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?
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A touch of spices.
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Cooking the onion, carrot and celery slowly so they sweeten and make a beautiful flavour base.
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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
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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!
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Add everything else other than the lemon;
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Simmer 35 minutes until lentils are soft; and
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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
Lentil Soup
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:
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Sexy Lentil Salad – try it, then you’ll get the name….
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Dal – Indian lentil curry. The highest and best use of lentils, full stop!
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Coconut Lentil Curry – outrageously addictive, and easy (I make this for a curry fix when I don’t have time for dal)
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Mejadra (Middle Eastern Spiced Lentil Rice) – so good you can eat it plain, seriously!
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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.
Sarah D says
After trying a lentil soup at a cafe, I had to see if you offered one on this page – of course you do, and of course its magic! So many of my friends & family make this too, after my rave reviews of it. I personally like a thinner soup with floating lentils so I add a cup more of chicken broth & don’t do any blending, but that flavour is 11/10!
Nancy Belz says
Thank you for yet another great recipe! Made this very early Sunday morning so had it for breakfast. Absolutely delicious.
Bianca says
Absolutely delicious! Thank you it’s going into our weekly meal rotation.
El says
I couldn’t see what colour lentils you used? Otherwise, do you recommend a mixed coloured one, it’s call Lentil soup mix ?!
Nagi says
Hi El, it’s there in the recipe notes as well as being noted next to the ingredients 🙂 N x
Lina Luckway says
We loved this soup. Full of flavors with tint of lemon👍
Diana says
I have never had lentils in my 51 yr life. Made this tonight and OMG I have a new favorite thing!!! I didn’t have crushed tomatoes or a lemon so I used diced tomatoes and lemon pepper seasoning. Gave it a whirl with immersion blender at the end. Thank you thank you for this recipe 😁
Tullah says
Hi Nagi,
What’s the best way/is there a way to make this specific lentil soup while incorporating mince meat or any kind of meat? I’ve made this lentil soup and the beef & lentil soup and while both are delicious, I prefer this one (it’s AMAZING). Should I adjust the spices. Increase/ keep the same? What point in the recipe should I add the meat (before or after the soffrito portion? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Nagi says
Try this one Tullah! https://www.recipetineats.com/beef-lentil-soup-beef-mince-recipe/ N x
Seph says
Made this today and DANG! I’ve learned to trust your recipes, but this really is AMAZING. Love it! and the lemon definitely gives it a great boost. I did find that the liquid simmered off very quickly (used green lentils) so I just added some extra chicken stock and it turned out fantastically.
Tiffany says
I made this today for the first time. It tastes amazing…but all of the liquid was absorbed in mine. The lentils are delicious, but where did I go wrong?? Did I cook too long?
Nagi says
Hi Tiffany, sorry you had issues here, what type of lentils and how long did you cook them for?? N x
Tiffany says
They were green lentils…cooked from dry, after rinsing. I cooked them on low for about 30 minutes. Was that maybe too long? Honestly, I added more stock and my family and I wolfed it down along with some of your crusty artisan bread that I made! Thank you ❤️
Jasmine Wiest says
How might you alter this recipe if using soaked lentils? I imagine just shortening the cook time.
Nagi says
Hi Jasmine, you’d use the instructions as per the recipe notes for canned lentils here 🙂 N x
Josephine says
Wonderful thank you
Samantha says
Hey, does this recipe call to add the juice and lemon peel from an entire lemon or just to add a squeeze of juice?
Lynn says
You zest a lemon toward the end and add a squeeze of juice before serving.
I thought it was fairly clear
M Doyle says
I meant to say used fresh tomatoes and a little tomato paste!
M Doyle says
Really tasty – I changed the spice profile to make it more italian and added a parm rind while cooking. The lemon really does add a really nice burst of freshness! I also didn’t have any canned tomatoes and a little tomato paste. So delicious!
Ella says
Love this added cayenne, baked ham chopped, and did not blend. Love the india spice flavors. Parsley and lemon on top just perfect with a baguette. Thanks 🙏 my lady!
R. Moore says
Made this soup 4-5 times, I honestly think I could live on it. I don’t bother blending, it delicious as is.
Lisa says
so easy and delicious!!!
Donald Lawrence says
Do you rinse dried lentils
Nagi says
Hi Donald, yes rinsed here (I mention this next to the ingredient) 🙂 N x
Heather says
This lentil soup is delicious my husband says he doesn’t like lentil soup I got him to try it he loved It I kicked it up a little with cayenne pepper yummy
Jacquelyn says
I love lentil soups and this is my new favorite, thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe 🥰