# Cozy Red Lentil Soup

Cozy Red Lentil Soup — a easy recipe with 6 main ingredients, ready in about 40 min and serving 6. Check which of its ingredients are on sale at grocery stores near you.

- **Time:** 40 min
- **Serves:** 6
- **Difficulty:** easy
- **Tags:** dinner, lunch, soup, vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free
- **Source:** https://savingrecipes.com/recipes/lentil-soup

## Ingredients

- 1.5 cups red lentils
- 2 carrots
- 1 onion
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 6 cups vegetable broth
- 1 lemon
- Cumin & paprika _(pantry staple)_
- 2 tbsp olive oil _(pantry staple)_
- Salt & pepper _(pantry staple)_

## Instructions

1. Sauté onion and carrot; bloom spices.
2. Add lentils, tomatoes, and broth; simmer 25 min until soft.
3. Blend half for body; brighten with lemon juice.

## Tips

- Red lentils need no soaking and break down completely in about 25 minutes. Don't substitute green or brown expecting the same — they hold their shape and make a different soup.
- Blend only half. Fully blended it's baby food; not blended at all it's watery. Half gives body while keeping texture.
- The lemon at the end isn't garnish. Lentils are earthy and flat without acid — it's the difference between dull and bright.

## Substitutions

- **Red lentils:** Yellow split peas behave similarly but take longer. Green or brown lentils make a chunkier soup and need 35–40 minutes.
- **Cumin and paprika:** Coriander and turmeric for something closer to a dal, or smoked paprika and a bay leaf for a Mediterranean version.
- **Vegetable broth:** Chicken broth if it needn't be vegetarian. Water works better here than in most soups, since the lentils create their own body.
- **Lemon:** Red wine vinegar, or a spoonful of yoghurt stirred in at the table.

## Storage & reheating

Keeps 5 days refrigerated and freezes 3 months. It thickens dramatically as it cools — expect to add a cup of water or broth when reheating. The flavour improves overnight.

## Common questions

### Do I need to soak red lentils?

No. They're small and split, so they cook from dry in 25 minutes. Rinsing is worthwhile to remove dust and surface starch.

### Why is my soup gluey?

Over-blended, or too many lentils for the liquid. Add more broth and blend less — red lentils release a lot of starch.

### Is this a dal?

It's adjacent. Dal typically finishes with a tempered spice oil (tarka) and a different spice profile. Same family, different technique.


_Photo: Whoisjohngalt — CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bowl_of_lentil_soup_with_green_and_red_lentils.jpg)_