30-min Cozy Red Lentil Soup

This Red Lentil Soup is simple and easy to put together within 30 minutes. It will make a comforting and cozy lunch or dinner for the whole family even if they are not all vegans or vegetarians. 

Red lentils are one of my favorite ingredients to cook and bake with. Yes, you heard it right. We use red lentils a lot, but not only to make soup, stew, or dahl. We also use them to make healthy and nutritious pancakes, waffles, and tortillas. High protein vegan goods without protein powder. Win-win.

What kind of red lentil soup is it? 

I would say this soup is Eastern European. Red lentils can be paired with lots of different spices and flavors. However, most soup recipes I come across tend to be seasoned with Middle Eastern spices such as cayenne pepper, curry, cumin, turmeric, and lemon. No surprise there as legumes are widely used in Middle Eastern cuisine, more than in any other cuisine. 

However, if you care to try something different, you should take a look at our recipe. Our cozy red lentil soup is seasoned with the following:

• tomato paste
• sweet smoked paprika powder
• cumin
• parsley

The tomato paste will give you a perfect base for a hearty soup. Most of the recipes I consider vegan comfort food is somehow tomato-based. 🙂 The smoked paprika will give you a feeling as if this soup was actually cooked on a campfire. Apart from paprika powder in Eastern Europe, we use parsley a lot and with good reason. It is not as strong as cilantro or oregano but still gives a fresh herb finish without shifting the focus of the veggies. 

How to make red lentil soup

You need only a handful of ingredients. Nothing fancy or hard to get. All of them are pantry staples: onion, garlic, potato, carrot, parsnip, red lentils, vegetable broth, tomato paste, and seasoning. 

My husband cooked this lentil soup in a cast-iron Dutch oven. Don’t worry if you don’t have one, this recipe is absolutely perfect in a stockpot too. We made it lots of times and will show you below step-by-step how to cook the coziest soup with red lentils.

Prepare your vegetables

Red lentils are super easy and quick to cook. They also don’t need a lot of soaking or preparation. We soak them for 10 minutes in cold water. In those 10 minutes, you can prepare the other veggies. Peel and chop the onion and garlic. Wash and chop potatoes. Wash, peel and slice carrots and parsnip. 

Making the soup

Heat your stockpot or Dutch oven to medium heat and add olive oil. Cook the chopped onion (photo #1) for 1-2 minutes. Now, add the sliced carrots and parsnip (photo #2). Stir and cook for 5-6 minutes. Then, add the crushed garlic and the seasoning (salt, pepper, parsley, and cumin) (photo #3) and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Now, add the sweet smoked paprika powder and the tomato paste (photo #4), and stir until combined. 

Pour the vegetable broth (photo #5) and cook the soup for approx. 5 minutes (check if carrots and parsnip are almost cooked). Now, add the diced potatoes (photo #6) and cook for another 5 minutes. Finally, add the soaked red lentils (photo #7) and cook for another 5 minutes. That’s all! You are ready! Serve and enjoy!

Top tips to make the best soup with red lentils

• No need to thicken the soup – You don’t need to add any flour or starch to thicken the soup as the red lentils will help you thicken it. The longer the soup rests, the thicker it will be. Moreover, you can take out 1-2 cups of the finished soup and puree them separately with an immersion blender. When you add it back, you will get an even creamier and thicker soup. 
• Is it too thick? – Add 1-2 cups of water if the red lentil soaked up too much liquid. And adjust seasoning accordingly. 
• Chop vegetables evenly – We added carrots and parsnip first as they need the most time to be cooked, then potatoes. They will cook more evenly if the veggies are the same size. 
• Chop vegetables smaller – If you prefer to reduce the cooking time, you can cut the potatoes to smaller or slice the carrots thinner. 
• How spicy should it be? – Depending on how hot and spicy you prefer your soup, you can add chili powder or sriracha or freshly chopped raw chili peppers beside the sweet paprika powder. 

Stockpot vs Dutch Oven

The Dutch oven is made of thick cast iron so it distributes and keeps the heat more evenly. And due to its enamel coating, it is more unlikely that anything is sticking to the bottom or burning down. While the stockpot is usually made of stainless steel or aluminium thus it is thinner. Therefore, you need to watch the heat more carefully to prevent burning if you boil all the liquid out of the pot.

Two things to pay attention to if you are making this soup in a stockpot is

1. do not let the liquid evaporate and
2. stir more frequently.

Why do we love red lentil recipes?

Red lentils are an amazing source of protein, they contain more protein than most other types of beans and legumes.

According to Cronometer a 1-cup serving of raw red lentils has approx 46 grams of protein. That’s astonishing.

Apart from that red lentils are a great source of fiber and are high in different Vitamin B and folate. This latter is very important for pregnant and breastfeeding moms. Last but not least red lentils are also iron-, copper-, manganese- and zinc-rich food. If you are on a vegan and vegetarian diet, you often search for iron-rich foods and recipes and red lentils are a great source to incorporate in your diet. For more details read Healthline’s article on lentils.

FAQs and Substitutions

Can I use different lentils?

I wouldn’t recommend using other lentils. Green and brown lentils not only have different tastes, but they need longer soaking and cooking time. 

Do I really need to soak them? 

If you don’t soak them for at least 10 minutes in cold water, then you will need a longer time to cook them. It means that you need to add them at the same time as you add the veggie broth. They need at least 15-20 minutes so you need to pay attention not to over-cook the other veggies. In the worst-case scenario, you can pour the whole soup in a blender and make a cream of red lentil soup. 🙂

How long can I store the soup?

You can store in the fridge for up to 4-5 days without a problem. A quick side note though. As the soup rests, the red lentils may absorb some of the liquid and your soup may turn into a stew. 

Can I freeze it?

Yes, you can. 

This Red Lentil Soup recipe is vegan (so egg-free and dairy-free), vegetarian, gluten-free nut-free, and soy-free. It is WFPB-friendly (whole foods plant-based) as you need to skip cooking onion and garlic in oil and add all veggies directly to the veggie broth. 

More soup recipes

You can browse through our Vegan Soup Recipes or our Quick & Easy Vegan Meals collection or check out

• Vegan Sweet Potato Soup
• Cabbage Sausage Soup
• Vegetarian Goulash, the Real Hungarian Bean Goulash
• Vegan Cream of Mushroom Soup
• Vegan Cauliflower Soup

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