Curry lentil soup is a warming and comforting one-pot recipe. It consists of earthy lentils simmered with spices, tomatoes, and vegetables.

You can expect a bold and rich flavor, with earthy and aromatic notes and a creamy and chunky texture that’s deeply satisfying.

It’s perfect for fall and winter meals as a weeknight dinner or meal prep.

curry lentil soup in a bowl with rice and onions

What is curry lentil soup?

curry lentil soup

Our curry lentil soup is an Indian-inspired recipe.

The lentils are simmered in a rich tomato sauce enriched with spices and vegetables.

It’s similar to a lentil curry but more saucy, without the coconut milk and with more veggies.

Like our other one-pot lentil recipes, such as Italian lentil soup, lentil vegetable soup, Turkish lentil soup, Moroccan lentil soup, and lentil chili, this one is easy, tasty, and healthy.

Ingredients for curry lentil soup

ingredients for curry lentil soup

Quantities are in the recipe box at the bottom of the page.

Lentils

Use dried green lentils or dried brown lentils. Dried lentils don’t require soaking and can be cooked in about 30 minutes.

To learn more about lentils, check out our guide on how to cook lentils.

Substitute canned lentils for dry ones if you don’t have 30 minutes for them to cook.

If you want a recipe with yellow or red lentils, check out our red lentils soup.

Flavor base

We make the flavor base with olive oil, onion, carrots, garlic, and ginger.

Optionally, you can add bay leaves.

Substitute coconut oil or avocado oil for olive oil.

Spices

Curry powder, turmeric, ground cumin, and red pepper flakes are essential to flavor the curry lentil soup.

Other spices you can use are ground coriander and garam masala. Start with about a teaspoon each.

We don’t use curry leaves for this recipe as they are not a pantry staple and are hard to find where we live.

If you like to use them, add them to the pot with the hot oil and let them shimmer for a minute before adding the onion and the rest of the ingredients.

Vegetables

We recommend adding diced potatoes and chopped leafy greens such as kale, chard, bok choi, cabbage, or spinach.

You can substitute sweet potatoes for potatoes.

Crushed tomatoes

Canned crushed tomatoes are our favorite.

Substitute diced tomatoes, fire-roasted tomatoes, or whole canned peeled tomatoes for crushed ones.

Vegetable broth

We prefer vegetable broth to chicken broth so that the recipe is vegetarian and everyone in our family can enjoy it.

Feel free to use your favorite broth.

Salt and black pepper

Sea salt or kosher salt and a few twists of black pepper.

curry lentil soup topped with rice, pickled onions, and scallions
We served this curry lentil soup for dinner, topped with boiled brown rice, quick pickled red onions, Greek yogurt, and spring onions.

How to make curry lentil soup

Heat the olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven. Add chopped onion and carrot and sauté for 3 minutes.

Stir in grated garlic, grated ginger, curry powder, turmeric, cumin, and red pepper flakes and sauté for one more minute.

flavor base with onion, carrot, garlic, and spices

Add vegetable broth, crushed tomatoes, rinsed dried lentils, peeled and diced potatoes, chopped kale, or your leafy greens of choice.

Season with salt and black pepper, then simmer for 30 minutes or until the lentils are cooked.

Stir occasionally.

curry lentil soup in a dutch oven

Serving suggestions

Taste and adjust for salt and spices before serving.

Curry lentil soup is a nourishing and fulfilling main meal.

We recommend serving it with boiled brown rice, a dollop of Greek yogurt or non-dairy yogurt, quick pickled red onions, finely chopped scallions, and a squeeze of lemon or lime.

curry lentil soup in a white hand-made bowl

Storage

Make ahead: Curry lentil soup is an excellent recipe for meal prep. Its flavor improves a day after it’s cooked and keeps well for days.

Refrigerator: Let the soup cool down, transfer it to an airtight container, and store it in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Freezer: This recipe is perfect for freezing. Let it cool down completely, transfer it to a freezer-friendly container, and freeze for up to 3 months.

Thaw: Defrost curry lentil soup in the fridge over several hours or in the microwave with a thawing function.

Reheat: warm the soup in the microwave for a couple of minutes or in a saucepan. Add a dash of water if necessary.

Similar recipes

LENTILS: Lentil bolognese, lentil hummus, lentil patties, lentil sweet potato salad, cauliflower lentil salad, lentil salad, Mujadara, lentil loaf, lentil tabbouleh, lentil pasta, lentil carrot salad.

For even more lentil recipes, check out our lentil recipes collection.

SOUPS: Butternut squash soup, potato leek soup, kale soup, broccoli soup, black bean soup, cauliflower soup, Harira soup, chickpea soup, sweet potato soup.

For even more soup recipes, check out our healthy soup recipe compilation.

curry lentil soup

Curry Lentil Soup

5 from 36 votes
Curry lentil soup is an easy and tasty one-pot recipe where earthy lentils are simmered in a delicious curry sauce with spices, tomatoes, and vegetables.
This recipe is warming and comforting, perfect for the colder fall and winter seasons. It’s excellent for a weeknight dinner or meal prep as it keeps well for days and freezes for months.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 4 people
Course: Main
Cuisine: International

Ingredients 

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 large onion chopped
  • 2 carrots cut into discs
  • 3 cloves garlic grated
  • 1 teaspoon ginger grated
  • 2 teaspoons curry powder
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes more or less to taste
  • 5 cups vegetable broth or more if needed
  • 1 can (15 ounces) crushed tomatoes
  • 1 cup dried lentils green or brown
  • 1 pound potatoes peeled and cut into bite-size chunks
  • 5 ounces kale or spinach, chopped
  • 1 teaspoons salt or more to taste
  • teaspoon black pepper

SERVES WELL WITH

Instructions 

  • FLAVOR BASE: Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large pot.
    Add 1 large onion (chopped), and 2 carrots cut into thin discs. Sauté for 3 minutes.
    Add 3 cloves garlic and 1 teaspoon ginger (grated), 2 teaspoons curry powder, 1 teaspoon turmeric powder, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, and sauté 1 more minute. Stir often.
    flavor base with onion, carrot, garlic, and spices
  • LET SIMMER: Add 5 cups vegetable broth, 1 can (15 ounces) crushed tomatoes, 1 cup dried lentils, 1 pound potatoes, and 5 ounces kale.
    Season with 1 teaspoons salt and ⅛ teaspoon black pepper and simmer for about 30 minutes or until the lentils are cooked.
    curry lentil soup in a dutch oven
  • SERVING SUGGESTIONS: Taste and adjust for salt before serving.
    We recommend serving it with brown rice, a squeeze of lime juice, a dollop of Greek yogurt, pickled red onions, chopped scallions.
    curry lentil soup in a white hand-made bowl

Video

Curry Lentil Soup (protein rich)

Notes

Nutrition information is an estimate for 1 serving of curry lentil soup out of 4 servings without toppings and rice.
SUBSTITUTIONS
– Olive oil: Substitute coconut oil, avocado oil, or another vegetable oil.
– Onion: Substitute leek or shallots.
– Spices: Other spices you can use are ground coriander, garam masala, mustard seeds, and curry leaves.
– Vegetable broth: Substitute water.
– Dried lentils: You can substitute canned lentils, drained and rinsed. In this case, reduce the broth in half and shorten simmering time to 15 – 20 minutes.
– Potatoes: Substitute sweet potatoes, pumpkin, butternut squash, or Kabocha squash.
– Kale: Substitute spinach, mustard greens, chard, bok choi, chinese cabbage, or savoy cabbage.
STORAGE
The soup keeps well and is suitable for making ahead.
– Meal prep: Flavor improves after a day
– Refrigerator: Up to 4 days in an airtight container
– Freezer: Up to 3 months in a freezer-friendly container
– Thaw in fridge or microwave
– Reheat in microwave or saucepan. Add water if needed

Nutrition

Calories: 395kcal, Carbohydrates: 63g, Protein: 19g, Fat: 9g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 5g, Trans Fat: 0g, Cholesterol: 0mg, Sodium: 652mg, Potassium: 1332mg, Dietary Fiber: 23g, Sugar: 5g, Vitamin A: 8715IU, Vitamin B6: 1mg, Vitamin C: 64mg, Vitamin E: 2mg, Vitamin K: 153µg, Calcium: 178mg, Folate: 319µg, Iron: 7mg, Manganese: 1mg, Magnesium: 122mg, Zinc: 3mg
Tried this recipe?Leave a comment below or mention @nicoandlouise on Instagram. We are also on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, and TikTok.


Nico and Louise in front of the Consolazione church in Todi

Hi! We are Nico & Louise

Welcome to The Plant-Based School, a food blog with vegetarian and vegan recipes.

5 from 36 votes (18 ratings without comment)

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40 Comments

  1. Iโ€™m making this soup tomorrow for a friend undergoing chemotherapy. So far her appetite has been good and sheโ€™s looking forward to this nutritious soup!

    I only have diced tomatoes on hand. Should I drain them and chop them up more finely before adding to the soup? Her dietician recommends avoiding potato so I was going to sub yellow squash, but without the starch from the potato, I wonder if adding the undrained can of diced tomatoes will make the soup too runny. Do you have any suggestions?

    1. Hi Christina,

      First of all, I am very sorry to hear about your friend. You are a very kind friend, I am sure that she really appreciates your great care.

      Regarding the starch: yes your soup will be thinner with yellow squash, BUT go ahead and add it ๐Ÿ™‚

      We just discussed this and our advise is: make the soup as described with your diced tomatoes (do not worry about draining them). When the soup is ready with the lentils cooked, you can blend about 1 cup of the soup if you find it too “thin”. Simple avoid blending the kale, and use a hand-mixer. That trick will make it thick and hearty if that is what you are missing without the potatoes.

      Nico and I send our love to both of you. All the best โค๏ธ

      Louise

      1. Thank you so much, perfect suggestion! I purรฉed a small amt of soup with my immersion blender (picking out the kale), and it turned out beautifully. Although the soup wasnโ€™t overly thin to start with. My pre-worrying was unnecessary. True of most pre-worrying, come to think about it ๐Ÿ˜‰

        Tasting it at the end, I appreciate the acid and brightness contributed by including the tomato liquid. Very delicious nutritious soup thatโ€™s a feast for the eyes as well.! Thank you both so much, Nico & Louise!

  2. 5 stars
    Great recipe!! Superfood deliciousness!! I love it and I love this site. Watching a video in fast motion is another level of knowing what you’re getting into before you start. Thank you Nico and Louise!

    1. Hi Willa, that’s fantastic – I’m very happy that you appreciate the videos, thanks so much for your kind feedback ๐ŸŽ‰

      Wishing you a great Sunday.