This Purple Lentil Carrot Soup is straightforward to make, flavorful, and bursting with good-for-you elements. It’s easy to make and prepared in lower than 45 minutes, the proper method to heat up on cool fall and winter days!
Cool, quick days are right here, and I’m warming up how I do know greatest: with bowls of this pink lentil carrot soup! Seasoned with heat and earthy spices like cumin, coriander, turmeric, ginger, and cinnamon and filled with satisfying lentils and carrots, this carrot lentil soup recipe is reassuring, scrumptious, and filling.
For those who’re like me, shorter days imply much less vitality within the evenings, however this soup is prepared in straightforward steps and fewer than 45 minutes. I really like that I can get a wholesome, heat dinner on the desk with minimal fuss. This straightforward carrot and lentil soup recipe is beginner-friendly, so if you happen to can chop veggies, measure spices, and stir a pot, you may make it, too!
For extra pink lentil recipes, take a look at my Purple Lentil Curry with Candy Potatoes or Uncooked Purple Lentil Hummus.
Substances
Carrots: Scrub or peel and cube 2 cups of carrots, or about 2 medium-sized entire carrots. If wanted, you may also use child or rainbow carrots.
Purple Lentils: These small lentils get tender and creamy when cooked, making the very best soup! Use uncooked lentils and rinse them effectively earlier than including them.
Vegetable Broth: For superior taste (and an effective way to make use of up meals scraps!), use do-it-yourself vegetable broth, although water blended with vegetable bouillon paste can also be scrumptious!
Tomatoes: You’ll need 1 14 oz can of diced canned tomatoes or 3 ripe medium tomatoes, diced.
Seasonings: Floor cumin, coriander, turmeric, cinnamon, and smoked paprika add dimension, smokiness, and heat. Kosher or sea salt brings the soup to life and floor black pepper provides a lightweight, peppery kick. For the fullest taste, at all times use spices with a superb expiration date.
Aromatics: Chopped onion, contemporary ginger, and garlic add nuttiness and zest. Use contemporary garlic and ginger for the very best carrot and lentil soup, although bottled can work in a pinch.
Lemon Juice: A contact of acid brings the soup to life, brightening and enhancing it. Use contemporary juice if doable.
Easy methods to Make Purple Lentil Carrot Soup
- Toast Spices. Heat the oil in a big pot over medium warmth. Add the cumin, coriander, paprika, turmeric, and cinnamon and toast for 30 seconds, stirring gently.
- Sauté Aromatics. Add the onions, garlic, and ginger. Season with a pinch of salt, and stir. Sauté, stirring sometimes, till the onions are translucent, about 3 minutes.
- Add Soup Substances. Add the tomatoes, carrots, pink lentils, water and bouillon paste or vegetable inventory, and salt.
- Simmer. Cowl the pot and produce to a boil on excessive warmth. Then, scale back the warmth to medium and simmer for half-hour till the lentils and carrots are tender.
- Season to Style. Stir within the lemon juice and pepper, and season to style with salt.
- Serve. Garnish the carrot lentil ginger soup with freshly chopped herbs, black pepper, flaky salt, and sourdough croutons, and serve sizzling!
Jenné’s Recipe Professional-Ideas
- Evenly toast the spices. Since they’re positive and delicate, spices can burn rapidly. Measure all of them out earlier than including to the pot. Heat them for under 30 seconds, stirring them gently. Cut back the warmth or add the aromatics in the event that they begin to scent bitter.
- Simmer lined. Not solely will the soup come to a boil quicker when lined, however much less water will evaporate because it simmers, giving the pink lentil carrot soup the proper texture.
- Season to style. Earlier than serving, style the soup and add sea salt, pepper, or lemon juice as wanted. Salt is an important soup flavoring element!
Recipe Variations
Adapt this carrot pink lentil soup to suit your preferences with any of the next changes:
- Rainbow Carrots: Add vibrant shade and additional diet by swapping rainbow carrots for orange. Yellow, white, pink, and purple are all nice picks!
- Creamy Purple Lentil Soup: I really like the distinction of creamy lentils and tender carrots, however you may make creamy soup if desired by partially or totally mixing the soup with an immersion or high-speed blender.
- Spicy: Get pleasure from a kick of warmth by utilizing Aleppo pepper as an alternative of smoked paprika or including a pinch or two of crushed chili flakes or cayenne pepper. You may as well garnish the soup with a teaspoon or two of harissa paste for a zesty Moroccan twist.
- Additional Veggies: Sauté 1 cup of diced celery with the aromatics or stir in a big handful of chopped kale or child spinach throughout the previous couple of minutes of simmering for a tasty serving of greens. Improve the sweetness of the carrots by including a diced pink or orange candy pepper to the sautéing combination.
Serving Strategies
Serve bowls of lentil and carrot soup sizzling, garnished with freshly chopped herbs, cracked black pepper, flaky sea salt, and crunchy sourdough croutons for a comforting but gentle meal. Make it a nutritious, full-spread dinner event by serving it with any of those sandwiches, salads, and veggies:
Storage Instructions
- Refrigeration: Cool the pink lentil and carrot soup to room temperature earlier than transferring it to an hermetic container and refrigerating for as much as 5 days.
- Freezing: The soup may also be frozen in a freezer-safe container for as much as 3 months. Defrost it in a single day within the fridge or in a saucepan over low warmth.
- Reheating: Heat the soup within the microwave on mild warmth or in a saucepan over medium-low warmth till sizzling.
Regularly Requested Questions
No, pink lentils are very delicate and quick-cooking, so they don’t have to soak as beans and another legumes do.
You should use inexperienced lentils as an alternative of pink on this carrot lentil soup recipe, however the texture will probably be very completely different. Inexperienced lentils are heartier than pink and gained’t break down when cooked, so although the soup will nonetheless be tasty, it gained’t be as creamy.
Extra Vegan Soup Recipes
- 2 tbsp avocado oil, or further virgin olive oil
- 2 tsp floor cumin
- 2 tsp floor coriander
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp floor turmeric
- 1/2 tsp floor cinnamon
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp minced contemporary ginger
- 1 14 oz can diced tomatoes, or 3 ripe medium tomatoes, diced
- 2 cups diced carrots, about 2 medium carrots
- 2 cups pink lentils, rinsed
- 6 cups water plus 2 tbsp vegetable bouillon dice, OR 6 cups vegetable broth (with out bouillon)
- 1 tsp kosher or sea salt, plus extra to style
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, plus extra to style
- 1 tsp black pepper to garnish, plus extra to style
- 1 handful chopped contemporary herbs, like cilantro, parsley, or mint; to garnish
- flaky sea salt, to garnish
- pink chili flakes , to garnish
- sourdough croutons, elective, to garnish (see notes under)
Forestall your display from going darkish
Heat the oil in a big pot over medium warmth. Add the cumin, coriander, paprika, turmeric, and cinnamon and toast for 30 seconds, stirring gently.
Add the onions, garlic, and ginger. Season with a pinch of salt, and stir. Sauté, stirring sometimes, till the onions are translucent, about 3 minutes.
Add the tomatoes, carrots, pink lentils, water and bouillon paste or vegetable inventory, and salt.
Cowl the pot and produce to a boil on excessive warmth. Then, scale back the warmth to medium and simmer for half-hour till the lentils and carrots are tender.
Stir within the lemon juice and pepper, and season to style with salt.
Serve the soup sizzling and garnish it with contemporary herbs, black pepper, flaky salt, and sourdough croutons.
- Refrigeration: Cool the pink lentil and carrot soup to room temperature earlier than transferring it to an hermetic container and refrigerating for as much as 5 days.
- Freezing: The soup may also be frozen in a freezer-safe container for as much as 3 months. Defrost it in a single day within the fridge or in a saucepan over low warmth.
- Reheating: Heat the soup within the microwave on mild warmth or in a saucepan over medium-low warmth till sizzling.
- Evenly toast the spices. Since they’re positive and delicate, spices can burn rapidly. Heat them for under 30 seconds, stirring them gently. Cut back the warmth or add the aromatics in the event that they begin to scent bitter.
- Simmer lined. Not solely will the soup come to a boil quicker when lined, however much less water will evaporate because it simmers, giving the pink lentil carrot soup the proper texture.
- Season to style. Earlier than serving, style the soup and add sea salt or pepper as wanted. Salt is an important soup flavoring element!
2 tbsp further virgin olive oil
½ tsp sea salt Preheat oven to 325°F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Place the sourdough croutons on the baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sea salt, and use your fingers to toss.
Place within the oven and toast for half-hour, stirring each 10 minutes.