The Best Lentil Soup
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This is the BEST lentil soup ever, made in 1 pot with budget friendly ingredients. Naturally thick, satisfying and filling! Perfect with some fresh crusty bread for dipping.
This lentil soup is anything but bland. It’s FULL of flavor between the spices, fresh vegetables and even a squeeze of lemon juice at the end.
One thing I absolutely love about colder weather is enjoying a warm bowl of soup, perhaps with a cozy sweater while watching the leaves change outside. But I honestly enjoy soup all year long. I love how I can make a big pot of soup and have leftovers for several days, or even freeze some for a rainy day.
A few of my other favorite soup recipes include Vegan Broccoli Cheese Soup and Vegan Potato Soup.
You’ll want to make this lentil soup all year long! It’s:
- Budget friendly, made with inexpensive ingredients
- Satisfying, filling and full of protein
- Filled with greens
- Kid-friendly
- & SO easy to make!
Ingredients needed
- Olive oil – for sautéing the vegetables, may omit or use vegetable broth for oil free.
- Onion
- Garlic
- Carrots
- Celery
- Crushed or diced tomatoes – I usually use diced tomatoes, but you can use crushed if you don’t like having chunks of tomatoes in your soup.
- Green/brown lentils – I wouldn’t use red here, as they sort of melt into the soup.
- Vegetable broth – I almost always use Better than Bouillon Vegetable Base. It has great flavor and is so easy to store.
- Spices – Cumin, coriander, smoked paprika, salt.
- Baby spinach – You can substitute kale, if desired.
- Lemon juice – Don’t skip this, it really takes the soup to the next level!
What kind of lentils should I use?
Use either green or brown lentils for this soup. Both work well; they hold their shape while thickening the soup. You could even use black lentils, but your soup will be a lot less thick. So go for green or brown!
Red lentils are wonderful in many dishes, but not this soup. They are very soft and mushy once cooked, and in this soup we really want the lentils to hold their shape. I love using red lentils in marinara when I want to add nutrition and protein without changing the consistency very much, like in The Best Vegan Lasagna. I also use red lentils in Cauliflower Sweet Potato Curry Soup and Red Lentil Lemon Soup.
How do you make lentil soup?
This is a very simple recipe to make.
First, in a large soup pot, cook the onions, garlic, carrots and celery in a bit of olive oil for about 4-5 minutes.
Next, add the rest of the ingredients EXCEPT for the spinach and lemon juice. Simmer for about 30 minutes until the soup is thickened and the lentils are tender.
Use an immersion blender and blend a few times right in the pot to make the soup creamy. Alternatively, you could add a few cups of soup to a blender, blend until smooth then add back to the pot.
Finally, stir in the spinach, lemon juice and season with salt to taste. If you want to use kale instead of spinach, give it about 10 minutes to simmer in the soup.
Enjoy with some fresh, crusty bread if desired or even with some brown rice.
Tips for success
- Blend a little of the soup to make it creamy, with no cream needed!
- Use brown or green lentils, NOT red.
- Don’t skip the lemon juice, it really brings out the flavors of the soup.
- Switch up the veggies based on what you have, such as green peas, a potato/sweet potato, broccoli or cauliflower.
Leftovers and freezing
This soup recipe makes quite a bit, so consider freezing your leftovers if you don’t think you will eat it within 5 days. You can freeze it in individual containers for quick, easy meals in the future! Or freeze half of the soup in a large container or large freezer bag.
Warm leftover soup in the microwave or a pot on the stove. Perfect for healthy meal prep!
More amazing vegan soup recipes
- Easy Vegan Tomato Soup
- Vegan Minestrone Soup
- Vegan Chicken Noodle Soup
- Black Bean Soup
- Super Creamy Cauliflower Kale Soup
The Best Lentil Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
- 2 celery ribs, chopped
- 14- ounce can crushed or diced tomatoes
- 2 cups dry green or brown lentils
- 7 cups vegetable broth
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 3 cups baby spinach, sliced into ribbons, or kale
- 1 lemon, juiced (about 2 tablespoons)
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, carrots and celery. Cook, stirring frequently for about 4-5 minutes.
- Now add the can of tomatoes (with juices), lentils, vegetable broth, cumin, coriander and smoked paprika. Stir to incorporate everything.
- Bring to a boil, then lower heat to a simmer and cook for about 30 minutes, until the lentils are tender and the soup has thickened. For a creamier texture, use an immersion blender to blend a few times in the pot. Alternatively, add 1-2 cups of the soup to a regular blender, blend until smooth and then return to the pot.
- Stir in the spinach and lemon juice. It will only take a minute for the spinach to wilt. Season with salt to taste.
Video
Notes
- For a thinner soup, simply add more water or vegetable broth until the desired consistency is reached.Â
- Leftover soup will keep for up to 5 days in the refrigerator.
- This soup freezes well. Either freeze in individual containers or a large container for quick future meals.
- May substitute kale for the spinach, but you will need to cook the kale in the soup about 10 more minutes to get it tender.Â
Nutrition
*This recipe was first published in November 2018 and has been reposted with improved photos and writing.
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271 Comments on “The Best Lentil Soup”
I had to improvise, because I was out of celery…this soup was still delicious! Hearty and warm, great for winter months. Thanks for another easy and tasty recipe.
Hi Mary. I’m glad the soup turned out delicious for you! Thank you for sharing!
Lentil soup is something I always enjoy when eating out. Not so much when I’ve made it at home. Viola! You changed that with this recipe. Very simple, very fast, very comforting. I just finished my second bowl. Thank you very much.
Hi Mary. I”m glad you enjoyed the lentil soup! Thank you!
Oh my goodness! This is delicious! I’m a fan of lentils and have several recipes for lentil soup. But this is the best!Â
I added cubed potatoes and doubled the seasoning, but otherwise followed the recipe. Absolutely yummy.Â
Thank you, Nora, Â for making it so tasty and easy to be plant-based!Â
Hi Kathleen. Thank you for using my recipes! I’m glad you are enjoying them. Thank you for sharing your suggestions!
This was so amazing!! I forgot the spinch tho.. whoops! It was still so good! I reccomended this to a vegan friend too(: i will make this again ams again foe sure! 💕
This is really the best soup ever. It was my introduction to lentils. I’ve made it a few times this year and make enough to freeze. I have a tomato allergy, so I omit the tomato and add 2 medium zucchini and some extra kidney and black beans. It’s my go to recipe. I also really love cumin, so I end up adding adding an additional 1 1/2 tbs. It is especially delicious over chickpea casarecce or brown rice. Thanks, Nora!
Thank you so much! I’m glad you are enjoying the lentil soup.
Can I use frozen spinach
Sure, that will work.
I made this soup and it was unbelievably delicious. I’ll be making batches and batches!
I love this soup ! I added more spices than what it called for , I also added a bit of turmeric and cayenne pepper … I will definitely make this again !
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed the lentil soup.
Excellent Lentil Soup! Love the addition of spinach!Â
Thank you, Ashlee! Glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you for this awesome recipe. Â It was everything I hoped for!!! I have made lots of your recipes and have never been disappointed!!!
Thanks!!
Delicious and warm and mmmmmmm
Nora cooks is one of my 2 go to sites for vegan recipes. The lentil soup is delicious and easy to make.
Thanks so much!
Made this soup a handful of times now and it’s so good! It’s become a vegan staple of mine, and because it makes so much I can use it to meal prep. I personally like blending it all up – but only a little so it still has texture. Love it ◡̈Â
Thank you so much, glad you enjoy it!
I’ve made this soup twice in the past two weeks. It makes a bunch of soup as well so that means i’ve been eating it for dinner every night – that’s just how good it is!! Seriously – my favourite lentil soup recipe EVER. Thanks so much for this lovely recipe Nora, it’s delish 🙂
I’m so happy you are enjoying the lentil soup, I love it too! Thank you.
This is a very good soup nicely spiced but if you are trying to track calories, how much is one serving? Is that a cup, a cup and a half? Thank you.
Thank you! About 1 cup, maybe a little more. The nutrition estimate is for 1 of 8 servings total.
Fabulous recipe, fabulous flavour. You MUST try this recipe!
Delish and quick
Really nice, easy recipe. Lentil soup with tomatoes is always a favourite for me. I put it in the instant pot for 10 minutes and it came out great. Was able to throw it together during my baby’s nap and still have time to get other things done.
Great flavours! I have made many lentil soups and this one is definitely going to be popular!
Thank you Nora for another great recipe! This is my go to site for vegan recipes of all kinds.
That means the world to me, seriously! Thank you so much.
I made it tonight. It was delicious. Â I accidentally bought the wrong size can of crushed tomatoes so I used a little less broth. I also used extra carrots and celery because I like a lot of veggies in my soup. Thank you for this recipe.Â
I’m so happy you enjoyed the lentil soup!
My Favorite!
So good excellent favorÂ
Excellent. Â Perfect flavor. Â Super easy.Â
Simple and loveable Protein rich , a good for bachelors.
Thank you!
Great taste and easy to make