Meet the BEST lentil soup recipe! Made with dried lentils, fresh vegetables, flavorful spices, and hearty greens, it's simple, healthy, and delicious.
This easy lentil soup recipe is warming, nourishing, and delicious. It’s 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 bright, 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. Easy to make with pantry ingredients, it’s the perfect healthy dinner for a winter weeknight (save any leftovers for lunch the next day!). I hope you love this simple lentil soup as much as I do.
Lentil Soup Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this soup:
- Lentils, of course! The best types of lentils for this recipe are green lentils or French lentils, also known as Le Puy lentils. They hold their shape nicely in the soup, adding satisfying texture. Brown lentils are also a fine option. Red lentils are too mushy for this recipe. If you have them on hand, go check out my red lentil soup instead!
- 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 work here too!
- Vegetable broth – Make homemade vegetable stock, or use store-bought.
- Fresh thyme – For fresh, 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.
- Cumin – The secret ingredient! It adds savory, earthy depth.
- White wine vinegar – It gives the soup a tangy kick.
- And salt and pepper – To make all the flavors pop!
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
Recipe 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? Finish the soup with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice instead!
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. Cook until they soften, about 8 minutes.
Next, simmer the soup. Add the garlic, tomatoes, lentils, vinegar, thyme, and broth.
Tip: Rinse the lentils before cooking to remove any stones or debris.
Cover and cook until the lentils are tender, 25 to 30 minutes. 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 topped with garnishes like fresh parsley, grated Parmesan, and/or red pepper flakes. Enjoy with crusty bread!
Love cooking soup in the Instant Pot? Check out this Instant Pot Lentil Soup for pressure cooker instructions!
How to Store Lentil Soup
Store leftover soup 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
- 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 yellow 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 made this tonight and my husband and I both loved it. I added extra red pepper flakes, as we like our spice, and it was delicious. It will be on our soup rotation from now on. Thanks! ?
Hi Erin, apologies for my slow reply – I’m so glad you enjoyed the soup!
I made it and it’s off the hook!!! Thanks for a great recipe to add to my go-to list!
Hi Lauren, I’m so glad you loved it! Yay!
Made this soup for the first time last night. Was easy and it’s delicious! Keeping this at the top of the favorite recipe stack for a go-to soup. My husband loved it too!
I’m so happy to hear that you both loved it!
Made this for dinner last night and it was SO good!! Love adding vegetarian meals into the mix. Especially when they’re this flavorful!
Always and forever soup season ❤️
Hi,
I’m not a fan of green lentils, but like red and brown. What would you recommend in this case?
Either would make it a more mushy stew (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it’ll just be more stew-like). The green lentils keep their form better, which is why I prefer them in this soup. They take on the flavors of the soup itself, so I’d suggest giving them a try, you will probably like them in this form!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the soup!
I’ve made this twice, and absolutely love it! Not only does it smell DELICIOUS while simmering, but it also is so simple to make. Better still, it’s absolutely one of the tastiest lentil soups I’ve ever had. Thanks for such a great recipe!
Thanks Audrey, I’m so glad this one was fun to cook!
This soup is to die for. My husband, mother, sister and one-year old all LOVED it.
Hi Alyson, I’m so glad your family loved it!
We just finished our 2nd quart of this soup that I canned from a double batch I made earlier. Coming home from our weekend cabin after we’ve been working/finishing it to a nice bowl of this soup and some naan I had stashed in the freezer, made us so happy and contented. MUCH better for us than snagging a pizza on the way home 😉 I can’t wait to try some of the other soups!!
Hi Maxine, I’m so glad this one was such a hit! Let me know what other soups you try!
This soup is perfectly delightful. Made substitutions based on what I had on hand (regular diced tomatoes for smoked, whole black mapte beans for French lentils, homemade lard for coconut milk – also added a dollop of sour cream to bowls) and it was a huge hit. Adding this to my regular rotation. Will make excellent lunches. Thank you so much!
Hi Kristin, I’m so glad you loved it and that it was so flexible!
This is definitely one of my top 5 soups.
Easy, satisfying, and delish!
Kudos!
Thanks, Jeanette! I’m so glad you loved it so much!!
Love this recipe! I made a batch over the weekend and I’ve been taking it to work for lunch. It’s has a nice texture because of the lentils and the spice combination is warming and soothing in our ongoing cold weather
Hi Susan, I’m so glad you loved the recipe!
I had all these ingredients on hand, so it really is a pantry recipe! I doubled it (we area family of 7 at dinner) and added so e smoked sun-dried tomatoes as I only had 1 can of fire roasted tomatoes. It worked great. Thanks for this flavorful and easy recipe… Was easy to make Sunday afternoon!
Hi Ariel, I’m so glad everyone loved it! Thanks for coming back to let me know!
I try my best to not ask about substitutions, but I just found out I have a ton of food intolerances that include coconut. Dang! Do you think this soup would taste as good with regular milk? I know it would technically “work” as a substitue but coconut milk is so tasty in curried recipes.
Hi Cori,
I think milk might be really odd here. I’d suggest making one of these other tomato-based recipes that are somewhat similar:
https://www.loveandlemons.com/spiralized-zucchini-vegetable-noodle-soup/
https://www.loveandlemons.com/chickpea-cauliflower-minestrone-soup/
https://www.loveandlemons.com/butternut-squash-kale-quinoa-stew/
Hope that helps! So sorry to hear about your intolerances!
I know this question was a long time ago, but since I just made this tonight thought I would answer. I thought I had coconut milk, but when I go everything together, I found I did not. I substituted almond milk and found it was delicious! I also used grapeseed oil to soften the onions. But I really can’t wait to try it with the cocunut milk.
I made this soup on Monday and I must say that it is just delicious. The best combination of Tomato soup married to a mild Curry. This will be my go-to Tomato soup from now on. I made it exactly as the recipe was written and had no problems at all. Thank you!
I forgot to rate it. It gets 5 stars.
Thank you, I’m so glad you loved it!!
I prepared this tonight as a light supper with a side of micro greens combo and served with Naan. Our friends who just returned from India were very impressed and finished the pot ! Another winner ! lol
Hi Gil, I’m so glad this one was a hit!
I made this last night for my family and we all loved it! It was a great meal for a cold and rainy winter day. I loved the variety of flavors. It was delicious. I used the curry powder that you suggested and I added a 1/2 teaspoon of cardamom because I love the taste of cardamom. I will definitely be making this again. Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Erica, I’m so glad everyone loved it! I’m a huge cardamom fan too, that sounds delicious 🙂
This soup is delicious and soooo easy. I was a little short on the cup of lentils, but had some mushrooms I needed to use up, so added that as well and it tasted great. My two year old daughter even liked it!
Hi Stacey! I’m so glad it got rave reviews! So resourceful to add in the mushrooms 🙂
Just delicious! Please keep all your great recipes coming!