Are you looking for a new comforting soup to make? We've got you covered! Give this Red Lentil Spinach Soup a try! All the ingredients used very healthy and low in calories. And another great bonus is that it is very easy to make; simply cook the ingredients and blend, that’s it!
This is like a cousin of our all time favorite Turkish style spicy red lentil soup. If you haven't tried it yet, go check it out! And if you are after a soup that is more loaded with veggies, our comforting vegetable soup with cabbage is right for you!
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About The Ingredients
So, what makes this spinach soup vegan? It doesn’t contain any form of animal or animal-by products - only spinach, lentils and a few seasoning ingredients like onions, garlic and lemon juice. And for the topping, we use a little coconut yogurt, parsley, black pepper and red pepper flakes. It’s smooth and very creamy, and, unlike most soups, astonishingly filling.
This delicious red lentil spinach soup will certainly be a hit this winter. This is the ultimate soup recipe packed with good foods for those lazy winter days if you really don’t feel like cooking up a storm.
If you prefer soups with a bit more texture, then you will love our Spinach And Green Lentil Soup too. And to make it vegan, you can simply choose vegan pasta, or leave it out completely.
How To Make
A lot of soup recipes have become overly complicated, but what makes this one so great is its simplicity. So let’s get down to it.
This vegan spinach soup recipe only takes 45 minutes to make of which the majority is waiting for the ingredients to cook. This is probably our favorite thing about this recipe; once everything is in, the work is done. It doesn’t require any special skills or even equipment; just you, a pot and any type of blender.
First, start by prepping all of your ingredients. This includes dicing onion and chopping garlic, but also rinsing lentils. Rinsing lentils is a way to remove any form of dust, small rocks, twigs or dirt – it’s just a safety precaution.
Second, heat olive oil in a large non-stick pan over low to medium heat. Add diced onions and sauté them for about 2 minutes. Then add garlic and allow it to cook for another minute or two.
Third, once your onions have become translucent, add all of your spices and mix them through.
Fourth, add the lentils, spinach, water and lemon juice. The lemon juice adds flavor and helps break down the structure of the ingredients which will help you get the smoothest possible soup. Bring the mixture to a boil and then lower the heat. Allow everything to simmer for 25-30 minutes, or until all the lentils have gone completely soft.
Fifth, remove the soup from the heat and while it is still warm, blend using any type of blender you have available. Blend for about 2-3 minutes until the soup is smooth. See the FAQs below if you don’t have a blender.
Finally, top the spinach soup with a swirl of coconut yogurt, coconut milk or use any vegan heavy cream substitutes you like. Also, freshly chopped parsley or mint and extra spices like black pepper and red pepper flakes make a really nice final touch.
What To Serve With
Side Dishes: It goes great with virtually any side dish, but we love to pair this soup with easy vegan courgette casserole, vegan cauliflower casserole with tomatoes or veggie skewers in oven.
Salads: Fresh Shepherd Salad or Vegan Salad With Pasta makes a perfect match with any soup and this vegan soup is no exception.
How To Freeze
If this lentil spinach soup isn’t already the easiest recipe ever, we’re making it even easier! You can make the soup in advance to freeze for later use or freeze any leftovers.
- Allow the spinach soup to cool down completely, uncovered, at room temperature. Never place warm food in a fridge or freezer as it can cause major health risks. Read more >> The Common Mistakes To Avoid When Freezing Soups.
- Portion the soup into freezer-safe zip-seal bags or airtight freezer-safe containers. Make sure that there is as little possible air in the bags before sealing. If you are using the bags, place them in an airtight container for extra protection.
- Label the bags or containers with the following information; the type of soup it is, the date it was made and the use-by date (one month after the date you made it).
- Lay the bags down flat in the freezer or neatly stack the containers. The soup can stay frozen for up to a month.
How To Thaw
Thawing soup is very easy. You can place the frozen container or bag on a tray and thaw it overnight in the refrigerator. Once thawed, reheat the spinach soup over medium heat.
Alternatively, you can add the frozen soup to a pot and thaw over very low heat while constantly keeping an eye on the soup. If it is too thick when completely thawed, add about ¼ cup of hot water and keep heating.
Soaking Lentils or Not
There is a lot of controversy surrounding this topic. Although it depends highly on the type of red lentils you are using, we think soaking is not really necessary. The cooking time of most red lentils is about 20-30 minutes or a bit longer than this depending on the lentil type.
On the other hand, soaking lentils before cooking them definitely reduces the cooking time by almost half. This is especially convenient if you don't have a lot of time on your hands.
Soaking lentils is incredibly easy; add your lentils to a bowl and completely cover them with cold water. You can leave the lentils overnight in the refrigerator and simply drain the water before using them in your recipe.
FAQs
Great alternatives that are very similar to lentils include chickpeas, black beans, pinto beans or split peas. Most people that are allergic to lentils are probably also allergic to these alternatives. For lentil and bean-free alternatives, you can use cauliflower, peas, mushroom or eggplant – keep in mind that these ingredients, although very tasty, will change the flavor of the soup completely.
Lentils are naturally gluten-free, but a lot of manufacturing companies add wheat products to bulk up these legumes. Look for packages that are either labeled as "organic" or "gluten-free". Legally these products aren't allowed to contain any gluten.
This is a very common issue people run into. Although we would recommend investing in a blender, if you aren’t going to use it a lot, it doesn’t make sense to spend all that money. Luckily, you can still blend your red lentil spinach soup without a blender. Because you are cooking the ingredients until they are completely soft, you can easily mash them using a potato masher for a more textured soup or strain it through a sieve for a smoother version.
Spinach is incredible but that doesn’t mean everyone likes it. A couple of flavorful substitutes for spinach include rocket, baby or Swiss chard, kale or watercress.
Other Vegan Soups
As always: If you make this recipe, let us know what you think by rating it and leaving a comment below. And post a pic on Instagram too—tag @give_recipe so we can see!
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📖 Recipe
Vegan Red Lentil Spinach Soup
A hearty vegan spinach soup with red lentils and spices.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: vegan soup
- Method: Cooking
- Cuisine: Turkish
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 1 and ½ tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried mint
- salt to taste
- 1 cup red lentils, rinsed
- 5 cups spinach, chopped
- 5 cups water
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Optional Topping:
- 1 tablespoon coconut yogurt
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
- A pinch of black pepper, freshly crushed
- A pinch of red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Saute onion and garlic with olive oil in a large pan over low heat until slightly golden, about 3-4 minutes.
- Stir in paprika, cumin, black pepper, dried mint and salt. Cook for one minute, stirring occasionally.
- Add in lentils, spinach, water and lemon juice. Cook until everything is mushy, for 30 minutes.
- Remove from the heat. Use a hand blender and blend until smooth. Stir and simmer for 2-3 minutes and remove from the heat. Taste and adjust salt and lemon to your liking.
- Serve with a swirl of coconut yogurt, chopped parsley, black pepper and red pepper flakes.
Notes
Thin the coconut yogurt with a little water and then make the swirl on the soup when serving.
Optional topping ingredients are not included in the nutritional info.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: Vegan Red Lentil Spinach Soup
- Calories: 151
- Sugar: 1.7 g
- Sodium: 419.1 mg
- Fat: 2.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 24 g
- Protein: 9 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Keywords: spinach soup, vegan spinach soup, lentil spinach soup
Shawn K says
This was absolutely delicious and so easy to make! I added some Garlic bouillon paste, but otherwise followed the recipe.
Thanks so much for sharing!
★★★★★
Karen Snyder says
What a nice soup! I add about 1/2 cup more lentils and more spinach because it was time to use it up, but otherwise it was the same. Thanks for the recipe!
★★★★
Yusuf says
Hi Karen,
This is one of our favorites. Glad you loved it too!
Lana O says
Very good! Had no mint and left lemon juice as an option for all to put in their plate. Boyfriend and sister loved it and he generally dislikes spinach so this is my go to recipe when I feel we need some spinach vitamins 🙂 Thanks for sharing!!
★★★★
Yusuf says
Glad you liked it Lana! Thanks for the feedback!
C Lawrence says
Watery, tasteless. Followed the recipe exactly. Very disappointed.
★
Mari says
Delicious!
★★★★★
Rosanne Braslow says
This is a lovely soup! I enjoyed the flavors immensely. I had no dried mint so used only fresh - it was perfect.
Michele Scott-Akanbi says
Made this yesterday followed recipe, my husband hated it and I found it watery and a little bland. Disappointed.
★★
Katy says
Can you use fresh spearmint?
Zerrin says
If you love the flavor of it, yes you can.
Sally says
Easy, delicious and a great way to use up the garden's spinach glut! Many thanks.
★★★★★
Zerrin says
Glad you love it Sally!
Marina says
Delicious, nutritious and easy to make. Perfect for cold winter dinner - loved the taste.
★★★★★
Lol says
Hi, do you have to use whole red lentils or do split red lentils work too?
Zerrin says
Both work fine.
Tyas says
I omitted the mint as I'm not keen (also cooked this quite late at night and supermarkets were already closed), but still very good! Thanks for the recipe!
★★★★★
Zerrin says
So happy to hear that you love it Tyas!
Jo says
I made this recipe. It seemed like it could be an interesting new variation on the Turkish lentil soup that I love so much. I did add two more things than you suggested in your recipe which made it super delicious- 1 tsp of cut ginger and half a vegan stock cube. It was a lovely warming addition to an otherwise cold grey winter Istanbul day 🙂 Thanks.
★★★★★
Ninna says
I made it without the cumin as it is not a favourite of ours! It worked out great!! Made it once with vegetable broth and the second time with chicken broth instead of water. The kids love the "green soup". Thank you for a great recipe!
★★★★★
Emilia says
Hey, just a question: does it really turn out so green? I know that spinach has this effect but I wonder how do they "kill" the yellow/orange lentil colour? I want my soup to be really hearty yet green!
Zerrin says
Hi Emilia! Yes, it turns out that green. Lentils lose their bright color and easily adapt the color of spinach. Love this effect of spinach!
Adina says
You're right, I have never thought of combining the two either. I will keep this in mind, it looks so good!