One thing that I like about this Red Lentil Coconut soup is that the flavor and the soup can come together in under an hour.
Why red lentils?
- You don’t have to soak the lentils like you do the beans or pulses.
- Red lentils can cook in about 15 minutes, so when you want to add dried beans to a quick soup they are a great resource.
- Red lentils are packed with protein and fiber. One cup of cooked lentils is about 18 grams of protein and 15 grams of fiber
As an aside, the average person consumes about 15 grams of fiber a day. That is about 50% less than what is recommended. It is recommended that the average person consumes 25-30 grams a fiber per day.
Lentils taste delicious and are an easy way to consume the fiber we need along with protein.
Let’s get to cooking!
Below is the recipe and the ingredients.
Ingredients:
- 1 onion, diced
- 4 celery stalks, diced
- 1 cup diced carrots
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 1/2 cup red lentils
- 1 tbsp red curry paste
- 1/2 tsp curry powder
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/4 tsp grated ginger
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 1 (13.5oz) can unsweetened coconut milk
- 1-2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tbsp tamari (optional if salt is an issue)
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1 cup chopped spinach or (greens of choice)
Directions:
(For this soup, I did a no oil sauté for the vegetables)
Add onions, carrots and celery to a medium hot pot, add a little bit of water and stir the veggies. Sauté for about 5-7 minutes until the veggies start to soften. Add in the garlic and stir for about 1 minute. You can add small amounts of water if the veggies start to stick. I recommend about 2 tbsp of water at a time.

Add in the ginger, red curry paste, curry, cumin and stir. Add in the red lentils. Add in vegetable broth, coconut milk, lemon juice, tamari and pepper. Stir and bring to simmer. Add in the spinach. Bring the soup to a simmer. Cover the soup and cook for about 45 minutes. Stirring often.
Optional: Garnish with a pinch of red pepper flakes
Ingredients
- 1 onion, diced
- 4 celery stalks, diced
- 1 cup carrots, diced
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 1/2 cup red lentils, uncooked
- 1 tbsp red curry paste
- 1/2 tsp curry powder
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/4 tsp freshly grated ginger
- 4 cup vegetable broth
- 1 13.5 can unsweetened coconut milk
- 1-2 tbsp fresh lemon juice (to taste)
- 1 tbsp tamari (optional if salt is an issue)
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 cup chopped spinach (greens of choice)
Instructions
- This is a no oil saute for this soup.To a medium soup pot add, onions, carrots and celery and add a little bit of water and stir the veggies. Sauté for about 5-7 minutes until the veggies start to soften. Add in the garlic and stir for about 1 minute. You can add small amounts of water if the veggies start to stick. I recommend about 2 tbsp of water at a time.
- Add in the ginger, red curry paste, curry, cumin and stir. Add in the red lentils. Add in vegetable broth, coconut milk, lemon juice, tamari and pepper. Stir and bring to simmer. Add in the spinach. Bring the soup to a simmer. Cover the soup and cook for about 45 minutes. Stirring often.
Notes
Comment below and let me know what you think!
All the best,
Shelly
No garlic mentioned in ingredients, only in recipe.
Hi Wendy, Thanks for pointing that out about the garlic. Once garlic clove should be added and minced. I updated the recipe. Thanks again, Shelly