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.
I would love to try this recipe, but was wondering if I could use tomato sauce instead of the crushed tomato?
Hi Deborah – you could use passata – as long as it has no added sugar/salt and is just tomatoes. N x
Absolutely delicious! The lemon really adds something special.
Nagi love your recipes but on this one I’m confused. You say 2 cups/400 g as the lentil measurement. 2 cups is much more than 400 g. Can you elaborate? I went with 2 c. But soup was very thick. Very delicious though.
Hi Carlene, 2 cups of dried lentils weighs 400g, what kind of lentils are you using? N xx
Perhaps I weighed them incorrectly. They were delicious in any event.
This is the best lentils recipe you could ever make, it’s tasty and unique! To my taste I added a but more salt and it was just perfect! Follow the instructions and surprise your guests!
Thanks so much for the awesome feedback Katerine!!
Thank you for your recipe, the soup turned out to be very tasty. I ate this soup with pleasure, my wife says it was easy to make it.
Nagi, Hi! I wanted you to know that I love, absolutely love, your recipes. I make it often, always very entertaining to read through it, great results! Plus, you are so sweet and funny!
Of course, Dozer is a great quality recipes control dog!
Your soups are awesome to have here in Western Canada!
Thank you, Pavla
Thanks so so so much Pavla! ❤️
I made this recipe to try a different variation of a soup I already love. Needless to say Nagi, you’ve never let me down before and this time was no exception. I don’t know how you make simple recipes so flavorful, but my taste buds and my family thank you. Keep it up!! 🙂
I have made many different lentil soups over the years, and this just might be the tastiest one yet!
Delicious! So thick and creamy. The lemon just gives it a huge lift at the end.
Another perfect recipe! Thanks!
You’re so welcome! N x
I’ve cooked this several times now and it’s so delicious and a winner with the family. The lemon just finishes it off perfectly
Yes it just gives it a fresh burst! I’m so glad you’re enjoying this recipe Louise 🙂
Wow! Just Wow! So flavorful. While chopping the vegetables I let the bayleaf, and some roasted garlic, simmer in the olive oil. Then I put the tomatoes in first, adding the spices, stirring and letting them cook down a bit. I don’t know if it boosted the flavor, but I like to think it did 😀 Thank you for a great recipe.
Even better the next day.
Yes definitely Marji! I love leftovers!
Use a instant pot and have it ready in 15 minutee
How would you adjust the recipe for instant pot?
Cook garlic..for 10 minutes? Anyone who is an experienced or even an inexperienced cook knows not to cook garlic for 10 minutes. Pity the novice who does.
Hi Ann, you’re cooking the onion and garlic for 2 minutes, then adding the celery and carrot and cooking a further 10 minutes. You can trust me on this one 😉 N x
By mistake I added lime leaves instead of the bay leaves. Found out that this lifts the flavor even more. I now add them when the carrot and celery is added. Even more amazing.
YUM! Sounds great Arnold – N xx
This soup is delicious! I also love that the ingredients are simple and economical, and it’s so easy to make. My 8 year old son loves it so much he asked me to put it in his lunch almost everyday this week. Thank you for this recipe!
Is this recipe crockpot friendly??
Hello! Thank you for sharing this recipe. I made it today with a few additions. I added Argentinian chorizo that I sautéed with the carrots, onion and celery. I added 1/2 a cup of whole grain quinoa and 1 tsp of brown sugar. The quinoa really made the broth thick so I had no need to use my inversion blender. The addition of the chorizo gave it a little kick without the need of heat spices. Next time I’ll be adding calabaza squash just because I love the flavor on everything soup related.
Sounds great Loreto!!
This lentil soup has got to be the best ever! Love everything about it, and I am pleased to report it works amazing in a slow cooker too- I just go up to step 3 and chuck everything in on low for between 3-5 hours, and add the lemon in when it’s all done. I don’t even usually blitz it at the end cos it’s the perfect consistency already by that point! Thanks Nagi, completely obsessed with your recipes!!
Wahoo, that’s great to hear Kim!!!