Don’t worry about the coconut milk giving this vegan lentil tortilla soup a coconutty flavor. The spices in this dish are going to flavor the coconut milk so much that you really won’t taste coconut at all. Also, the sweetness of the coconut milk is going to help balance out the acidity from the tomatoes which is why I love it in this recipe!

If you’re not worried about this soup being vegan, you can substitute 3/4 of a cup of heavy cream in place of the can of coconut milk. You may have to add just a teaspoon or so of granulated sugar to balance out the acidity of the tomatoes if you’re using heavy cream as you’ll be losing that hint of sweetness from the coconut milk.

This is a simple recipe, so make sure that you salt LIBERALLY. Salt throughout the recipe and also season to taste with salt and pepper at the end too. Don’t be afraid of the salt in this recipe – it’s really going to boost the flavors of all the ingredients!

Feel free to use whatever lentils you have on hand if you don’t have split red lentils. Split red lentils cooks in 5-7 minutes. But if you use another kind of lentil, you’ll have to adjust the cooking time accordingly. Check the cook time on your lentils and start with the lowest recommend time. Taste the lentils throughout the cooking process and take the soup off the heat as soon as the lentils are tender and cooked through!