A creamy bowl of lentil soup – made with cumin, cilantro and potato to thicken it is the perfect way to warm up on a cold November night.
Creamy Lentil Soup
Creamy Lentil SoupI love lentils, this Chicken and Lentil Soup is on constant rotation in my house as well as this delicious Lentil, Avocado and Egg Bowl for lunch.
When I was a kid, most of our meals started with a bowl of soup. Lentil soup was often on the menu; because I was such a picky eater, the only way Mom got me to eat it was by pureeing it in the blender – I loved it!
As an adult, I’m no longer picky and I love lentils every which way, but I still find a bowl of this creamy pureed soup comforting, especially on a cold night. This makes a great first course, or serve it with avocado, rice and salad on the side to make it a meal. This is perfect for meatless Mondays if you use vegetable broth, gluten-free and leftovers are perfect for lunch – enjoy!
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Creamy Lentil Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 3/4 cup chopped scallions
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 medium chopped tomato
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp fresh cilantro chopped
- 1/2 tsp cumin powder
- 1 cup cup dried lentils
- 1 small red potato, peeled and diced
- 4 cups reduced sodium chicken or vegetable broth
- 1 bay leaf
- kosher salt, to taste
- black pepper, to taste
Optional:
- light sour cream
- 2 tbsp chopped scallions, for garnish
Instructions
- Heat a large pot over medium heat.
- Add the oil, scallions, garlic and tomato to the pot, season with salt and pepper.
- Cook stirring until soft, about 10 minutes.
- Stir in 1/4 cup cilantro, cumin and cook 1 minute more.
- Add the lentils, potato, broth and bay leaf.
- Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to medium low, cover and cook until the lentils become tender about 30 minutes.
- Remove the bay leaf, and puree the soup in the blender in 2 batches (so it doesn't explode) until very smooth.
- Adjust soup with salt and pepper to taste, then ladle into bowls and top with sour cream, scallions and cilantro, if desired; serve immediately.
Love this soup. When I add the scallop of sour cream it has some chipotle pepper sauce added. Very tasty
I have made this recipe so many times. It is always so delicious. My daughter (10) has declared this one of her favorite meals! Thank you for this recipe!
Hello. I have just made this delicious soup( the easiest recipe amongst many I searched) So easy and fun to make and the taste…tantalizing!! I added onions as well.
Salt ails not be added to lentils until they are nearly completely cooked is my experience as it toughens the skin. I love lentils too
Do I need to soak the lentils beforehand?
I’ve never been a big fan of lentils. A few years ago I ate dinner at a new Greek restaurant in my area. I didn’t want much so I ordered the creamy lentil soup. It changed my whole opinion of lentils altogether. I found this lentil recipe and I have made this creamy lentil soup many times now. It’s just as tasty eating it without puréeing it. I have even ventured to make lentil burgers. That didn’t go so well! Thank you for such an amazing recipe.
Mary
This soup was great, with a few variations. I used 1.5 medium tomato and used less of the potato. I used chicken broth because that’s all I had, and added the juice of 0.5 lime. Served with a multigrain baguette and it was delicious!
Next time I will use veggie broth for a vegan soup, and use more tomato and less potato.
I revisited the recipe, and it is still fantastic. I wanted a more tangy, flavorful taste so I used 3 tomatoes and also some salt-free diced tomatoes, as well as 2 carrots. More than enough for leftovers the next day!
The soup was nice, but somewhat bland. It lacks something that will make it delicious and not just basic.
This tastes just like how my grandma made it for her grandchildren. We would eat it with French bread. I have been wanting to make this for so long and I am glad I found this recipe. My grandma did add some sort of meat to hers but I dont know what it was. It was some sort of sausage. Unfortunately, my husband is the pickiest eater I have ever met and he does not like it so I will be freezing the rest for a later date.
I grew up in a Canadian household where we had lentil soup (daal) pretty much every week with rice. There are a million ways to make daal in India – but imagine my surprise when I lifted off the pot lid after simmering the lentils for this recipe… and found my mother’s daal staring back at me (minus the potatoes)! I blended it anyway, but feeling fortunate to have discovered a way to recoup that familiar daal feeling at home.
I used red lentils instead of green, added some chili flakes for a tiny bit of heat, and added some dried mushrooms to the broth for more umami, but my major suggestion would be to add the juice of half a lemon to the pot after blending – it wakes up all of the thick, rich flavour and really makes this sing.
Thank you for a lovely recipe!
I love this recipe! Have you ever tried it in the instant pot? I’m curious how long it would take in there.
How would I adjust this if I already cooked the lentils beforehand?