This vegan lentil soup brought back a funny memory!
When Jaye and I got married, we did it at a registry office. We didn’t want to spend money on a wedding and I was just never one of those people who dreamed of their big day. Like honestly, just never. I dreamed of meeting my life partner, but not of a wedding day.
So along with not paying for a wedding, we didn’t pay for rings either. We didn’t ‘do’ engagement rings and our wedding rings were stainless steel that we got engraved. Which is good, because literally a year later Jaye left a bag on a train in Thailand that contained his wedding ring!
But don’t get the impression our wedding wasn’t special, it is a stand out memory of a simply wonderful occasion.
But the reason I bring it up, is because when registry office guy was marrying us, he kept calling Jaye ‘Mr Lentil’. Jaye’s surname is ‘Lentin’ not ‘Lentil’ and we had quite a giggle over that!
So when we were making this fabulous vegan lentil soup, I had a slip of the tongue and said to Jaye: ‘Let’s make a Lentin soup!’. Har de ha! Hilarity!
I used red lentils for this soup and was expecting that the result might be similarly red, but not so! As soon as they started to cook they turned yellow!
So I reckon you can use any color dried lentil you can find.
It has this wonderfully rich flavor as if it’s got cream in it or something, but nope, nothing like that. It’s really just sooo good. It serves 4 as an appetizer, or 2 as a main course.
And just by the way, the bread you see on the side there is a gluten-free spinach bread that is quite literally the best gluten-free bread on the planet! I didn’t make it, some genius from a township in Cape Town did! But oh my is it good!
This lentil soup is just 6-ingredients. One of them is a tablespoon of oil that you sauté with the onion. But if you’re oil-free, you can even omit this and just sauté the onions in a little water.
It’s ridiculously quick and easy too.
When it comes to cooking times, cook it as long as it takes to get those lentils nice and soft.
I am cooking on a gas stove top now and well, everyone knows what happens when you’re cooking with gas! It’s just so darn quick. So you might need to cook it a bit longer if you’re on an electric stove top.
Serve with a simple sprinkle of black pepper over the top and some delicious bread on the side and you have a really good high protein meal or a fabulous appetizer.
If you want to be a real cooking superstar, well, you could make your own homemade wholewheat bread to serve with it.
I am super confident you will love this vegan lentil soup. It is:
- 6-ingredients
- Quick and easy
- Nutritious and delicious!
- High in Protein!
- Filling
- Creamy
Keep any leftovers stored in the fridge and they can be reheated the next day. This soup also freezes very well.
For other delicious vegan soup options, check out a few of these recipes:
- Vegan Carrot Soup
- Vegan Potato Soup
- Vegan Tomato Soup
- Vegan Sweet Potato Soup
- Vegan Pumpkin Soup
- Vegan Butternut Squash Soup
There’s loads more but that’ll do for now!
Thoughts on this vegan lentil soup? Post them down below! And please rate the recipe too as that is so helpful for us. Thanks a million!
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Vegan Lentil Soup
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Prep Time: 15 mins - Cook Time: 25 mins
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4
- Category: Appetizer, Gluten-Free
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Vegan
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Pin RecipeDescription
Deliciously creamy vegan lentil soup. This filling and satisfying soup is just 6-ingredients, high in protein, gluten-free, super easy, and simply delicious!
Ingredients
Instructions
- Peel and chop the onion and add to a pot with the olive oil and cumin and sauté until slightly softened.
- Add the carrots and toss together. Then add the lentils and toss together with the other vegetables. Finally, add in the vegetable stock and mix everything together.
- Bring to the boil and then reduce heat, cover the pot and simmer until the lentils are cooked (they should be soft).
- Take the pot off the heat and blend directly in the pot using an immersion blender. If you don’t have an immersion blender, then transfer to your blender jug and blend up in stages until it’s all smooth.
- Serve into bowls and garnish with a sprinkle of black pepper.
Notes
*You can use any color of dried lentils, it won’t make a difference to the outcome in terms of taste (though might make a difference in color). The important thing is that they must be dried lentils and not canned lentils.
*I haven’t found a consistent cook time on this, though it’s at least 20-25 minutes, just keep a check on the pot and when the lentils (and carrots) are soft, then it’s cooked.
*I haven’t found the need to add in extra salt as it’s quite salty from the vegetable stock, but of course add some salt if needed.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Serve (of 4)
- Calories: 251
- Sugar: 6.6g
- Sodium: 516mg
- Fat: 4.1g
- Saturated Fat: 0.5g
- Carbohydrates: 41.3g
- Fiber: 7.6g
- Protein: 14g
Keywords: vegan lentil soup
Well, here’s a protein rich substitute for those who worry about their protein intake – and delicious too!
★★★★★
It’s a long time looking for the recipe of lentil soup. I like to know which is the better lentil to use.
We used dried red lentils. 🙂
I subsituted 1 sweet potato for 2 medium carrots because I didn’t have carrots at the time & it works! Delicious! You’re right, no need for extra salt.
Thank you for the recipe.
★★★★★
That’s wonderful! Thanks for sharing your adjustments Nancy! 🙂
Just made this soup for lunch & it was DELICIOUS! So easy & simple but full of comforting flavor (I added a dash of sea salt). Perfect for my rainy afternoon!
★★★★★
Awesome Ann! So glad it was delicious! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
This recipe looks easy enough for school kids to follow. I am going to try this with my Grade 10 Consumer Studies class next week.
Great! Hope it goes well! 🙂
Did you use brown lentils or red lentils? Thanks!
Red lentils. 🙂
Hi. This looks delicious but any idea what can use instead of cumin? Would just a little cayenne or red pepper flakes work?
Sure! Or a little curry powder, or coriander powder or chili powder all would work as substitutes. 🙂
I’ve only been vegan for 4 months straight from being a meat eater. Finding tasty meals is alot easier now and your soup was delicious. Looking forward to trying more of your recipes.
★★★★★
Wonderful to hear that, thanks William! Hope you’ll find lots more recipes here that you love! 🙂
Hubby made this soup whilst I was suffering from a bad cold bless him. It’s perfect! Thick, comforting, very well balanced flavours and so quick and easy. This will be a regular in our vegan household now. Thanks so much for the great recipes 😊
★★★★★
That’s awesome, this is the perfect comforting soup when you have a cold! So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for posting. 🙂
Made this recipe substituting the cumin for 1/4 tsp curry powder and 1/4 tsp smoked paprika as not a huge cumin fan. So so good. So creamy and silky from such little ingredients.
★★★★★
Yay! So glad it was good and thanks for sharing your adjustments! 🙂
How much is a serving of the lentil soup?
I didn’t measure it but it’s a nice size pot of soup that can serve 4.
Added 1/2 cup of coconut milk, two cloves of garlic, and sea salted to taste. Fantastic!
★★★★★
Sounds awesome! Thanks for sharing Ron. 🙂
Really nice and easy base recipe. I cooked mine in an instant pot (saute function, then 15 minute on Soup). I added garlic and paprika but not sure it needed it….once I squeezed a lemon wedge over the serving, everything was perfect. Seriously, the lemon makes it next level. Thanks for this recipe!
★★★★★
Awesome, thanks for sharing and the lemon tip! 🙂
Made this soup with chicken (sorry) broth as I didn’t have veggie broth on hand. And added a little fish sauce (sorry) to it for extra umami. Apologies for the non-vegan additions 🙁 but the basis for this soup was phenomenal and I’m sure would be just as tasty without my substitutes. My family loved it and I will be making this again. Thank you!
★★★★★
Hi! No need to apologize at all, all eaters are welcome here! So glad it was good, and that your family enjoyed it! Thanks so much for posting. 🙂
This came out SO amazing. I also added red bell pepper, and turmeric and a little bit of habanero spice because I love everything spicy! Cant believe how creamy this came out, without having to use coconut cream!
★★★★★
So glad you enjoyed it Audrina, and thanks for sharing your additions! And yes, it’s simply amazing how creamy this soup is. 🙂
This is delicious, thank you so much for sharing. Have just made it for lunch, less than 45 minutes from start to a clean bowl 🙂
I added some grated ginger and as I’m veggie topped it with sour cream and a sprinkle of chilli flakes for a little extra heat. Definitely going into my homemade soup rotation, so much better than shop bought.
Looking forward to trying out some of your other recipes too 🙂
★★★★★
Wonderful! So happy to hear it was good! Thanks for the great review. 🙂
it’s 5 star because it’s a good base to play with
i used 1/2 c lentil and 1/2 lima beans
i also made stock from boiled fish and black eyed peas and onions
added flavor was mild and didn’t take away from the “ lentil soup taste” added creaminess from lima beans
no salt needed
added a few lemon slices while simmering
and removed them prior to blending
★★★★★
Awesome, thanks for sharing Jamie! 🙂
I want to make this but have no carrots. Can I use potatoes?
That will likely be fine. 🙂