A delicious and budget-friendly combination of carrots, lentils and spices, this Spiced Carrot and Lentil Soup is warming, nutritious and very simple to make.
Delicious and budget friendly soup!
This Spiced Carrot and Lentil Soup is one of my favourite soups ever! It is such a good combination of flavours: the sweetness of the carrots works so well with the earthy lentils and subtle spicing.
Better still it’s packed full of nutrients and budget friendly too!
Super easy to make
This soup is also very easy to make – and only takes 40 minutes from start to finish!
All you need to do is fry diced onions, garlic, chilli flakes and spices for a few minutes. Then add chopped carrot (no need to peel!), red lentils, vegetable stock, salt and pepper. Simmer until the carrot pieces are tender and the lentils are quite soft. Finally, blend the soup to your desired consistency (or leave chunky, if you prefer!) and serve.
(Full recipe card below.)
What to serve with Carrot and Lentil Soup?
Personally, I think the best accompaniment to this Spiced Carrot and Lentil Soup is crusty bread, especially homemade soda bread, which can be made just before and popped in the oven while you make the soup.
Here are some great options:
- Traditional Irish Soda Bread
- Easy Soda Bread Rolls
- Easy Cheese Soda Bread
- Easy White Soda Bread
- Pumpkin Seed and Rye Soda Bread
- Guinness and Treacle Soda Bread
Guinness and Treacle Soda Bread
Can you make Carrot and Lentil Soup ahead of time?
Absolutely – Carrot and Lentil Soup is a great make ahead option! Simply place the cooked and cooled soup in an airtight container, then store it in the fridge (for up to 3 days) or freezer (for up to 3 months).
What to do with leftover Carrot and Lentil Soup?
If you end up with leftovers, this soup keeps very well in the fridge and is very easy to reheat. Simply place the cooked and cooled soup in an airtight container in the fridge, where it will keep for up to 3 days.
To reheat, tip into a saucepan with a splash of cold water, bring to the boil and then simmer for 5 minutes or until the soup is piping hot all the way through.
You can also reheat this soup in the microwave, if you prefer.
Can you freeze Carrot and Lentil Soup?
The soup can absolutely be frozen! In fact, it’s a really great option for filling the freezer. (Top tip – make double and freeze half!)
Place the cooked and cooled soup in an airtight container in the freezer, where it will keep for up to 1 month. Defrost overnight in the fridge and reheat as above.
Spiced Carrot and Lentil Soup with Guinness and Treacle Soda Bread
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Spiced Carrot and Lentil Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 onions diced
- 2 cloves garlic grated or crushed
- ½ teaspoon dried chilli flakes or to taste
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 500 g carrot chopped into small chunks (roughly 1cm cubes – See Note 1)
- 100 g red lentils
- 800 ml vegetable stock from a cube is fine (I used Kallo Organic Vegetable Stock)
- Salt and black pepper to taste See Note 2
Instructions
- Place the olive oil and diced onions in a fairly large saucepan and gently fry the onions for 5 minutes, with the lid on, until softened but not brown. Stir occasionally.
- Add the garlic, chilli flakes and spices. Fry for 1 more minute, stirring occasionally. (Add a small splash of water if it gets too dry.)
- Add the chopped carrot, red lentils, vegetable stock, salt and pepper and turn up the heat. Bring to the boil, then turn the heat right down and simmer for 20-25 minutes with the lid on, or until the carrot pieces are tender and the lentils are quite soft.
- Tip the soup into a blender and blitz until completely smooth. PLEASE TAKE CARE AS THE SOUP WILL BE VERY HOT! (See Note 3.)
- If necessary, return the blended soup back to the saucepan and warm back up to your desired temperature. You may also wish to check the seasoning at this point too.
- Serve with homemade soda bread.
Notes
- I find, because this soup is blended until smooth, there is no need to peel the carrots. Not peeling the carrots has no negative impact on the final soup, means you get extra goodness from the skins and saves you a job!
- I prefer to only add back pepper to this soup, as the salt content of the stock cube makes this soup salty enough for my tastes.
- If you prefer, you can use a stick blender or leave the soup un-blended.
- Suitable for freezing.
- Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.
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Despoina Chatzaga says
Excellent taste and very easy to make
Eb Gargano says
Great to hear! Thank you for this lovely review 😀
Suzanne morris says
Delicious soup everyone loved it, will be making regularly in future. So easy and inexpensive.
Eb Gargano says
Yay! I am so happy to hear that. Thanks for this lovely review 😀
Laraine says
Put a chilli in as well as the flakes. It was really tasty and warm for these freezing cold nights! Added tomatoes when it was getting too thick. This also added extra flavour along with the liquid.
A fabulously cheap meal. & very tasty!
Eb Gargano says
That’s so great to hear! Thank you for this lovely review 😀