What is curry lentil soup?
Ingredients for curry lentil soup
Quantities are in the recipe box at the bottom of the page.
Lentils
Use dried green lentils or dried brown lentils. Dried lentils don’t require soaking and can be cooked in about 30 minutes.
Substitute canned lentils for dry ones if you don’t have 30 minutes for them to cook.
Flavor base
We make the flavor base with olive oil, onion, carrots, garlic, and ginger.
Optionally, you can add bay leaves.
Substitute coconut oil or avocado oil for olive oil.
Spices
Curry powder, turmeric, ground cumin, and red pepper flakes are essential to flavor the curry lentil soup.
Other spices you can use are ground coriander and garam masala. Start with about a teaspoon each.
We don’t use curry leaves for this recipe as they are not a pantry staple and are hard to find where we live.
If you like to use them, add them to the pot with the hot oil and let them shimmer for a minute before adding the onion and the rest of the ingredients.
Vegetables
We recommend adding diced potatoes and chopped leafy greens such as kale, chard, bok choi, cabbage, or spinach.
You can substitute sweet potatoes for potatoes.
Crushed tomatoes
Canned crushed tomatoes are our favorite.
Substitute diced tomatoes, fire-roasted tomatoes, or whole canned peeled tomatoes for crushed ones.
Vegetable broth
We prefer vegetable broth to chicken broth so that the recipe is vegetarian and everyone in our family can enjoy it.
Feel free to use your favorite broth.
Salt and black pepper
Sea salt or kosher salt and a few twists of black pepper.
How to make curry lentil soup
Heat the olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven. Add chopped onion and carrot and sauté for 3 minutes.
Stir in grated garlic, grated ginger, curry powder, turmeric, cumin, and red pepper flakes and sauté for one more minute.
Add vegetable broth, crushed tomatoes, rinsed dried lentils, peeled and diced potatoes, chopped kale, or your leafy greens of choice.
Season with salt and black pepper, then simmer for 30 minutes or until the lentils are cooked.
Stir occasionally.
Serving suggestions
Taste and adjust for salt and spices before serving.
Curry lentil soup is a nourishing and fulfilling main meal.
We recommend serving it with boiled brown rice, a dollop of Greek yogurt or non-dairy yogurt, quick pickled red onions, finely chopped scallions, and a squeeze of lemon or lime.
Storage
Curry lentil soup is an easy and tasty one-pot recipe where earthy lentils are simmered in a delicious curry sauce with spices, tomatoes, and vegetables.
This recipe is warming and comforting, perfect for the colder fall and winter seasons. It’s excellent for a weeknight dinner or meal prep as it keeps well for days and freezes for months.
Prep Time: 10 minutes mins
Cook Time: 30 minutes mins
Total Time: 40 minutes mins
Servings: –+ people
Course: Main
Cuisine: International
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