This Lebanese Lentil Soup with crushed red lentils, and vegetables in a spiced broth is simple to prepare and only requires a few ingredients. It’s done in under 30 minutes! Healthy, vegan, and gluten-free!
I grew up on Mediterranean food. It is my absolute favorite! I’m raising two boys who love it as well. While I’m not Labanese, my family is Armenian, and we eat a lot of Mediterranean food, including hummus, babaganoush, tons of pita, and tabouli!
One of the things I love about Mediterranean cuisine is that it is vegan friendly!
You’ll find a lentil soup in almost all Lebanese restaurants. One of our favorite places back home in Michigan is a Taverna that makes a crushed lentil vegan soup that is perfectly spiced, and creamy without any dairy. I order it every single time we go to this restaurant without fail!
In the winter and autumn months I crave it! It has a hint of lemon that brightens the flavors, with cumin that gives it a warm finish. The red lentils are blended together for a smooth and creamy finish.
Unfortunately, we have moved away from our favorite restaurant and haven’t found a new one in our area to replace it.
Which meant that I needed to get to work on creating my own version of this crave worthy simple soup!
My version starts with onions, carrots, celery and garlic, spiced with cumin, salt and pepper. Red lentils are added with water and vegetable stock and simmered until softened. The juice of one lemon is added, and then it’s blended to create a creamy finish. Topped with fresh chopped parsley, and served with pita, it’s a healthy and satisfying meal!
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Why This Recipe Works
- Vegan
- Gluten-Free
- Healthy and Low-Calorie
- 30 Minute Meal
- Great Recipe for a Weeknight Dinner
- Pantry Ingredients
- Easy Recipe
- Rich in Vitamins and Nutrients
- High in Fiber
- Hearty Soup
- Good Source of Plant Protein
Ingredients and Notes
Red Lentils: Red lentils cook more quickly than other varieties. The taste of red lentils is mild, and just a little sweet. They also become a bit more mushy and lose their shape. They are perfect for a creamy soup that will be blended. Green lentils or brown lentils on the other hand keep their shape, and so they don’t work as well in this soup.
Vegetables: The base of this soup is a combination of chopped yellow onion, diced carrots, diced celery, and minced garlic. This combination is known as a mirepoix, which is a flavor base of many soups.
Water and Vegetable Broth: I used a combination of water and low-sodium vegetable broth. However, you could use all water, or all vegetable broth. If you use all vegetable broth you may want to decrease the amount of salt you add.
Spices: The spices in this soup are simple! All you need is cumin, salt, and black pepper!
Lemon Juice: What makes this soup distinctly Lebanese flavored is the added lemon juice. This is a must, and really brightens the whole dish!
Fresh Parsley: Adding some herbs to your soup brings color, and a hint of freshness.
Tools and Equipment
- Large Saucepan or Dutch Oven
- Cutting Board and Chopping Knife
- Cooking Spoon
- Immersion Blender (hand blender)
Instructions
Step 1: Heat oil or ¼ cup of vegetable stock over medium heat. Add chopped onions, and cook for 3-5 minutes or until onions are soft and translucent.
Step 2: Add the diced carrots, diced celery, and minced garlic. Cook an additional 3 minutes to soften.
Step 3: Add the cumin, salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Cook for an additional minute or until spices become fragrant.
Step 4: Run the red lentils under water in a colander until the water runs clear. Add the lentils to the pot. Stir to combine.
Step 5: Pour in the vegetable stock and water. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer. Cover and cook on low heat for about 20 minutes or until lentils and vegetables are soft.
Step 6: Once the lentils are cooked, pour in the lemon juice. With an immersion blender, blend the soup until you reach your desired consistency. For a super creamy soup blend until all vegetables and lentils are smooth and creamy. For a chunkier soup blend until the lentils are creamy, but there are still a few chunks of veggies.
Step 7: Pour into bowls and top with freshly chopped parsley. Enjoy!
FAQS
Lentil soup is a healthy when prepared using whole food ingredients, and limiting added salt. Lentils are an excellent source of plant protein, and fiber. One bowl of this soup has 12 grams of protein, and 15 grams of fiber. Protein is needed to build muscle and strength, as well as help with multiple functions of the body, while fiber helps with a healthy digestive track. This soup is low in calories, coming in at under 200 calories per serving, and only 1 gram of fat. With the added onions, carrots, and celery, you’re also getting a healthy dose of vitamins and minerals such as vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin B6, potassium, and folate.
Foods like this Lebanese Lentil Soup that are rich in fiber help you feel fuller longer, preventing you from snacking, and overeating. This soup is also low in calories (181 calories per serving) and fat (1 gram of fat per serving), so you can fill up and feel satisfied without consuming a bulk of your daily calories. While healthy vegetable soups can aid in weight loss, it’s also important to exercise regularly, eat lots of fruits and vegetables, and limit sugar.
If you want to make this comforting soup a bit heartier add a ½ cup of rice when you add the lentils. You can use white rice or brown rice. Brown rice will add more fiber. You’ll also want to add an additional cup of water to help the rice cook with the lentils. If you don’t want to add rice, try adding diced sweet potatoes. It will give this recipe more bulk and will blend well too!
Expert Tips
- Finely dice the onions, carrots and celery. This will make it faster for them to cook, and easier for them to blend with the lentils.
- This soup uses vegetable stock and water to make it vegan and vegetarian. However, some restaurants may use chicken stock.
- There is no need to blend the soup if you don’t want to.
- Add more spices if you feel this soup needs a little something extra. I recommend ½ a teaspoon of coriander.
- If you don’t have an immersion blender but want a creamy texture you can add your soup to a high speed blender or food processor. Just be sure not to fill the soup all the way to the top as it will expand when blending and blow the top off!
How to Serve
I serve this Lebanese soup as a main course topped with fresh parsley. Serve with a side of warm whole wheat pita bread, flatbread, vegan focaccia, or sourdough. For more healthy veggies serve with a simple side salad, or tabouli.
How to Store and Keep
Refrigerator: Allow the soup to cool and come to room temperature. Transfer to an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.
Freeze: This soup freezes well too. Allow soup to cool to room temperature. Transfer to a freezer safe container making sure all air has been removed. Label with the date and contents. Store in the freezer for 2-3 months.
Reheat: To reheat from frozen, either transfer the soup to the refrigerator to thaw overnight, and warm on the stove over medium heat whisking every now and again until warmed through.
Variations and Substitutions
Yellow Lentils: You can also make this recipe using yellow lentils. They have a similar consistency and flavor when cooked.
Olive Oil: If you are not oil free, you can choose to sauté your vegetables in 1 tablespoon of olive oil. However, this will slightly increase the calories and fat in the dish.
Use all Water or Vegetable Stock: I choose to use a combination of water and vegetable stock, however you can use all of one of the other. Using more vegetable stock will infuse a bit more flavor into the soup, which means you may want to reduce the amount of salt you add to the lentils. Skip the salt when adding the other spices, and instead, add at the end to your preference. If using all water, you want to add a bit more salt and pepper to infuse more flavor into the soup.
Vegetables: If you don’t have celery or carrots, not to worry. You can leave them out if you prefer. Make sure to add the onion and garlic.
More healthy vegan soup recipes!
Recipe
Lebanese Lentil Soup
Ingredients
- 1 small yellow onion diced
- 2 carrots diced
- 2 celery stalks diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 ½ cups red lentils rinsed and drained
- 2 ¼ cups vegetable stock divided
- 1 lemon juiced
- 4 cups water
- 6 tablespoon fresh parsley finely chopped for garnish
Instructions
- Add ¼ cup of vegetable stock, or 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a large soup pot over medium heat. Add diced yellow onion, and cook for 3-5 minutes or until onions are soft and translucent.
- Add the diced carrots, diced celery, and minced garlic. Cook an additional 3 minutes to soften.
- Add the cumin, salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Cook for an additional minute or until spices become fragrant.
- Run the red lentils under water in a colander until the water runs clear. Add the lentils to the pot. Stir to combine.
- Pour in the vegetable stock and water. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer. Cover and cook for about 20 minutes or until lentils and vegetables are soft.
- Once the lentils are cooked, pour in the lemon juice. With an immersion blender, blend the soup until you reach your desired consistency. For a super creamy soup blend until all vegetables and lentils are smooth and creamy. For a chunkier soup blend until the lentils are creamy, but there are still a few chunks of veggies.
- Pour into bowls and top with freshly chopped parsley. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Will keep refrigerated for up to 5 days.
- Keep frozen for 2 months.
- Reheat over the stovetop on medium heat until defrosted and warmed through, whisking every now and gain.
- Finely dice the onions, carrots and celery. This will make it faster for them to cook, and easier for them to blend with the lentils.
- There is no need to blend the soup if you don’t want to. Leave it as is for a more traditional lentil soup.
- If you don’t have an immersion blender but want a creamy texture you can add your soup to a high speed blender or food processor.
Ca
I just made this hearty and delicious soup. I did add some mini bell peppers that needed to be used up. Also, used all broth and added the coriander and zest from the lemon. The immersion blender made it nice and thick. Topped with Parm/Romano cheese. So, all in all, not a vegan soup with that addition but darn close. I can see lots of toppings…chopped nuts, seeds, croutons…the list is only limited by your imagination! Thanks for a great recipe.
Pat Karr-Segal
Simple and delicious! Don’t skimp on the lemon juice.
Alison Corey
Thanks so much for the kind review!
Amanda
I’m possibly looking right at it, but how much lemon do we use?
Alison Corey
You need the juice of one lemon, about 1/4 cup.
Beth
This is perfect for lunch today and looks amazing! My husband and I are so excited to try this delicious looking soup! Perfect for these cold months coming up too!
Alejandra
OK yes I am trying this for dinner this week. It looks so yummy, easy and healthy… definitely a staple soup recipe!
Biana
We love lentils, and this soup looks amazing! So perfect for fall.
Andrea
What a hearty and comforting soup. I can’t wait to make this for my family.