Don’t settle for bland Lentil Soup! Make it right and you’ll have everyone begging for seconds….and thirds… This lentil recipe is one of the best nourishing, simple dishes you can make with dried lentils that’s 100% delicious. Use green lentils, red lentils, brown lentils or a lentil soup mix.
All it takes is a hint of spice flavourings, bay leaves and finishing it off with a touch of lemon to elevate this soup. It’s an easy recipe that delivers terrific results, a 5 star reader favourite with hundreds of feedback from readers!
Want to add some protein? Try this Beef & Lentil Soup!
Lentil Soup
Lentil soup is quite possibly the least sexy sounding soup on the planet.
At least, in my world. Regular readers know that I’m all about big flavours. Spicy, herby, curries – kapow, kapow, kapow!
But you know what? A well made Lentil Soup recipe is can’t-stop-eating-it good. You’ll go back for seconds and thirds, then you’ll be taking big tubs of it to work for lunch and happily have it for dinner again.
And – I’m going to say it (*head swell*) – plenty of readers have said this is the best lentil soup they’ve ever had!
A well made Lentil Soup recipe is can’t-stop-eating-it good.
Is lentil soup good for you?
If you’re wondering if lentil soup is good for you, the answer is yes! Lentils are nutritious, rich in minerals, protein, low in fat, high in fibre (digestive health). They are a terrific vegetarian source of protein with 25% of the calories in lentils attributable to protein.
Lentils are a carbohydrate, but it’s slow burning which means it keeps you fuller for longer. Studies also suggest that lentils are good for heart health.
The added benefit is that they are low in calories with 116 calories in 1 cup of cooked lentils (which is roughly the amount per serving of this lentil soup).
What does lentil soup taste like?
It tastes savoury and has a flavour boost from a hint of spices. There’s an undertone of natural sweetness from the soffrito flavour base of onion, carrot and celery. My favourite part is the texture! It’s thick and comforting, and just made for dunking in hot crusty bread!
What goes in Lentil Soup
Here’s what goes in my lentil soup. Nothing fancy, just everyday ingredients.
So what makes this Lentil Soup so good?
A touch of spices.
Cooking the onion, carrot and celery slowly so they sweeten and make a beautiful flavour base.
Lemon – The “secret” ingredient. Yes really. Little tip I picked up from Ina Garten. Just a bit of zest and squeeze of fresh lemon makes all the difference which takes it from really good to great!
Do you cook lentils before adding to soup?
Nope! Dried lentils cook in 35 minutes in the soup, and there’s no need to soak them either!
What type of lentils are best for lentil soup?
Dried lentils are best for lentil soup. You can use most types of lentils for this recipe – brown, green, red or yellow, though it will affect the colour of the soup. I’ve used green lentils, pictured below.
The only type of lentil I do not recommend is Puy Lentils (little black French lentils) because they hold their shape and don’t soften like other lentils.
Can you used canned cooked lentils?
Yes you sure can, and directions are provided in the recipe notes. But it’s better made with dried lentils because of the texture in the soup, there’s only 10 minutes difference in cook time and it’s more economical!
How to make Lentil Soup from scratch
Sauté your onion, garlic, carrots and celery over over low heat for almost 10 minutes. Take your time here – the lower the heat, the longer you take, the more these will transform to create an incredible flavour base for the soup!
Add everything else other than the lemon;
Simmer 35 minutes until lentils are soft; and
Finish with a dusting of zest and spritz of lemon.
A hint of lemon earthiness from the zest and touch of freshness from the juice just jazzes up the soup and takes it to that next level!
You’ll find that the lentils mostly breakdown and naturally thicken the soup. But what I like to do to get a really luscious creamy texture is to give the soup a quick whizz with a blender stick (or transfer a couple of cups to the blender) to puree SOME but not all the lentils.
That way you get the benefit of both worlds – creamy soup with soft bits of lentils. YES!
How to store lentil soup
Lentil Soup will easily keep for 5 days in the fridge, making it ideal for cooking on the weekend and serving throughout the week. And it also freezes 100% perfectly for 3 months – even longer!
Every time I make this, I always wonder why I don’t make it more often. It’s healthy, filling, super economical, freezes perfectly, versatile and it’s seriously good.
Serving this with some sort of warm crusty bread for dunking is not optional. It’s an essential part of the Lentil Soup experience.
But it is optional whether you slather said bread with butter, or grill it with cheese! Here are a few options – including making your own ultra easy homemade bread with NO YEAST:
– Nagi xx
Watch How To Make It
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Lentil Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped (white, brown, yellow)
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 large carrot , chopped (about 1 1/4 cups)
- 2 celery ribs , chopped (about 1 1/4 cups)
- 2 cups / 400g dried lentils , green or brown, rinsed (Note 1)
- 400g / 14 oz crushed tomato
- 1.5 litres / 1.5 quarts (6 cups) vegetable or chicken stock / broth, low sodium
- 1/2 tsp each cumin and coriander powder
- 1 1/2 tsp paprika powder
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 1 lemon (zest + juice)
- 1/4 tsp salt and pepper, each
To Serve
- Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish
- Warm bread, to serve
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add garlic and onion, cook for 2 minutes.
- Add celery and carrot. Cook for 7 – 10 minutes or until softened and the onion is sweet. Don’t rush this step, it is key to the flavour base of the soup.
- Add all remaining ingredients except the lemon and salt. Stir.
- Increase heat and bring to simmer. Scoop scum on the surface off and discard (do this again during cooking if required). Place lid on and turn heat down to medium low. Simmer for 35 – 40 minutes or until lentils are soft.
- Remove bay leaves.
- Thicken Soup: Using a stick blender, do 2 or 3 quick whizzes to thicken the soup (see video below). Or transfer 2 cups to a blender, let it cool slightly, then hold lid with tea towel and blend then transfer back into pot.
- Add a touch of water if you want to adjust soup consistency. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Grate over the zest of the lemon then add a squeeze of lemon juice just before serving. Garnish with parsley if desired and serve with warm crusty bread slathered liberally with butter!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Recipe originally published March 2017, spruced up with new pics, new video and fresh new writing. Absolutely no change to recipe – it’s been a firm reader favourite from day 1, so I wouldn’t dare touch it!
More totally delicious lentil recipes:
Sexy Lentil Salad – try it, then you’ll get the name….
Dal – Indian lentil curry. The highest and best use of lentils, full stop!
Coconut Lentil Curry – outrageously addictive, and easy (I make this for a curry fix when I don’t have time for dal)
Mejadra (Middle Eastern Spiced Lentil Rice) – so good you can eat it plain, seriously!
Browse all Beans and Lentil recipes
Life of Dozer
He contributes less than nothing to this household, he actually contributes negative. Dropping fur everywhere, shaking vigorously so it flies everywhere along with an inordinate amount of sand, constantly sprawling out in my path so I’m forced to step over him (remember, I’m vertically challenged = giant steps).
Giant 💩 all over the backyard. Barks furiously at tree branches swaying in the breeze but I swear, he would happily show a robber where my jewellery box is in exchange for a pat.
Useless!!! (And yet we love them so much, don’t we? 🙂)
PS Another example of his uselessness – he spends 22 hours a day doing this. The other 2 hours are spent a) eating b) hoping to eat c) playing.
Hello! I was just wondering why you add salt during the first step in the video, but advise against it in the recipe?
This has become my go-to Red Lentil Soup now and I’ve made it several times. I tend to change up the flavours slightly, depending upon what I have on hand but it’s always a winner because the recipe as a whole is a winner!
I add turmeric/black pepper for extra health benefits, as well as a bag of baby spinach. And I add some shredded chicken at the end as my mind likes to have some meat with it. 😉
I also use the InstantPot to make this and so long as I don’t overcook it, it is always Ah-Ma-Zing! Thank you!
I was searching for a great red lentil soup recipe to serve to guests this Sunday ( day after tomorrow)
I loved your comments.
I’ve never made red lentil soup before and I really want to make a good impression.
How long did you cook your soup in your instapot?
Hi Tracey,
I’m sorry to respond to this late but I didn’t get a notification. I came back here to print this recipe out again (yes, we love it!) and saw your comment. I use the soup feature on my Instant Pot although I think I’ll just use the timer for 15-20 minutes in future so the lentils stay that little bit firmer. ☺
This is an terrific recipe. This was my first time making lentil soup & I loved it. I made it exactly as the recipe described. Thank you Nagi!
I have a question! Is there a way to add meat to this recipe? I’m thinking of adding in meatballs!
I actually have a hack for that coming in the cookbook!! You could definitely add meatballs (try my Moroccan Lamb ones if you like! https://promotown.info/moroccan-lamb-meatballs/%3C/a%3E%29 Enjoy!! N x
I have several favourite lentil soup recipes. Yours is now among them! Thank you.
Woo hoo!! I am happy you liked it Margo!! N x
How can I do this in the slow cooker?
After you saute the onion slowly in step 2 then you could transfer it to a slow cooker and cook until the lentils are ready – it will take longer in a slow cooker than on the stovetop. N x
First time trying a lentils soup recipe and wont need to look elsewhere, I LOVE IT!
I often make lentil soup so thought I would try this one. So pleased and so delicious. Saves me using my bone broth by doing the vegetable stock. Thank you
I am happy you liked it Maria! N x
This is my favourite soup recipe of all time. I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve made it. Over time I’ve tweaked it & highly recommend French lentils and chopped swede added in for last 20mins. No need to blend – it’s not a soup.
This was my first time cooking lentils and the soup is amazing! I’ve made this soup 3 times in the past 2 months and now I always keep lentils on hand so I can make this ….it’s that good and easy! I love lemon so I squeeze a bunch in and add extra broth to make it more soupy. Thank you for sharing your recipe!
I am happy you liked it Tricia! N x
This was absolutely delicious and SO filling! I’m a bit of a salt monster, so I seasoned with quite a bit. I also like some heat, so I used a sprinkle of cayenne. I will make this many times over!
I am happy you liked it Jessica!! N x
I was not a fan of the lemon zest/juice but i overall liked the recipe.. THANK YOU.
SN: i added a scoop of everything bagel hummus (by boars head) to my bowl and stirred and wow! Will replace the lemon for flavored hummus. Will make it creamy too!
Thanks Nagi! Really liked this one! Made it for a healthy dinner (well it was healthy until i ate a truck load of crusty bread #noregrets) and some work lunches for the week. Looking forward to making it a bit more in winter
Carbmonsters until the end!! #noregrets!! N x
This is by far the best recipe of lentil soup I have ever made. My entire family loves it. Thank you for sharing.
I’m so happy that you enjoyed it Leana! N x
Cooked exactly as written. Thank you for a delicious soup recipe that my whole family enjoyed.
You are very welcome Chris! N x
Loved Loved Loved this recipe!!! I added 2 cups of spinach (which I do with many recipes. The lemon at the end really hit the spot! I gave out a couple of bowls to friends and they have asked me for the recipe! I gave them your website! I have made several of your recipes and have loved them all!
This was awesome! Usually I have to add way more spices to online recipes to make them flavorful enough for me, but this one is just great. Excellent with a little sour cream on top. The lemon zest and juice really makes it. Thanks!
Delicious. Added some bacon and curry powder and harissa paste at the end for extra spice
I’ve enjoyed trying some of your other recipes and have appreciated your blog. That’s why I decided to try this recipe since another lentil recipe online was bland; it even had beef in it! 😄
I liked the flavor of this recipe even though I worried that I only had 1.25 cups of lentils and I’m not as familiar with using coriander.
I reduced the cumin to 1/4 tsp since the flavor has been overpowering in recipes I’ve tried elsewhere. The 1 lemon zest and juice adds good flavor, but I may try the 1/2 the zest and lemon next time. Thank you for a great blog to help me learn about other flavors and cooking skills!
I am happy that you liked it Rowena! Keep cooking!! N x
Really liked this recipe. The lemon jest and juice were a great addition. Thank you
I am so happy you enjoyed it Mirel! N x