Meet Alex Caspero
Alex Caspero is a Registered Dietitian, New York Times Bestselling Plant-Based Chef and mom of two. She aims to cut through the nutrition noise by providing real-life, nourishing tips for body and mind. Learn more about Alex.
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 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, 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.
I made another batch of this when I was back in Virginia last week; I really wanted my mom to try it and I wanted to show my sister how to use red lentils in a soup. You know the happy dance you do when someone takes a bite of something you made and loves it? (Just me?) Well, let’s just say I danced all night.
Even though I come from a family of pretty healthy eaters, I’m reminded of the vegetarian-cooking bubble I live in when I share new recipes. I sometimes forget that not everyone knows how to swap in plant-based proteins for favorite recipes or what to do with lentils when they aren’t brown.
I think we’ve all had some version of the ubiquitous lentil soup: chunky vegetables, little spice, murky brown color. Don’t get me wrong, I love lentil soup as much as the next veg-head, but this is not your momma’s lentil soup. It’s creamy, spicy with a hint of richness. It may be the best lentil soup I’ve ever made.
Like most of my soups, I start with a quick saute of aromatics (onion, garlic, ginger and curry powder) followed by vegetables, lentils and tomatoes simmered in low-sodium vegetable broth from Pacific Foods.
I know I’ve said this before, but broth matters. I used to think that it didn’t; for years I bought the jars of vegetable bouillon instead of packaged broth. I didn’t notice what a difference it made until I switched over to Pacific Foods broth last winter. Bam. Whoops. I’m sorry for the overly-salty soups I’d been serving for years. Now, I stock up this broth by the case.
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! After a generous stir-in of coconut milk, cilantro and fresh lime juice, this is one lentil soup that can’t be missed.
If you try this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, and tag your Instagram photos with #delishknowledge . I absolutely love seeing your creations. Happy cooking!
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(13 comments) leave a comment
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?
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.
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.
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!