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Home » Recipes » Soups

Red Lentil Vegetable Soup

Published: Aug 26, 2021 by Lexi

310 shares
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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!

Overhead view of a bowl of red lentil soup with a garnish of chickpeas, cream, and herbs.
The perfect warming soup for a fall day.
Jump to:
  • 🥄 Why We Love This Recipe
  • 🍲 Ingredients
  • 📋 Ingredient Notes
  • 🔪 Step-by-step Instructions
  • 🎥 Recipe Video
  • 💭 Expert Tips and FAQs
  • 🍽 Related Recipes
  • 📖 Recipe
  • 💬 Reviews

🥄 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:

Overhead view of red lentil soup ingredients, including spices and vegetable broth.
Red lentils will give the dish the best texture and color possible.

📋 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.

on the left: sauteed vegetables in soup pot. on the right: sauteed vegetables, tomatoes and spices in soup pot.
Sauté the vegetables just until soft – about 10 minutes total.

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

red lentil soup in large pot before and after cooking.
The lentils should be completely soft and easy to blend.

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

puréeing red lentil soup with immersion blender.
You can also use a regular blender, but an immersion blender is much easier!

🎥 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.
What are the best lentils to use in soup?

Green lentils range in size and color from small and pale to dark and larger. They hold their shape well while cooking. These are good for eating lentils on their own.
Brown lentils are very similar to large green lentils. They're the most common variety and also hold their shape well. Both green and brown lentils cook for 35-40 minutes, with about 2.5 cups of liquid per cup of lentils.
Brighter colored red, yellow and orange lentils, are smaller and faster cooking. They've often been split, which means they're broken down into smaller pieces. For this reason, they'll cook up in 15 to 20 minutes with 1.5 cups of liquid per cup of dry lentils.
Split red lentils are ideal for this vegetable-packed vegan soup. They get very soft when cooked. When pureed, they create a delicous, silky texture. Not to mention the beautiful orange color.

Overhead view of someone grabbing a bowl of lentil soup.
Serve with herbs, a dollop of cream, and some crispy chickpeas.

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Tried this recipe? Please leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page. You can also stay in touch with us through social media by following us on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook or by subscribing to our newsletter.

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📖 Recipe

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Overhead view of red lentil soup with a garnish of chickpeas, cream, and herbs.

Vegan Red Lentil Soup


★★★★★

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. 


Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 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

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

Keywords: vegan red lentil soup

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Reader Interactions

Comments

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    Recipe rating ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

  1. Victoria K

    July 09, 2022 at 8:00 pm

    So I used Trader Joe’s Harissa Paste and big overstep on my part because I love spice and this was SPICE. I wound up using bone broth instead of Veg Stock because it’s what I had in my freezer, along with 28oz can of crushed tomatoes/ again it’s what I had. I did also add about 1.5 C in total of Half & Half to cut the spice as I’m bringing this to coworkers but I think they’ll enjoy it!

    Not trying to ruin or change your recipe at all, just sharing modifications I made!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  2. kristi

    November 21, 2021 at 7:46 pm

    the soup was fantastic! so easy to put together and it was a big hit!
    thank you!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  3. Beth

    December 08, 2020 at 9:00 pm

    I can’t wait to try this! I am hooked on your soups after the Minestrone

    Reply
    • Lexi

      December 09, 2020 at 3:30 pm

      Thank you so much, Beth! Can't wait to hear what you think!!

      Reply
      • Angie

        September 30, 2021 at 4:53 pm

        I just made this today! It is amazing so heartily and delicious. Thank you for sharing all these wonderful recipes with us

        Reply
        • Lexi

          October 01, 2021 at 9:36 am

          Thank you so much, Angie! So glad you enjoyed 🙂

          Reply
  4. Hannah Cohen

    December 04, 2020 at 11:59 pm

    Such an amazing soup!!! Love it. I wish you had more reviews because this soup is amazing especially with the harissa.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Lexi

      December 06, 2020 at 1:32 pm

      I appreciate that so much! Thank you, Hannah!

      Reply

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