Dinner tonight is our Cozy Curry Lentil Soup! This easy lentil soup recipe is perfect for cold weather and cozy days in. A delicious healthy lunch or healthy dinner! (Vegan, Gluten-Free)
January always feels like serious soup season. When the weather is chilly and I’m craving something nourishing after enjoying holiday treats, soup is such a natural solution. A favorite lately is this cozy lentil soup recipe.
With plenty of plant-based protein, layer upon layer of flavor, and plenty of veggies, a cozy vegan lentil soup like this will warm you up from the inside out.
This easy soup recipe doesn’t take long to make and only gets better with time. I love making a batch on the weekend to enjoy for lunches throughout the week, but it makes a fabulous dinner (ESPECIALLY on a chilly evening).
Ready to make a batch of this curried lentil soup? Let’s jump in!
Gather Your Ingredients
Another thing to love about this easy lentil soup recipe? It starts with simple ingredients! Here’s what goes into our coconut curry lentil soup recipe:
How to Make Curry Lentil Soup, Step By Step
As always, you can find the full recipe, with ingredient amounts, detailed instructions, and tips in the recipe card below!
- Cook Veggies. In a Dutch oven or soup pot, heat coconut oil or olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and carrots and cook 5-7 minutes, or until crisp-tender.
- Build Flavor. Add garlic, ginger, curry powder, salt, and cayenne. Stir and cook 1 minute, until fragrant. Add tomato sauce, coconut milk, and veggie broth to the pot and stir to combine.
- Rinse & Sort Lentils. If you haven’t already, sort and rinse your lentils,* then add them to your soup pot.
- Simmer. Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer the soup (stirring occasionally) about 20-25 minutes, stirring or until lentils are tender and the soup has thickened.
- Finish. Turn off the heat and stir in the spinach and cilantro. The residual heat from the soup will wild the leaves within 1-2 minutes. Taste and add additional salt, as desired.
- Serve & Store. Enjoy bowls of soup with a squeeze of lime juice, a dollop of yogurt or a drizzle of coconut milk, and additional cilantro as desired. Store leftover soup in an airtight container in the fridge 3-4 days, or freeze up to 2 months.
Try serving this healthy soup with crusty bread or a light salad to complete the meal!
Variations & Swaps To Try
We love this delicious recipe exactly as written, but when you’re looking for a change of pace, here are a few of our favorite variations to try next time you make it:
- SWAP YOUR GREENS. Try adding kale in place of the spinach in your lentil soup. Or, you can experiment with chard or mustard greens!
- MIX UP THE SPICES. Instead of the 1 Tbsp. curry powder in this lentil soup recipe, you can add 1 tsp. cumin + 1 tsp. coriander + 1 tsp. cardamom to mimic the flavors in our favorite Paleo Butter Chicken. Or you can add 1/2-1 tsp. cumin or garam masala in along with the curry powder!
- ADD MORE TEXTURE. If you like your soup more broth-y, you can swap out the 15 oz. can of tomato paste for a 15 oz. can of crushed tomatoes instead. (I like fire-roasted crushed tomatoes when I go this route!)
- MAKE IT SPICY. Love a little heat? Turn up the spice by adding 1 tsp. cumin + 1/4 tsp. cayenne (or more, to taste)
- TRY IT WITH MORE VEGGIES. This cozy lentil soup recipe easily accommodates more veggies. Feel free to add a few diced potatoes or sweet potatoes, a few chopped tomatoes, 2-3 cups of kale, or 1-2 stalks of celery, for instance.
- ADD SOME COOKED CHICKEN. If you’re not eating vegan or vegetarian, you can absolutely stir some cooked chicken into this recipe at the end. It can be a great way to use up leftovers! Or, you can turn up the protein by using chicken bone broth instead of vegetable broth. (Look for a chicken broth with 8-9 grams of protein per cup!)
FAQ + Tips For The Best Curry Lentil Soup
HOW TO SORT & RINSE LENTILS: Pour lentils into a fine mesh sieve and pick out any damaged, or discolored lentils and discard them. Then, rinse the lentils in your sieve under water for about 1 minute before adding to your recipe.
DO I NEED TO SOAK THE LENTILS BEFORE COOKING? Lentils do not need to be soaked before cooking, though soaking them can speed up the cook time. Soaked lentils cook in about half the time of un-soaked lentils.
CAN I USE GREEN OR BROWN LENTILS INSTEAD OF RED LENTILS? I haven’t tried it this way, but I believe you can. Do know that the cook time will vary, since red lentils cook in about half the time of green & brown lentils. See this post for a more thorough overview!
CAN YOU FREEZE LENTIL SOUP? Yes! Lentil soup is a great recipe to freeze. I freeze mine in freezer-safe zip top bags with the excess air pressed out of them. Then, I freeze them laying flat until they’re frozen solid. It makes them easier and neater to store, and they thaw faster later! You can reheat leftovers on the stove with a splash of water or broth to loosen them back up.
HELP! MY LENTIL SOUP IS TOO THICK. Lentil soup continues to thicken as it cools (the lentils will absorb liquid as they sit), so you may want to add a splash of water or broth to loosen things back up to your taste. (Or, you can just spoon it over rice or quinoa like stew!)
Did You Make This Recipe?
Tell me all about it! Leave a star rating below when you try our Cozy Curry Lentil Soup recipe. I can’t wait to hear how it goes!
Cozy Curry Lentil Soup
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon coconut oil or olive oil
- 1 onion diced (about 1 cup)
- 2 carrots diced (about 1 cup)
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon finely minced fresh ginger
- 1 Tablespoon yellow curry powder I use regular/mild
- 1/2 teaspoon salt plus more, to taste
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper (1/16-1/8 teaspoon)
- 1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce
- 1 (13 oz.) can full-fat coconut milk
- 5 cups veggie broth (or chicken broth, if not vegan)
- 1 pound red lentils, sorted and rinsed* (about 2 cups)
- 5 oz. fresh spinach roughly chopped
- 1/4-1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro plus, additional for garnish, if desired
- Lime wedges optional
- 1-2 Tablespoons additional coconut milk or plain yogurt dairy or non-dairy as needed for garnish.
Instructions
- Cook Veggies. In a Dutch oven or soup pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions and carrots and cook 5-7 minutes, or until crisp-tender.
- Build Flavor. Add garlic, ginger, curry powder, salt, and cayenne. Stir and cook 1 minute, until fragrant. Add tomato sauce, coconut milk, and veggie broth to the pot and stir to combine.
- Rinse & Sort Lentils. If you haven’t already, sort and rinse your lentils,* then add them to your soup pot.
- Simmer. Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer the soup (stirring occasionally) about 20-25 minutes, stirring or until lentils are tender and the soup has thickened.
- Finish. Turn off the heat and stir in the spinach and cilantro. The residual heat from the soup will wild the leaves within 1-2 minutes. Taste and add additional salt, as desired.
- Serve & Store. Enjoy bowls of soup with lime wedges, a dollop of yogurt or a drizzle of coconut milk, and additional cilantro as desired. Store leftover soup in an airtight container in the fridge 3-4 days, or freeze up to 2 months.
Notes
- HOW TO SORT & RINSE LENTILS: Pour lentils into a fine mesh sieve and pick out any damaged, or discolored lentils and discard them. Then, rinse the lentils under water for about 1 minute before adding to your recipe.
- SOUP TOO THICK? Lentil soup continues to thicken as it cools and sits. Feel free to add a splash of water or broth to thin it out to your liking!
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition facts are an estimate only and will vary based on brands and amounts used.
Find it Online:
https://www.onelovelylife.com/cozy-curry-lentil-soup/
Such an quick, and easy soup to put together, and it tastes *so* good!! I gave the recipe to my friend and she and her husband made it two times last week. This will definitely be a go to recipe for me.
YAY! I’m so happy to hear it. Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review. You are so appreciated!
This soup makes cold days extra cozy. And it is so easy to make!
This is a new favorite in our house! I was hesitant because I have never cooked lentils, but it is so good that it has me searching for other recipes with lentils! It is so hearty and full of goodness. The leftovers are just as good, and we have loved taking it work the next day for lunch. It’s getting me through the winter!
Yes! Exactly! I love the leftovers for lunches. It’s a great into to lentils!
Hi. What is your recommendation for vegetable stock, from a store. I haven’t the time to make my own. Thank you! Donna
My favorite is Imagine brand. Such great flavor!
I love all things Curry. It was delicious and easy!
THANK YOU! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
This was so good. I made exactly as directed, but put it in the slow cooker on low for about 4 hours and was perfect!
Ooh, so glad to know it worked great in the slow cooker! Thank you so much for taking the time to share!
My whole meat loving family thought this was wonderful! I shared with extended family and they all agreed.
Oh, I LOVE hearing this! That’s always my hope. Thank you for sharing with me and for taking the time to leave a review!
I just defrosted some of this for lunch today. It was crazy good! Yum!
I love the leftovers, too! They’re SO GOOD!