Super Easy Carrot and Lentil Soup

As soon as we get into soup season we are making this super easy spiced carrot and lentil soup. With only 10 minutes of prep, you have a healthy simple heartwarming soup.

​Why we love this soup

• only 10 minutes of prep 
• great on a chilly day
• make a big batch and freeze
• using a plant-based protein (red lentils) 
• simple ingredients
• delicious carrot red lentil soup 

If you are looking for more recipes with red lentils try this incredible Red Lentil Vegan Bolognese with Vegetables or a simple Red Lentil Wrap topped with some tofu and vegetables.

Ingredients 

• Red lentils - a versatile plant-based protein and a good source of iron. We use dry red lentils in this recipe 
• Carrots - high in vitamin A, fiber, vitamin B, K1.
• Spices - cumin seeds, ground or fresh ginger, salt, black pepper and chilli flakes to make spiced carrot and lentil soup recipe
• Chopped onion and garlic - high in antibiotic properties. They are sources of vitamin C and vitamin B6 
• Vegetable broth - use homemade vegetable broth. If using store-bought make sure it is just made from veggies and salt, no nasty ingredients, added flavors or preservatives. You can also use chicken broth.
• Lemon juice - high in vitamin C and gives the soup the acidity it needs 
• Feta cheese - garnish on top 

Step by step instructions

1. Heat olive oil in a large pot on medium low heat.
2. Add the chopped onion and sauté until translucent.
3. Add the cumin seeds, ginger, chili flakes and garlic and sauté until fragrant. This helps bring the flavours out.
4. Add water/broth, lentils, carrots, salt and turn the heat up to high.
5. Once boiling, reduce to low, cover the pot and let it simmer for about 30 minutes.
6. When you see that the lentils are cooked you can use an immersion blender to blend it into a smooth soup. (You can also use a high speed blended such as an Vitamix but that involves more washing up and blending in batches)
7. Squeeze fresh lemon juice, mix and taste in case you feel you need a bit more salt.
8. Serve with some sprinkled feta, black pepper parsley leaves and a piece of crunchy toasted bread.

Tips

• saute the onion on low heat so that it releases it flavors and watch so that it doesn't burn
• when spices are added before the vegetable broth and lentils they release more flavor
• you can use either vegetable broth, meat based broth or water. If I can't find a healthy vegetable broth or don't have homemade then I just use water. This recipe works perfectly with either. If using just water use the amount of salt mentioned in the recipe card below. If using vegetable broth then don't add any more salt until the end
• garnish with feta, sprinkle some black pepper and serve with lightly toasted bread, it is absolutely delicious

Variations

• fresh ginger instead of ground ginger - for every 1 teaspoon of ground ginger use 1 tablespoon of fresh ginger
• chilli flakes - can be replaced with cayenne pepper, but for the 2 teaspoon of chilli flakes use ½ teaspoon of cayenne pepper
• use lime juice instead of lemon juice
• Add some fresh parsley or coriander as a garnish

Storage

• fridge - store in airtight container or a covered pot for up to 3 days
• freezer - store in airtight container in freezer for up to 3 months
• thaw - in fridge and then heat on medium heat on stove top

FAQ

More soup recipes

If you've tried this recipe or any other recipe on the blog, then please rate it and leave us a comment below!

Easy Carrot and Lentil Soup

As soon as we get into soup season we are making this super easy spiced carrot and lentil soup. With only 10 minutes of prep, you have a healthy simple heartwarming soup.

5 from 2 votes

Author: Dora

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 35 minutes mins

1x2x3x

Servings 7

Fridge Life? 3 days

Freezable? 3 months

EQUIPMENT

• ▢
  Immersion Blender

Ingredients

US CustomaryMetric

• ▢ 3 tbsp olive oil
• ▢ 1 onion finely chopped
• ▢ 5 garlic cloves chopped
• ▢ 2 tsp cumin seeds
• ▢ 1 tsp ground ginger
• ▢ 2 tsp chilli flakes optional to make spiced carrot and lentil soup
• ▢ 1½ cup dried red lentils
• ▢ 6 large carrots chopped into 3 inch pieces
• ▢ 6 cups water or vegetable broth
• ▢ 1½ tsp pink Himalayan salt omit if using vegetable broth as it may be too salty.
• ▢ 2 tbsp lemon juice

Instructions

 

• Heat olive oil in a large pot on medium low heat.
• Add the onion and sauté until transcluscent.
• Add the cumin seeds, ginger, chili flakes and garlic and sauté until fragrant. This helps bring the flavours out.
• Add water/broth, lentils, carrots, salt and turn the heat up to high.
• Once boiling, reduce to low, cover the pot and let it simmer for about 30 minutes.
• When you see that the lentils are cooked you can use an immersion blender to blend it into a smooth soup.
• Squeeze fresh lemon juice, mix and taste in case you feel you need a bit more salt.
• Serve with some feta, parsley leaves and a piece of crunchy toasted bread.

Notes

• if using vegetable broth omit the salt until the end of cooking and the taste to see if you need more salt added.

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 230kcalCarbohydrates: 32gProtein: 11gFat: 7gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gSodium: 555mgPotassium: 627mgFiber: 14gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 10503IUVitamin C: 9mgCalcium: 58mgIron: 4mg

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!