This Spiced Tomato Lentil Soup is my favorite lentil soup. It’s loaded with all of my favorite flavors, and it’s a perfect weeknight meal.
My Favorite Lentil Soup
The first time I had a memorable lentil soup was about 10 years ago, and I’ve been making it ever since. My husband and I love it and now our youngest devours it. It’s a quick meal that calls for things we usually have at the house.
A friend of mine brought me some lentil soup from her favorite gyro restaurant this year and it was so different that any lentil soup I’ve had. It was super garlicky, really light and puréed. They served it with pita chips and lemon. It was simple, but it really made an impression on me.
One day I was craving lentils and I decided to do change it up a bit. I wanted the flavors or my go-to lentil soup but the lightness of the soup my friend brought me. When you see the ingredients in the recipe, you might seem a bit skeptical, but I promise it comes together so nicely. Undoubtedly, It is now my favorite Lentil Soup. I’m addicted.
You can serve this soup as a main entree or along side a beautiful salad or entree. It would go great with our roasted garlic hummus with pita and vegetables.
Substitutions
Red Lentils Make sure to rinse the lentils before you add them to the soup. Red lentils don’t retain their shape as well as green lentils, so they get a little mushy if you cook them too long. However, partially blending the red lentils helps with the consistency of the soup. Additionally, you can substitute red lentils for green lentils, but you will need to simmer for an additional 15 minutes or so.
Tomato Sauce Tomato sauce gives an extra layer of depth in this soup, which is nice since the soup comes together pretty quickly. You can use tomato purée or crushed tomatoes if you don’t have tomato sauce however, you may want to add an extra pinch of salt and maybe an extra clove of garlic or two.
Poblanos My Spiced Tomato Lentil Soup is not a spicy soup, however the spice level of poblanos can be a little inconsistent. If you like spicy, you can add a jalapeño as well. Alternatively, if you don’t like spicy, try using a mild poblano or a more mild pepper, like Anaheim.
Garnish This soup is so versatile. Fresh cilantro, lemon, and pita chips are great garnishes for this soup. You can also top it with spiced croutons and a dallop of yogurt or coconut cream. We have even had it with an Everything Bagel slathered with cream cheese. Don’t judge, it was delicious!
Tips and Tricks
Storing and Freezing This soup tastes even better on day two or three, so don’t hesitate to make this soup ahead of time. Simply let cool and store in the fridge for up to a week. To freeze, place in a freezer-safe container and place in the freezer. The soup will be good in the freezer for up to 4-5 months.
Partially Purée When you partially purée soup it creates a more uniform consistency. You know when you make a soup and all of the good stuff sinks to the bottom? Partially blending the soup keeps the ingredients suspended. For this soup, I just pulse my Cuisinart Smart Stick in the soup a few times until it thickens and appears smoother. Alternatively, If you don’t have an immersion blender, ladle 3 cups of soup into your blender and blend until smooth.
Spiced Tomato Lentil Soup
Spiced Tomato Lentil Soup
This Spiced Tomato Lentil Soup is my favorite lentil soup. It’s loaded with all of my favorite flavors and its a perfect weeknight meal.
Ingredients
- 2 T Coconut Oil
- 1/2 Onion, small diced
- 1 Poblano, seeded and deveined, small diced
- 4 Cloves of Garlic, minced or microplaned
- 1 large Carrot, medium diced
- 1 inch piece of Ginger, minced or microplaned
- 1 tsp Cumin
- 1 tsp Chile Powder
- 1 tsp Paprika
- 1 15 oz can of Tomato Sauce
- 1 qt Chicken or Vegetable Broth
- 1 c Red Lentils, rinsed
- 1 tsp Kosher Salt
- 1/2 t Pepper
- Juice of 1/2 Lemon
- 1/2 C Cilantro, divided
Directions
- Step 1 In a medium saucepan, heat coconut oil on medium heat. Sauté onion, poblano, garlic, carrot, ginger, for 5 minutes or until softened and fragrant.
- Step 2 Add spices, salt, pepper, and lentils and sauté for 2 minutes.
- Step 3 Stir in tomato sauce and broth. Turn the heat up to medium high heat and bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn down to medium low and let simmer for 30-45 minutes, stirring occasionally and turning down to low once it has thickened.
- Step 4 Once lentils and vegetables are tender, remove from heat and add 1/4 cup cilantro and lemon juice. Using a hand blender, partially blend the soup. If using a regular blender, blend 3 cups of soup and pour it back in the saucepan.
- Step 5 Season to taste and serve with cilantro, lemon wedges and pita chips or top with croutons with a dallop of sour cream or coconut cream.
About the Author
Lauren is a classically trained, professional chef. A culinary school graduate, she has spent time working organic farms in the Italian countryside and was the pastry/sous chef at a high profile restaurant in Dallas prior to becoming a full-time personal chef. Her cooking style is often referred to as “rustic.” Being a personal chef, she is not bound by a single type of cuisine and has had the opportunity to experiment with hundreds of regional recipes from all over the world.
