Vegan Lentil Soup
This versatile curried lentil soup is an easy vegan recipe you can make any time. Make this stasty oup part of your weekly meal planning!
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Made with brown lentils and everyday ingredients, this is an affordable meal!
Serve this satisfying soup with some Vegan Cornbread on the side. A dollop of this creamy Vegan Ricotta is also great on top.
Shawn described this lentil soup as a surprising instance where something healthy actually tastes delicious, too. So, that just about sums up my work here today. Marly out!
You may be wondering, Is lentil soup vegan? Even well-meaning home cooks may THINK they’re making vegan or vegetarian lentil soup, but may include things like chicken broth or beef broth. It’s always good to ask about ingredients.
Of course, when you make it yourself, there’s no guesswork involved!
Ingredients & Substitutions
You can find the full printable recipe, including ingredient quantities, below. But first, here are some explanations of ingredients and steps to help you make this recipe perfect every time.
- Aromatics — We’ll cook onion and garlic in some olive oil
- Vegetables — Carrots and potatoes (I used red potatoes) are favorite veggies
- Vegetable broth — I prefer to use Better than Bouillon Vegetarian here
- Stewed Tomatoes — You’ll need a 14.5-ounce can of stewed tomatoes
- Tomato paste — A bit of tomato paste adds thickness and tomato flavor
- Tamari — This is a gluten-free soy sauce, or you can substitute soy sauce
- Spices — For this soup, curry powder and ground turmeric are best. You could add a 1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin to give it a chili flavor.
- Lentils — I prefer simple brown lentils because they’re affordable and accessible and cook up perfectly.
- Cooked Brown Rice — You can cook brown rice yourself or buy pre-cooked packaged brown rice.
- Spinach — I add a 10-ounce package of frozen spinach, or you can use 2–3 cups of fresh spinach. Make lentil kale soup by adding chopped kale.
- Salt and Pepper — After the soup is done, add salt and pepper to taste.
What are the Best Lentils for Lentil Soup?
There are many different varieties of lentils, from red lentils, green lentils, brown lentils, and black lentils. Everyone has opinions about what lentils are best based on their cooking time and texture. I recommend brown lentils because they’re easily available and cook up perfectly without soaking. You can substitute green lentils (also known as French lentils) without adjusting the recipe. If you use red lentils, they cook up much more quickly and can get mushy, so be sure to keep an eye on them as they cook.
Marly’s Tips
I always keep a few 10-ounce packages of frozen spinach in my freezer. That’s because freezing veggies doesn’t impact the nutritional value. In fact, some studies have shown that frozen is better because it’s frozen at the peak of ripeness.
What Makes This Recipe Shine?
- Lentils are small and therefore don’t have to be soaked before cooking, making them a perfect plant-based soup to serve
- Using tomato paste contributes to a thick sauce and adds tomato flavor
- Adding carrots and potatoes adds texture and color to this soup
- Chopped frozen spinach contributes beautiful color, flavor, and nutrition to every bite.
How to Make Lentil Soup
I find most vegan recipes way easier than cooking with meat! Why? Because to make this lentil soup, there’s no pre-cooking of any beef! That means no worrying about raw meat on your counters and all the washing that comes with it.
Here’s how to make this easy lentil soup:
- Cook Aromatics — Heat oil in a pot and sauté onion over medium heat until onion is tender. Add the chopped garlic and cook for about a minute.
- Vegetables — Add the chopped carrots and potatoes and cook them until tender.
- Broth & Lentils — Add water, broth, tomatoes, tomato paste, tamari (or soy sauce), and spices. Stir this all together. Add the dried lentils and bring them to a boil. Then reduce the heat and place the lid ajar on the pot. See more on cooking lentils below. Cook until the lentils are tender, about 35 minutes.
- Rice and Spinach — Once the lentils are tender, stir in cooked brown rice and spinach. Cook until the spinach is heated through, and then remove it from the heat. Allow the soup to cool for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Serving — To serve, place individual servings in a bowl and cook in a microwave until heated through. Garnish with chopped green onions, tomatoes, and/or coconut yogurt.
Storage Tips
Transfer cooled soup to sealable containers. This will keep in the fridge for up to 7 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
How to Cook Lentils in Soup
Lentils, a legume, are one of the world’s best ingredients for a vegetarian or a vegan diet because they’re cheap and easy to make. They don’t even need pre-soaking before cooking!
To me, the best lentil soup recipes use brown lentils. That’s because it’s easier to find them and they have an intact texture when cooked. In fact, you can find brown lentils in most grocery stores. You can substitute green lentils, black lentils, or red lentils, but be aware that the cooking time is different for these.
The trick to cooking lentils is to bring the liquid to a boil, then reduce the heat until the water is at a low simmer. The water should be moving, but not too much. This post on cooking lentils from The Kitchn is really good.
If you simmer too high, you’ll lose the liquid too quickly, and some of the lentils might be mushy. However, if you simmer too low, the lentils will still be underdone.
You can include simple vegan lentil recipes in your meal planning because they’re so affordable. Check out my Vegan Lentil Burgers. They are amazing!
Mediterranean Lentil Soup
Are you following a Mediterranean diet? It includes meals inspired by people living in Greece, Southern Italy, and Spain. A lot of science supports this mostly plant-based diet for longevity and health.
You could categorize this in the Meatless Mediterranean Lentil Soups category because it fits perfectly into that meal plan. I know the curry alters the profile slightly, but it also offers nutrients and flavor. In addition to providing fiber and other essential nutrients, lentils offer a plant-based source of protein.
Can Lentil Soup Be Frozen?
You can freeze spiced lentil soup for up to 2 months. Allow the soup to cool and then transfer to freezer-safe containers, label, and freeze. To serve frozen soup, remove it from the freezer and place it in the microwave, and cook it in defrost mode until the soup is thawed. Continue cooking until heated through.
How Many Calories in Vegan Lentil Soup?
This is another healthy soup recipe. You can expect around 380 calories per serving along with these other nutrients, such as fiber and protein.
I can imagine having a bowl of this curried vegan lentil soup with a slice of Savory Zucchini Bread on the side.
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Carrot and Lentil Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 cups chopped carrots
- 2 cups chopped potatoes (with peel)
- 4 cups water
- 4 cups low sodium vegetable stock
- 14.5 ounces canned stewed tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon tamari (or soy sauce)
- 2 teaspoons curry powder
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- 2 cups dried brown lentils
- 1 cup cooked brown rice
- 10 ounce frozen spinach , thawed
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice (optional)
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a pot, add oil and sauté onion over medium heat until the onion is tender, about 5 minutes. Add chopped garlic and cook for about a minute.
- Add chopped carrots and potatoes and cook until vegetables begin to become tender.
- Add water, broth, tomatoes, tomato paste, tamari (or soy sauce), curry, and turmeric. Stir together. Then add dried lentils. Bring to a boil and cover and reduce heat to low so that it comes to a gentle simmer. Cook until lentils are tender, about 35 minutes.
- Once lentils are tender, stir in cooked brown rice, and spinach. Salt and pepper to taste. Cook until spinach is heated through then remove from heat. Allow to cool for 10 minutes. Stir in lemon juice to brighten flavors.
- Either transfer to serving dishes or for meal prepping, transfer to sealable containers. This will keep in the fridge for up to 7 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
- To serve, place individual servings in a bowl and cook in a microwave until heated through. Garnish with chopped green onions, tomatoes, and/or coconut yogurt.
Recommended Equipment
(The products above contain sponsored links to products we use and recommend)
The nutrition information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator and should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
More Vegan Soups
If you love this lentil vegan soup, you’ll want even more vegan soup recipes, like these:
I hope you love this simple lentil soup recipe as much as we do!
This post was originally published in 2018 and updated in 2021 to include new photos, text, and a revised recipe.
About the Author
Hi! I’m Marly McMillen. I’m the founding editor, author, recipe developer, vegan home chef, and food stylist behind Namely Marly. I’m so grateful to you and every member of my audience for your support and dedication. More about Namely Marly ›
7 Responses to Vegan Lentil Soup
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The way you blend seasonings is something magical! I am not vegan but your recipes are some of my favorites and I find myself eating more and more meatless these days. I do have a question though, “curry” is a pretty broad term. Currently I have a madras and a vindaloo. With tomatoes, potatoes and carrots I am thinking the madras will be better but I was curious about your thoughts on how that will mix.
Hi Emily! Wow—your message completely made my day! Thank you so much for the kind words. You’re absolutely right, “curry” can mean a lot of different things, depending on the spice blend. I think you’re on the right track with madras curry powder for this one. It’s one of my favorites because I love that fenugreek spice and always look for it in whatever curry powder I’m buying. Madras tends to be flavorful with a gentle heat, and it pairs beautifully with tomato-based dishes and hearty veggies like potatoes and carrots. Vindaloo, on the other hand, usually has a sharper vinegar note and more intense heat, which might overpower the sweetness of the carrots and the comfort-food feel of the dish.
Of course, it all comes down to your taste preferences, but I’d say go with the madras and you’ll be in delicious territory. 🙂
Thanks again for reaching out—and happy cooking!
I love lentil soup – bookmarking this try!
This sounds fantastic Marly. 🙂
I was just organizing my pantry today, and I thought, “I need to use these lentils.” What perfect timing. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I’m eager to check it out. I hope you are having a wonderful Saturday, Marly. Much love!
This seems like a GREAT soup! I always have a soup for breakfast and this looks so delish to try on, I haven’t tried one yet I always have avocado soup, melon soup, tomato soup, so this is really a different. I’m excited to try this, thanks for the link!
This soup looks and sounds delish! I live at the coast so even in the summer the evenings can be pretty cool. Soup is on my menu year round! Great photo