This amazing, easy Vegan Lentil Soup recipe is another of my easy vegan recipe that you can make any day of the year. If you’re after the world’s best gluten-free, freezer-friendly recipe, easy lentil soup recipes are begging to be part of your weekly meal planning! Make this recipe for lentil soup on the weekend and enjoy it for lunches and dinners all week long! Made with brown lentils and everyday ingredients, this is an affordable meal!
Shawn described this veg soup as a surprising instance of something healthy actually tasting really delicious too. So, that just about sums up my work here today. Marly out!
Just kidding. You know me. I always have more to say!
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 guess-work involved!
How to Make Lentil Soup
You may be wondering, how to make vegan lentil soup. Better yet, how do you make a healthy lentil soup recipe vegan? My answer to both questions is…it’s easy!
In fact, I find most vegan recipes way easier than cooking with meat! Why? Because to make this lentil bean soup, there’s no precooking the meat! You don’t have to worry about raw meat on your counters and all the washing involved with that either. It’s just another reason I love vegan meals!
OK. This may seem like a long list of ingredients, but it’s mostly seasonings. I promise, this simple vegetable soup comes together fast and easy. See for yourself:
- olive oil
- onion
- garlic
- carrots
- potatoes (I used red potatoes)
- water
- vegetable broth
- stewed tomatoes (14.5 ounce can)
- tomato paste
- tamari (or soy sauce)
- curry powder
- ground turmeric
- lentils
- cooked brown rice (cook brown rice yourself or buy pre-cooked packaged brown rice)
- frozen spinach (10 ounce package)
- salt and pepper to taste
Just as an FYI – I always keep a few 10-ounce packages of frozen spinach in my freezer. That’s because freezing veggies doesn’t have much of an impact on nutritional value. In fact, some studies have shown that some fresh fruits and veggies can lose some nutrients when stored and transported.
Make lentil kale soup by adding some chopped kale or even chopped cabbage. Besides, this adds even more health benefits to this healthy homemade lentil soup recipe. I could also see adding a 1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin to the spices to give it more of a chili flavor.
Regarding lentils, this is basically a brown lentil soup. See more on lentils below.
Keep your lentil soup vegetarian by using vegetable broth!
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 soaking!
To me, the best lentil soup recipes use brown lentils. That’s because it’s easier to find them and I like the way they cook. In fact, you can find brown lentils in most grocery stores. You can substitute green lentils, black lentils, or red lentils, but be aware the cooking time is different for these.
The trick to cooking lentils is to bring the liquid they’re in 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. Emma suggest, “You want to see just a few bubbles in the water and some gentle movement in the lentils.”
If you’re wondering how long to cook lentil soup, plan on it simmering for about 35 minutes or more.
Meal Planning with this recipe
I think we should all be making the best lentil recipes vegan transformed. Take, for example, my Lentil Sloppy Joes! Lentils are easy to cook with compared to most beans because they don’t have to be soaked prior to cooking.
This spicy curry lentil stew recipe is great meal planning because you can make a big batch on the weekend and enjoy it for lunch and/or dinner the rest of the week.
In fact, the flavors in this best ever soup intensify over time, making it the ultimate in meal prepping recipes.
You should include simple, yummy vegan lentil recipes in your meal planning because they’re so affordable. If you want more recipes with lentils, check out my Vegan Lentil Burgers. They are amazing!
How Many Calories in Vegan Lentil Soup Recipes?
This is another healthy soup recipe. You can expect around 380 calories per serving along with these other nutritional benefits, such as fiber and protein. Here’s a breakdown per serving:
Calories: 380 Protein: 21g Carbs: 65g Fiber: 25g Net Carbs: 40g
I know people who are watching their carbs may feel alarmed by a recipe with 40g of carb per serving, however, these are whole foods carbs. It’s a much better source of carbs than say, potato chips.
Mediterranean Lentil Soup
Are you following a Mediterranean diet? It includes meals inspired by peoples living in Greece, Southern Italy, and Spain. A lot of science supports this mostly plant-based diet for longevity and health.
You could group this in the meatless Mediterranean Lentil Soups category because it fits perfectly in that meal plan. I know the curry changes the profile a bit, but it offers health benefits and flavor. In addition to providing fiber and other nutrients, this lentils recipe provide a lot of plant-based protein!
Can this soup be Frozen?
You can freeze spiced lentil soup for up to 2 months. Simply allow the soup to cool and then transfer to freezer-safe containers, label, and freeze.
To serve frozen lentils soup recipe, remove from the freezer and place in the microwave and cook in defrost mode until the soup is thawed. Either continue heating in the container or transfer to individual servings and cook until heated through.
To serve, simply pour the spiced vegan lentil soup into a bowl and cook in the microwave until heated through. I like adding some vegan sour cream as a topping and a generous drizzle (or pour) of sriracha for added heat. It’s a delicious dinner dish!
I can imagine having a bowl of this curried lentil soup with a slice of Savory Zucchini Bread on the side.
Love Hearty Vegan Soup Recipes?
If you love this lentil vegan soup that means you love hearty vegan soup recipes! If so, be sure and check out these:
- This Vegan Chicken Noodle Soup is the best!
- Make this Vegan Cheeseburger Soup for your next comfort food meal!
- Everyone loves Vegan Beef Soup, even vegans and omnivores alike!
- This smoky Vegan Pinto Soup is so filling!
- Make this tasty Vegan Butternut Squash Soup today!
- Whatever soup you’re eating, be sure to serve it with some delicious, buttery Vegan Cornbread!
- For a change of pace, this delicious Vegan Jambalaya recipe is fabulous!
- Finally, discover 75 Vegan Soup Recipes too!
Do you love this simple lentil soup recipe? Me too! While you’re making it, be sure and snap a photo and share it with me using #namelymarly on Instagram. I love seeing your photos!
Vegan 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
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a pot, add oil and sauté onion over medium heat until 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. 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.
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.
That’s it for this spicy lentil soup. Enjoy!
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
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!
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 sounds fantastic Marly. 🙂
I love lentil soup – bookmarking this try!