This is the easiest best Vegan Red Lentil Curry Soup for when you are feeling lazy or in a hurry for a quick meal, but still want something full of flavor, healthy and homemade. This soup is SO easy and incredibly quick to make. It is vegan, gluten-free, oil-free, dairy-free and high in protein!
VEGAN RED LENTIL CURRY SOUP
I whipped this delicious Vegan Red Lentil Curry up on a whim for dinner last night and it turned out so delicious, I figured a quick blog post was in order. I’m all about the lazy and easy vegan meals. This Lazy Day Vegan Tomato Bisque is a reader favorite for years and I also have a Lazy Red Lentil Salsa Soup in my cookbook. I love that this recipe is not only healthy, it is super filling and oil-free as well. Also, pretty gorgeous to look at too, right?
This recipe is a variation on one of my super old lentil soup recipes on my blog. This one is richer, bolder and with a touch of a red curry punch. Adding curry paste adds a richer color and a wonderful depth of flavor and a lovely kick of heat, without being too spicy.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED
For this super easy recipe, you will need 8 ingredients (+salt/pepper):
- red lentils
- onion
- garlic powder
- veggie broth
- red curry paste
- lime juice
- fresh spinach
- smoked paprika
HOW TO MAKE VEGAN RED LENTIL CURRY
To garnish, I added some toasted slivered almonds. You’d think it’s such a simple topping, and it is, but wow, did it pack such a lovely flavor and texture contrast! The toasted element is SO DELISH. I literally said “OMG” out loud after I had that bite with the almonds, haha. It’s optional since it’s not crucial to the recipe and I know many are allergic, but if you aren’t, I urge you to get some and add them!
Hope you all love this Vegan Red Lentil Curry Soup. It would also be delicious served alongside my Coconut Lime Rice!
MORE VEGAN SOUP RECIPES TO TRY
- Hearty Italian White Bean Basil Soup
- Creamy Vegan Lemon Lentil Soup
- Easy 1 Pot Creamy Curry Rice Soup
- Sweet Potato Broccoli Cheese Soup
- Creamy Sweet Potato Soup
- Hearty Veggie Potato Stew
- Healthy Potato Carrot Tomato Soup
- Low-fat Smoky Broccoli Potato Soup
- Vegan Cauliflower Curry Soup
If you make this recipe, be sure to leave feedback below and share your pic on Instagram or Facebook and tag me @thevegan8 #thevegan8!
Vegan Red Lentil Curry Soup
Ingredients
- 1 cup (200g) red lentils, rinsed well with COLD water
- 3 cups (720g) organic low-sodium vegetable broth
- 1/2 cup (80g) finely diced red onion
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 3 tablespoons (45) red curry paste
- 3 packed cups of fresh spinach, roughly chopped
- 1-2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- Optional: red pepper flakes and toasted slivered almonds
- Optional side: Coconut Lime Rice
Instructions
- Add a couple of tablespoons of broth to a medium pot over medium heat. Once hot, add the onion and cook for 5-8 minutes, stirring often, until well browned and tender. Add the garlic powder, paprika, salt and pepper and stir for about 30 seconds to toast them. Add the lentils and broth and raise the heat to high and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to the lowest heat and cover with a lid, tilted slightly to allow a small amount of steam to escape.
- Simmer for about 5 minutes (set the timer) until the lentils are nearly fully tender. Add the red curry paste and stir through. Cook about 3-5 more minutes or as needed for the lentils to be tender, but still hold their shape. You don't want them mushy. Keep in mind that red lentils are MUCH softer than traditional green lentils that have more of a defined bite, so if you prefer them to have more of a bite, just cook them less time.
- Add the spinach and lime juice (start with 1 tbsp lime juice) and stir for a couple of minutes until all the spinach is wilted. Remove from the heat and taste. Add the remaining lime juice if desired and for an added kick, red pepper flakes. The curry paste does give a nice mild kick, but I liked the additional kick of red pepper flakes. I would not add them if serving to kids, so they are optional.
- For a lovely garnish and crunch, add toasted almonds on top. The flavor is amazing against the soup. To toast, simply add as many almonds as desired to a toaster oven and toast just a few minutes until starting to brown. Watch closely so they don't burn. OR, alternatively, add them to a small pan over medium heat on the stove and cook a couple of minutes, stirring often, just until browned.
Nutrition
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I make it on the regular but I only use 1 tablespoon of the red curry paste. I’m a big baby lol thank you.
Haha glad you make it work!!
I absolutely love this recipe! It’s quick, cheap and delicious
It was very tasty!
This is delicious, and is ready so quickly! I had leftover cauliflower and corn, so added those at the end, and they were a lovely addition. I had my doubts initially, but it is just as promised – hearty, easy, and delicious! Thanks!
Love love love this recipe…can’t get enough of it. Had lots of green lentils on hand so used them instead. So good. Thank you Brandi for this and all the other great recipes you’ve created. I’ve never been disappointed 🤗
I’m so used to making complicated, long ingredient list-types of WFPB recipes. I enjoy it but I’m realizing in order to get to my ideal weight, I need to simplify my meals. This was so easy, quick & yummy. I decided to double the recipe after reading all the great reviews. I figured if there’s that many positive comments, I was safe to double it before testing it. After measuring 2 C of lentils, there was only about another 3/4 C left in the bag so I used that too. So, it was a little thicker than soup & perfect over brown rice. Will make often!
Wonderful to hear Laura, thank you for sharing!
if I make this ahead of time, should I leave the spinach out?
Oh Wow! This was fabulous!!! So much flavor and easy to make.
Delicious!!! The only thing that might make it better is a small spoonful of peanutbutter or almond butter.
Will try it next time, and there will be next time.
So glad you enjoyed it Phyllis! Yes, that would be great, almond butter goes wonderful in curry!
I am so happy to have discovered this recipe. I make it every other week. We also love to serve this on top of brown rice. It’s delicous.
Hi Brandi! I am a big fan of your recipes and salad dressings. I am going to make this tonight and wonder what you think of adding kabocha squash to it? Thanks, Sita
Thank you so much Sita! I’ve never tried that, but it sounds delicious!
Made this past weekend. It was easy to make and provides another version of red lentil soup. Was pretty spicy!
I made this tonight. I can’t believe how easy it was to make. I loved the smoked flavour and also the crunch of the almonds. Totally delish. I will definitely be making it again when I’m time poor. Thanks for the fabulous recipe.
Made this tonight – delicious and SO easy to throw together. Thank you! I think it will be even better for lunch tomorrow!
Wonderful Casey, thank you for the review!
I was excited to make this recipe and followed it to a “T” but the lentils still came out mushy! Next time I might simmer for less than 10 mins. Delicious despite this!
Hi Tara, red lentils are MUCH softer than green lentils, they will not have that same firmness. However, due to stove top variances, gas versus electric, etc. yours may have cooked faster. Just watch the lentils and when they are the texture you like, stop the cooking. I’ve noted this in step 2 to cook for less time if you prefer them less soft. Next time, just reduce the time by at least 5 minutes and see how you like them.
This soup is amazing! I followed the recipe exactly the first time and loved it. The second time I had to adjust it slightly due to ingredients on hand and it still turned out awesome. My adjustments were as follows: I increased red lentils to 1 3/4 cups, increased to 4 cups low sodium vege broth plus some extra water, increased to 1/2 white onion diced (I love onion), increase the garlic and smoked paprika closer to 2 tsp, but only added 2 teaspoons of red curry (hubby used it all) and left out the spinach. Lastly, I did NOT cook the lentils an extra 3-5 minutes after adding the curry paste because they were already very soft. Everything else stayed the same. It was AMAZING! I can’t stop “testing” it! Another recipe I’m sure all my non-vegan friends will be asking for. Lol
I’m so glad to hear how much you loved the soup Julie, as written, and with your adjustments due to your pantry, sounds wonderful!!
I made this EXACTLY as your recipe calls for (even though I’m a recipe rebel!) and it is magnificent! Per your recommendation, I added red chili flakes too. So filling and satisfying! Serve with your spiced rice, and/or some crusty bread! Thanks for sharing your amazing 8 ingredient vegan recipes! Keep up the fantastic work!
So so happy you loved this soup Tammy, thank you so very much for making it!!
This soup is unbelievable. SO easy yet tastes like it was complicated. I’m not a very good cook but this recipe makes me seem extremely skilled. It is in our regular rotation and we have it at least 3 times a month.
Such a lovely review, thank you so much Becca! I’m so glad you love it!
will this recipe work in a crockpot?
Hi Mari, I really don’t think it’s a good idea since red lentils would likely turn to mush. Also, the recipe is incredibly fast to make, like 20 minutes, so a crockpot isn’t really necessary for this kind of recipe.
I made this soup and it was amazing! My husband and daughter ate it at different times (we all have different work schedules) and commented how good it was! Did you hear that? My meat eating husband loved it! One of my daughters is away at college and is vegan. I ordered all the ingredients online and had them mailed to her as this is the perfect, simple, yet flavorful recipe that she can throw together in 10 minutes! Can’t wait to hear how she likes it! Thank you!
Thank you so much Michelle for this amazing review! So happy everybody loved it!
Hey! This looks delicious and is definitely going on my to-make list. However I don’t have vegetable broth/stock powder so is there a combination of spices/seasoning you recommend to replace that? Or just use entirely water?
Thank you!
Hi Philia! No, I don’t. I don’t make homemade broth powders, it’s just easier to buy broth. I wouldn’t replace it with water since 3 cups are used, which is a large amount and water will dilute the flavor. Low-sodium veggie broth is sold at every type of grocery store and it’s very inexpensive, so I would just pick some up for best results!
As much as I love and trust your recipes, I was a little leery of this because I wasn’t sure that the limited number of ingredients could result in a full-flavored soup but I wanted something easy and nutritious and love all the ingredients, so I made it, exactly as you posted, even down to the toasted slivered almonds. OMG! This is going to be a frequent repeater. Our taste buds were doing the happy dance. Amazing. It’s like a Thai version of an Indian dal.
We served it with some dumplings and grilled shishito peppers (our new love, thanks to Sprouts carrying them) with a dipping sauce of nondairy yogurt, soy sauce, and Siracha. Fruit for dessert. One of the best lunches I ever had!
Oh wow, I want to come to your house for lunch Ellen! Haha! Your side of shishito peppers and dipping sauce sounds divine! And I’m so very thrilled to hear how much y’all loved this soup! You know I’m big on flavor, so I was ecstatic with how it turned out with such minimal and ease of ingredients. Thanks for making it!
I must be crazy making this soup in August in Arizona, but I couldn’t resist! It did not disappoint! I’m so glad that I doubled the recipe because my husband and teenager went back for seconds. It is soooo good. Definitely will be a staple during the fall/winter in our house.
Haha! I think we are all crazy because this soup has been my most popular for a few weeks now! It will be so great for the cooler weather too. And going back for seconds is the ultimate compliment, so glad it was a hit!!
It was 83 degrees in So Cal today but I just couldn’t wait to try this soup. I was lucky enough to have all the ingredients on-hand! It came together so fast and was super yummy! I loved the depth of flavor the red curry gave and my husband picked up on the smoky flavor of the paprika. My 12 year old didn’t like the spinach but he ate it anyways. Thank you Brandi!
Haha! I love that he ate it anyways! So glad it was a hit, thank you Alice for making it!
Yum yum yum!! Just had this for dinner. Loved it! It is definitely going to be a regular go to meal for me.
That is awesome Marion, I’m so glad to hear how much you enjoyed this!