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This Creamy Lentil Soup comes together with pantry staples and big flavor. Cozy, satisfying, and great for blending smooth or keeping chunky.
Love a good cozy soup recipe? You need to try our Creamy Cauliflower Soup as well as our Vegetarian French Onion Soup and our Simple Black Bean Soup!
Why you’ll love this comfort food soup!
Once the weather starts cooling down, this creamy lentil soup is basically on constant rotation in our house! It’s cozy, hearty, and the kind of meal that makes you want to curl up with a big bowl and some crusty bread. I love that it’s made with simple pantry staples but still feels rich and comforting, especially once it’s blended until creamy. It’s one of those soups that somehow tastes even better the next day – aka perfect cold-weather food!🥣
Why You’ll Love This Recipe:
- Cozy, comforting, and genuinely filling
- Simple ingredients you probably already have!
- Can be blended smooth or left chunky
- Easy to make vegetarian or vegan – plus it’s packed with plant-based protein!
- Great for meal prep and leftovers
In this post…
Ingredients needed
The ingredients for this creamy vegan lentil soup are listed fully down in the recipe card but let’s briefly go over the pantry staples needed including a few substitutions you can make as desired!
- Onion – The main savory base. Yellow onion is a perfect swap!
- Green onion – Adds a lighter onion flavor and a fresh finish. You can swap in more white onion if needed.
- Garlic – Brings depth. Garlic powder works in a pinch (start small and add to taste)!
- Spices – I used just cumin but curry powder, onion powder, or some red pepper flakes would also be delicious in this!
- Parsley – Adds freshness and helps balance the richness. Cilantro works if you want a slightly different vibe!
- Dried lentils – Green lentils or brown are best for this (they hold their shape). Red lentils will get much softer and make it thicker.
- Potatoes – Helps make the soup creamy even before blending! Yukon gold also works great. I’ve never tried it, but a reader once told me that they make this with sweet potato and they love it.
- Carrots – Adds sweetness + texture. You could also toss in celery if you want more classic soup base flavor.
- Vegetable broth – Low sodium is ideal so you can control the salt. Any broth works if you’re not vegetarian and want to use chicken broth etc, just adjust seasoning.
- Milk (dairy or plain non-dairy) – Makes it creamy. Use unsweetened/plain (oat, soy, almond, cashew, or even coconut milk all work)!
How to Make It
Just a reminder that you can find the FULL creamy lentil soup recipe is down in the recipe card, but I want to quickly go over how to make them with visuals for you :)
- In a large pot over medium heat, saute onion, green onion, and garlic in olive oil until tender. Stir in the parsley and the cumin, cook for an additional 2 minutes.
- Add in the chopped carrots, potatoes, dried lentils, salt, pepper, and broth. Mix to combine.
- Bring the soup to a boil, lower the temperature to a gentle simmer and cook covered for about 30-40 minutes until the lentils are tender.
- MUCH of the broth will be absorbed. If you want to serve the soup chunks, consider adding more broth and season accordingly.
- As desired, carefully transfer the hot soup to a blender and blend (in batches as needed) until it’s smooth and few lumps remain. You could also blend the soup using an immersion blender.
- Pour the creamy lentil soup back into the pot and add in the milk. Mix until fully combined and season to taste. ENJOY!
Recipe Tips
- Rinse your lentils before adding them to remove dust/debris and help prevent bitterness.
- Don’t skip blooming the cumin in the hot pot – those 2 minutes make the flavor pop!
- For ultra-creamy soup: blend most of it, then leave a little chunky for texture.
- Add milk after blending and keep the heat low so it doesn’t separate (especially with some non-dairy milks).
- If it gets too thick, add a splash more broth to loosen it up.
Frequently Asked Questions
Green or brown lentils are best here. Red lentils will break down more and make the soup thicker and softer.
Nope! But blending is what gives it that classic “creamy lentil soup” texture. You can also blend just half. It’s not a super brothy soup so if you’re not blending it, you might consider adding in more broth and seasoning accordingly.
Absolutely. Celery, spinach, kale, or even diced bell pepper are easy additions!
Easy Creamy Lentil Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 1 cup white onion, chopped
- ¾ cup green onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- ¼ cup parsley plus 2 tbsp, chopped
- ½ tsp cumin powder
- 1 ¼ cup dried lentils
- 2 small red potato, peeled and diced
- ¾ cup chopped carrot
- 4 cups reduced sodium vegetable broth
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup milk, non-dairy (plain) or regular
- for topping: vegan sour cream, or regular if you wish, extra green onion
Instructions
- Heat oil in large pot. Add in onion, green onion, and garlic. Sauté for 5 minutes.
- Stir in 1/4 cup parsley and the cumin, cook for an additional 2 minutes.
- Add the lentils, potatoes, carrots, broth, and salt and pepper. Bring to boil and then reduce to simmer. Cook covered for 30- 40 minutes or until lentils become tender.
- Optional: in several batches, puree the soup until it’s creamy and smooth.
- Stir in the milk. Serve and top with a bit of sour cream as desired and green onion.
Notes
- Fridge: Store in an airtight container for 4–5 days.
- Reheat: Warm on the stove or microwave; add a splash of broth/milk if it thickened.
- Freezer: Freezes well for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Felt like a good, wholesome comfort food kind of soup. We found the flavour a bit too simple, so added some ground coriander, Hungarian paprika and ginger for a little more complexity and zing.
Wow, I just made this. Exactly what I was looking for in a creamy lentil pureed soup – I will be making this regularly, thank you for sharing!! :)
Hi, how many cups of potato did you use? Since they come in different sizes it’s hard for me to know how much I should use. Thank you
This is the best lentil soup recipe that I have found. The ingredients aren’t too complicated and the directions are super simple. I make a bowl of this on Sundays during the fall and winter and it’s ready in about and hour. I cut up the veggies the night before to save time. This recipe remains a winner in my house!
aww yay!! That makes me so happy to hear. It’s been forever since i made this soup so I need to get on that soon :D
The other day, at my local grocery store( their store name rhyme with cool moods) , I had a near experience resembling an epiphany. The cup of of creamy lentil soup of a customer in front of me, rang up around $7.89. I did a double take at its price. So I looked up this recipe.
I used sour cream and milk to make the base. The color of soup with added sour cream is a bit brighter. For an extra layer of added flavor, half of a chopped roasted Jalapeno was added. Incidentally, this recipe works great with navy bean substituted for lentil.
Hi. I’m substituted non-flavoured almond milk and it turned out amazing. Thanks!
Yay! So glad that you liked it! Thanks for letting me know about the substitution too!
Hi there! Do you think this recipe could be done in a crock pot just fine?
Hi Alexis! I’ve honestly never tried this in a crock pot but it’s a great idea! I know that lentil dishes are often cooked in slow cookers so I’m sure it would work but I’m not 100% sure how long etc. If you try it and it works out, please please let me know!
This looks and sounds delicious, yum!
xx Kelly
Sparkles and Shoes
Excited to hear what restaurants you try out! I’ve got a birthday in April and can’t decide where to go eat
Happy birthday week! I absolutely love the huge variety of restaurants in Nashville! I’m sure the whole week will be delicious!