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The Best Lentil Soup

Lentil soup built on caramelized vegetables, bloomed spices, and a finishing hit of raw garlic and lemon zest for deep, bright flavor.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings: 6 PEOPLE
Course: Soup
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Calories: 250
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • - 2 tbsp 30ml olive oil, plus more for drizzling
  • - 1 medium yellow onion diced
  • - 2 large carrots diced
  • - 2 celery stalks diced
  • - 1 tsp kosher salt
  • - 4 cloves garlic divided (3 minced for the base, 1 minced and reserved raw)
  • - 2 tbsp 33g tomato paste
  • - 1 tsp ground cumin
  • - 1 tsp ground coriander
  • - 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
  • - 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes optional
  • - 1 1/2 cups 300g dried brown or green lentils, rinsed
  • - 6 cups 1.4L vegetable or chicken stock
  • - 1 bay leaf
  • - 2 sprigs fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp dried
  • - Zest of 1 lemon plus 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • - 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
  • - Salt and black pepper to taste

Equipment

  • 1 heavy bottomed pot
  • 1 immersion blender

Method
 

  1. Cook onion, carrots, celery, and salt in oil over medium heat 8-10 min until softened and lightly browned at the edges.
  2. Add 3 cloves garlic, cook 1 min. Stir in tomato paste, cumin, coriander, paprika, red pepper flakes; cook 1-2 min until fragrant.
  3. Add lentils, stock, bay leaf, thyme. Simmer uncovered 30-35 min until lentils are tender but hold shape.
  4. Optional: blend 1.5-2 cups of soup smooth, stir back in for creamier body.
  5. Off heat, stir in remaining raw garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, parsley. Season to taste.
  6. nutrition (estimated per serving): ~250 kcal, ~12g protein, ~35g carbohydrates, ~6g fat, ~550mg sodium. These are manual estimates from the ingredient list, not plugin output; run the recipe through a nutrition calculator for exact, publish-ready figures.

Notes

Freezes well; soup thickens on standing, thin with water or stock when reheating.