This carrot and lentil soup is incredibly easy to make, with simple ingredients you probably already have in your pantry, and comes together in just about 30 minutes!
Soup season is in full swing and I for one am here for it. I may have overdone it on my chickpea noodle soup and tomato soup, so I thought it was about time for something new.
This carrot and lentil soup is incredibly creamy, almost like a bisque, and high in protein thanks to the lentils. It’s freezer friendly too so it’s perfect for meal prep.
It comes together in under 30 minutes, makes a big batch and is perfect paired with some hearty bread and is a complete meal on its own!
If you love this recipe, try my tuscan white bean soup or lentil tortilla soup next!
How to make carrot and red lentil soup
Chop the onion and mince the garlic and add to a large pan with the olive oil.
Saute for about 5 minutes or until very fragrant and the onion is translucent.
Add in all of the spices, salt and chopped carrots.
Saute for an additional 5 minutes to soften the carrots and allow the flavors to blend together.
Add in the red lentils, tomato paste, coconut milk and vegetable broth. You’ll need 4 cups of vegetable broth which is the same as 1 regular sized carton.
Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low and let simmer, covered, for about 20 minutes or until the lentils are cooked through.
Transfer to a high speed blender (you may need to do this in 2 batches depending on the size) and process until completely smooth.
You can use a food processor or immersion blender for this, but I find a high speed blender works best. I cannot recommend this vitamix blender enough, it was truly one of the best kitchen purchases I’ve made!
Taste and adjust seasonings as desired.
Transfer back to the pot and garnish with chopped parsley, red pepper flakes and a few dollops of coconut yogurt.
If you want to make the little swirls like I did in the images, all you need to do is add small drops of yogurt to the top of the soup and take a toothpick and swirl it around the top of the soup (gently) to spread it out.
Do the lentils need to be soaked?
No! And in fact I highly advise against it for this particular recipe. Red lentils cook very easily and unlike other legumes, generally do not require soaking.
You can rinse them in a fine mesh colander to remove any bits that don’t belong, but don’t allow them to soak.
You want them to be in the whole original form when you add them to the soup so that the vegetable broth will cook them and infuse the flavors into them.
Does it keep?
This carrot and lentil soup will last for about 5 days in an air tight container in the fridge.
For anyone who likes to meal prep, this soup can also be frozen! Whether in the fridge or the freezer, allow it to cool completely before transferring to an air tight container.
This soup will keep in the freezer for about 1 month. Allow it to defrost in the fridge overnight and then reheat on the stove. Be sure to save some room in the container for expansion.
Tips for success
You don’t want the lentils to cook too quickly, so make sure the heat is on very low and the pot is covered.
Don’t transfer the soup to the blender until all of the liquid is absorbed from the lentils and they are completely soft.
How much salt you need will depend on the saltiness of your broth. I used low sodium veggie broth so ended up using closer to 1 1/2 tsp salt. If you’re using regular broth start with 1/2 tsp and adjust as needed.
Serving Suggestions
I recommend serving this soup with a nice hearty bread (still waiting to find a good gluten free one!) and some fresh parsley on top.
It’s perfect as a full meal on its own since it’s high in protein but is also delicious with a side salad.
Try these cozy recipes next
- Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
- Vegan Red Lentil Dal
- Cauliflower Soup
- Vegan Fettuccine Alfredo
- Thai Red Chickpea Curry
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Red Lentil and Carrot Soup
by: claire cary
Ingredients
- 2 cups red lentils
- 1 medium/large yellow onion
- 4 large cloves garlic
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 can full fat coconut milk
- 5 cups vegetable or chicken broth
- 4 large carrots
- 4 tbsp tomato paste
- ½ tsp salt or more, to taste
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp turmeric
- ½ tsp cumin
- 1 tsp paprika
- Black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Chop the onion and mince the garlic and add to a large pan with the olive oil.
- Saute for about 5 minutes or until very fragrant and the onion is translucent.
- Add in all of the spices, salt and chopped carrots.
- Saute for an additional 5 minutes.
- Add in the red lentils, tomato paste, coconut milk and vegetable broth.
- Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to (very) low and let simmer, covered, for about 20 minutes or until the lentils are cooked through and most of the liquid is absorbed.
- Transfer to a high speed blender (you will probably need to do this in 2 batches depending on the size of your blender) and process until completely smooth. If you have an immersion blender, you can use that instead!
- Taste and adjust seasonings as desired. Feel free to thin it out with extra vegetable broth if desired.
- Transfer back to the pot and garnish with chopped parsley, red pepper flakes and a few dollops of coconut yogurt.
Josie says
Thank you so much for the recipe! I made this today and added a little extra broth, nutritional yeast and chickpeas for extra protein. Absolutely delicious 🤤
Claire Cary says
Sounds great, thanks Josie!
Toir says
Made this for on-the-go tea tonight as we needed something I could fit in a flask for my 6 and 9 year olds who have swimming swimming lessons at tea time.
It was a hit!
Easy to make, easy to eat 😋
Claire Cary says
Perfect! So glad you enjoyed this recipe.
Livia says
love it!! i added ginger and celery for some extra taste.
Victoria says
Delicious and so easy. I added parsley, coconut cream, and olive oil on top. Mmm! Thank you!
Michelle says
Turned out excellent. I had to add a little more water and unsweetened almond milk to thin out the soup but that was it. A big hit for dinner, I will make it again.
Robin says
I have made this recipe a couple times. It is awesome. We love it.
Claire Cary says
Amazing, thanks Robin!
Lori says
Easy to make and delicious! I added some Garam Masala and fresh ginger. Highly recommend this dish!
Melissa Davis says
Could you please clarify how many ounces the ‘bowl’ is? I’m on a diet and need to know how much I can eat. Sounds amazing!
Claire Cary says
It’ll be about 1 1/2 cups, but this is just an estimate!
Lynne says
Could I use split red lentils? Would I have to change anything in how I make the recipe then?
Claire Cary says
No, that should be fine!
Kerrie says
If I use already cooked lentils how much broth should I use for carrots and the soup in general? I was going to add my lentils at the end. Thanks.
Claire Cary says
I don’t recommend doing that as the soup is designed to all cook together! The flavor won’t be great if you add them in at the end.
Tia T says
Delicious recipe! Perfect for salvaging my soft carrots and other veggies that had seen better days. Nice and filling too.
Claire Cary says
Perfect, thanks Tia!
Mark says
Easy-peasy. Very versatile. I didn’t have red lentils so I just used green ones. Next time I do this I will likely change up the spices and go for more of a rosemary vibe, since it compliments the carrots. I’m not a huge fan of cumin, so I might go more curry. Thanks for the template.
Christin says
Yum! Just made this for dinner & it was delicious. Thank you Claire. Xoxo.
Katie says
Wow, this was SO delicious, easy to make, and an inexpensive meal with a loaf of fresh bread out of my bread maker. I added a teaspoon of ginger paste, used smoked paprika, and doubled the turmeric and the cinnamon. At the end I stirred in a bit of half and half, but a vegan chef could use oat milk.
Claire Cary says
Sounds delicious! So happy you enjoyed it.
Christina says
Came out really really thick I added more veggie broth and more seasonings. My carrots were a bit overpowering and sweet but adding in the extra broth and seasonings helped. I doubled this recipe and froze half. Also added some lime juice at the end, garam masala, and some Cilantro to give it more of an Indian flair. Overall nice easy recipe and would definitely make it again! Thx for sharing.
Lisa says
Added an extra can of coconut milk, and a TBSP of red curry paste. Lightly sweet from the carrots and a teeny bit spicy. Well rounded flavors. It was wonderful, hearty and satisfying. Will now be in my regular soup rotation!
Claire Cary says
Thank you Lisa, so happy you enjoyed it!
Diane says
Tasted great; I would make again! I did not use the cayenne pepper
Meghan says
One of my go to soups!
I love this soup. It’s so filling, and flavorful. Easy and quick to make.
Claire Cary says
Thank you, Meghan!
Louise McChesney says
I love this soup!! It checks off all of my boxes. It’s very delicious, easy to make, nutritious, satisfying/filling, and it’s vegan! Yay! Being able to freeze it is a great bonus.
Thank you for the wonderful recipe. I look forward to trying others from eat with CLARITY. 🙂
Claire Cary says
Thank you Louise! So happy you enjoyed, can’t wait to see what else you make!
Paulette Duffy says
This soup is fantastic, and so flavorful. However, I ended up adding 3 more cups of broth as it was too thick. So the next time I only used one cup of lentils.
Thank you for this wonderful recipe, I make a batch once a week now
Raihanah says
it’s so good and cozy! perfect for winter. i made this while recovering from a cold and it really warmed me up inside. couldn’t really taste the carrot though so will probably add more next time 🙂 will definitely make again, so easy and quick!
Claire Cary says
Perfect! So glad you enjoyed it.
Mara says
I made this for dinner tonight and it was delicious. Such a simple soup with such bold flavours. A real surprise considering the humble ingredients. Thanks for sharing.
Jess says
Sounds delicious. Wondering how I could replace the tomato paste due to allergies. Any suggestions?
Claire Cary says
I would just leave it out!
Dot says
Must have half a dozen red lentil soup recipes, this is the best. It is sooo good.
Meghan Szecsei says
Very delicious with the coconut milk and spices. Easy too! I put yogurt on top with an extra sprinkle of cinnamon.
Benita says
Can I try this with yellow lentils instead? And if so, what will I need to adjust? Thanks!
Claire Cary says
That should be fine, you won’t have to adjust anything.
Rachel says
I’m wondering what the “1 bowl” serving for the nutrition facts means…are those facts for the whole recipe or maybe 1/6 of it because the whole recipe is for 6..?
Claire Cary says
Yes, 1/6 of the recipe!
Angela says
This was sooo good with homemade chicken broth
Sarah says
Delicious soup! I had to substitute coconut milk with regular cream because of an allergy, still turned out delicious. Very forgiving recipe.
Claire Cary says
That’s why I love soup so much, so versatile! So glad you enjoyed it!
Nicole says
Yum! I’m not normally a soup person, but this is the second soup recipe of yours I’ve made in the last week and it did not disappoint. The cinnamon was unexpected but really brought it all together. The lentils made it very filling. Thanks for the recipe!
Claire Cary says
I know, I love the cinnamon in this! So glad you enjoyed it, thanks Nicole!
Aaron says
This is a quick and easy soup to made but so delicious! Took us about 45 minutes but it tasted like we spent hours on it! Would definitely recommend
Claire Cary says
Thanks Aaron! So happy you liked it!