This spiced Vegan Red Lentil Soup is a warm, comforting meal that comes together in just 45 minutes. It’s full of flavor from ginger, garlic, and spices, with a luxuriously rich texture. It’s perfect with a squeeze of lemon to brighten things up!
Happy Monday! Hope you guys had a wonderful weekend :) I let myself take a weekend-work break (which doesn’t happen too often…even though I guess I am writing this on a Sunday) and it was so nice. I hope yours was equally relaxing and rejuvenating.
I’ve been long promising more savory recipes, and I’ve come through a few times, but I’ve definitely not gotten as many savory recipes on this site as I’d hoped. I’m actively working on changing that because I’ve chatted with you guys, gotten comments, and emails, and taken Insta polls, and you guys definitely want MORE healthy, easy, savory meals.
And I want to make you happy! I’m also actively working on upping my cooking skills. I’m a pretty good cook, but I feel much more comfortable developing dessert recipes than I do “real-food” recipes. I never want to give you a recipe I’m not stoked on, and I can be a bit of recipe perfectionist.
I promise, more are in the works though, and I’m v excited about some of the dinner recipes I’ve got in the pipeline. But first! Let’s start with this one because it’s a WINNER:
VEGAN RED LENTIL SOUP!
It’s so hearty, thick, and absolutely delicious. I’ve been eating bowls of it all week and I’m not sick of it yet. It’s filling, without being heavy, and rich without being too much. You can also blend half of it to make it a little more rich and luxurious, which is what I did or leave it be if you want it on the brothier side.
Even if you do leave it be though, it’s still hearty and stick-to-your-ribs good. It’s got a major flavor dose from fresh garlic and ginger, and a few key aromatic spices take the flavor to the next level – a hearty dose of turmeric, ginger powder, cumin, and garlic powder.
It doesn’t take too long to come together either. Most of the work is front-loaded, and then you’re just letting things simmer until the lentils are soft. A quick stirring in of some greens and a squeeze lemon finishes it off, and you’re ready to devour.
The Vegan Red Lentil Soup is hard to resist, and it makes the perfect standalone meal. You can make it even BETTER by serving with a hunk of bread or a side salad, but you don’t need them to make a meal. It’s hearty and filling enough to stand on its own. I hope you’ll give this one a try, and love it as much as I do. Off to have another bowl for dinner! :)
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Vegan Red Lentil Soup
This spiced Vegan Red Lentil Soup is a warm, comforting meal that comes together in just 45 minutes. It's full of flavor from ginger, garlic, and spices, with a luxuriously rich texture. It's perfect with a squeeze of lemon to brighten things up!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil or olive oil
- 1 small onion diced
- 1 large carrot diced
- 2 stalks of celery diced
- 4 cloves garlic crushed
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon ginger powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 2 cups water
- 1 (15 oz.) can crushed tomatoes
- 1 1/2 cups red lentils sort and rinse before using
- 3 cups spinach or mix of greens I used a “power greens” blend of spinach, arugula and baby chard
- 1 lemon zest and juice
To garnish
- Lemon wedges
- Microgreens
Instructions
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In a soup pot, heat the avocado or olive oil over medium heat. Once the oil is shimmering, add the onion, carrot, and celery and cook for about 5 minutes, until the onion is translucent.
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Add the garlic, grated ginger, cumin, turmeric, garlic powder, ginger powder, and salt, and stir to combine and coat all the veggies in the spices.
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Let cook for 2 minutes, until fragrant, and then add the vegetable broth, water, tomatoes, and red lentils. Stir and bring to a boil, then turn down and let simmer for 30-40 minutes, until the red lentils are soft. Taste, and add more salt to your tastes if desired.
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If desired, puree half the soup to help make it creamier. You can also just leave it as is if you prefer a more broth-y soup. I pureed some of mine with an immersion blender.
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Stir in your greens and let them wilt, and then add in lemon juice and zest. Serve with more lemon if desired (I recommend), and garnish with some microgreens!
Patricia Pines says
Yum! This looks great! I will make this for my lunch rotation.
Rachel says
I hope you love it as much as I do, Patricia! Thanks :)
Lucie says
Holy cow I’ll make it soon!!! I’m allergic to celery though so what can I do instead?
Rachel says
Hi Lucie, you can just leave it out, or add some more veggies in its place. Enjoy :)
Angelina | Baked Ambrosia says
This looks DELICIOUS!! I’ll definitely be making it for dinner tonight! It’s perfect for the cold weather we’re still having in NYC!
Rachel says
Oh yes, I hope that you absolutely adore it Angelina! Enjoy!!
Alexia says
Hi ! Glad to see a savory recipe for once :) This looks great I will be making it tonight ! How long can you preserve it ? Thanks
Rachel says
Hi Alexia, more will be coming along soon too! I hope you love the soup. For me, it lasted a week in the refrigerator. It also freezes well!
Alexia says
Just made it it was delicious ! I added some chili and a bunch of fresh cilantro at the end.
Eva says
love this recipe, its perfect!
Rachel says
So glad you’re loving it Eva!!
arc says
This recipe is delicious and fresh! Everyone in my family loved it! Thank you
Rachel says
So happy to hear it was a hit! Thanks for the feedback, Arc.
Michael says
Perfect soup for the slowly cooling San Diego holiday season. We loved it, esp with the lemon kicker. Served with fresh sourdough bread!
Rachel says
So glad you’re loving it, Michael! Thanks so much for the feedback :)
Alison says
This soup is DELICIOUS!!!! So easy to make, so flavourful, so healthy! I love it! :) I didn’t have any celery or carrot but I threw in a few peppers and it worked out perfectly. I’m definitely making this again, and I might amp up the spice measurements as I love things spicy!
Rachel says
So thrilled you’re loving the soup, Alison! Thanks so much for your feedback :)
Linda Barnwell says
Made this last night,pureed part of it so it had a nice creamy texture but still some structure. Delicious, makes enough for leftovers. Would recommend this as a nice cozy meal on a cold evening. Next time I might toast the spices first to bring out ore of their flavor.
Rachel says
So thrilled you’re enjoying the soup, Linda! Toasting the spices sounds like a great idea :)
emee says
The first time I made this soup it was a snowstorm, such a perfect day for making this hearty soup. I followed the recipe exactly. The Indian spices offer a nice flare. I blended about 3/4 of the soup and left the rest unblended for an added dimension.
Rachel says
So glad you enjoyed the recipe, Emee! I think I need to make this one again ASAP – it’s been so chilly! Thanks for your feedback :)
Robert says
This is really nice. I shall definitely be making it again. This time I had to make a few adjustments because I didn’t have all the ingredients — extra garlic and ginger instead of the garlic and ginger powder; bottled lemon juice instead of the fresh lemon juice and zest; and frozen spinach — but it still turned out really well.
Rachel says
So thrilled you enjoyed it! I made a batch last night too :) thanks for sharing your feedback.
Nancy Smith says
Great recipe! I made two batches of this last night. I sauteed the veggies in water instead of oil because we are trying to go oil-free in our diet. It turned out just fine without the oil (you just have to keep your eye on it and add water as necessary). When it was done, I was too hungry to wait for it to cool down, so my husband suggested I add a “lime cube” to my serving (we freeze lime juice in ice cube trays). That cooled it down and added some really great flavor, too! I might intentionally add some lime juice next time I fix this. And there will be a next time. We really enjoyed it! Glad I doubled it. We are freezing the 2nd batch.
Rachel says
So thrilled you and your husband are loving the soup, Nancy!! Love your idea of lime cubes – sounds so tasty. I need to start doing that.
Key says
Just made this. I looking for a recipe for lentil soup after buying a packet of the soup at Trader Joes. This came out great! So yummy, light and wholesome.
Rachel says
So thrilled you’re loving it! Thanks so much for the feedback.
Elly says
Absolutely delicious!!! Made without the garlic powder as I didn’t have any and I added an anchovy and some chili flakes. Incredibly tasty and will last me all week. Will definitely be this making again!!
Rachel says
So thrilled you’re loving it!! Thanks for the feedback, Elly :)
Nikki says
Really, really good. Very flavourful and presents well.