Lentil and Carrot Soup is spiced to perfection. This Indian-inspired soup is made with red lentils, carrots, ginger, garlic, and warming spices. It's my go-to meal on chilly days. This easy recipe is vegan and gluten-free.
Spicy Vegan Red Lentil and Carrot Soup
I know I've mentioned this before, but I've never been too much of a soup person. I have friends who get really excited at the prospect of having soup for lunch, and I've never understood their enthusiasm. Maybe it's because when I was growing up, soup meant opening a can of flavored water with bits of vegetables and beans floating around it in. It never tasted very good and it never filled me up.
All that has changed with this spicy lentil and carrot soup. It's filling and extremely flavorful, and when I know that I have it waiting for me for lunch, I count down the minutes until it's time to eat. Have I become a soup person after all?
How to Prepare Lentils
Unlike other beans, lentils don’t require any presoaking, but you should check them for small stones and debris and rinse them before adding them to the soup pot.
Red lentils actually cook up in about 10 to 20 minutes, but carrots take a little longer, which is why this soup simmers for half an hour before it's blended.
How to Make Red Lentil and Carrot Soup
This recipe is super easy to make!
- First you put all of the ingredients except the lemon juice in a large soup pot.
- You bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat and cover the pot. Let the mixture simmer for 30 minutes.
- Now you remove the soup from the heat and puree with an immersion blender.*
- Then you return the pureed soup back to the heat and stir in the lemon juice. Let your soup simmer for about 10 minutes.
*If you don’t have an immersion blender, wait until the soup has cooled slightly and puree in batches in a regular blender.
Serving Your Red Lentil and Carrot Soup
Serve this soup as is or topped with pumpkin seeds, roasted chickpeas, parsley, or chopped greens.
It can be prepped ahead of time and frozen for up to 6 months. When you're ready to eat, just defrost it and reheat it.
Red Lentil and Carrot Soup
Ingredients
- 1 cup red lentils
- 5 cups vegetable stock
- 16 ounces carrots chopped
- ½ red onion chopped (about ½ cup)
- 1 14-ounce can can diced tomatoes
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon minced ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground tumeric
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
- Place the lentils in a large pot together with the vegetable stock, carrots, onions, tomatoes, garlic, ginger, cumin, coriander, red pepper, tumeric, salt, and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes until the vegetables and lentils are tender.
- Remove the soup from the heat and puree with an immersion blender. If you don’t have an immersion blender, wait until the soup has cooled slightly and puree in batches in a regular blender.
- Stir in the lemon juice and simmer the blended soup over low heat for 10 minutes.
Originally posted November 30, 2011. Updated March 12, 2022.
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