It has been ‘one of those’ weeks: soggy school runs, long-distance hospital trips, missing football boots, arguments over Lego constructions, disappearing library books…. you know the sort. But there’s nothing more healing and comforting than a steaming bowl of lemony vegan lentil soup, with a base of two ‘superfoods’ – ginger and turmeric. Good for the body as well as the soul.
This is surprisingly easy to make, it would be very difficult to ‘get wrong’, as people always seem to be so worried about. And the texture of the finished soup is up to you – I used a potato masher just to rough mine up a bit, but you could purée yours with a hand-blender if you prefer a smooth soup, or leave it alone if you prefer it really chunky.
Regular readers will know that I often use ready-chopped ginger from a jar, or a tube of ginger purée to save time, but here I think it really makes a difference if you use fresh root ginger – it is one of the stars of the show in this healing soup, and needs to be zingy and at its best rather than just a background flavour.
Once you’ve tried making the soup as per the recipe you could try all sorts of other flavour combinations:
- Roast the carrot and potato with some whole garlic cloves before adding to the soup for a really intense, sweet flavour. Squeeze the flesh of the garlic out into the soup and discard the skins.
- Use other root vegetables in place of the carrot and potato – how about swede (totally underrated in my opinion), parsnip, celeriac or jerusalem artichokes when they are in season?
- Add some fresh herbs to the finished soup for a flavour boost – coriander would be lovely and/or parsley, and even basil would be lovely here.
- Roast some cherry tomatoes and stir through the soup at the last minute for a flavour pop
- Replace the ginger with 2 tsp garam masala and the dairy-free milk with half a tin of coconut milk for an Indian-inspired flavour combination
- Add some broccoli and green peas for a super-green soup.
Don’t forget to pin the recipe for later, or to share with friends → → → → →
You might like to take a look at my Vegan Soups and Stews Recipes Index for lots more Great British Bakes done vegan!
Do send me pictures of your very own vegan lentil soup on:
tagging me @thevegspace or using the hashtag #thevegspace to show me how you got on!
Freezing your Vegan Lentil Soup
Your soup will freeze brilliantly, so why not make up a double or even triple batch whilst you’re at it, if there’s room in your freezer? I love leaving the spinach or kale leaves whole if I’m serving this soup fresh, but if freezing I tend to either chop them up small or blitz the soup to a smooth purée as the leaves can go a bit slimy after freezing and defrosting. Or you could leave them out entirely and add some to your defrosted soup just before serving.
I often save old margarine tubs for freezing soup – they hold a really good single portion, and stack neatly in the freezer to make the most of limited space. Don’t forget to write on the lid with the contents and date, or you will really regret it when you have a clearout and wonder what on earth is inside!
Vegan Lentil Soup: Equipment and Shopping List
You will need:
- large saucepan or casserole dish
- blender or hand blender (optional)
Shopping List:
- onion
- carrot
- potato
- spinach or curly kale
- lemon
- fresh root ginger
- dried red lentils
- ground turmeric
- vegetable stock powder (check it is vegan)
- rapeseed or sunflower oil
- dairy-free milk
A comforting vegan lentil soup with ginger, turmeric and lemon.
- 2 tbsp rapeseed or sunflower oil
- 1 onion
- 2-3 cm piece fresh root ginger
- 2 carrots
- 2 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 potato
- 150 g dried red lentils
- 1 litre vegetable stock (check it is vegan)
- handful spinach or curly kale
- 125 ml dairy-free milk
- 1 lemon
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Heat the oil in a large saucepan or casserole dish. Peel and finely chop the onion and fry gently for 2-3 until starting to soften.
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Peel the ginger (a teaspoon is surprisingly handy for this job, give it a try!), then finely chop and add to the pan. Peel and finely chop the carrots and add to the pan. Cook for a further 3-4 minutes.
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Add the turmeric to the pan and stir. Peel and finely chop the potato and add to the pan. Rinse the red lentils in a sieve, then add to the pan followed by the stock. Bring the soup to the boil and cook for 20-25 minutes until the lentils are soft. Add the spinach/kale (removing any large stalks), cook for a further minute, then taste and season well with salt and black pepper as required.
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At this point you can use a blender or hand blender to blitz the soup to a smooth purée, or use a potato masher to break up any large chunks of vegetable, or just leave it as a chunky soup.
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Stir through the dairy-free milk and the juice of the lemon, then serve. The soup freezes well so you can make a large batch whilst your at it and portion it up for the freezer.
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I’m linking this vegan lentil soup with some blogging challenges:
CookBlogShare hosted this week by The Peachicks Bakery- Cook Once Eat Twice hosted by Searching for Spice
It looks delicious! It’s the kind of soup that is just perfect for cold winter days and the fresh root ginger in it must give it a lovely ginger kick too. Thanks for sharing with #CookOnceEatTwice!
Corina Blum recently posted…Cinnamon Apple Quark Breakfast Bowl & Giveaway!
Thanks Corina! X
This turned out great. Nice and hearty for this BRRRR cold winter. You were spot on with the fresh ginger. Loved it.
That’s great to hear, thanks Mike – glad you enjoyed it.
I do love lentil soup, and I love the added turmeric and ginger in this! Wholesome and tasty, what more could you want?!
Yes the turmeric and ginger make it extra special!
I know the type of week you are referring to! I have had my fair share. This soup sounds so amazing. Like everyone else, trying to get back to eating healthy. This soup would make that very easy.
Yes this is a really healthy soup. Thanks for stopping by!
I love this recipe! So easy, flavorful and crowd pleasing! Will be making this all winter long!
Thanks Kim!
Lovely colour of the soup and its such a comforting meal. Definitely makes it a delight to enjoy after a hectic day.
Yes the bright yellow is really cheering on a cold, grey day!
Love the look of this soup and the flavours sound delicious. This looks like it would be a lovely hearty full of flavour soup.
Thanks Cat! X
This such a beautiful simple lentil soup, I love the addition of a few veggies and some non-dairy milk. I bet it’s really filling as well as being a complete meal in itself.
I wanna try to make it even though I’m not really fan of turmeric. But, it really looks so yummy!
Kyra Rodriguez recently posted…New Year Dishes and Desserts Recipes
I’m with you: the pairing of ginger and turmeric is absolutely FABULOUS—and so loaded with health benefits! We’re having a lovely polar vortex at present in Wisconsin USA (yeah, it’s -10º F outside), so I need more soups like this in my life.
Michelle Frank | Flipped-Out Food recently posted…One-Pot Vegan Mushroom Stroganoff
Oh my, that’s seriously cold! Yes lots of soup required, I think.
What a gorgeous colour on that soup! Definitely going to try it out, we are very into roasted carrots here at the moment too!
What a beautiful, winter warmer! Lately I’ve been making at least one batch of soup a week, and I love using lentils to make them more substantial and give them a protein boost. I’m definitely to go to pin this one to try!
And thanks for the tips about using old margarine tubs for freezing single portions. Such a great idea! :o)
Sharon recently posted…Creamy Vegan Carbonara
Thanks Sharon – yes its such a handy way of freezing soup!
Very nice recipe. We have to try. So easy, flavorful and delicious.
I’m trying this tomorrow!!!! Nice and amazing recipe shared by you, thank you so much for that.