve made this recipe countless of times over the last two years; for my college roommates, for my family, and today I’m bringing it to a dinner party for my close friends. It has become a staple – thank you for publishing this. It’s so easy and is perfect every single time.
This was so easy – and so delicious! Love the hotness of the spices. I thought my husband and I would have both dinner and lunch the next day, but no…. we both kept going back for “just one more little ladle…” I had just said we needed to eat more lentils as we both love them…. problem solved!
(I didn’t have any lemon juice so used lime juice, if you do, make sure you don’t add too much as it does have a slightly different / bolder flavour :-)
Kate, thank you so much for this recipe, I must say that
I was a little perplexed at first, lentils are far from being my favorite, however it turned out to be an all time favorite with us, but also friends and family!
I’ve been making it for four years now,, and I’m actually have a batch cooking on the stove as I’m writing you!
I would recommend anyone to at least try it once!!
Thanks again Kate.
I first tried this recipe back when you had 1881 reviews, and it was just as delicious then as it is now at 2885 reviews. I’ve made it at least a dozen times and I’m never disappointed. The only ingredient I change is the citrus, but only because I rarely have lemons on hand, however, l always have limes. Thank you for an easy, go to recipe that has earned its place in my “tried and true” recipe book.
Hooray! I love that you have made it so many times. Thank you for your review, Jessica.
I made this soup last year and it was delicious! I just made it again and it tastes better than I remembered. I doubled the recipe and I will be eating it until it’s all gone!
I generally just wing it when making lentil soup. I think it’s difficult to screw it up. But I changed my ways and made this recipe exactly as written.
It has a very good combo of spices in it. My family liked it, even my non-lentil soup eaters. However, I think it had too much tomato flavor for my taste. In the future, I might make it again but would cut wayyyyy back (or delete) the tomatoes. But it’s super healthy as written!
Just made this. One of the best lentil soup I’ve ever made. So tasty. Thank you
You’re welcome, Corinne!