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.
My 3 boys and I were home sick, so I was looking for a healthy meal to help revitalise us. I lightly fried some cacciatori sausage and added it to the soup as it was simmering. Worked a treat. We all loved it. Went well with some Costco sour dough, toasted and buttered. Can’t wait to have some leftovers tomorrow, when the flavours really set it. Will be making this one again, especially with winter on the way. Thanks
This is delicious! The spices are spot on and it’s so easy to make. I left out the lemon zest this time but will give it a go next time I make this. Congratulations!
This is amazingly delicious! Glad I made a double batch. Won’t last long still . Healthy and filling. I stuck to the recipie to a T.
Will make it again often now. Thanks Nagi for another tasty dish 😋
Surprisingly tasty for lentils & sooo nutritious!
I absolutely LOVE RecipeTin but this recipe left me disappointed. I used green lentils and it just tasted chalky with hardly any flavour
Just made your Lentil soup today! It’s easy, flavorful, turned out perfectly ❣️ It’s a keeper for
sure!
I cheated and used another recipe developer’s lentil soup recipe. While his recipes are usually great, this one was a miss. I remembered Nagi’s lentil soup—which I made years ago and loved—so I decided to doctor my already-cooked soup to save it.
Since it was already done cooking, I skipped the broth (the original relied way too much on salt for flavor) and added garlic powder, cumin, and paprika. I didn’t have coriander, and I skipped the bay leaf since it was too late for that. The original recipe also called for red wine vinegar, so I held off on adding lemon, worried it might end up too acidic.
The result? So much better.
Lesson learned: I won’t stray from Nagi’s lentil soup again. It’s seriously delicious.
So Good, and easy to make 👍🏼💯💯 Thank you and I love your dog Dozer.🥰❤️🥰
This turned out AMAZINGLY! And I’m not the best cook, even when I follow recipes, mine results aren’t always out-of-this-world great. This soup was very very impressingly good! Thank you!
First time cooking this I was overwhelmed with the paprika. Second time I used half the amount of paprika and it was quite tasty
So YUMMY! I can’t believe how good it is. Thank you so much for the recipe and great tips. The lemon at the end just took it to another level. Can’t wait to try it today, usually soups are better the day after. Best to you! : )
Man I mean as far as lentil soup go this is awesome. Really liked it good healthy cheap flavorful whats not to like. Heres my additions: added potatoes and 1/4 cup sundried tomatoes with the lentils and jalapeños and bell peppers about 20min before finish. Also a tsp of sugar and a tsp of tumeric. Used like a whole head of garlic and added onion c and garlic powder.
Definitlynkeeping this one thank you
We love this soup and last time I had a mushroom x of put lentils in with the others, so I jammed the immersion blender to 15 and they disappeared! It was tasty. Today I’m using all green and yellow lentils so I won’t have to blend so hard.
I made this last night (as a high fiber meal, for our gut health) and it was just delicious. Balanced and hearty. I topped it with a little bacon and parmesan and served it with a multigrain baguette that I warmed in the oven. Yum!
Perfectly delicious!
My daughter picked this recipe (she usually does the picking) and it came out delicious! We didn’t have all the ingredients so I made a couple of substitutions (celery seed instead of celery, Lowry’s seasoning salt instead of paprika, and curry and turmeric instead of cummin and coriander). Will try it again with original ingredients next time, but found it quite delicious all the same. Thank you.
I love this soup and make it often. It’s my go to budget meal. Probably the healthiest budget meal I can think of.
I used to use a pressure cooker for this because I used to find that my lentil never got very soft without it, not even after an hour on the stove simmering.
However I have since realised that my lentils were old, never thought they expired, but turns out they do get old. Since buying a fresh new bag I no longer need to use my pressure cooker, they do get soft and mushy after 1 hour of light medium simmering. 🙂 Thought id write this tip for anyone whose lentils didnt break down.
Additionally I rarely ever have celery at home and it works fine without it if you can’t be bothered going to the shops just for celery! 🙂
This was so easy to make and beyond delicious 😋. I added a punch of Garam Masala. Yum!!
I made this last night using a cast iron pot. Very delicious!! I used 1 x tin lentils and 1 x tin chickpeas because it’s what we had. Blended it all up at the end Recommended 🙂
This recipe was really good. I used better than bouillon in place of the broth . So delicious