This is the perfect Vegan Red Lentil Spinach Soup for when you are feeling lazy or pressed for time, but still want something healthy, hearty and filling! This soup is SO easy and fast to make and very delicious, using plant-based ingredients. It is vegan, gluten-free, oil-free, dairy-free and high in protein!
*This post was originally published on 7-11-2012 and has been updated with better instructions and new photos.
VEGAN RED LENTIL SPINACH SOUP
I’m a big lover of soup…summertime, winter, it doesn’t matter. I don’t believe it has to be chilly outside to want to curl up to a good bowl of soup. Most recipes call for traditional green lentils, which are fine, but this particular soup is screaming for the red ones. I love the flavor and texture of them because they are creamier than the green lentils. I do love green lentils though and use them in my Sweet Potato Lentil Soup and this Creamy Vegan Lentil Soup.
This vegan red lentil soup packs 13 grams protein per serving and only 1 g fat!! It is filling and wholesome.
So, yes, try to find the red lentils which are usually in self serving bins, or the healthy food/organic sections of your grocery store. The beautiful color cooks away mostly, so I add a healthy amount of smoked paprika to keep the soup vibrant and give a wonderful smoky flavor.
MORE VEGAN SOUP RECIPES
- Vegan Green Lentil Carrot Soup
- Healthy Vegetable Soup With Rice
- Lazy Day Vegan Tomato Bisque
- Vegan Cauliflower Curry Soup
- Lazy Red Lentil Curry Soup
- Smoky Sweet Potato Black-eyed Pea Soup
- Low-fat Smoky Broccoli Potato Soup
- Healthy Potato Carrot Tomato Soup
- Easy Vegan Ramen Noodle Soup
- Sweet Potato Broccoli Cheese Soup
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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 Spinach Soup
Ingredients
- 1 cup (160g) finely diced red onion
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 6 cups organic low-sodium vegetable broth (I use the Pacific brand because it's so good in flavor)
- 2 cups (360g) red lentils, rinsed well under cold water
- 4 large handfuls (150g) fresh spinach
- 2-3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- I use this scale.
Instructions
- Add a few tablespoons of water to a large pot over medium heat. Once it's hot, add the onion and cook for 5-8 minutes, stirring often, until tender.
- Add the garlic powder, smoked paprika and chili powder and stir for about 30 seconds until fragrant.
- Add the broth and rinsed lentils and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to simmer, cover with a lid slightly tilted to let some steam escape. Simmer for about 10 minutes or until the lentils are just tender, but still have their shape and a bite to them. You do not want them mushy.
- Add the spinach and stir until wilted. Add the lemon juice (starting with 2 tablespoons).
- Taste and add any more lemon or salt, if needed.
Made this soup for lunch and it is very good! It is super filling, great taste and healthy! Can’t wait for left overs tomorrow 🙂
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!! Thanks for the feedback…means a lot to me! 🙂
Brandi, I have been on a soup kick lately. Last week I prepared minestrone and French onion. This looks perfect. I love lentils, spinach, and paprika. I am actually thinking of adding a little bit of barley to it. Looks delicious and comforting!
Ahh Judy, thank you! I actually have a pot on the stove as we speak! Please let me know when you make it. Thank you!!
Hey Brandi. your soup looks very comforting. You have used mostly the ingredients we, Indians use in making our “lentil soup”, we call “daal”
Brandi, this looks wonderful! One question: When you initially say to put all ingredients into the pot, you mean except the spinach, right? Then add the spinach just before serving? Or is just to be added last in the order of the ingredients? Can’t wait to make this!
Thank you Trish! Yes, after it has simmered for 15-20 minutes, add the spinach and then lemon juice last. The heat will wilt the spinach perfectly. Let me know when you try it! 🙂
Made this for dinner today…delicious! I didn’t have any lemon though. I did add salt and pepper it is really easy to make. Simple, easy and fast!!
Awesome Louise! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed it! Yes, I would definitely increase the salt and pepper if you didn’t have lemon, since the lemon is what really spruces up the flavor. Thank you so much for making it!
I made this and loved it so much, I made it the very next day. It’s only 2 servings so next time I’m making a bigger batch. Love it!
I’m so happy you loved the soup Maryan! Thank you so much for the feedback!
Wish I read the recipe all the way through because I definitely put the spinach in with the first sentence of the recipe
So sorry about that Amanda! This is such an old recipe of mine, I didn’t realize that first sentence didn’t say “except spinach”. I’ve fixed it.
I made this tonight for my family of four and it turned out fantastic! I doubled the recipe, and I’m really glad I did because that allowed me to give a really hearty serving to each person and one of my kids asked for extra on top of that! I love the smoked paprika in it, it almost tastes like there’s bacon in the soup, but of course there’s not! Thanks for another winner, you are really helping my family to enjoy being vegan and gluten and oil free!
I love love love this recipe. Sooooo easy and so yummy, I have made this for dinner four or five times in the last month when I realized I hadn’t planned anything, and it comes together so quickly. Doesn’t get better than that 🙂
I’m so happy to hear that Brianna, thank you so much for the feedback!
Mine didn’t come out looking like this : (
It was still good, but your lentils have a vibrant yellow color to them and they look thick. Mine came out weird with little to no color, almost like they are hollow. I’m not sure what I did wrong. I’ll have to try again. But I did like it, just like everything I have ever made of yours.
So glad you enjoyed it! It sounds like it may be your broth color or you may have overcooked the lentils? Because red lentils can easily go from done to overdone and loose their shape. Did you use the chili powder and smoked paprika?
Honestly either of those scenarios is a strong possibility. I am such a novice in the kitchen, I’m truly surprised when anything comes out right. I did use the chili powder and smoked paprika, it was delicious. I think maybe overcooked is the most likely. Will try again though!
Hey, as long as it tastes good, that’s most important! Yes, they cook SO fast!
I just started my vegan journey YESTERDAY; Your soup was the first recipe I’ve made so far and it was sooo good! Mine wasn’t thick like yours but I wonder if it’s bc I soaked my lentils over night. Either way it was simple to make but complex flavors!,
So happy you loved the soup, Angie! Yes, that may have been why, because they would cook extra fast that way and not absorb as much of the liquid.
Just made this. Had kale not spinach. Also added some chopped garlic. ( I usually add it to everything) Turned out very yummy! Very easy to make! Thank you 🙂
Awesome, so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you!
Late to the party, but this was delicious. One of those basic “keeper” recipes that I think I’ll make over and over. I didn’t have spinach, but used some chard and kale, and half a lime instead of lemon. The basic spices are great, so I think you could add lots of things depending on the whim of the day (potatoes? other veggies?). Thanks for a great recipe!
Yay! So happy you loved this soup Carrie, thank you so much for the lovely review!
Brandi! You absolute genius. I don’t know how you do it but every single one of your recipes I have made has been superb (and I’ve made a lot of them). This is no exception. The way you put a small amount of ingredients together and come up with such delicious recipes amazes me. This soup has a remarkable flavor, warm and satisfying and incredibly healthy.
Very quick and easy! My son loves onions so I made extra onions on the side and he added it to his soup. I love simple! Thank you!
So glad your son loved it, yay!
Made this yesterday and again today… double batch this time! Absolutely phenomenal. Omni husband wanted more. This will go into my weekly rotation, joining your black bean soup! Thank you!
Hi Jennifer, that is amazing to hear! So glad you love this recipe so much, I appreciate your feedback so much! I went ahead and doubled the ingredients for the recipe as well since I realize it didn’t really make that much!
Thanks for this easy and nutritious recipe. I just got an email from Amazon with an April date for delivery of your cookbook! Looking forward to it!
Yay, that is so wonderful to hear Cheryl!
This was excellent. So easy to make and pretty fast. My husband said the lemon “brightened up” the soup.
We love the spinach in it.
My husband said your soups are infinitely better than restaurants and vegan canned soups.
I’ll be making this a lot.
It’s delicious and filling.
Thanks for sharing your talents 😁
Aww yay Marie! I’m so honored to hear this, thank you to you and your husband for saying that! Really glad you both loved this soup so much. Definitely try my newest green lentil soup recipe I just posted yesterday as well, if you get a chance. I love that one even more!
https://thevegan8.com/vegan-lentil-soup-recipe/
Brandi, Thank you for this soup, it’s amazingly delicious! I so appreciate your recipes. They brighten my days. I’m also incredibly grateful for your website.
We began the shift to vegan/gluten and oil free in November 2019. The first few weeks were excruciating as I tried recipe after recipe that resulted in complete failure. I was incredibly discouraged because I am in my late 60’s, have a degree in home economics and have been successfully cooking from scratch most of my life and was beginning to give up thinking it was not possible to make this radical a change.
Sometime in December I found your website and instant success! Thank you from the bottom of my heart. You have essentially re-taught me how to cook. I, my husband our children and grandchildren are very grateful. Your willingness to provide recipes and cookbooks has changed our lives… in a very delicious way.
Great soup! I actually made it for my husband because I don’t like split peas soup, but this was wonderful! How long would it take in the Instant Pot? I always saute in the Ipot but don’t know what to do after that. Thank you
This is so easy and delicious! I also love that this simple recipe can also be a very yummy base for one to add other ingredients to make it more hearty.
So glad to hear that Faye!
My husband and I loved this recipe! It was super easy to follow and very yummy! I forgot to allow some steam out, so it was a bit watery (my fault). I also did not add spinach because I hate wilted spinach. I will be making it again.
We had this last night, it was absolutely delicious! Thank you so much for the recipe. We also added a bit of ground cumin after it was finished. It gave it the perfect touch!
We followed it to a tee and wow this is amazing and easy. Will go into our regular rotation!!
I tried this last night and it was amazing! It came together so quickly and the taste was rich and oh-so-yummy! You make it so easy to eat incredibly healthy. Your recipes NEVER disappoint me, Brandi. I am thrilled I came across your site and thank you for all you do.
Thank you so so much Denise!! So kind!!
Wow! This was so so good and super easy. I had some spinach to use up and some lentils in the pantry. All I had to do was chop the onion and the meal came together in minutes. I added some crusty bread because whenever I have anything slightly soup like I have to have bread!! Lol.
Great recipe. I added celery which I like in it. I’ll use minced garlic also next time. I also added yellow lentils mixed with the red, so I used an immersion blender before I tossed in the spinach and lemon. Lemon is fantastic on lentils, so I serve lemon wedges on the side with it. Thank you!
Glad you enjoyed it!
I have made this soup many times in the last few months. I love it along with my family and friends It is almost identical to a new Wholefoods soup. I do saute chopped red peppers and add them to the soup. I love this soup and would give it 10 stars if I could!!
That is amazing, thank you Kathleen!
I was tasting this as I was making it and I kept thing that something was missing…I resisted the urge to go off recipe and improvise…very against my nature to follow the rules! Anyways, I added the spinach and lemon juice and HOLY MOLY, soooo good! I’m so happy I waited and followed the directions. This is delicious! I’m also so happy I doubled the recipe because I’ll have some yummy leftovers. Thank you!!
I’m so glad to hear how much you loved this soup Lizzy, thank you!!
I was tasting this as I was making it and I kept thinking that something was missing…I resisted the urge to go off recipe and improvise…very against my nature to follow the rules! Anyways, I added the spinach and lemon juice and HOLY MOLY, soooo good! I’m so happy I waited and followed the directions. This is delicious! I’m also so happy I doubled the recipe because I’ll have some yummy leftovers. Thank you!!