An easy red lentil soup ready in just 35 minutes. Thrifty and versatile red lentils make this soup perfectly thick and comforting. I’ve even developed this soup so you can toss in frozen vegetables and make the preparation even quicker!
Quick & easy
Thick & comforting
Warm curried flavour
And a hint of spice
Thrifty Tips
Dry lentils are one of my favourite pantry staples. They are inexpensive, they expand in volume when you cook them from their dried state (like rice), and they are so versatile. Red lentils cook particularly quickly so they take even less time to cook in soups than rice and they provide a great boost of protein to your recipe.
Make sure to visit my Pantry Tips page and explore how I stock my pantry to make cooking at home as easy and thrifty as possible.
Using two cups of dried red lentils in this recipe costs me less than $1!
Other than using thrifty lentils in this recipe, my tip for saving some hard earned dollars is to use homemade vegetable broth.
My Nearly Free Vegetable Broth is so much easier to make than you might think.
- Save your vegetable scraps from all your cooking (onion skins, carrot peels etc)
- Store them in your freezer
- Add them to water
- Boil for 30 minutes
- Strain & store your homemade broth!
Not only are you saving money by not having to buy store-bought broth, you are getting more from those delicious vegetables you have already purchased.
By using my homemade vegetable broth in this soup alone… I save over $6!
Although it may seem like a small change to make, the savings really can add up. Let me know in the comments below if you get in the habit of making your own broth!
The Other Ingredients
The vegetables I use to bulk up this easy red lentil soup are:
- Onion & Garlic
- Carrots
- Celery
- And Corn
I tend to have frozen corn and celery always at the ready in my freezer. You can even freeze sliced onion and whole garlic cloves which is a great back up if you run out of fresh!
I have kept the vegetables in this soup quite simple to hopefully make it easy for you to toss in whatever frozen veggies you have on hand. *Just keep in mind that using peas or green beans will probably darken the colour of the finished soup.
And for all the flavour? These aromatic Indian spices provide amazing flavour in seconds:
- Curry powder
- Hot chili powder (or cayenne pepper)
- Ground cinnamon
- And ground coriander (or cumin if you don’t have coriander)
Spices traditionally used in Indian cooking are fantastic flavour boosters to have on your spice rack. These spices take this soup from being neutral flavoured to absolutely bursting with warm and comforting flavour (with a bit of a kick).
Recipe Cost
This big pot of easy red lentil soup serves 6 and costs us approximately: $6.50 CAD to make using homemade vegetable broth. As mentioned above, using store-bought broth can add up to an additional $6 to our cost.
I love that the lentils add in a great amount of protein to this soup, which can sometimes be lacking from other vegetable soups. Make sure to take a look at my other popular red lentil recipes:
My delicious Red Lentil Ragu is a big hit and has such a great “meaty” texutre and flavour. If you love the curry flavour of this soup you will love my Red Lentil Curry with coconut milk and chickpeas. And if you want a fully pureed soup, try this creamy Butternut Squash Red Lentil Soup.
Make my Easy Roti (a 2 ingredient Indian flatbread) to have on the side. Or if you want to try making some vegan naan as close to the traditional as you can, make sure to browse the Vegan Naan from Rainbow Plant Life.
Print
Easy Red Lentil Curried Vegetable Soup
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
A thick and comforting easy red lentil soup ready in just 35 minutes. Use frozen vegetables for an even quicker preparation!
Ingredients
- ½ yellow onion, sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 – 3 large carrots, diced small (approx. 1 ½ cup)*
- 2 ribs celery, sliced thinly (approx. 1 cup)*
- 1 cup corn kernels
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tbsp curry powder
- ¼ tsp hot chilli powder or cayenne (reduce if desired)
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground coriander (or cumin)
- 2 cups dry red lentils, rinsed
- 7 cups vegetable broth (homemade for extra savings)
- 2 handfuls spinach (or garnish with cilantro)
*Fresh ingredients you need that are not part of our pantry and freezer tips.
Instructions
- Start by chopping your vegetables. The smaller the carrots are diced the quicker they will cook (you do not have to peel the carrots as long as you scrub them well). Feel free to use frozen vegetables for this recipe and even swap out the vegetables I use for what you have on hand.
- With your vegetables prepared, heat a large pot over medium low heat with a splash of oil, water, or broth. Saute the onion and garlic for 1-2 minutes until fragrant.
- Add the carrots, celery, and corn. Stir in the spices and cook with the lid of the pot on for 5 minutes to steam the vegetables.
- Add the rinsed lentils and broth. Bring the broth to a boil then reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer the soup with the lid on for 10 minutes or until the lentils are cooked and the carrots are soft (the smaller the carrots were chopped the quicker they will cook).
- Blend half the soup using an immersion blender to create a thicker consistency. You can fully blend the soup if you would like but I tend to leave some pieces of vegetables in tact for a bit more texture. If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can carefully transfer half the soup to a stand up blender (make sure your blender can handle hot liquids or wait until the soup cools to blend it). Alternatively, skip the blending all together and enjoy the soup as is!
- Finish by adding in a couple handfuls of spinach or your greens of choice. You can also top this soup with cilantro. Taste and adjust the flavour as desired. If the soup is too spicy for you, add some lime juice or 1-2 teaspoon sugar to lessen the spice. Serve with my Easy Roti or naan and enjoy!
Notes
Approximate Cost: $6.48 CAD using homemade vegetable broth. Using store-bought vegetable broth can add over $6 to our recipe cost!
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Indian inspired
Olivia M.
So, so, so yummy! Made this today but I did not have any celery. I used a red pepper instead and followed the rest of the recipe exactly. Wow! Excellent flavour and so easy to make. Thank you TTT for another “go to” recipe!!
Kathryn Alexandre
Fantastic! I’m so glad you were able to throw in the veg you had on hand and still loved the flavour and ease of the recipe. Thank you for the lovely star rating!
Susan
I made this soup last night and it is a hit in our household. Very tasty and easy to make. It will be one of my regular soup recipes now.
Kathryn Alexandre
Oh great! I love this one too. I’m so glad everyone liked it and it will go into your regular rotation. That’s wonderful to know. Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a star rating!
Emma
Delicious!! Healthy!! Thanks! I didn’t have any Cayenne pepper, so I used hot sauce and it was wonderful 🙂
Kathryn Alexandre
Oh great! I’m glad you were able to sub the hot sauce in and loved it. Thank you so much for trying it and for the lovely star rating!
Paula
We really loved this soup! Made it for lunch today and it was super easy and tasty. Although we are not vegans, I am always happy to find recipes that I can make for friends who are and, happily, we like it, too. Thanks for posting.
Kathryn Alexandre
That’s so great to hear! Thank you so much for trying it! I’m glad you found it simple to make and enjoyed it!