Vegan Coconut Curry Lentil Soup
By Jessica Hylton -
- Updated
This Vegan Coconut Curry Lentil Soup is packed with amazing lentils simmering in a rich and creamy curry broth. The perfect one-pot meal! Great for lunches at work and also busy weeknights!
Friends, let’s go on a wild road. This Coconut Curry Lentil Soup has got to be one of my favourite things I’ve ever eaten, ever. That’s a lot of “evers” so you know it’s real. I’m not a leftover girl, and I easily ate this for several days. The comforting nature, the different flavour notes and the fact that I’m slowly but surely turning into soup lady all contributed to this. Let me share more about this amazing soup, and when you’re done, go check your pantry, run to the supermarket and make this baby.
First, it’s been surprisingly cool here. I don’t remember when last we had such great weather, but the other night I went outside and it was so cold that it felt like the air conditioning was on. Pleasantly surprised by this and immediately inspired, the first words out of my mouth were “oh, this is for sure soup weather!”. So what does soup lady do? Well, make soup of course. I’ve been wanting to find a way to incorporate more lentils into my diet because eating them plain on a salad just wasn’t cutting it. Of course, I already have a divine and very popular lentil soup, but I was definitely feeling for a new type of lentil soup experience. In walks this dreamy, creamy, Coconut Curry Lentil Soup.
What does lentil soup taste like?
If I had to describe the amazing taste of this Vegan Coconut Curry Lentil Soup, I would go on for days. For your sake, I’ll make it short. Lentils (a legume) itself tastes like a mix of a great pea with a bean. As a result, it’s slightly peppery with a mix of earthy and creamy textures. The rich broth of curry flavours and spices are absorbed by the lentils, because of this, it adds to the taste of the legume! As if all of this wasn’t enough, the richness of the coconut cream adds a smoothness that is unmatched.
Why is lentil soup amazing?
One of the things I really love about this soup is that it’s a great guilt-free comfort food indulgence. The main reason is that it is packed with lentils, which are:
- An excellent source of fibre. One cup of cooked lentils contain 16 grams of dietary fibre.
- Lentils contain 90 percent of your recommended daily intake of folate, 37 percent of your iron, 49 percent of your manganese and 21 percent of your iron. Hello, nutrients!
- Extremely filling. I especially love this since it’s a great vegan protein source!
Lentil Soup FAQs:
What goes well with Vegan Coconut Curry Lentil Soup?
Lentil soups, in general, are extremely versatile. For a rich and thick soup like this one (or even my Easy Spiced Lentil Soup), your best bet is to pair it with something starchy that absorbs the flavour. It would also be good to pair the soup with a light dish such as a side salad.
Here are some recipes that are a personal favourite:
- Nice fluffy Vegan Cornbread. Perfect to soak up flavours
- Dip some No Knead Bread (Dutch Oven Bread) into it to soak up the flavour!
- A light and airy side salad like a fresh Vegan Caesar Salad.
- Some people (aka my husband) like it with a side of rice. For a healthier option, choose cauliflower rice!
How to freeze lentil soup:
The good news is that this Lentil Soup freezes well! There are two main methods of freezing lentil soup.
The first method :
- Chill your Vegan Coconut Curry Lentil Soup in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- Ladle the chilled soup into your re-useable silicone bags (I love these Stasher bags) until half-filled
- Remove all air from the stasher bag
- lay flat side down in your freezer
The second method :
- Place your Vegan Coconut Curry Lentil Soup in ice cube trays
- Put ice trays in the freezer
- Remove your iced soup from the trays and place in your saver bags halfway up
- Push the air in bags
- Lay flat side down in the freezer
One thing is for sure that this soup is sure to please the tastebuds and the body. I can’t wait for you to try this recipe, friends. Eat up and enjoy!
Related Recipes
Creamy Pumpkin Soup (Slow Cooker)
Creamy Tomato Soup with Cheesy Croutons
Vegan Coconut Curry Lentil Soup
This Vegan Coconut Curry Lentil Soup is packed with amazing lentils simmering in a rich and creamy curry broth. The perfect one pot meal! Great for lunches at work and also busy weeknights!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
- 2 tablespoons red curry paste - I use this vegan one
- ½ red onion
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons sugar brown or coconut sugar
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce or liquid aminos/gluten free tamari/coconut aminos
- 1 1/2 cups red lentils
- 1 can 13.5 ounce 383g coconut milk (full fat or lite)
- 5 cups vegetable broth
- juice of 1 lime
- ½ tablespoon sambal oelek or Sriracha optional, for heat
- Top with lime & chopped purple cabbage optional
Instructions
Instructions
Vegan Coconut Curry Lentil Soup
- In a pan over medium high heat, heat the sesame oil. Add in the minced ginger and curry paste to fry it, stirring into the oil, for about 1 minute.
- Add in the chopped onion and the garlic and cook until the onion is slightly translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Place the sea salt, black pepper, coconut sugar, and liquid aminos on top and stir everything together. Add in the lentils and stir again.
- Add in the coconut milk and the veggie broth. Bring the soup to a boil and then lower to a simmer, allowing to simmer for about 20 to 30 minutes, until your lentils are fully cooked through. Stir the soup occasionally. You can let it simmer even more if desired.
- Squeeze the lime over, stir, and then remove from heat. Taste and add more salt if needed.
- Add in any of the optional add ins/toppings. Stir in the sambal oelek (or Sriracha) or scotch bonnet pepper sauce if using.
- Enjoy!
NOTES
OIL-FREE: yes you can make this oil-free, just use 2 tablespoons extra veggie broth instead of oil.
FISH FREE CURRY PASTE: Many curry pastes have fish sauce in there. Be sure to check yours to ensure it’s vegan. This is the one I use! I stock up on many at a time :).
Nutrition
Calories: 223kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 9.5g | Fat: 9.4g | Sodium: 771.7mg | Fiber: 5.7g | Sugar: 3g
by Jessica
What an amazing recipe! Cooked it for the first time today and it’s definitely a HIT! I paired it with corn tortillas on the side and the combo was amazing! This soup goes on my faves list!
Can you use other types of lentils or does it have to red lentils for the curry lentil soup?
Hi Catherine thanks so much for reading. You can definitely use other lentils, but the cooking time will vary. I hope this helps!
I love a red lentil soup! Despite my many substitutions (out of necessity rather than intent) this soup turned out terrific; I’ll try yellow lentils next time since I currently have yellow curry paste/sauce. It’s never occurred to me a red lentil soup without tomatoes or my beloved cumin seeds is even possible.
Very yummy I used yellow lentils and added chicken stock served over brown rice (complete protein) and a dollop of labne and mango chutney!