Meet the BEST lentil soup recipe! Made with dried lentils, fresh vegetables, flavorful spices, and hearty greens, it's simple, nourishing, and delicious.
This lentil soup recipe might surprise you. Sure, it’s simple. But that doesn’t mean it’s bland or boring.
This lentil soup is packed with hearty greens, tender vegetables, and fiber- and protein-rich lentils. Fresh herbs and spices fill it with complex flavor, and a splash of vinegar adds a delicious tangy kick.
It’s not just my best lentil soup recipe—it’s one of my best recipes, period. It’s been a staple in my rotation for years. I love that it’s easy to make with mostly pantry ingredients and that it’s nourishing, warming, and satisfying. If you ask me, it’s the perfect healthy dinner for a winter weeknight (save any leftovers for lunch the next day!). I hope you love this classic lentil soup as much as I do.
Lentil Soup Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this lentil soup recipe:
- Lentils, of course! I recommend using green or French green lentils because they hold their shape in the soup, adding satisfying texture. Brown lentils are also a fine option. Don’t use red lentils here—they’re too mushy for this recipe.
- Extra-virgin olive oil – For richness.
- Onion, garlic, carrot, and celery – They create the soup’s aromatic base.
- Fresh kale – You’ll use the whole leaves, stems and all!
- Fire-roasted diced tomatoes – I love the smoky flavor that fire-roasted tomatoes add to this soup. In a pinch, regular diced tomatoes will work here too!
- Vegetable broth – Make homemade vegetable broth, or use store-bought.
- Fresh thyme – For citrusy, woodsy flavor. I like to bundle whole sprigs together with kitchen twine. Then, I add the bundle to the soup like a bay leaf, removing it before serving. Bundling the sprigs like this is SO much quicker than picking and measuring the leaves.
- Cumin – The secret ingredient! It adds savory, earthy depth of flavor.
- White wine vinegar – It gives the soup a bright, tangy kick.
- And salt and pepper – To make all the flavors pop!
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
Variations
Don’t have these exact ingredients on hand? These swaps work nicely:
- Replace the kale with another leafy green like fresh spinach or Swiss chard.
- Use 1 teaspoon dried thyme instead of the fresh sprigs.
- Replace the celery with 1 small fennel bulb, diced.
- No vinegar? No problem. Finish the soup with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice!
How to Make Lentil Soup
This lentil soup recipe is easy to make! Here’s how it goes:
First, sauté the aromatics. Heat the olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat and add the onion, carrots, celery, kale stems, and cumin. Season with salt and several grinds of pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the veggies soften, about 8 minutes.
Next, simmer the soup. Add the garlic, tomatoes, lentils, vinegar, thyme, and broth.
Cover the soup and cook until the lentils are tender, 25 to 30 minutes or so. Adjust the heat as needed to maintain a gentle simmer.
Finally, add the greens. Cook until they wilt, about 5 minutes, and then season to taste.
Serve the lentil soup in bowls topped with garnishes like fresh parsley, grated Parmesan, and/or red pepper flakes. Enjoy with crusty bread!
Love cooking soup in the Instant Pot? I have an Instant Pot version of this recipe! Check out my Instant Pot Lentil Soup.
How to Store Lentil Soup
Got leftover soup? You’re in luck! It will keep well in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Simply reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop.
I actually like this soup better leftover. The flavor only improves as it sits in the fridge!
Can you freeze lentil soup?
Yes, this vegan lentil soup is freezer-friendly! Allow it to cool to room temperature, and then seal it in airtight containers or jars, leaving an inch for the soup to expand at the top. Freeze for up to 3 months.
More Favorite Soup Recipes
If you love this lentil soup, try one of these nourishing soup recipes next:
- Minestrone Soup
- Cabbage Soup
- Vegetable Soup
- Butternut Squash Soup
- Vegetarian Chili
- Black Bean Soup
- Tomato Soup
- Or any of these 35 Best Soup Recipes!
Best Lentil Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 4 medium carrots, chopped (2 cups)
- 2 celery stalks, chopped
- 6 small or 3 large kale leaves, stems finely diced, leaves chopped (8 cups)
- Heaping ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1½ teaspoons sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 4 garlic cloves, grated
- 1 (14-ounce) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
- ¾ cup dry green lentils, rinsed
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 12 fresh thyme sprigs, bundled
- 6 cups vegetable broth
- ½ cup chopped fresh parsley, for garnish
- Red pepper flakes
- Grated Parmesan cheese, for serving, optional
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery, kale stems, cumin, salt, and several grinds of pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes, or until the vegetables begin to soften.
- Stir in the garlic, tomatoes, lentils, vinegar, thyme, and broth. Cover and simmer for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the lentils are tender. Add the kale leaves and cook for 5 minutes, or until wilted.
- Remove the thyme bundle and season to taste. Serve topped with the parsley, red pepper flakes, and Parmesan, if desired.
Notes
I want to thank you so very much for your absolutely delicious plant based/ vegan recipes. If people can change their impact on the earth without animal protein, the earth can respond , heal and be what it’s meant to be. Again, thank you, you make it easy!
YUM! What a healthy, delicious soup to warm up in a cold winter evening! We loved it!
This lentil soup is easy and simple to prepare. Tastes absolutely delicious!
This was my first time making lentil soup at home! So much goodness in one pot! I added bell peppers because it’s my kids’ favorite, and to my surprise they actually loved this soup! We will be enjoying this one again soon for sure.
This was the perfect dinner for a cozy winter night. I loved the vinegar, never used that in a soup before. Served with warm sourdough making it extra comforting.
Our family enjoyed this recipe and it is definitely more flavorful than a lot of lentil soups so bonus points for that, for sure! It was almost too flavorful for me and even kind of salty. Going to try reducing the vinegar and maybe subbing water for some of the vegetable broth (or trying a different broth). Look forward to trying again!
I love this soup! I couldn’t find any lacinato kale so I bought regular kale, which tends to be thicker and takes longer to cook, so I added it when I covered the pot to simmer for 25 minutes. I had a can of Trader Joes fire roasted diced tomatoes with green chilis and it worked perfectly. I overlooked adding the vinegar at the time the recipe said to add it and I’m so glad I did because the canned tomatoes with chilis had its own (vinegar and) tangy flavor, and added a little punch of its own. I can’t wait to have the leftovers.. and was thinking I might experiment and add a little cooked barley and broth to one bowl of soup for a slightly more filling option.
My family and I enjoyed this recipe. I love lentils. Great soup to add to our rotation.
This soup was so delicious!! It was so easy to make and full of flavor and texture. I used your broth recipe as well. Today I ate it for the third time and added shaved Parmesan and red pepper flakes. Absolutely delicious! I would love to share this recipe with our group. Let me know if this is ok. Thanks again!!
This was an elevated version of a lentil soup. The smoky-sweet tomatoes with the cumin and hearty veggies were delightful on a snowy week in the North East.
This is truly the best lentil soup I have made. The flavors all compliment each other. Absolutely delicious ❤️
This is a yummy and hearty lentil soup. Very flavorful. I added red pepper flakes during the cook process and topped with Parmesan and my homemade sourdough bread. Will be making this again!
Excellent hearty soup! Made it as written (except I tossed in a parm rind for flavor) but it turned out a bit too sharp for my taste. Next time I’ll wait til the end to add the vinegar to taste.
This was delicious! I used fennel instead of celery because there was none at the store. Sadly, no kale either but delicious anyway! Thank you for this healthy winter recipe
Delicious soup! I added a few potatoes but otherwise kept it true to the recipe.
I made this soup while my daughter was home sick with a cold. It was just the ticket! The vinegar adds a lovely depth to the flavor.
Where is the old recipe? This one is completely different than the previous best lentil soup!
Loved it! So flavorful and full of veggie goodness. I used to think I didn’t like carrots or celery much but soup recipes like this one have changed my mind. We didn’t have fresh thyme so I used dried.
This soup was delicious!!! We subbed collard greens for kale just because they looked extra luscious at the market and topped with mozzarella instead of parm, just because that is what we had 🙂 it was so cozy for a cold Sunday evening and a great way to end the week with a hearty, healthy meal. Thank you so much for another wonderful recipe!!’
We loved this delicious, healthy and simple recipe!