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.
How about making in a Crock-Pot?
This is the best lentil soup ever! The secret ingredient (lemon) really takes it to 5 stars and pairs well with the cumin & paprika. It’s so easy to make too. Thank you for an awesome recipe!
I’m so glad you loved it Cindy! – N x
Really good! I thought the lemon was overpowering, though. I’ll definitely make this again but will use half as much lemon.
Hi Tiffany, I’m so glad you enjoyed it, just cut back on the lemon if you prefer – N x
This is a favorite at our house. I just finished putting this in my slow cooker. The house will smell wonderful and the warm soup will be ready to greet family when they arrive!
I am so glad to have found this. Lentil soup good but pretty boring. I will add the spices and lemon to the batch I made the other day. Thank you! I didn’t know how to spice it up. For the people that ask about the canned tomatoes, I never add the tomatoes, don’t care for it that way.
I hope you love it Patty!
Hi Nagi, just wondering if you have any recommendations or recipes for bread to eat with soups?
Hi Emily, I have a range on my site – cheesy garlic bread, no knead rolls, flatbread – all of which are great with soup!
This was so delicious!!! The only thing my husband and son added was some hot sauce in their bowls. I liked it just the way it was thank you
Hi!
My kids and husband do not eat tomatoes. Since you blend this soup do you know if I could use passata instead? Do you know how much I would need? I really want to try this recipe as it looks so good and healthy!
Thanks, Kathy
Hi Kathy, you could – but passata is tomatoes!
I’m not a fan of canned tomatoes of any variety. Do you think I could add chopped fresh tomatoes? Any tips on how much? Thanks!
This recipe is a keeper! Made it last night, used organic low salt chicken broth and homemade veggie broth…was so tasty. Added a small splash of worcestershire sauce.
Thanks for sharing this….. it’s great!
Oh yum Karen!
Hi Nagi! A friend served me this delicious soup last week! Have you tried it in a slow cooker or crock pot yet?
I haven’t sorry Barbara!
Hi Nagi, I ran into the same issue as one of the earlier commenter… my lentils absorbed all the water. I ladled up a cup of lentils and barely had a tablespoon of soup. lol I wonder what went wrong… I used Goya brand lentils and measured it by weight for more accuracy.
That said, the lentils were very flavourful and I really liked it. The lemon juice brightened up the spices beautifully,
Hi Ev, what type of lentils did you use? – N x
Hi Nagi, it was the dried variety. They look like the ones in your photo- with that brownish/greenish hue. I followed all the steps aside from blending it (too lazy to dig out the blender, heh). So it was more stew than soup this time, but I added 2 more cups of water to the huge amount of leftovers and half teaspoons of smoked paprika, cumin and coriander so when we have it again this weekend it should be much more in line with how the recipe ought to have turned out.
Hi Nagi,
When you say there is 116 calories in one cup of this soup,are you talking about a measuring cup as that would only be a couple of mouth full. If i was to have a desert bowl of this soup id be looking at a lot of calories. Or have i got this calorie cont all muddled up?
I think she said the 116 calories was for just 1 cup of plain cooked lentils, not the soup.
Hi John, one cup = 250ml 🙂
This is my second try at a lentil soup. The first one I tried was heavy on broth and spinach. Huge fail. However, the tomato and veggies in this soup bring this to life. It is delicious and I’m a huge fan. I’m going to search comments and reread your post but hoping its freezable for meal prep.
Hi Meg – I’m so glad you loved it! And yes, it’s fine to freeze – N x
How many people does this recipe feed? I am having a group of people over to my apartment and I want to cook this for them.
Hi Maria, the servings are at the top of the recipe cards for each recipe – this one serves 6 🙂
I love lentils and soup! However my husband always says things are not spicy enough…I have not made this yet but plan to soon and I wonder what I can add to take it up a notch in spiciness?? Tx
Hi Jennifer, Add a little cayenne pepper with the other spices to give it a kick 🙂
Question…if I was planning on making this in advance and freezing the batch, can I add the lemon before freezing?
Hi Elizabeth, you sure can – it’s a great freezer meal – N x
Absolutely Delicious! I followed your recipe exactly except down-sized it for one (me) 🙂 Soo Good I will be making this and more of your recipes, Thanks Nagi.
That’s great to hear Linda – N x
I made this today ,me and my husband love this,it was delicious😋
I’m so glad it was a hit Amy!!
Made this today exactly as written and it was delish.
Wahoo, I’m so glad you loved it Laurie!