Donβt settle for bland Lentil Soup!Β Make it right and youβll have everyone begging for secondsβ¦.and thirdsβ¦ This lentil recipe is one of the best nourishing, simple dishes you can make with dried lentils thatβs 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. Itβs an easy recipe that delivers terrific results, a 5 star reader favourite with hundreds of feedback from readers!
Want to addΒ 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 Iβm all about big flavours. Spicy, herby, curries β kapow, kapow, kapow!
But you know what? A well made Lentil Soup recipe is canβt-stop-eating-it good. Youβll go back for seconds and thirds, then youβll be taking big tubs of it to work for lunch and happily have it for dinner again.
And β Iβm going to say it (*head swell*) β plenty of readers have said this is theΒ best lentil soup theyβve ever had!
A well made Lentil Soup recipe is canβt-stop-eating-it good.
Is lentil soup good for you?
If youβre wondering if lentil soup is good for you, the answer isΒ yes!Β Lentils areΒ nutritious, rich in minerals, protein, low in fat, high in fibre (digestive health). They are a terrific vegetarianΒ source of proteinΒ with 25% of the calories in lentils attributable to protein.
Lentils are a carbohydrate, but itβs slow burning which means it keeps you fuller for longer.Β Studies also suggest that lentils are good for heart health.
The added benefit is thatΒ 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. Thereβs an undertone of natural sweetness from the soffritoΒ flavour base of onion, carrot and celery. My favourite part is the texture! Itβs thick and comforting, and just made for dunking in hot crusty bread!
What goes in Lentil Soup
Hereβs 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 βΒ The βsecretβ ingredient.Β 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 minutesΒ in the soup, and thereβs 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 β brown, green, red or yellow, though it will affectΒ the colour of the soup. Iβve used green lentils, pictured below.
The only type of lentil I do not recommend isΒ Puy Lentils (little black French lentils) because they hold their shape and donβt soften like other lentils.
Can you used canned cooked lentils?
Yes you sure can, and directions are provided in the recipe notes. But itβs better made with dried lentils because of the texture in the soup, thereβs only 10 minutes difference in cook time and itβs more economical!
How to make Lentil Soup from scratch
SautΓ© your onion, garlic, carrots and celery overΒ over low heat for almost 10 minutes. Take your time here βΒ 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!
Youβll 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 aΒ 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 β 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 β even longer!
Every time I make this, I always wonder why I donβt make it more often. Itβs healthy, filling, super economical, freezes perfectly, versatile and itβsΒ seriously good.
Serving this with some sort of warm crusty bread for dunking is not optional.Β ItβsΒ an essential part of the Lentil Soup experience.
But itΒ is optional whether you slather said bread with butter, or grill it with cheese! Β Here are a few options β including making your ownΒ ultra easy homemade bread with NO YEAST:
β 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 β 10 minutes or until softened and the onion is sweet. Donβt rush this step, it is key to the flavour base of the soup.
- Add all remaining ingredients except the lemon and salt. Stir.Β
- 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 β 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 β itβs been a firm reader favourite from day 1, so IΒ wouldnβt dare touch it!
More totally delicious lentil recipes:
Sexy Lentil Salad β try it, then youβll get the nameβ¦.
Dal β Indian lentil curry. The highest and best use of lentils, full stop!
Coconut Lentil Curry β outrageously addictive, andΒ easyΒ (I make this for a curry fix when I donβt have time for dal)
Mejadra (Middle Eastern Spiced Lentil Rice) β 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 contributesΒ negative.Β Dropping fur everywhere, shaking vigorously so it flies everywhere along with an inordinate amountΒ of sand, constantly sprawling out in my path so Iβm forced to step over him (remember, Iβm vertically challenged = giant steps).
Giant π© 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, donβt we? π)
PS Another example of his uselessness β he spends 22 hours a day doing this. The other 2 hours are spent a) eating b) hoping to eat c) playing.
The spice blend is spot on β this lentil soup IS seriously amazing. Made a big batch for thermos lunches throughout the school week (so much better than salty canned soup).
So good. My friends wanted my recipe.
First, let me say I NEVER measure anything when cooking. That said, I followed the recipe except that I added barley to the liquid and cooked for 20ish minutes before adding the brown lentils. Adding lemon is a bomb! It changed and enhanced the flavor! I topped it with parm when serving, nothing more. I have never made lentil soup before today and this was delicious! When I reheat tomorrow Iβm adding sliced zucchini and maybe some fresh roasted corn. My garden gives me all these wonders.
Absolutely beautiful recipe, didnβt have cumin powder so added garam masala and smoked paprika, really lovely recipe.Thank you for sharing.
Itβs good. I made double because I wanted to use up the lentils I had. One thing I would do different is to reduce the amount of crushed tomato. It was too acidic for my taste (I didnβt even use the lemon!). Thatβs a personal preference. Another thing is that I would pre-boil the lentils a bit, in addition to soaking them. They had more bite than I wanted.
I didnβt realize I only had a cup of lentils left until after I chopped everything. I used extra veg with 1 cup lentils and 3 ish cups of broth. I also used a couple of fresh tomatoβs instead of canned since I was out of that. This turned out delicious!!! Adding to my rotation
Solid recipe with delicious and nutritious ingredients. Wouldnβt call it amazing based on taste alone. It probably needs more spices going, maybe fried at the start to power up the flavors? As a veggie lover, I liked the recipe but my family members werenβt as enthusiastic.
I made this with red lentils and added a touch of cayenne to give it a little kick. The red lentils are perfect I think; they tend to disintegrate, so thereβs no need to use the stick blender, and the colour is fantastic. Iβd baked sourdough the same morning with olives in it, and the combination was fantastic.
Change the directions in the lentil soup recipe. Whenever I make soup, I skim or remove the foam off the top, not βthe scum.β
Made this soup tonight, it was just delicious. Used a whole lemon and was heavy handed with the spices.
Served it with frozen Aldi roti bread.
Awesome!
We were given some Lentils and wasnβt sure what to do with them? So glad I found your recipe DELICIOUS!!!!
I made it twice with some variations on the theme. It was delicious both times. I had no tomato paste this time so I used sofrito and some pasta sauce. I added the spices to the onion and garlic as well as chicken bullion. I omitted the lemon as well. I poured it over rice, so delicious and hearty. Thank you for the recipe.
Love it thank you! This changes the way I make lentil soup for ever!
Delicious. First time making Lentil soup. The only thing I would change next time is omitting the lemon. I liked the flavor just fine before I added it. Also, I added just a little shallot and substituted a half teaspoon of smoked paprika for regular.
It looks so uninteresting β¦ is so easy to make β¦ and somehow tastes divine! Amazing!
Terrific soup. As with some of the other comments:
β brown lentils were still a bit firm at 45 mins, but were fine after blitzing
β definitely add the lemon juice, and be generous with it. I used the whole lemon π
The βseriously amazingβ in the title got my interest, I thought, how can lentil soup be βseriously amazingβ? Well.. this soup well and truly answered my question. It is indeed seriously amazing. Agree that it needs the lemon to give it that lift. And my little modification is to add some pasta most the way through the cooking time, so itβs a lentil and pasta stew (I donβt blitz any of it). It gets devoured. And if thereβs leftovers, it gets frozen in individual portions so theyβre a quick and easy lunch or dinner option. Iβve made this about 4 times this winter season. So easy to make. And something to look forward to on a cold winter night.
This was so delicious! I was skeptical about adding in the lemon and lemon zest but, it took it to the next level! This recipe is a keeper!
So delicious, although my soup got soaked up by the lentils and there was no liquid left. Also can I use water instead of broth? Thanks for this great recipe.
Your note says not to use French Puy lentils. Do you have a variation that can be used with French lentils? Or it just wonβt be good at all with French?
i made this soup and it was yum but maybe i did something wrong cuz i felt like i need more liquid. also can this recipe work for splite peas?
Split peas and lentils are different but they are both legumes., just different varieties. Yes, they can be subbed in this, and other recipes. However, be aware that their cooking time is much longer. You can shorten the cooking time by soaking overnight.