Meet the BEST lentil soup recipe! Made with dried lentils, fresh vegetables, flavorful spices, and hearty greens, it's simple, nourishing, and delicious.
This lentil soup recipe might surprise you. Sure, it’s simple. But that doesn’t mean it’s bland or boring.
This lentil soup is packed with hearty greens, tender vegetables, and fiber- and protein-rich lentils. Fresh herbs and spices fill it with complex flavor, and a splash of vinegar adds a delicious tangy kick.
It’s not just my best lentil soup recipe—it’s one of my best recipes, period. It’s been a staple in my rotation for years. I love that it’s easy to make with mostly pantry ingredients and that it’s nourishing, warming, and satisfying. If you ask me, it’s the perfect healthy dinner for a winter weeknight (save any leftovers for lunch the next day!). I hope you love this classic lentil soup as much as I do.
Lentil Soup Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this lentil soup recipe:
- Lentils, of course! I recommend using green or French green lentils because they hold their shape in the soup, adding satisfying texture. Brown lentils are also a fine option. Don’t use red lentils here—they’re too mushy for this recipe.
- Extra-virgin olive oil – For richness.
- Onion, garlic, carrot, and celery – They create the soup’s aromatic base.
- Fresh kale – You’ll use the whole leaves, stems and all!
- Fire-roasted diced tomatoes – I love the smoky flavor that fire-roasted tomatoes add to this soup. In a pinch, regular diced tomatoes will work here too!
- Vegetable broth – Make homemade vegetable broth, or use store-bought.
- Fresh thyme – For citrusy, woodsy flavor. I like to bundle whole sprigs together with kitchen twine. Then, I add the bundle to the soup like a bay leaf, removing it before serving. Bundling the sprigs like this is SO much quicker than picking and measuring the leaves.
- Cumin – The secret ingredient! It adds savory, earthy depth of flavor.
- White wine vinegar – It gives the soup a bright, tangy kick.
- And salt and pepper – To make all the flavors pop!
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
Variations
Don’t have these exact ingredients on hand? These swaps work nicely:
- Replace the kale with another leafy green like fresh spinach or Swiss chard.
- Use 1 teaspoon dried thyme instead of the fresh sprigs.
- Replace the celery with 1 small fennel bulb, diced.
- No vinegar? No problem. Finish the soup with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice!
How to Make Lentil Soup
This lentil soup recipe is easy to make! Here’s how it goes:
First, sauté the aromatics. Heat the olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat and add the onion, carrots, celery, kale stems, and cumin. Season with salt and several grinds of pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the veggies soften, about 8 minutes.
Next, simmer the soup. Add the garlic, tomatoes, lentils, vinegar, thyme, and broth.
Cover the soup and cook until the lentils are tender, 25 to 30 minutes or so. Adjust the heat as needed to maintain a gentle simmer.
Finally, add the greens. Cook until they wilt, about 5 minutes, and then season to taste.
Serve the lentil soup in bowls topped with garnishes like fresh parsley, grated Parmesan, and/or red pepper flakes. Enjoy with crusty bread!
Love cooking soup in the Instant Pot? I have an Instant Pot version of this recipe! Check out my Instant Pot Lentil Soup.
How to Store Lentil Soup
Got leftover soup? You’re in luck! It will keep well in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Simply reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop.
I actually like this soup better leftover. The flavor only improves as it sits in the fridge!
Can you freeze lentil soup?
Yes, this vegan lentil soup is freezer-friendly! Allow it to cool to room temperature, and then seal it in airtight containers or jars, leaving an inch for the soup to expand at the top. Freeze for up to 3 months.
More Favorite Soup Recipes
If you love this lentil soup, try one of these nourishing soup recipes next:
- Minestrone Soup
- Cabbage Soup
- Vegetable Soup
- Butternut Squash Soup
- Vegetarian Chili
- Black Bean Soup
- Tomato Soup
- Or any of these 35 Best Soup Recipes!
Best Lentil Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 4 medium carrots, chopped (2 cups)
- 2 celery stalks, chopped
- 6 small or 3 large kale leaves, stems finely diced, leaves chopped (8 cups)
- Heaping ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1½ teaspoons sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 4 garlic cloves, grated
- 1 (14-ounce) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
- ¾ cup dry green lentils, rinsed
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 12 fresh thyme sprigs, bundled
- 6 cups vegetable broth
- ½ cup chopped fresh parsley, for garnish
- Red pepper flakes
- Grated Parmesan cheese, for serving, optional
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery, kale stems, cumin, salt, and several grinds of pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes, or until the vegetables begin to soften.
- Stir in the garlic, tomatoes, lentils, vinegar, thyme, and broth. Cover and simmer for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the lentils are tender. Add the kale leaves and cook for 5 minutes, or until wilted.
- Remove the thyme bundle and season to taste. Serve topped with the parsley, red pepper flakes, and Parmesan, if desired.
Notes
So fresh and healthy. I added extra paprika and cumin.
This is the first lentil soup I’ve made that I actually liked. Could not find fresh thyme so used dried.
So hearty and warming for a cold winter night. Don’t skip the vinegar, it adds such a nice round flavor to this soup!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
A great way to deliciously pack a bunch of veggies into your day. I made my own Veggie broth using a stash of frozen kitchen scraps the day before and it gave such fresh flavor to this soup.
I’m so glad you loved it!
This soup was SO delicious! I forgot to grab kale at the store, so I left that out, but I had about 1.5 cups of leftover cubed butternut squash from another recipe, so I decided to add that into the soup as well – it was GREAT! I loved the thyme flavor and felt it really shone through. I also followed the directions for timing for each step, adding the squash in during step 2, and I really appreciated how the vegetables were cooked perfectly – not to mush. Even the leftovers were fabulous.
Hi Katie, I’m so glad youo loved it!
So delicious! I’ve never added tomatoes to my lentil soup and we really liked it
Hi Miriam, I’m so glad you enjoyed the soup!
I really enjoyed this, but the fire-roasted tomatoes were too spicy for my spice-adverse daughter. The flavor was great for me, and it felt lighter than my go-to lentil soup recipe.
Hi Jenn, I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Wonderful winter soup recipe. I made this soup for a friend recovering from knee replacement surgery. It was nutritious and delicious and perfect for this arctic blast that is hitting us in Austin, Texas. Thank you for all your wonderful recipes!
I hope you stay warm! I hope they enjoyed the soup 🙂
So Good! I followed the recipe with no substitutions (no cheese though) and it turned out wonderfully!
I’m so glad you loved it!
Wonderful recipe! I have been looking for a nutritious soup to pack for weekday lunches and this is it! I love that it is not only delicious but packed full with vegetables.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it.
This was so nourishing and delicious on a cold winter evening!
Hi Briana, I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Delicious! The white wine vinegar added an important dimension to the flavor. I needed much more simmer time for the veggies to reach the tenderness I prefer, but that’s the only modification I’ll make to the recipe. This will be part of my regular soup rotation.
Hi Janet, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I’m glad you enjoyed it!
It’s 8 degrees outside so soup is perfect! The flavors are really yummy together. But next time, I will let the soup simmer 45 minutes or so. At 30 minutes, they weren’t as soft as I like veggies in a soup.
So easy and tasty! I added some sweet potato to use it up. Would make again.
I’m so glad you loved it!
This is easy to make and looks beautiful with all the fresh vegetables. I used some white/yellow carrots too. I probably added more kale than your recipe called for, but I REALLY love kale in soups. The only addition I did was a bay leaf during the simmer phase. It is delicious.
Ha, I really love kale too, I’m glad you enjoyed!
This soup is so good! I loved it and it was pretty easy to make. Thank you!
I’m so happy to hear!
Delicious! Used lemon zest and fresh lemon juice instead of vinegar. Added more spices and fresh herbs. Appreciate the tip on using green lentils as they don’t get mushy.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
This is quite possibly the best soup I’ve ever eaten, much less made. Absolutely delicious exactly as is!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I made this and it was so delicious! I could see adding even more lentils next time. Used dried thyme instead of fresh and it was fine. We served it with bread and it was perfect.
Hi Allie, I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Perfect soup for chilly winter days!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!