It's soup day here on WGC and this Curry Lentil Soup is going to go right up there with your other favs like Chicken Tortilla Soup, Black Bean Sweet Potato Chili, and Potato Leek Soup I can guarantee it! No questions asked!
Table of Contents
Why I Love This Recipe
Soups are an essential part of the next few months. And we are solid when it comes to soups here on WGC over in the soup section - but one that kept popping up from your requests was a lentil soup! I'll be honest, I was hesitant at first because I was somewhat skeptical of lentils as a kid - but mix it with coconut milk and curry and a TON of garlic and ginger and I could eat this lentil soup every day.
This Curry Lentil Soup is the perfect soup no matter who you're feeding. It's naturally vegan, incredibly filling and packed with flavor from the curry and the coconut milk. All in all... it's perfection. And, if this soup is on your rotation and want to try something similar, try the curry coconut noodle soup, which is also delicious.
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Coconut Oil
- Yellow Onion
- Red Bell Pepper
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Curry Powder red, yellow or green curry powders all work
- Red Pepper Flakes
- Lentils you can use any color lentils you have on hand
- Canned Crushed Tomatoes
- Cilantro feel free to sub for chives or basil
- Salt and Pepper
- Unsweetened Coconut Milk
- Limes
*For a full list of ingredients and instructions please see recipe card below.
How to Make Curry Lentil Soup
Step 1: Heat the oil in a medium dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and bell pepper and sauté, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 10 minutes.
Step 2: Add garlic, ginger, curry powder, and red pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
Step 3: Add the lentils and cook for about 1 minute more, stirring occasionally.
Step 4: Add tomatoes, cilantro, 2½ cups water and season with salt and pepper. Set aside a few tablespoons of the coconut milk and add remaining coconut milk to dutch oven.
Step 5: Bring the mixture to a boil and reduce heat to simmer, stirring occasionally, until lentils are soft but not mushy, 20-25 minutes. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as needed.
How to Store Curry Lentil Soup
You can store this soup in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. When time to eat, warm it in the microwave or on stovetop in a saucepan till its warmed through.
How to Freeze Curry Lentil Soup
You can freeze this soup for about 3 months in airtight container. It would be much easier if you pre-portioned before freezing. This way you can just thaw as much as you need overnight and just warm it through in a microwave or stovetop when its time to eat.
Tips & Tricks
You can use any color lentils you have on hand for this lentil soup recipe! And some goes for curry powder... red, yellow and green all work in this recipe interchangeably! The rest is pretty self explanatory. If you're anti-cilantro then use some chives or basil on top! Just promise me that you won't forget to garnish with the lime juice. That fresh pop of flavor really makes this lentil soup sing!
FAQs
Why is my lentil soup not thick?
It's usually because too much liquid was added or the lentil soup did not simmer long enough for the lentils to absorb all of the cooking liquid.
Can I use any lentils?
Yes, you can use any type of lentils you have on hand. Just keep in mind that cooking time may vary depending on the type of lentils.
Similar Recipes
If you tried this recipe, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting today
Curry Lentil Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1 yellow onion finely chopped
- 1 red bell pepper finely chopped
- 8 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 2 ½ inch piece of ginger peeled and finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon curry powder
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ¾ cup lentils
- 14.5 ounce can crushed tomatoes
- ½ cup cilantro finely chopped, plus more for garnish
- kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
- 13.5 ounce can unsweetened coconut milk
- lime wedges for serving
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a medium dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and bell pepper and sauté, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 10 minutes.
- Add garlic, ginger, curry powder, and red pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the lentils and cook for about 1 minute more, stirring occasionally.
- Add tomatoes, cilantro, 2½ cups water and season with salt and pepper. Set aside a few tablespoons of the coconut milk and add remaining coconut milk to dutch oven.
- Bring the mixture to a boil and reduce heat to simmer, stirring occasionally, until lentils are soft but not mushy, 20-25 minutes. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as needed.
- To serve, divide soup among bowls. Drizzle with reserved coconut milk and top with plenty of cilantro. Serve with lots of lime wedges.
This was FANTASTIC! I made it exactly like the recipe stated and was gobbling it up! And love that it is healthy. Next time, I may add celery and carrots to increase the veggies.
Wow! This soup is really easy to make and tastes like it's complicated (in a good way). I made a triple batch and shared with friends who needed help with meals. Everyone requested the recipe and couldn't believe how delicious it was. This will be my new favorite recipe to give to anyone who needs a meal delivered. It was even better heated up the second day.
Yum!!! So tasty and so simple!! We’ve added this to our regular rotation. To make it even easier, I usually just add two tablespoons of yellow Thai curry paste instead of chopping all the garlic etc.
Love all of Gaby's recipes, but this is our all-time favorite!
Wow this was amazing and so easy. The lime finish at the end yummmm.
Fantastic. My husband considers himself and Indian cooking aficionado. He gobbled this up. Perfect texture.
yum. made several subs based on what i had in the crisper drawer and flavor was still delicious.
Holy moly! Mole?! This was awesome.
This turned out great!! I can't handle a lot of heat so I think if I make it again I'll cut back on the red pepper flakes. I also had to use chives and Thai basil because I had no cilantro, so next time, cilantro!! Thanks for the recipe! I like the idea of adding sweet potato.
Amazing soup! I added some spinach this time and this soup is so versatile you could add lots of other vegetables! Loved it and will be putting it on my dinner rotation!
One of the best soups I have ever made and so easy! The taste was out of this world.
Wowza. This soup is the best! I followed the recipe exactly and it was divine. I made it early in the day then let it sit and reheated it for dinner. Felt clean and healthy but really filling. Served the soup with garlic naan grilled cheese, which was decidedly less healthy, but the soup exorcised the bad juju, I’m sure. It’s as beautiful as it is delish. Thanks for this inspiration. Total winner.
Wow! Delicious, easy, pretty and have leftover! This is the bomb :)))
I love so many of your recipes but this one really blew me away because I did not know what to expect! So so good!! Thank you for this and all of your delicious and approachable recipes!
Delish! Got so many compliments on this soup