My Spiced Vegetable Lentil Soup recipe is packed with flavor to lift your spirits and warm up your soul this winter. (Psst: It’s also vegan-approved and super easy to make.)
Given that it’s gloomy as heck outside with temperatures in the single digits – there could be no better time to share the Spiced Vegetable Soup recipe that I love whipping up on a wintry weekend.
As old-fashioned as it may be to say this, there’s just something I really really love about a piping hot bowl of vegetable soup in the winter months. It’s classic comfort food to a tee in my book and this recipe always manages to lift my spirits. Of course it doesn’t hurt that it’s also stockpiled with nutrients and flavor to keep me satisfied.
Vegetable Lentil Soup with a Kick
While I do follow recipes from time to time, my preferred means of cooking is to throw everything that looks good to me together and spice it up. There I’ll be in the produce section of Trader Joe’s, grabbing for anything and everything that catches my eye. And in doing so, that’s how I developed this Spiced Vegetable Lentil Soup recipe last year.
There are obviously countless recipes out there for vegetable soup – but to be honest? The ones I’ve used in the past were kind of boring and outdated.
Even though I’m vegan, I’m not a big fan of cannelloni beans in soup so for protein…I’d rather lean on lentils (or chickpeas). I’ve also become a big sucker for curries and wanted to bring a little bit of that flavor profile over by using Tumeric, Cumin and Curry powder. (I have not made this with curry paste, but I wager that would kick up the flavor even more.)
Spices aside, there’s no way I could make a Vegetable Lentil Soup without including zucchini. I just love the way it cooks down, while still adding heartiness and texture to a soup. For greens, I enlist spinach today but I’ve also made this several times with kale and Swiss chard. You really can’t go wrong whatever looks best at your grocery.
To really bring all the flavor together at the end, I finish off this soup by adding in the juice of a fresh lemon. It’s amazing how lemon juice really livens things without adding much of a citrus flavor at all. That’s probably one of my favorite “secrets” when it comes to bringing spices to life! If by some chance you forget the lemon…a couple of red wine or apple cider vinegar will also do the trick.
Spiced Vegetable Lentil Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 medium yellow onion
- 3 cups diced zucchini
- 2 cups diced carrots
- 1 28-ounce can or 2 14 oz. of diced tomatoes
- 4 cups vegetable stock (low sodium preferred)
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup green lentils
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 tablespoons turmeric powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon curry powder
- 3 cups dark greens (spinach, kale or Swiss chard)
- 1 lemon
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Over medium heat, warm olive oil in a large pot.
- Add yellow onion and garlic. Cook for about two minutes, stirring often.
- Add all of the seasonings (turmeric, cumin, curry powder, oregano and pepper) to your garlic/onion mixture. Cook for another 2-3 minutes while continuing to stir frequently.
- Everything should now be quite fragrant in the kitchen! Add zucchini and carrots to the pot and stir, coating fully with seasonings. Cook for 3 minutes.
- Add your can of tomatoes and stir those into those vegetable mixture. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Pour in vegetable stock, water and the green lentils. Season generously with fresh-ground pepper and stir.
- Raise heat to high. Once the mixture comes to a boil, reduce heat to a gentle simmer. Cover with the pot’s lid, leaving a partial opening to release steam.
- Cook for 20-25 minutes, or until the lentils are fully tender.
- Stir in your greens and the juice of 1 lemon. Cook further until everything has wilted.
- Voila! Serve on its own or paired with a nice crunchy French or Sourdough bread.
I sincerely hope you enjoy my Spiced Vegetable Lentil Soup recipe! It’s one I turn to again and again because of 1) how flavorful it is and 2) how quickly I’m able to whip this up. There’s not as much chopping as with other vegetable soups, which is obviously nice, and the lentils make this quite filling!
As always, thank you oh so much for reading! I had quite a bit of fun putting this post together and hope you enjoyed learning about truly one of my most FAVORITE soups, ever.
Looking for more comforting recipes to keep you warm this winter? My Pumpkin Bread recipe is highly addictive and incredibly easy to make.
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Kelly
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