This lentil soup is packed with savory flavor and guaranteed to warm you up! Hearty enough to make a meal of and easy enough for a weeknight.
This blog certainly has no shortage of lentil soup recipes! I've shared many versions with lots of twists over the years, from Mediterranean lentil soup to curried lentil soup to taco-inspired lentil soup.
But every once in a while I crave classic lentil soup. You know what I mean? The simple but really savory stuff. A big bowl of that is exactly what I need when it's cold outside!
Brown Lentils
This recipe, unlike some of my other lentils soup recipes, uses plain old brown lentils. Brown lentils are quite versatile and easy to obtain. They also go great with savory seasonings.
How can you identify brown lentils? Usually if you see bags of lentils at the store with no indication of what type they are, they're brown lentils. Brown lentils are on the larger side (as far as lentil sizes go) and have a brownish-greyish color.
With that in mind, you can substitute most other varieties of lentils in this recipe. You just might need to adjust the cook-time a bit, as some types (like red) cook faster, while others (like green) take longer to soften up.
How to Make Lentil Soup
Start by heating up some olive oil in a large pot. Once the oil is hot, add some onion, carrots, and celery. Sweat the veggies for a few minutes to get them to soften up. Now add some garlic and cook it for just about a minute, until it becomes very fragrant.
Now add broth, lentils and some dried herbs: rosemary, thyme, and a bay leaf. Raise the heat, bring the liquid to a boil, and let everything simmer until the lentils are almost fully cooked. At this point you can stir in some diced tomatoes. Now let the soup continue to simmer until it's done!
Season the soup with salt (if needed) and add a splash of red wine vinegar before serving.
Grab a bowl!
Lentil Soup FAQ & Tips
- Is this soup gluten-free? It is!
- Leftovers of this soup keep very well. Just store it in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days. It may thicken up during storage — you can thin it with some water during reheating if needed.
- My lentils have been simmering for a long time but aren't softening. What's the deal? First, did you add the tomatoes or vinegar too early? Acidic ingredients like these will prevent lentils from softening, which is why they both go in towards the end. The other common culprit is old lentils that have sat in your pantry (or on the store shelf) for a long time.
- Can I use any varieties of lentils other than brown? I think just about any type of lentil would work, but I haven't tested other varieties, so no promises! Also keep in mind that the soup may need more or less cook time depending on what type of lentils you use.
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Classic Lentil Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 medium celery stalks, diced
- 2 medium carrots, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 6 cups low sodium vegetable broth
- 2 cups dried brown lentils
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary (or 1 tablespoon fresh)
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme leaves (or 2 tablespoons fresh)
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 (14 ounce or 400 ml) can diced tomatoes
- 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Coat the bottom of a large pot with the oil and place it over medium heat.
- Once the oil is hot, add the onion, carrots and celery. Sweat the veggies for about 5 minutes, stirring often, until they begin to soften up.
- Add the garlic and cook it with the veggies for about 1 minute, until very fragrant.
- Stir in the broth, lentils, rosemary, thyme, black pepper, and bay leaf. Raise the heat and bring the liquid to a boil.
- Lower the heat and allow the soup to simmer for about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are almost fully cooked but just a bit on the firm side. You can add water while the soup simmers if it becomes too dry.
- Stir in the tomatoes and let the soup continue simmering for 5 to 10 minutes, until the lentils are tender.
- Remove the pot from heat and remove the bay leaf. Stir in the vinegar and season the soup with salt to taste.
- Ladle into bowls and serve.
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Absolutely delicious. I've never (ever) been a fan of lentil soup but this has now been added to my files. I thought the vinegar would not appeal to me and planned to use lemon instead, but I'm glad I went with the vinegar. It was perfect. Delicious recipe. Thank you so much for sharing it!
My husband loved the soup! It reminded me of making it with my mamma while growing up. Thank you
I made your Herbed French Lentil soup yesterday for guests. Everyone loved it, especially my husband, who can't stop talking about it! Looking forward to making it regularly. And excited to try your other recipes.
This is definitely the classic lentil soup recipe I remember my Sicilian grandmother starting hers with. In her kitchen, lentil soup was a good excuse to clean out the fridge. Just about anything was added to the pot including leftover sausage, peppers, meatballs, BBQ spare ribs, over-ripe tomatoes, spinach, Swiss chard, fennel bulb, parmesan rinds... and much more. Talk about comfort food. Nothing beat Nana's lenticchie! I did the same with this recipe and threw in some leftover veggies from yesterday's pot roast, radish greens and the remains of a jar of roasted sweet red peppers. Delicious!
This has become my very favorite, GO TO Lentil Soup since I first tried it. I have now made it many many times. Very flavorful and delicious, and pretty easy. I've tried many different lentil soup recipes but this one stands out and I am safe-guarding my printed copy forever! Thank you!
Came out good, I added some red pepper flakes for a little kick
Just made this! I had homemade chicken broth to use up plus a few pieces of cabbage that I threw in. This is delicious, and I will make this again!!!
So flavorful and hearty!
I became a fan after different lentil soup at a cooking demonstration. A thought came over me on a rainy Saturday afternoon to make a batch for my Hubby and I to enjoy through the beginning of the week but it would be my first attempt. Imagine my delight to find a recipe from one of my favorite Internet cooks and pro food bloggers. I knew it would be a delicious success like every other recipe I've tried through the years. Thank you so much for sharing this with us, Alissa! Another win in the books!
First time trying this recipe and it was delicious! Easy to make, definitely had to add quite a bit of water a couple times as it was cooking. Didn’t have rosemary so added Herbs de Provence. Served with some toast, hearty and satisfying on a cold day!
This looks delicious! Perfect for my foray into vegan food. Is vinegar necessary? I’m not a huge fan and really don’t want to spend money on something I’ll likely not use often. Or would cider vinegar be a suitable replacement?
The vinegar is just in there for flavor, so you could certainly leave it out if it's not a flavor you like. And yes, cider vinegar will work just fine as a substitute if you'd like to give it a try. Enjoy!!
So good!
Do you know if it freezes well?
I'm so glad you like it! And yes - use an airtight container and it should be good for around 3 months in the freezer!
Any way to make this in a pressure cooker?
Here's a similar recipe with Instant Pot instructions: https://www.connoisseurusveg.com/curried-lentil-soup/ The same method will work here!
I love lentil soup, haven't made it in awhile. Made this yesterday, brings me back to when I worked in a restaurant years ago and lentil soup was a weekly soup of the day. Added angel hair, parmesan cheese, chives and a drizzle of olive oil. Definitely delicious! Thank you!
Love your additions!
Sooo delicious.Gone in a second. Keeper
This is THE best Lentil Soup recipe I have found!!! I have posted on Pinterest, and have had numerous 👍comments (and steals)! You are loved!!
I was reading through the questions, and yes other lentils may be used. Just cook to the appropriate time table of the longest needed for those lentils. It doesn’t soften the less tender enough to notice…I’ve also added a 1/2 cup of potatoes and/or red yams for a added texture. Unfortunately, I have no leftovers!!🥹
Hi, I am making this just now and it already smells wonderful!
I made this today on a cold, snowy day and OMG!!! It is absolutely amazing! My daughter who is 16 is a vegetarian and she is raving about it! I actually sprinkled a bit of Tajin and boom!!!
Been making lentil soup for YEARS, but I do mine in the slower cooker. I like my lentils real soft. My mom always put shell pasta in hers so that lentils had a place to nessle into. Top it off with parmigiana cheese and belisimo ❤️💚
This was delicious! My fiancé who isn’t a big soup fan..(unless it’s homemade and seasoned a lot) loved this! Tastes like chicken noodle soup minus the chicken-noodle ha! Thank you so much!
I made this last night and it was so good!!
Made this tonight. Perfect for a cold night! Delicious, will make again ❤️
Hi Alissa!
Made this tonight, and it was wonderful! We love lentil soups, and this is a very good new variation to add to our repertoire.
Minor detail on the recipe: I think step 4 is missing the introduction of the bay leaf, which magically appears in step 7. :-)
Thank you once again or all your outstanding recipes!
I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Looks like I did forget to add the bay leaf - thanks for catching that! I just corrected it. :)
I was not feeling well and decided I wanted to make some lent soup just for myself! I came up your recipe prepared it which was so easy and is insanely delicious! Thank-you for sharing!
I see add the bay leaf in step four and in step seven the bay leaf is removed.