Red Lentil Vegetable Soup

This vegan red lentil soup is comforting and filling, but is also packed with layers of spice and flavor. It's the perfect healthy plant based weeknight dinner. It also keeps well if made ahead, so it's also a great option for meal prep. Best of all, it comes together in one pot!

🥄 Why We Love This Recipe

• Super flavorful: This vegan red lentil soup is packed full of spices like cumin, coriander, and harissa, while sautéed vegetables add a layer of deep flavor. The slight acidity of lemon juice rounds out the complex flavor profile of this soup.
• Easy to make: super flavorful doesn't have to mean complicated. This soup comes together quickly and easily in less than an hour!
• One pot: A sink full of dishes is one of the worst pain points about cooking at home. Luckily, this entire recipe can be made in one pot, and then blended together, minimizing clean up and saving you time.
• Great lunch: We love making a big pot of this soup and storing some in the fridge to eat throughout the week. It's great as a healthy lunch or a flavorful appetizer at dinner.
• Naturally vegan and gluten free.

🍲 Ingredients

Here's everything you'll need to make this vegan red lentil soup:

📋 Ingredient Notes

• Tomatoes: We used 2 15 oz. cans of fire roasted diced tomatoes. We think using fire roasted tomatoes adds a nice bit of extra flavor, but you can also use regular diced tomatoes if preferred.
• Harissa: Harissa is a spicy North African spice blend, typically containing caraway, smoked paprika, dried chiles, cumin, garlic, and more. You should be able to find this in the spice aisle of your grocery store. You can also use harissa paste instead of powder.
• Cayenne: This is totally optional, but we enjoy the extra kick of spice.
• Lentils: We used red lentils in this recipe, which soften nicely and purée into a perfectly smooth soup. We would only recommend substituting with yellow lentils if you can't find red lentils. Green, brown or black lentils won't work as an equal substitute and will completely change the texture.

🔪 Step-by-step Instructions

(1) In a large stock pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and sauté for 4-5 minutes. Then add garlic and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Stir in carrots, celery, red pepper, and salt and cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently.

(2) Add tomatoes and all spices and stir well.

(3) Add all remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer 35-40 minutes, until lentils are completely tender.

(4) Remove from heat and use an immersion blender to puree (you can also use a regular high speed blender - just be careful!).

🎥 Recipe Video

💭 Expert Tips and FAQs

• The easiest way to purée this soup is with an immersion blender. It saves you from creating an extra dirty dish to wash, and you don't have to transfer the soup to another container just to blend. If you don't have an immersion blender, a heat safe, high speed blender will do the job. Just make sure to be careful and let the soup cool a bit, as the steam from hot soup can create pressure in an airtight blender and potentially blow the lid off.
• Serving suggestions: Vegan yogurt, cilantro, and crispy chickpeas are all great toppings for this soup. We've also tried and enjoyed a swirl of tahini, extra harissa, extra herbs like mint, cilantro, and oregano, croutons, and cheese.
• Storage: This vegan red lentil soup is great to make ahead of time. Just store in an airtight container in the fridge and enjoy within a week.
• Freezer storage: you can also freeze this red lentil soup for up to 6 months. When ready to enjoy, transfer to the fridge to defrost overnight, then heat gently on stovetop until warmed through.

🍽 Related Recipes

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Vegan Red Lentil Soup

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5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 3 reviews

• Author: Lexi
• Total Time: 55 minutes
• Yield: Serves 6-8 1x
• Diet: Vegan

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Description

This vegan red lentil soup is comforting and filling, but is also packed with layers of spice and flavor. It's the perfect healthy plant based weeknight dinner. 

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale ½x1x2x3x

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, diced (~1 ½ cups)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup diced carrots
• 1 cup celery, thinly sliced (2-3 stalks)
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 8 cups vegetable broth
• 2 15. oz cans diced fire roasted tomatoes
• 2-3 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 cups (dry) red lentils
• 2 tbsp Harissa spice blend
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 ½ tsp coriander
• 1 ½ tsp kosher salt
• Optional: ¼ teaspoon cayenne

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Instructions

1. In a large stock pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and sauté for 4-5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Stir in carrots, celery, red pepper, and salt and cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently.
2. Add all remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer 35-40 minutes, until lentils are completely tender.
3. Remove from heat and use an immersion blender to puree (you can also use a regular high speed blender - just be careful!).
4. Serve hot with a swirl of vegan yogurt and crispy chickpeas (optional).

Notes

The easiest way to purée this soup is with an immersion blender, but if you don't have an immersion blender, a heat safe, high speed blender will do the job. Just make sure to be careful and let the soup cool a bit, as the steam from hot soup can create pressure in an airtight blender and potentially blow the lid off.

Storage: This is a great meal to make ahead. Just store in an airtight container in the fridge and enjoy within a week.

Freezer storage: you can also freeze this red lentil soup for up to 6 months. When ready to enjoy, transfer to the fridge to defrost overnight, then heat gently on stovetop until warmed through. 

Lentils: We would only recommend substituting with yellow lentils if you can't find red lentils. Green, brown or black lentils won't work as an equal substitute and will completely change the texture. 

• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 40 minutes
• Category: Soups
• Method: Stovetop
• Cuisine: Middle Eastern

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 bowl
• Calories: 398
• Sugar: 8.8 g
• Sodium: 824.9 mg
• Fat: 6.7 g
• Carbohydrates: 66.7 g
• Fiber: 11.4 g
• Protein: 20.3 g