Red lentil soup, warm, comforting, and nutritious. A perfectly simple recipe to enjoy during the cold winter days, it's ready in 30 minutes!
This red lentil soup should be a must in your cookbook! It really is one of the best recipes to fight the cold, as it is super warm, cozy, and satisfying. I absolutely love to have it for lunch or dinner, as it is light but filling at the same time.
Soups are always a staple on my table because they are one of the easiest recipes to prepare and they don't require a lot of effort. They are great if you don't have much time to cook but still want to enjoy a hearty meal!
Besides, this recipe is packed with lots of vegan protein and I usually serve it with some basmati rice if I have leftovers but they're not enough to make a full meal.
Red lentil soup recipe, super warming, comforting, and ready in 30 minutes. It is great for the wintertime and one of the easiest recipes you'll ever make. It's so flavorful everyone will have seconds!
Red lentil soup recipe - Short video
How to make red lentil soup - Step by step
- Heat the oil in a large pot (photo 1) and add the veggies (photo 2). Cook over medium-high heat until golden brown (photo 3), stirring occasionally.
- Add the spices (photo 4) and cook for 1-2 more minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Incorporate all the remaining ingredients except the lemon juice (photo 5), stir, and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer (partially covered) for about 15-20 minutes or until the lentils are soft (photo 6).
- Remove the bay leaf, add the lemon juice (photo 7), and stir.
- Serve your red lentil soup immediately or blend with an immersion blender or a regular blender before serving (photo 8).
Pro tips
- Feel free to add your favorite veggies, spices, and herbs.
- Crushed tomatoes can be replaced by diced tomatoes or even fresh chopped tomatoes (you may need to add more stock if you use fresh tomatoes though).
- Any type of oil will do.
- Add more or less liquid depending on how thick you want your soup to be.
- If you want to reduce the amount of sodium in this recipe, omit the salt and use water instead of vegetable stock. You could also make your own vegetable stock with no salt or buy a low-sodium one.
- Lentils don't need to be soaked in order to reduce cooking time, but if you do soak them they will be easier to digest.
- If you can't find red lentils, use any other type of lentils instead, but you may need to add more or less water and the cooking time will probably change as well.
Do I have to make this red lentil soup with lemon?
Although there's not a big amount of lemon in this recipe (I used only 1 tablespoon of lemon juice) you can omit it if you don't like how it tastes. However, I think it gives the soup a delicious flavor!
How long will this red lentil soup keep?
You won't likely have any leftovers because this recipe is absolutely delicious, but if you do have them, you can keep them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Serving suggestions
Feel free to serve your vegan soup with a side of vegan garlic bread, vegan bread, or even gluten-free bread.
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Did you make this red lentil soup recipe?
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Red Lentil Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and finely chopped
- 2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 cup dried red lentils
- 1 14-ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 4 cups vegetable stock
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pot and add the veggies (garlic, onion, and carrot). Cook over medium-high heat until golden brown, stirring occasionally.
- Add the spices (cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper), and cook for 1-2 more minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Incorporate all the remaining ingredients (lentils, tomatoes, stock, and bay leaf), except the lemon juice, stir, and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer (partially covered) for about 15-20 minutes or until the lentils are soft.
- Remove the bay leaf, add the lemon juice, and stir.
- You can serve the red lentil soup immediately with a side of vegan garlic bread, vegan bread, or even gluten-free bread. I prefer to blend it using an immersion blender or a regular blender.
- Keep the leftovers in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 1 week or in the freezer for about 2 months.
Notes
- Feel free to add your favorite veggies, spices, and herbs.
- Crushed tomatoes can be replaced by diced tomatoes or even fresh chopped tomatoes (you may need to add more stock if you use fresh tomatoes though).
- Any type of oil will do.
- Add more or less liquid depending on how thick you want your soup to be.
- If you want to reduce the amount of sodium in this recipe, omit the salt and use water instead of vegetable stock. You could also make your own vegetable stock with no salt or buy a low-sodium one.
- Lentils don't need to be soaked in order to reduce cooking time, but if you do soak them they will be easier to digest.
- If you can't find red lentils, use any other type of lentils instead, but you may need to add more or less water and the cooking time will probably change as well.
John Schoen-McCullough says
This is very easy to make and delicious! I added curry powder in and it made it taste even better
Adriana @ Simple Vegan Blog says
Hi John! Sounds so good 🙂
Katherine says
I'm trying to leave butter, oil and eggs alone. What can I substitute?
Iosune Robles says
Hi! In our blog, you can find a vegan butter recipe and also some eggs substitutes!
Annelies says
Dear Iosune,
I don't usually leave reviews on food blogs, but I really wanted to say how absolutely delicious this soup is! We are a large, plant-based family, and Sunday is our 'soup day'. With many children around the table, there is invariably at least one pair of raised eyebrows over one soup recipe or another, but I can honestly say that this soup received unanimous thumbs up all around the table. Even one of our youngest commented, "Mmhh, mama, this is really nice soup!"
The only "change" I made was that I cooked it in the pressure cooker (10mins), but everything else was the same.
Thank you for the wonderful blog you run. I have been following you for a long time, and have been recommending you to many family members and friends. Each recipe is a joy to prepare, and of all the ones I have tried (many!), not one has failed. They are so easy to follow, simple ingredients, and just plain delicious. I always look forward to the next one.
Lots of love, Annelies
Iosune Robles says
Hi Annelies! Thank you so much for your kind comment 🙂 Have a nice day!