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.
Delicious! My husband, a dedicated carnivore enjoyed this soup. Very filling and very comforting.
So great to hear Ev!! Thanks for letting me know you enjoyed this – N x
Is the serving size (421 grams) about 1.5 cups? I would probably have double that in a meal.
This soup is a staple!!
Hi Pamela! Yep it’s about 1 3/4 cup. I really find it quite filling! N xx
Nagi, this soup is AMAZING. I say this about all of your recipes but this is just delicious. The spices along with the lemon & zest. Yum. 😍. Could eat daily.
Fantastic to hear Steven! Thanks for letting me know! N x ❤️
Making this for the second time today. This soup is delicious!!! I eat mine with a dollop of Greek yogurt and sprinkle pumpkin and sunflower seeds on top. Also love the fact that something so tasty is good for you too.
Love hearing that Laurie! So glad you love this too! N xx
Made the recipe except didn’t have any lemon and added about 1.5 to 2 cups chopped fresh spinach. Great recipe! Yummy and quick and easy to make.
Love hearing that Craig! So pleased you enjoyed this so much! N xx
Live on the fabulous Oregon coast…but March is especially wet and rainy…which makes for perfect soup weather. Tried this recipe today and my husband loves it. The lemon zest and lemon juice make it the best! Along with the coriander and cumin. Fabulous soup…will be making it again and again. Thank you!
What do you say to adding some small diced potatoes to this?! How would I go about incorporating….? 🙂 Novice cook here!
This soup was very good. I did it slowly and the flavor was great.
Weather was calling for thunderstorms here in TN and I had a bag of lentils in the pantry! So I decided homemade bread and soup were in order. I’m so glad I found your recipe! The addition of paperika and coriander put it over the top! I added the spices to the veggies to toast before adding liquids (i didn’t have celery but I had a green pepper) . I also didn’t have crushed tomatoes so I threw in a couple tablespoons of tomato paste and a cup of water. Then I used homemade chicken broth. Thank you for the recipe!
I LOVE hearing that Kisha! Thanks so much for letting me know! N xx
I consider myself a good cook, but lentil soup always intimidated me for some reason. It might be because I’ve had some REALLY good lentil soup in my day, and I just assumed it must be hard to make. This recipe is GREAT! I was a little worried with the consistency after everything had cooked, but once I blended 2 cups of the soup as recommended, I was completely sold. Delicious flavors, perfect texture – it was a hit among my wife and I, as well as our 9 month old daughter!
This soup was amazing! I made it for myself, froze half of the leftovers, and ate it for a couple of weeks. It never got old because the flavor was so spot on. This is definitely bookmarked in my recipe box to make for years to come.
I LOVE HEARING THAT!! *Sorry for shouting* 😂
This was absolutely tasty! It was my first time cooking with lentils and will become my go to when making bean soup again. 5 stars👍🏾.
P.s I have one confession….. I added some kale in the last 10 minutes of cooking.😉
Just made this recipe on a snowy day and it was perfect! Just what we needed to warm us up! My boyfriend loved it.
LOVE hearing that Patricia!!! So glad you enjoyed it! N x
I’ve made your recipe a couple times using Rotel, once added potatoes, always turned out great.
I’m so pleased you enjoyed this Deborah! Thanks for letting me know! N xx
Amazing really! I didn’t have any lemon, and I added more chicken broth and water. Does the lemon add a lot flavor wise? This is a new favorite of mine now. 5 stars!
LOVE HEARING THAT!!!! Thanks for letting me know Chris! N xx ❤️
amazing!! I just cooked it. I added turmeric.
LOVE IT!!!!
Best lentil soup I’ve had! Perfect flavors! The only thing is I always have to cook it longer for my lentils to soften up, closer to an hour…no big deal, just thought that might help someone else.
Me too!!!! Even an 60-120 minutes! Why is that?!
So glad you enjoyed this Katherine!
Just made this I need my instant pot. I added 1 sweet potatoe and half red half green lentils, it’s delicious and very warming which is what we need with this really bad weather in the UK at the moment !
I heard!!! It’s all over the news here in Australia! N x
The best lentil soup! I used red lentils and mostly water instead of broth (I had only 2 cups broth). It came out wonderfully and my husband enjoyed it too! I will make it again. Thank you for sharing your delicious recipe!
So glad you enjoyed this Lauren! Thanks for letting me know 🙂 N x
Beautiful lentil soup! Have made two of your recipes now, this one and sticky salmon salad, both turned out delicious, and I am a terrible cook! Thank you for your great recipes. I made this with red lentils as I didn’t have any other kind and it was delicious
You clearly are NOT a terrible cook if you’ve made both of them and enjoyed them! 🙂 N xx
Made this soup today, was good, but. Elieve I’ll try another recipe next time.