Red Lentil Soup
Hearty but healthy soup that is quick and easy to make. This red lentil soup that is put together with ingredients that you already have in the cupboard is comforting and delicious - perfect for a cosy autumnal evening in. One of the best vegan soups out there.
Every one sometimes has that moment when they are thinking on the way back from work what to cook for dinner tonight with almost no ingredients in the fridge. Well this red lentil recipe is the answer to it. It always comes handy to have few quick and easy recipes ready. This comforting soup is full of nutritions: protein from red lentils, spinach and tomatoes for your daily vegetables,.. Overall this autumnal soup is very healthy and delicious! Ideally serve it with some bread to actually feel full though.
This meal might not seem like soup to everyone - it is quite thick, almost like a dal. I could imagine having some rice instead of bread with this soup so why not to treat it like dal recipe? Haha, I am joking, dal is made differently but next time I’ll add some grains to this soup when cooking.
What ingredients do you need for this spiced red lentil soup?
RED LENTILS - one of the best and easiest lentils you can prepare. How to cook red lentils? Well they don’t need to be soaked before cooking and their cooking time is only about 20-25 minutes, so easy peasy. Only rinsed them under running water before cooking.
ONION AND GARLIC - base of any soup. In case you don’t like onion, use leeks instead. And if garlic makes your stomach feels bad, cut garlic clove in half and take out the middle - you’ll see it once you cut it.
CHOPPED TOMATOES - this recipe is design to be quick and ready in around 30 minutes so my go to when it came to tomatoes I went for tinned tomatoes. Maybe next time I’ll try it with fresh tomatoes - which you can do too (if you do, let us know it the comments how it went!)
CUMIN, CORIANDER AND TURMERIC - great spices that go so well together. Cumin and coriander give this soup that specific taste which I love and I’m sure you’ll love too. Turmeric is here more for colour so if you don’t have it, you can omit it. Use the ground version of all spices.
CHILI POWDER - I always use that amount that should be ok with everybody. So with 1/4 teaspoon you can taste it but very mildly so if you like it spicier, add another 1/4 teaspoon.
COCONUT MILK - goes perfectly in this soup - with spices and red lentils, it’s yummy. But if you don’t like it or you don’t have it, use either any other vegan cream or leave it out altogether and just add more water/stock.
WATER - I decided to go just with water in this soup because it is so flavourful anyway. But with stock you can’t go wrong so obviously you can use it instead of just water.
For more vegan soup recipes be sure to check out:
If you make this soup, and take photos of it, you can tag me on instagram - @bigbakesmanifesto and use hashtag #bigbakesmanifesto too! I love to see people making my recipes. Or follow me on Pinterest, where you can comment and rate my recipes.
Serves 4
Ingredients
2 tbsp rapeseed oil
1 large onion - chopped
4 garlic cloves - minced
1 tbsp minced ginger (around 2 cm)
1 tsp ground coriander
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp chili
400 g chopped tomatoes (1 tin)
200 g red lentil - rinsed
750 ml water (or vegetable stock)
1 1/2 tsp salt
200 ml coconut milk
handful of spinach or kale
to serve: coriander, bread
Method
Heat up oil in a large saucepan and add chopped onion. Cook for about 5 mins (until golden), add garlic, ginger and spices and cook for 1 min.
Add tomatoes, red lentils, 750 ml water (or stock) and salt. Bring to the boil and cook for about 25 mins - until the lentils are tender.
Pour in coconut milk and add spinach and let it cook for few minutes - until spinach has wilted (it takes about 2 minutes).
Season it to your taste and serve with some coriander on top.