This hearty, filling, and absolutely delicious vegan lentil soup is an absolute must-try! It has become a staple in my household and I make it at least once a week to enjoy throughout the week for lunches or dinners. It’s so comforting and tasty, I honestly never get tired of it. Plus, this recipe uses simple, budget-friendly, and wholesome ingredients, making it perfect for a healthy meal-prep!
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Ingredients
The main star of the show in this vegan lentil soup is (you guessed it!), lentils! Lentils are a fantastic source of protein and whole grains on a plant-based or vegan diet, and are packed with healthy nutrients such as manganese, iron, vitamin B1, phosphorus, copper, and potassium. Also, lentils contain tons of fiber, aiding in your digestion!
To give the vegan lentil soup its comforting, fall-inspired flavors, I add cinnamon and cumin to give it an extra flavor boost. It makes the lentil soup smell so, so good when cooking and makes it perfect for enjoying on a cold fall or winter day!
The celery and carrots add some bulk to the soup while allowing you to complete your daily quota of veggies without much effort! These veggies are sautéed along with the garlic and the beginning of the recipe to infuse their flavor into the soup.
Preparing the Vegan Lentil Soup
To prepare the vegan lentil soup, you first sauté the diced celery, carrots, and garlic in olive oil until they become aromatic and start turning darker in color. These will add lots of flavor to the soup as well as many vitamins and minerals that are important, particularly on a plant-based diet.
Then, to cook the lentils and soften up the carrots and celery, you add in all the remaining ingredients to the pot and bring it to a simmer for at least 1 hour or until the lentils are nice and tender. The spices should be nice and aromatic once the lentils are done cooking and you can give the soup a taste test to determine if it needs a little bit more salt or if the lentils are sufficiently cooked.
Once you think everything is sufficiently cooked, it’s time to get out your blender or immersion blender! I have tried both methods (immersion vs. regular blender) and they work the same although it’s a little bit easier to use the immersion blender directly in the soup saucepan.
By blending half of the soup, you create a thicker, creamier, and smoother consistency for the vegan lentil soup while still leaving in some larger pieces of carrots, celery, and lentils to have a little bit of texture.
For a regular blender
So, you scoop out about half of the soup mixture into the blender and blitz it all up for at least ten seconds (might be more or less depending on strength and speed of blender) or until the mixture become thick and smooth. Simply pour the blended soup back into the saucepan with the rest of the soup and mix everything together.
For an immersion blender
I suggest letting the soup cool down a little bit when using an immersion blender so that you don’t burn yourself if things do end up splattering. Using the immersion blender in the saucepan, blend about half of the soup by pulsing the blend button as you move the blender throughout the soup.
How to serve
Serve the delicious, warm, and comforting vegan lentil soup in large bowls topped with your choice of toppings. I personally enjoy adding a drizzle of my favorite hot sauce, Cholula, and about 1/4 of an avocado, but I’ve also been enjoying adding in freshly chopped jalapeño and cilantro as a garnish. Some of my other family members enjoy adding a dollop of vegan sour cream to make it even more creamy and indulgent. But, even if you were to serve this vegan lentil soup completely plain, it would still be flavor-packed and delightful!
Finding Cholula
If you have read any of my previous recipes, you might have noticed that I am ADDICTED to Cholula hot sauce. I have at least 10 different types of hot sauce in my house at all times, but this one is my ALL TIME FAVORITE! I add it to practically every single meal I have (that’s on the savory side of things), but I can never find it at my local grocery stores.
But, I’ve discovered that you can get a 3 pack of Cholula (each bottle is 12oz) on Amazon for just $24! This is so convenient and great, and if you don’t believe me, check out all the 5 star reviews on Amazon for Cholula! You can buy Cholula here and have it delivered directly to your house without having to go
Recipe
The Best Vegan Lentil Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup diced carrots
- 4 stalks celery, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb dry green, brown, or red lentils rinsed
- 5 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
- 1 can (14.5 oz) crushed tomatoes
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tbsp favorite hot sauce (opt.)
Instructions
- Start by preparing all of the vegetables by thinly dicing the carrots, celery, and mincing the garlic. Meanwhile, heat up the olive oil in a large and deep saucepan over medium-high heat. Add in the carrots, celery, and garlic once the oil is hot, and sauté the veggies for 3-5 minutes or until they start to release their moisture and start to darken in color. Make sure to stir all of the vegetables so that nothing gets burnt.
- Next, add in the rinsed lentils and add in the vegetable broth, crushed tomatoes, salt, cinnamon, cumin, and favorite hot sauce. Stir everything together until it is well combined and bring up the mixture to a slow boil. Once everything is simmering, turn down the heat to and leave the soup to simmer, partially covered ,for about 35 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes to make sure that everything is cooking evenly. Also, add water or additional vegetable broth as needed if the lentil soup is looking dry.
- Turn the heat off and let the soup cool down for several minutes before removing the bay leaves and transferring about half of the mixture into a blender. You can also use an immersion blender to blend the soup together, making sure to leave some pieces of carrots, celery, and lentils to add some texture, but blend about half of the soup until thick and smooth and transfer it back into the saucepan. Add in an additional ¼ to ¾ cups water or vegetable broth if the soup is looking too thick. Next, turn the heat back up to medium-high and bring up the soup to a boil.
- Let the soup boil for about 30 seconds, then turn down the heat and let the soup cool for a minute before serving! Enjoy the lentil soup warm with some diced jalapeño, your favorite hot sauce, a dollop of vegan sour cream, or maybe some avocado!
Curious for more?
Check out some of my other recipes including 5 vegan snack ideas, oat and banana pancakes, vegan gumbo, stuffed butternut squash, and vegan moussaka Or, if you’re looking for some more southern inspired plant-based recipes check out my previous post on how to make Hoppin’ John, a spicy rice and bean dish. Plus, remember to subscribe down below to get updates when new recipes are posted, and check out my new youtube channel, ecofoodstuff! I’ve finished a video for this recipe, and a video for my chili and pancake recipes as well!
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