This carrot and red lentil soup is simple and nourishing. It's warmly spiced and easy to make with staple ingredients.
Table of Contents
Soup season is here! Our Butternut Squash, Carrot and Ginger Soup is one of our most popular recipes here at Vegan on Board. So we thought it was time to share some more tasty vegan soup recipes with you.
This is a cozy and filling soup, perfect for warming you up on cold days.
Hearty red lentils make a wholesome and plant-based, protein-rich base for a soup. In this easy recipe, we love how their earthy flavour combines with the subtle sweetness of carrots and the warm spices.
Ingredient tips
You only need a few staple ingredients for this lentil and carrot soup:
Carrots
Red lentils - you'll want to use red split lentils for this recipe. Other types of lentils, such as green lentils or brown lentils are not suitable and work better in this yummy Vegan Lentil Soup.
Olive oil
Onions, garlic and ginger - the magic trio that makes a great base for so many soups!
Vegetable stock
Lemon - both the zest and the juice brighten the overall flavour of the soup.
Spices - we use turmeric, ground cumin, ground coriander, and cayenne powder for aroma and heat.
Step by step pictures
Here's a visual guide on how to make carrot and lentil soup. For the full, adjustable and printable recipe, see the recipe card at the end of the post.
Step 1 - Saute the carrot and onion in olive oil for 5 minutes.
Step 2 - Add the garlic and ginger and saute for 1 more minute.
Step 3 - Add the red lentils, vegetable stock, lemon zest, and all the spices.
Step 4 - Simmer with the lid on for 15 minutes until the lentils are cooked soft.
Step 5 - Add lemon juice and puree with an immersion blender.
Substitutions and variations
Soup is very forgiving, so it's easy to tweak this spiced carrot and lentil soup recipe to your tastes and the ingredients you have to hand! Here's some ideas for you:
If you like an extra fiery soup, feel free to up the amount of fresh ginger to 1 tablespoon.
For an oil-free soup, saute the onion and carrot in a small amount of veg stock.
Red pepper flakes / chilli flakes are a good alternative to cayenne powder. You can add them at the same time as the garlic and ginger.
For a more creamy texture, use coconut milk in place of some of the vegetable stock and adjust the seasoning to taste.
Sweet potatoes are a great alternative to carrots. You can also use half carrots and half sweet potato.
Serving
Serve this carrot and lentil soup with salt and black pepper to taste.
For a herby garnish, use some fresh cilantro / coriander leaves or fresh parsley.
A swirl of coconut milk or vegan greek yogurt is a nice addition.
We always like to add a crunchy topping to blended soups for some texture variety. Sesame seeds, nigella seeds, or toasted nuts are all welcome additions!
We like to serve it with crusty bread and vegan butter, or some of our homemade vegan crackers.
Storage
Store leftovers in the fridge in a covered container for up to 3 days.
Reheat soup in a pan on the stovetop, stirring frequently until thoroughly hot.
Because this soup contains red lentils, it will naturally become thicker when stored. You can add a splash of water or veggie broth if it seems too thick.
You can freeze this soup in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
More red lentil recipes
We hope you enjoyed your carrot lentil soup!
Try these other popular red lentil recipes:
Red Lentil Flatbreads (Naturally gluten-free and just 2 basic ingredients)
Lentil and Potato Dahl with Spinach (A great quick and nourishing onepot meal.)
📖 Recipe
Carrot Lentil Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion coarsely diced
- 5 medium (300 g / 2½ cups) carrots sliced
- 2 tsp ginger grated
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 cup (200 g) red lentils
- 5 cups (1200 ml) vegetable stock
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1 tsp turmeric ground
- 1 tsp cumin ground
- 1 tsp coriander ground
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper or chili powder
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
For serving (optional)
- vegan yogurt or vegan creme fraiche unsweetened
- fresh parsley or coriander / cilantro chopped
Instructions
- Heat up olive oil in a large saucepan or stockpot over medium-high heat.
- Saute carrots and onion for 5 minutes.
- Add garlic and ginger and saute for 1 minute.
- Add red lentils, vegetable stock, lemon zest and spices.
- Bring to a boil, then simmer on low heat covered with a lid for 15 minutes.
- Add the lemon juice and remove from heat. Puree the soup with an immersion/stick blender until completely smooth.
Serving
- Optionally, garnish with a spoonful of vegan yogurt or vegan creme fraiche, a sprinkle of chopped fresh herbs like coriander or parsley and some seeds.
Nutrition
This information is calculated per serving and is an estimate only.
Loved our recipe? Have a question we can answer? We'd love to hear from you! Sophie and Paul 💚