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.
Claudia says
Hi Nagi, I want to try this recipe but I don’t have all the ingredients! I was wondering whether I could substitute the celery & carrots with vegetable stock? Trying to avoid the shops during this lock down as much as possible… I’m probably going to try your “easy yeast bread recipe” to have with the soup! Thank you for your recipes – with love from South Africa 🙂
Nagi says
Hi Claudia, you can leave the carrot and celery out – flavour wont be quite the same but it will still be delicious. N x
Cate says
Love this soup as it’s tasty, healthy, easy and inexpensive.
Nagi says
Yes exactly!!! I’m so glad you enjoyed it Cate! N x
Kris says
Are you not supposed to season with salt at the end rather than before simmering? Can you skip the broth and just add water? a veggie cube also contains salt. Thanks!
Nagi says
Hi Kris, I prefer to use broth for more flavour otherwise you’ll find it a little bland. Alternatively you can replace with a stock cube and water and season at the end. N x
Amenda says
To remove the “scum”…. aren’t we just removing all the seasoning? I’m in the middle of making it and I just can’t understand…. is everyone doing this step?
Nagi says
Hi Amenda, you’ll find the lentils give off a little scum which you can remove. You’re not taking away the seasonings here but if you want to skip this step you can. N x
Cheryl says
Made this yesterday and it was a perfect, hearty soup. Great for dunking fresh sourdough 🙂
Nagi says
Yes – sourdough is a must for dunking! N x
Arielle says
I’ve made this recipe countless times and I’ve never rated it. It’s the best lentil soup recipe. Truly never fails. The lemon sets it off and I add some chopped kale at the end. I’ve used Garam Masala and coriander interchangeably. Thank youuuuu
Nagi says
Wahoo, thanks so much Arielle! N x
Nadia says
I used to eat this as a child in Greece and my gosh it tastes the exact same and so authentic – what a nostalgic dish! It tastes even better (who knew that was possible) with feta crumbled on top.
Nagi says
Love hearing this Nadia!! N x
Leighanne says
Magical flavours – such a hearty comforting soup – thank you!
Nagi says
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Leighanne, thanks so much for letting me know 🙂 N x
Francesca says
I made this soup today & it was the perfect lunch for a cold, wet Melbourne day while in social isolation. Even our 8 & 12 year olds ate it & said that it was good! I didn’t add the lemon but will try it next time if we have any.
Nagi says
Woah, that’s awesome Francesca!!! N x
Melissa says
Can u omit the tomatoes?
Nagi says
Not in this recipe Melissa, it’s the base for the soup. N x
Carmen Said says
Hello Navi & Dozer,
Second time I tried this heavenly Lentil soup 😊 Amazing, delicious, can’t get enough of it.
Oh Dozer is adorable 😋
Nagi says
I’m so glad you love it Carmen!! N x
Liz says
Hi Nagi, we love your recipes and I’m making this next! We only have smoked paprika; would that work? Many thanks.
Nagi says
Yes Liz that will be fine 🙂 N X
Kathy says
Made this tasty soup today and Loved it! As suggested by reviewers, I added 1 tsp brown sugar and more broth to thin a little…Perfection!
Nagi says
Sounds great Kathy!! N x
Shifa says
The trick for me was the lemons. I wasn’t feeling the Nagi taste before I added the lemon. When I did, we ate the whole pot of 1kg lentils
Nagi says
Woah that’s so great to hear Shifa! N x
Bron says
Hi Nagi, love your receipes. I have a bag of ‘mixed soup’ dried pulses – split peas, pearl barley, lentils kidney/bolotti/black eye beans. Assuming this would be ok to use? It’s 500g so will add a bit more stock?
Thanks! (Making another batch of your pea & ham soup today, it’s wonderful)
Ellen says
Hi and thanks for sharing your recipes. I want to make this but there’s only 2 of us. How would you scale this back?
Nagi says
Hi Ellen, click the servings size and use the scaler to change the serving to 2, all the ingredients will adjust for you! N x
Ellen says
Thank you! Can’t wait to make this!
Angie says
Ok Nagi, I’m no fan of lentils (at all!), yet since I trust you so much, and have never been disappointed with ANY of your recipes, I’m betting I’ll love this 😉 And may I just say, Dozer is just about the most adorable doggie I think I’ve ever seen!! Thank you for not only the great recipes, but for sharing him with all of us around the world! ~Angie from the U.S.
Nagi says
Ohhhhh I’d love to know what you think once you try it – here’s to converting you to a lentil lover 😂 N x
Ricardo says
Hi Nagi! I loved this recipe, and I’d like to cook it to my GF, but she hates celery, is there a substitute?
Nagi says
Hi Ricardo, you really can’t taste it, but if she’s adamant not to have it, just leave it out 🙂 N x
Tracey says
Hi Nagi, I am having difficulty finding coriander powder/ground. What can I use as a substitute? 😊
Nagi says
Hi Tracey, you can just leave it out – it will still taste amazing! N x
Maria says
One word only – DELICIOUS!
Nagi says
Wahoo, thanks so much for letting me know Maria! N x