Red Lentil Curry Soup
Red lentil curry soup! A creamy and flavorful combination of sweet potatoes, garlic, onion, red lentils, and coconut milk. A vegan must-make!
Oh, this red lentil curry soup. As in the one I’ve been eating almost non-stop for an entire two weeks. It’s the problem (but not-really-a-problem) of recipe development. Make it, tweak it, and eat it non-stop until you are finally convinced that you’ve found the winning combination. Then, make it again a few days later because you miss it and have to have it.
If you love curry and hearty vegetables, then you’ll love this lentil curry soup. It’s vegan, naturally gluten-free and delicious. With 14 g of protein and 9 g of fiber per serving, this soup is filling and healthy.
See below for more details and tips, or scroll down to the full recipe below.
Everything You Need to Make this Red Lentil Curry Soup:
Red Lentil Curry Soup Ingredient Notes
- White onion: I prefer cooked white onion in soup, but you can use yellow onion or sweet onion. I don’t typically like cooked red onion in soup and stews.
- Curry powder: My favorite curry powder is from Penzey’s (the now curry) but any curry powder will work.
- Sweet potato: I don’t recommend omitting the sweet potato as it makes up the bulk of this curry soup, but you can also substitute butternut squash.
- Dry red lentils: The red lentils are a must in this recipe as they cook down while cooking and almost melt into the soup. Brown lentils or green lentils won’t work the same way.
- Diced tomatoes with juice: Fire-roasted tomatoes will also work.
- Light coconut milk: This really adds to the soup and gives extra flavor and richness. You can use regular coconut milk if you want a more full-bodied red lentil curry soup.
How to Make Red Lentil Curry Soup
Cook the Vegetables
In a large pot, cook the onion, garlic, ginger, and curry powder and cook, stirring often until the onion is soft, about 3 minutes.
Add the Sweet Potatoes
Add sweet potatoes, lentils, tomatoes, salt and broth. Cover and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until the sweet potatoes are tender and the lentils are mostly broken down.
Stir in the Coconut Milk
Stir in the coconut milk and simmer until heated through. Puree some of the soup, if you’d like, for a creamier texture. Stir in the lime juice and cilantro, and serve.
I think we’ve all had some version of the ubiquitous lentil soup. Well, this is not your momma’s lentil soup! It’s creamy and spicy with a hint of richness. It may be the best lentil soup I’ve ever made.
Tips for Success
The cool thing about red lentils is that they almost dissolve into the soup completely, so you’re left with a chunky stew thickened by beans! Red lentils are the best for this, and I don’t recommend substituting in brown lentils or green lentils.
If you want a creamier texture, puree some of the soup with the coconut milk and then add it back in. You can do this either with a regular blender or an immersion blender.
As with most soups, the addition of lime juice really accentuates the flavor and cuts through the rich flavor. A little acid in soup is one of my secret cooking tips!
Finish this one with a generous stir-in of coconut milk and fresh cilantro. This is one lentil soup that can’t be missed.
More Lentil Soup Recipes:
- Instant Pot Lentil Soup (with stovetop directions)
- Red Lentil Soup
- Tuscan Lentil Soup
- Moroccan Lentil Soup with Chickpeas
- Turmeric Red Lentil Soup
- Spicy Thai Green Lentil Soup
- Lentil Lemon Soup
If you try this red lentil curry recipe, let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, and tag your Instagram photos with #delishknowledge . I absolutely love seeing your creations. Happy cooking!
Red Lentil Curry Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup white onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon ginger root, minced
- 1 tablespoon curry powder
- 2 medium sweet potato, peeled and diced (about 3 cups)
- 1 cup dry red lentils
- 1 can, 15 ounce diced tomatoes with juice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
- 1 can, 14 ounces light coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, ginger and curry powder and cook, stirring often until the onion is soft, about 3 minutes.
- Add sweet potatoes and cook for 4 to 5 minutes. Add in the lentils, tomatoes, salt and broth. Cover and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until the sweet potatoes are tender and lentils are mostly broken down, about 25 minutes.
- Stir in the coconut milk and simmer until heated through, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in the lime juice and cilantro, and serve. Garnish with cilantro.
Notes
Nutrition
This recipe was first posted in 2016, and updated in 2024.
My new favorite lentil soup with all of my favorite ingredients! Pacific Foods broths and stocks are also my favorite! We’re on the same wavelength. The soup is flavorful and hearty; just simply delish!
I love this soup! Better than a restaurant. This is so comforting and creamy. I didn’t have fresh ginger but ground ginger worked just fine. Great flavor in this soup. I will definitely make this again. Thank you for this recipe!
This recipe is SO GOOD! Might be my new favorite soup to make and so easy to do. Thank you!
Love hearing that, thanks Kristin!
Delish- my favorite lentil soup!
This is delicious! I followed the recipe as written, except I did not have enough cilantro!! That never would have happened before Covid!! It was a perfect dinner on the cool rainy day we had yesterday.
Looks amazing! Can it be frozen? If so, how would you reheat?
Hi Jessica,
Yes, you should be able to freeze and reheat this one- I do it all the time with soups. Just place in a freezer safe container, then either thaw and reheat on the stove or in the microwave.
This soup was exactly what I needed today. I’ve had an upset stomach from stress around the pandemic, unemployment and loss of friendships. Good, healthy food heals, and this soup did exactly that! I was very exact in following Alex’s recipe except I added 1 more garlic clove and .5 oz. less of canned diced tomatoes. I also bought Organic Coconut Milk with 0 Guar Gum and full fat.
I never have a second bowl of soup, but did tonight!
Thank you, Alex for a soul-satisfying meal.
Red lentils are the best!!
This is totally my kind of soup! I only first cooked with red lentils a couple of weeks ago and didn’t realize how different the texture of them is from green lentils – they’re perfect for soup! Can’t wait to try this recipe.
Yum! Made this for my lunches for the week. I left out the sweet potatoes and added a bag of frozen corn/green beans/carrots for more color. It was so good! Thank you for the recipe!
Glad you liked it! Thanks for letting me know!