Turkish Red Lentil Soup is super easy to make and perfect on cold days to warm you up. Cook everything in one pot and blend them together. It’s that easy! One of the best vegan soups because it is super filling and full of flavors.

If you happen to go to a restaurant in Turkey, you see that there is one soup they always have on their menu: Red Lentil Soup. It is a staple at restaurants. Believe it or not, we can even have it for breakfast in the morning on a cold winter day. With a lot of lemon juice. I don't know a better way to start a freezing day.
If you need a satisfying soup that is not heavy and comes together quickly, this recipe fits the bill perfectly. I can imagine the happy smile on your face when you have a bowl of heartwarming and tasty red lentil soup with lemon. Please don’t leave the lemon out! It takes the soup to the next level.
Ingredients For Lemon Lentil Soup
- Red Lentils: There are several types of red lentils at the market. Well, there is no specific type for this soup. Any red lentil type works fine. The only difference you might end up with is the color. Although all red lentils are orange when raw, some of them result in a pale yellow color while some have a brighter yellow or even orangish color. Other than that, we haven’t experienced any big differences. All red lentils cook fast and perfect for soups.
- Vegetables To Add: We use onion, potato, carrot and garlic to have more flavor. Among these, the only must-have one is onion. Although the other veggies are totally optional, almost everyone uses them in a classic Turkish red lentil soup recipe. Why? Potato gives a little more consistency. Carrot gives a subtle sweetness. And garlic makes it even tastier. This lentil soup recipe is quite versatile and you can use it as a base and make your own twist. Have you seen our Pumpkin And Lentil Soup or Vegan Red Lentil Spinach Soup? Go check it out to learn how we create a completely new soup with this base.
- Spices: The spices in a traditional lentil soup in Turkish cuisine are cumin, black pepper, red pepper flakes, dried mint. As this is a spicy lentil soup, don’t leave them out. You can only leave the red pepper flakes if you are making it for kids.
- Lemon: This is another must in lentil soup. We add lemon juice both when cooking in the pot and when having the soup. It helps all the flavors blend well together and you end up with an even tastier soup.
- Chili Oil Sauce: This is a ridiculously easy sauce made with olive oil(or butter if you like), chili powder and dried mint. You can use it on any soup to have an extra kick.

How To Make Turkish Lemon Lentil Soup
The recipe has three folds.
- First, put red lentils, chopped onions, carrots, potatoes, one garlic clove and spices in a large pot. Pour water over these and cook uncovered until it boils over medium high heat. Stir occasionally and remove the scam on the surface of the soup. Reduce the heat to medium low and let it simmer until everything is wonderfully tender.
- Second, remove the pot from the heat and blend the soup well using a hand blender. Put it back over the lowest heat, add in lemon juice and simmer for about 5 minutes.
- Third, make the oil sauce. Heat olive oil or butter in a saucepan. Add in chili powder and dried mint, cook over low heat for about a minute stirring occasionally. Two options for using the sauce: 1) Pour it in the pot and stir with a spoon so that the sauce and the soup combine well. 2) Serve the soup in bowls and drizzle a little oil sauce on each.
Is Red Lentil Soup Healthy?
This soup is not only decadent and comforting but also super nutritious. Lentils are a good source of protein and fiber, that's why it is perfect for vegans. Plus, they have a low glycemic index when you cook them yourself. It might be higher though if you are using canned lentils. Also, it is low in calories. To put it in a nutshell, red lentil soup is a great option for a healthy diet.
Lentil Soup With Red or Green Lentils?
We love all types of lentils and use them often in our cooking. A classic Red lentil soup is smooth and creamy without cream. We mostly have it as a starter and have the main course afterwards. We sometimes use a combination of yellow lentils and red lentils to make this soup.
On the other hand, a chunky green lentil soup makes a super satisfying lunch or dinner on its own. Have you seen our Spinach And Green Lentil Soup? It's one of our favorite meals.
Can You Freeze Lentil Soup?
If you have leftovers and won't be eating it in the next few days, freezing the soup is a good idea. Make sure it is cold enough before putting it in the freezer. Also, keeping it in an airtight container is important.
A quick note about reheating Turkish red lentil soup: It gets thicker as it waits, so if it is too thick, add a little hot water when reheating.

More Lentil Recipes
PrintTurkish Red Lentil Soup

Spicy red lentil soup with potato, onion and carrot flavors.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Cooking
- Cuisine: Turkish
Ingredients
Soup:
- 1 cup red lentils
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 carrot, chopped
- 1 potato, chopped
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 2 teaspoons dried mint
- Salt to taste
- 6 cups water
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Topping:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon sweet chili powder or flakes
- 1 teaspoon dried mint
Instructions
- Combine lentils, onion, garlic, carrot, potato and spices in a large pot. Pour water over them. Cook it uncovered until it boils over medium high heat.
- Bring the heat to medium low and let it simmer stirring occasionally until everything is tender.
- Blend it until smooth using a hand blender. Put it back over the lowest heat, add in lemon juice and simmer for about 5 minutes.
- For the olive oil sauce, heat olive oil in a sauce pan. Add in chili powder and dried mint, stir once or twice and remove from the heat.
- Serve the soup hot in bowls with a drizzle of the spicy olive oil. You can garnish it with herbs.
Notes
When reheating the soup, you might have to add in some hot water because you will see it is thicker.
Keywords: Turkish red lentil soup, lemon lentil soup, spicy red lentil soup
I'm so happy to find this site. Me and my daughter took Turkish cooking classes and we are in love with the food. She's very picky and ended up being obsessed with it ! I'm always looking for new Turkish recipes
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Hi Ashley! Turkish cooking classes must be really fun! I'm glad you loved our blog. Feel free to ask me if you have any questions.
I love the story of sharing dinner dishes with neighbors as a daily event. Like a big extended family. My country feels so divided right now that I am wistful for the sense of community and shared basic values.
Hi Jennifer! Sharing food is such a great way to remember and maintain the basic values. Living in a big city, I'm missing that tradition too.
What a great update to a fantastic Turkish soup. I love the addition of butter on top. 5 star recipe for sure.
Hi .. looks amazing. ..I’d like to make this .. when do I add the dried mint ? Only as garnish ? And why both flour and potato ? Ty
Thank you Mariam! Add it with all the other spices when pouring water over lentils. Flour is optional, but it gives a nice flavor when cooked with butter.
Made it ! It was exquisite .. !! The best red lentil I’ve ever had .! .we make this too In the Middle East but only with cumin and also a squeeze of lemon. But the mint in your Turkish recipe really balances the flavors out and brightens it up ... the butter flour step enriches it . thank you so much . I just noticed you changed the recipe ? Like the spicy oil part ?. please keep the Turkish recipes coming ...
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Thank you so much Mariam! I'm glad you loved it. Yes, I've updated the recipe, making the butter and flour step optional because I mostly skip that part too. And that spicy oil definitely riches the flavor of the soup. Will be publishing more Turkish recipes soon.
Love lentils!! I was perusing red lentil soup recipes when yours came up. My soup was already simmering, but love the idea of adding a squeeze of lemon juice. I'd have never thought of that.
This was my first time using red lentils instead of brown. Now I wonder if I can ever go back. These are tasty!
I used the lemon juice but also added feta cheese and some olive tapenade. yummy!
This soup looks so delicious. Healthy ingredients and my favorite spices. I love red lentils. Great idea for a fall/ winter meal!
I love lentils, this is a great recipe with the addition of mint.
Very comforting! I made a similar soup a couple of weeks back, but did not blend the lentils. Love the mint!! I will try it next time.
we would have friends quite few years back who would do the ramadan & then we would wait for the Iftar time to eat all delicious stuffs 😉
All I have right now are green lentils, but I will be on the look out for red lentils. This soup sounds like it would hit the spot for an easy dinner soup after work.
what a great soup and healthy your site rocks
A delicious looking soup! Very flavorful!
Cheers,
Rosa
Oyster- I agree, red lentil soup is heavenly. It sometimes becomes my main dish as I have two or more bowls of it and no more room for another dish 🙂
Lisa- This is one of our favorite. Hope you love it when you try.
Jenn and Cynthia- Happy to hear you love the Ramadan traditions I’m telling here. This month has a very special place in people’s lives here.
Hana- The dishes for iftar here are countless and I’m trying to share as much as I can. People give a great importance to their dishes during this month and they never feel unwilling to prepare and cook laborious dishes.
Sophie and Divina- I love to cook red lentils, their smell is fantastic while cooking.
Faith- I think all people learn a lot during Ramadan. But of course children learn more.
Natasha and Vrinda- Thank you so much.
Farida- As you say, red lentil soup has several versions and I’ve tried most of these versions. As a result, I decided on this one. My husband generally do not want to have soup before his meal, but he always wants the second bowl whenever I cook this soup. Hope you love it, too when you try mercimek corbasi.
It is interesting how many different variations of lentil soup exist in Turkey. I've tried it with tomatoes, with tomato paste, without, with onions fried only, with raw onions cooked with other veggies and etc, you name it. Your recipe sounds very delicious. This is not how I make lentil soup, so I am intrigued and curious. Will definitely try your recipe next time I make mercimek corbasi.
Ohh, and I loved your story:)
I lov lentils,looks yum....nice tradition ...
The lentil soup sounds so good and comforting, gorgeous pictures!
What an excellent recipe! I'll have to try it next time I make red lentil soup. I loved reading about the tradition of sharing food...what a wonderful way to teach kids to share!
Lovely soup. I love red lentils and their comforting effect in the body. I do agree that when I feel hungry, a good bowl of soup soothes the stomach.
I adore soups like this one! I love red lentils!!!
Your soup looks truly comforting!
Hi, I celebrate Ramadan too and I am so happy to be able to see what people in other parts of the world are having for iftar 🙂
It has been so inspiring to read your Ramadan series.
I love lentils. I'm learning so much about Ramadan that I never knew before. It definitely gives me a better understanding.
I've just been thinking about soups, and I love red lentils. This sounds delicious!
I love lentil soup, there is something about it that really warms you from the inside. This soup and a wonderful slice of crusty bread is my idea of heaven!
What a wonderful story of Ramadan, I am learning so much trough your blog!