I’m glad that you guys are excited about the thumbnail feature! I am such a visual person with recipes and I need to see pictures whenever possible. I finished inserting all the thumbnails and links last night so things are looking quite good on the Recipes page now. I didn’t even die from boredom like I thought I would. Check out the sea of Vegan overnight oat parfaits under the Breakfast section. Mmm.
I have procrastinated talking about this soup for a week now and I’m not sure why. It’s not that I didn’t like this soup- in fact, I love this soup and I have made it 3 times already- but it is just a bit homely looking and may instill fear in those who first see it (my husband).
But regardless, this is damn good comfort food. It even got the seal of approval from Eric, a former non-curry lover.
The good news is, OSG is a safe place for homely looking soups. There will be no judgment, only acceptance with open arms…
And a bell jar and cute bow for good measure.
Oh She Glows
Curried Lentil Soup
Ultra thick, stick-to-your-bones, and spicy, this protein-packed comfort soup will warm you on even the coldest day. It also makes a great post-workout meal. Be sure to add in the curry slowly and adjust to taste as curry powders vary in flavour and heat.
Adapted from Bon Appetit.
Yield: ~4-5 cups
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1.5 cups chopped onion (approx 1 medium onion)
- 1 large carrot, chopped
- 2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 celery stalk, chopped (optional)
- 1.5-2 tablespoons curry powder (I used Arvinda’s)
- 1 cup uncooked green lentils, rinsed and picked over
- 4 cups water
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- Kosher salt & black pepper, to taste (I think I used 1/2 tsp?)
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
- 1 lemon, cut into 6 wedges
Directions:
1. Heat olive oil in heavy large skillet or pot over medium heat. Add chopped onion, optional celery, and carrot and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook until onion is translucent, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes or so.
2. Add finely chopped garlic and stir until vegetables are soft but not brown, about 5 minutes longer. Reduce heat if necessary to avoid burning.
3. Add curry powder. I started with 1.5 tablespoons. Now, add the rinsed uncooked lentils and 4 cups water. Season with a sprinkle of kosher salt and pepper, add in lemon juice, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until lentils are tender, about 30 minutes.
4. When lentils are tender, I poured about half of the soup into my blender and I blended the soup for a minute. I did this to create a very thick texture. After blending, stir the soup back into the skillet/pot and you will have a very thick soup with some chunky pieces left from the soup you did not process.
5. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and additional curry powder, if desired. Sprinkle with thinly sliced green onions and serve with lemon wedges.
Makes about 4-5 cups.
The first time I made this soup, I made a mistake and cooked the lentils beforehand. When I added in the 4 cups of water and cooked lentils, it was a huge mess because there was nothing to soak up the water. Please do not repeat my mistake. I still have a huge container of watery soup in my fridge and I’m not sure what to do with it…
The beauty of this soup is that you don’t cook the lentils beforehand, not only saving you a step, but also making sure there is something to soak up the 4 cups of water you will put into the pot!
It all makes perfect sense to me now.
Chop your onion, carrot, 2 garlic cloves, and celery stalk.
Gather 2 tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil and your desired curry powder.
I love Arvinda’s Curry Masala.
Sauté everything in a very large skillet or pot for about 10 minutes.
It will look nice and translucent when it is ready.
Stir in the curry powder…
FYI- The rest of the pictures below were taken in my light box at nighttime. (Post is coming on the light box!)
Be sure to add in the curry slowly and adjust to taste as curry powders vary in flavour and heat.
Add in the rinsed lentils and 4 cups of water.
Stir well. You may think you did something wrong at this point, but don’t worry because the lentils will soak up the water as they cook!
Bring to a boil and simmer on low-medium for 30 minutes or so until the lentils are tender.
I poured half of the mixture into my blender and pureed half of the soup. This is optional, but it creates a beautiful thick soup.
Add it back into the skillet and stir…
Initially, I wasn’t happy with the light box pictures, but Eric adjusted the top light last night and it seemed to help. I will be doing a post on the light box soon though. I’m just trying to play around with it a bit more before I give my thoughts on it.
Thick and lovely.
Garnish with some green onions and serve with lemon wedges.
Every time I make it, I curse myself for not doubling the batch. It goes fast!
This weekend, we enjoyed a bowl of this soup for lunch after coming in from shoveling snow. We were sweating by the time we finished our bowls. Smoothies ensued.
Store leftovers in a jar in the fridge. Add a bow if you think it looks a bit sad.
Just make sure to hide it from others… They will act like it looks homely, but secretly, they just want to eat it all.
{ 153 comments… read them below or add one }
Personally, I think this looks incredibly delicious, homely or not. Sometimes the most un-pretty meals are the tastiest!
xo
My husband thought your light box was REALLY cool!! He wants to make me one :D
…and the soup sounds GREAT. I am a huge fan of homely soups ;) …and this one looks really tasty.
So funny! I made a very similar soup this week. It was adapted from an allrecipes recipe and was coconut curried lentil stew. Instead of the olive oil, I used coconut oil and then added a dry coconut powder. It was just a little sweet with the savory curry – delicious!
Now because of you I want to put everything I own and cook in cute jars. So I am.
How many servings is this? Looks like split pea soup – which I love :)
it makes 4-5 cups
Thanks! Weird – I checked off to receive follow-up comments (so I can see replies ;) ) but nothing shows up for me…I’ll have to check my address.
Hmm wonder why? I find plug-ins are very strange and act up at times…!
I LOVE lentil soup.
There is nothing wrong with homely looking foods! They’re the perfect comforting foods for winter.
I am simmering this soup right now and it is the most lovely smell in the world! Thank you! I can’t wait to eat it.
And the light box…brilliant. Now I know why my pics always suck. I don’t have one!
hope you enjoy it!
Looking forward to the post on the lightbox. Have a great day!
This looks fantastic! If I weren’t trying to clear all of the recipes out of my delicious account before they shut down, this would totally be on the list for the weekend! I may have to make it anyway!
For your “ruined” soup, maybe try adding another cup or two of cooked lentils and blending the whole thing? It wouldn’t be exactly the same, but you wouldn’t have to waste anything. :)
great idea :)
Teehee, I once made a delicious fresh pean and green split pea soup that my brother refused to even try because of its appearance. Why can’t some people realise that the uglier, the better in terms of taste? :P Can’t wait to try this!
I love making soup. It’s probably one of my favourite things to cook. I make at least one recipe a week.
Delicious! :D
Oh! Yummy! My favourite thing to get at our local East Indian place is the curry lentil soup. This is on my list!!!
Love the soup, looks like it would make me feel cozy. However, the light box!!! Now that is brilliant and I’m so excited to read more!
Show us how to make it! I can’t get over how smart that is.
I can see past the homely-ness to the deliciousness! I love lentils, I love curry, and I usually have all of these ingredients on hand. I will definitely try this soon!
I love lentil soup and will be saving this recipe! Oh, and your pictures look ANYTHING but homely!
This looks a lot like the lentil soups that come out of my kitchen! Homely but sooo delicious, and nutritious.
I have to admit I don’t understand how anyone could dislike curry!
I make a curried butternut squash and lentil soup that I got from my brother. It’s also pretty homely (in fact, looks a lot like this one), but tastes great.
I made curried lentil soup this weekend! Except I cooked it with ghee and also added 1 tsp of New Mexico chili powder and 1 T of nutritional yeast, and served it with brown rice crackers. Nom noms!
I haven’t made soup in a long time and this one looks like a keeper. I heart lentils!
any guess on the nutrional info for this soup? It looks so wonderful! I am on weight watchers and I need to enter fat, fiber, carbs and protein,,,
Hey Jen! If you visit the original recipe that I adapted (I linked to it in the recipe), it gives nutritional info. It wont be the same b/c I changed it (decreased oil and omitted chickpea part), so I guess the calories/fat/protein would be lower.
I’ve always liked lentils, but every time I try to make them it turns into a disaster. This recipe is lovely! This soup is so warm, creamy and delicious! (I doubled the carrots, celery and garlic, and think I would add even more carrots and celery next time…I like my soups extra hearty!)
Hi Angela! Would this work the same to use 1 cup uncooked black beans instead of lentils? I wonder if I would need to soak them overnight first. Thanks! :)
I don’t think black beans would work in this recipe as it would throw off the flavour and texture
I love this soup too!!! I have been making it for years – but the recipe I use includes Butternut Squash too – It is VERY good. Just cut the squash into chunks (no need to peel it!) and add when you add the lentils. You will have to let simmer about 15 minutes longer to ensure the squash is cooked through.
I make something like this all the time. It freezes well, and is tasty. (I’d add a bit of ginger and cayenne). I’ve also added a few roasted veggies as well — like sweet potatoes.
Just wanted to tell you that I made this soup today – it’s my new favorite!! And as you said, I’m upset that I didn’t double or even triple the recipe!! Thankfully it was SUPER easy to make. Think I’ll be making some more in a few days :D
I made the lentil soup last night and it is filling/tasty and oh so healthy.
Every morning when I first login, I visit your blog to see what you cooked up and posted. I look forward to it everyday!
Thank You!
Angela, I just started reading your blog. I love your recipes, especially this one! I tried it last night, and it turned out deliciously! I look forward to trying more of your recipes :)
Thanks Mel! Glad you enjoy the blog (and the curry recipe!) :)
I just had this soup for dinner. I followed the recipe to a T (I even used Arvinda’s Curry Masala, which I also love), except that I used red lentils instead of green. Fabulous, plus enough leftover for two more meals. Oh, and for dessert I had a Healthy Strawberry Oat Square (only I made them using cranberry homemade jam). Another amazing recipe.
PS I don’t know why you’d worry about the look of the soup because anything you photograph looks lovely in my opinion!
haha thanks Becca! Glad you enjoyed it…you are making me crave it again!
I made this soup Friday evening — it’s so delicious! I didn’t have any scallions so I substituted a red bell pepper instead, used half vegetable stock and half water, and I topped it with a dollop of fat-free Greek yogurt (the yogurt added a little something that made it creamy and tangy, which I loved!). All in all a most excellent recipe — thank you so much for sharing!
Great modifications! Thanks for sharing :)
I don’t own a blender. What does the soup like if I don’t blend it? There are so many recipes that calls for a blender. Wonder if I should invest in one or one of those handheld immersion one? I have tried 2 of your recipes so far. Coming from someone who doesn’t cook, it is pretty darn good :)
You could use a potatoe masher, probably just a little more of a workout!
Making this up right now!! It smells DELICIOUS! i know that it’ll just be amazingg with fresh, toasted bread dipped in :)
OMG it’s good!!! And the whole house smells amazing!
whohoo! :)
I’ve now made this soup twice and I adore it. Sooo good. Filling, comforting, healthy. And I love that it doesn’t require stock!
I love this soup.It so flavorful and perfect for a light dinner meal. I made it with a few modification and blogged it on my page. Thanks fore the recipe Angela!
This is a way late comment, but I love lentil soup of any stripe and have been thinking about making a curried lentil soup recently, then found your recipe. Lentil soup is ALWAYS homely! There is just no way around it, so we have to embrace it for what it is, as you suggest. Every time I make any kind of lentil soup I try to figure out how to make it prettier, give up, and just eat it. The eating part makes up for the homely part! (Although your lentil soup pics are actually lovely anyway!)
mmm totally agree!
I am new to lentils , I have the red variety sitting nervously in my cupboard , do you think I could use those in this recipe? To me it looks just like a yummy vegan soup and half sammy I had for lunch at a great little lakeside cafe just accross the boarder this afternoon.
Looks like a great soup and I love curry. Curiuos if I use red lentils, because that’s what I have, will that be ok or will it change the flavors too much?
I made this for my parents with wild brown rice and they loved it! I added turmeric, cumin, and some ginger. It was great! This awesome site is helping me incorporate more vegan recipes into my life and those I cook for! Thank you! ^^