Creamy Spiced Red Lentil Soup with Spinach. This easy vegan soup recipe is done in under 30 minutes! Perfect for an easy meal or to stock the freezer!
I made up this soup a couple days after taking an Indian Vegetarian Classics cooking class at PCC Cooks. I recently over-stocked (is there such a thing?) my pantry with dried beans, lentils and grains and have an abundance of red lentils. When I saw the two local, organic leeks in the produce drawer needing to be used up, I automatically thought of some type of soup infused with the spices and flavors we discussed and used in the cooking class.
This soup comes together really quickly and is naturally thickened by the red lentils as they break down. The beautiful yellow hue is a gift from the ground turmeric. I’m pointing that out since the first thing my family said was, “Hey, I thought you said red lentil soup?”
NOTES:
- If you don’t have whole white peppercorns, you can sub black peppercorns but the flavor will probably have more of a bite.
- Red Lentils cook very quickly and are a natural thickener. If you don’t have them, you could use yellow or green lentils or split peas but you will most likely need to adjust the cooking time.
- Full fat coconut milk or plain coconut creamer would work in place of the soy creamer.
Did you make this recipe? Please give it a star rating below!
Creamy Spiced Red Lentil Soup with Spinach. This easy vegan soup recipe is done in under 30 minutes! Perfect for an easy meal or to stock the freezer!
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 2 leeks white and light green, chopped
- 2 inch piece ginger root peeled and minced
- 3 medium garlic cloves smashed and minced
- 2.5 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 2 medium celery stalks cut into 1/4" half-moons
- 2 cups red lentils rinsed and drained
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 4 cups water
- 4 ounces organic baby spinach sliced into ribbons
- 1/4 cup plain soy creamer See NOTES for alternatives
- cilantro for garnish
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 cinnamon stick
- 1 star anise
- 4 white peppercorns
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Clean leeks and remove dark green tops. Finely chop or use food processor to save time.
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Peel ginger and mince. Smash garlic and finely mince.
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Measure spices for spice ball and remaining spices. Rinse lentils and set aside. Slice spinach into thin ribbons.
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Heat a soup pot over medium high heat. Add olive oil and then leeks, garlic, ginger, ground cardamom, turmeric and 2 teaspoons of the kosher salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 7 minutes until soft and fragrant.
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Add celery, lentils, water, broth and spice ball. Bring to a boil. Cover, lower to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes.
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Remove spice ball. Add spinach, remaining 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt and stir to wilt spinach.
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Remove from heat and add non-dairy creamer.
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Serve hot garnished with fresh cilantro. Excellent with a side of brown rice or quinoa. Enjoy!
Did you make this recipe? Tag @EverydayMaven on Instagram with the hashtag #EveryDayMaven and please give a star rating below.
I made this tonight, and it was SO good! Much better than I expected, and my 5 year old tipped her bowl up and asked for seconds. A hit with everyone! Thanks!
That is great Jenny! So glad you all enjoyed it and thanks for taking the time to let me know 🙂
I was looking for good freezer recipes that would suit my husband and 11 month old daughter, and love that this website has that handy recipe index! I followed the recipe as closely as I could with what I had on hand…omitted straight cardamom, celery, white peppercorns, cinnamon stick, creamer. Used about 1/4 teaspoon garam masala in place of omitted spices, and did not replace the creamer, and it was still a recipe I will be adding to my freezer recipe arsenal. Thanks for sharing!!!
So glad to hear it worked even with the changes – that is great! I also have all of my recipes categorized by “freezer friendly” – here is a link. Have a great night!
I love your recipes but do you ever post nutritional info? I know you include points but I am curious about protein and calorie content.
Hi Maggie! At this point, I don’t provide nutritional info. A couple good FREE sites you can for that are http://www.myfitnesspal.com/ and http://www.my-calorie-counter.com/calorie_counter.asp Thanks!
I always love lentil soup and this one you created looks marvelous. I especially like that you include greens – I agree, you can never have too many greens! Definitely a wonderful winter soup, Alyssa!
Thanks Hannah! I am always looking for places to add extra greens. 🙂
The soup turned out wonderful. Simple, tasty and satisfying. My husband loved the flavors. This will definitely be made again. Yum!
Awesome Char – love hearing that and so glad you both enjoyed it 🙂
I can only imagine how incredible this soup must taste thanks to those wonderful spices!
It was really aromatic Laura!
Great looking soup! I love red lentils and use them all the time (and when they cook they actually do change color and become yellowish), partially because they’re so delish and partially because they cook in such a short time. I love adding greens to any sort of lentil, as you have with the spinach. Really a good recipe – thanks so much.
Me too – red lentils might be my favorite lentils!
Looks wonderful; going to try this for dinner tonight.
Enjoy it! I recommend some greens or salad and a side of grains. Perfect cold night dinner! 🙂
Char is my sister 🙂 and she was kind enough to share this and a black bean burger with me! Oh my gosh, this is the best site ever!!! 🙂 Outstanding recipes!
Welcome Michele and thank you so much for the kind feedback! 🙂