This vibrant Curried Lentil Soup is ultra-convenient and healthy! This is a hearty, plant-based recipe that’s filling enough for lunch or dinner.
Are you a soup lover? Alex and I had been eating curried lentil soup at a restaurant recently, and after one bite I knew we had to make it at home. Here’s our take, and I have to say, this is one of our favorite soup recipes to date. (With over 50 vegetarian and vegan soup recipes on our site, that’s saying something!) It’s loaded with hearty red lentils and root vegetables, and the broth is swirled with red curry paste and coconut milk. With all the texture and flavor, it feels rich and luxurious. But at the same time, it’s a healthy, plant-based meal!
What’s in this curry lentil soup?
This curried lentil soup is almost a stew, and its bright orange-red color is perfect for lazy afternoons or chilly evenings. Packed with healthy veggies and ingredients, it’s the perfect example of a whole plant-based (WFBP) recipe that worked well. Here’s the magic sauce that makes this recipe rock:
- Onion, potatoes, carrots and… parsnips (optional). The root vegetables in this soup are your standard hitter, with a unique added element: parsnips! They are particularly sweet and earthy. But they’re not a taste breaker: add an extra carrot if you can’t find it.
- garlic and ginger. Aromatic garlic and fresh ginger perfectly season the body of the soup.
- Kale. Why not add leafy greens? They add both color and nutrients.
- Red lenses. Red lentils cook quickly, which means the cooking time of this soup is only 10 minutes.
- Thai curry paste & coconut milk: To bring in the curry element, the pot curry paste brings great flavor and the coconut milk adds a creamy body. (See the curry paste section below.)
Tips for cutting vegetables: small cubes!
The vegetables in this curried lentil soup are a little different from other soups for a reason: They are cut into very small squares. Do you remember that restaurant soup mentioned above? Alex and I loved that the veggies are smaller than the standard cubes. Here, cut the onion, carrot, potato, and parsnip into 1/4-inch cubes.
This chopping method takes a little longer than a traditional cube, because more accuracy is required. But it’s worth it! Here is a photo so you can see the approximate size.
The taste maker: Thai curry paste
The taste secret of this lentil curry soup? Red Thai Curry Paste! It’s a paste in a jar that combines flavors you would find in a Thai curry: garlic, lemongrass, ginger and more. Is Thai curry paste spicy? In fact, it really depends on the brand. So you must taste it and add curry paste to taste. The brand we like is very mild, so this curried lentil soup doesn’t add any spiciness.
Where to buy Thai curry paste? You can usually find it in the grocery store in the international grocery section. It keeps for months in the fridge and you can use it in many other recipes like our Curried Butternut Squash Soup or our Quick Coconut Lentil Curry. If you can’t find it in your grocery store, you can buy it online: Thai cuisine red curry paste | Amazon.
Is there a time saving?
This lentil curry soup takes about 40 minutes to prepare. That’s about the average time to cook a soup, but here are some time-saving ideas:
- Prepare the soup with a spouse, partner, friend, etc. The longest prep time is chopping, so you could save 10 minutes by adding a second person. That makes it a 30 minute meal!
- Cut the vegetables into small pieces the day before (keep the potatoes in water). You can chop the vegetables in advance: it makes a meal of 20 minutes! Refrigerate them until the soup is ready. Potatoes can turn brown from exposure to air, so keep the peeled and sliced potatoes in a separate container covered with 1 inch of cold water. You’ll stay like this all night.
Make it a meal! Ways to serve lentil curry soup
This Curried Lentil Soup is a healthy and flavorful plant-based meal. This is a great introductory meal for people who are wary of plant-based diets! You can serve it at any time of the year, although it is best for warming up winter dishes and cool autumn days. Here are a few things we recommend for serving:
This Curry Lentil Soup Recipe is…
Vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free and gluten-free.
The description
This vibrant Curried Lentil Soup is ultra-convenient and healthy! This is a hearty, plant-based recipe that’s filling enough for lunch or dinner.
- 1 medium yellow onion
- 1 russet potato
- 2 big carrots
- 2 Parsnips (alternatively 1 carrot)
- 2 Garlic cloves
- 1 teaspoon chopped or grated ginger
- 3 large cabbage leaves (1 cup loose, finely chopped)
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 ½ cups Red lenses
- 281 ounce fire roasted tomatoes, mashed
- 1 pint vegetable soup
- 1 cup the water
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 at 3 tablespoons red curry paste*
- ½ cup coconut milk
- Fresh coriander for garnish
- Cut each of these veggies into small 1/4-inch cubes (see photo above for approximate size). Slice the onion and chop the potatoes, carrots and parsnips.
- Chop the garlic. Peel and chop or grate the ginger. Finely chop kale.
- Pour olive oil into a large skillet and heat over medium-high heat. Add the onion, potatoes, carrots, and parsnips and sauté for 5-6 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the garlic and ginger and sauté for 30 seconds.
- Add lentils, kale, tomatoes, broth, water, and kosher salt. Bring to a boil. Simmer for about 10 minutes until the lentils and vegetables are tender.
- Stir in curry paste (to taste)* and coconut milk. Serve hot, garnished with torn coriander leaves. Leftovers keep well and taste even better: refrigerate for 5 days or freeze for up to 2 months.
Remarks
*The spice content in Thai curry pastes may vary. Taste and add additional curry paste if you like. The brand we love (Thai Kitchen) is very mild; We used 3 tbsp and it didn’t add any heat to the soup. Others may vary, so add a little, taste the soup, and add more as you like.
- Category: Soup
- Method: Cook
- Kitchen: vegan
Keywords: Curry lentil soup
