Curry Lentil Soup
This 20 minute vegan curry lentil soup is loaded with your favorite pantry staples including classic curry spices, garbanzo beans, coconut milk and split red lentils. It has all the feels of comfort food so your family will never guess it’s completely loaded with healthy, wholesome ingredients!
You Will Love This
- It’s delicious AND good for you! This vegan curry lentil soup gives you the best of both worlds in terms of being the ultimate comfort food and also being loaded with healthy, whole ingredients like garbanzo beans, red lentils, and coconut milk!
- It can be thrown together quickly with pantry staples you likely already have on hand! We are talking 20 minutes from start to finish and just a handful of canned pantry items along with some classic curry inspired spices. It doesn’t get much easier than that!
- It’s the perfect “make-ahead” meal since the flavors just get better with time! It reheats beautifully (as most soups do) making it a meal prep lover’s dream! You can throw together a big batch of this on Sunday night and dinner is done for the week!
Instructions
Saute onions along with a pinch of salt and pepper for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently.
Add garlic, curry powder, cumin, ginger, and cinnamon and cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently.
Deglaze the pan with a splash of broth, scraping all the yummy bits off the bottom of the pan.
Add chickpeas and lentils.
Add coconut milk.
Stir in the rest of the vegetable broth.
Turn up heat and bring to a simmer. Simmer over medium to medium low heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are tender.
Stir in fresh squeezed lime juice, garnish with fresh cilantro and enjoy!
Lentils
- Lentils are part of the legume family. A legume is a plant with an edible seed (think beans or peas).
- Lentils come dried or canned. They come in a few different varieties including red/yellow, green, brown and black.
- Lentils are an excellent source of protein and fiber which makes them a filling (and very healthy) addition to any meal.
Is it Vegan?
- Yes! This curried lentil soup is made without any animal products. The creaminess comes from the coconut milk and the cooking liquid we use in this recipe is vegetable broth.
- While I don’t follow a vegan diet, I do try to incorporate as many vegetables into my meals as possible so you’ll find a lot of vegan and vegetarian recipes here on Midwest Foodie.
Try these easy soup recipes next!
Did you love this recipe?
Please leave a 5-star rating and review below!
Vegan Curry Lentil Soup
This vegan curry lentil soup is loaded with your favorite pantry staples – classic curry spices, garbanzo beans, and split red lentils. It has all the feels of comfort food so your family will never guess it’s completely loaded with healthy, wholesome ingredients!
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4–6 servings 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: Indian
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon curry powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 cup split red lentils
- 1 (15 oz.) can garbanzo beans, drained
- 1 (13.5 oz.) can full fat coconut milk
- 32 oz. vegetable broth
- juice of 1 lime (about 2 tablespoons)
- Kosher salt
- fresh cracked pepper
- fresh chopped cilantro for garnish
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a dutch oven over medium heat. Add onions along with a pinch of salt and pepper. Saute for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add garlic, curry powder, cumin, ginger, and cinnamon and cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently.
- Deglaze the pan with a splash of broth, scraping all the yummy bits off the bottom of the pan.
- Add chickpeas, lentils, coconut milk and remianing broth. Stir to combine.
- Turn up heat and bring to a simmer. Simmer over medium to medium low heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are cooked through.
- Stir in fresh squeezed lime juice, garnish with fresh cilantro and enjoy!
This post was originally published in January of 2019. It was updated in March of 2020 to include step-by-step instructions, process shots and helpful hints for making the best vegan curry lentil soup!
This soup is so delicious! Even amazingly better the next day.
Totally agree! This soup just gets better with time. Thanks for leaving a review, Tonya!
This is my new favorite soup. Coworkers were envious with the wonderful aroma.
So yummy! I added carrots with the onions. I think next time I’ll add some spinach at the end too. This is my new favorite lentil soup. My 10 year old vegetarian loved it too.
I’m so glad to hear that this lentil soup was a hit, Denise! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review – I really appreciate it 🙂
Great recipe! Definitely a new go to for soup weather. I modified it for my pressure cooker and it came out tasty 😋
I am so glad to hear that this lentil soup worked well in the instant pot! And that you enjoyed it, Danielle 🙂
This is my go to soup! I absolutely love it!!! The best!
I’m so glad that you enjoyed this lentil soup recipe, Sheri! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review – I really appreciate it 🙂
When I originally left a comment I appear to have clicked on the -Notify me when new comments are
added- checkbox and now whenever a comment is added I recieve four emails with the exact same comment.
Perhaps there is a way you can remove me from that service?
Thank you!
I apologize, i had leftover chick breast so i threw it in,
Not a vegan. i love the recipe though.
Can I use almond milk instead of coconut milk instead?
You can but the soup will not be as creamy. Canned coconut milk has a much thicker texture than almond milk.
I made it today. It was very good. I love curry, lentils/split peas and chickpeas. I think I will try to add more vegetables next time, I love those too.
I am so glad that you enjoyed this recipe, Ana! You can never go wrong with adding more veggies 🙂 Thanks for leaving a review – I really appreciate it!
AMAZING soup. Thank you so much for the recipe. It got pretty thick at the end. What do you suggest to thin it out. More water?
Any liquid will thin it out! Broth, water, coconut milk, etc.
I made this tonight. Delicious. Only had low fat coconut milk but still good. Probably not as think as it could be with full fat.
Can I use can of lentils?
I haven’t worked with canned lentils before, but I think that they would work in this recipe!
Oh this looks so comforting! I love a good, warm bowl of soup, this one looks absolutely delicious!
Incredible flavor in just 20 minutes! I loved it so much.
We’ve made this several times here in our house- stuck to the recipe. Everyone loves it!
I’m so glad that you’ve enjoyed this recipe. Thanks for taking the time to leave a review, Krystle. I really appreciate it 🙂
This recipe is super easy to make and it taste delicious. I like to make a pot and eat it over the course of a few days. It’s packed full of flavor and seems to taste even better on the second and third day after making it. I’ll be making this one for many years. Thank you!
Does the lentil need to be soaked prior to putting it in the pot? 🙂
Split red lentils cook super quick, so no need to soak before! If you’re using brown or green lentils, then you could soak or cook them a bit before adding them to the soup!