This bright and tasty Red Lentil Soup with Lemon and Cilantro will become a quick favorite in your kitchen. It comes together in very little time, and with just a few ingredients, it couldn’t be easier to make.
One of the best things about cooking with lentils is that they really absorb the flavor of whatever you cook them in! For this recipe, we used bright lemon and cilantro for a vibrant, flavorful Red Lentil Soup. It’s absolutely delicious year-round and a recipe we come back to again and again.
Are Lentils Good For You?
Let’s start with the basics! Lentils are a wonderfully nutritious addition to your diet. They taste amazing, they’re filling, and they are high in protein. They cook quickly and are versatile enough to be used in so many dishes.
Do You Need to Soak Red Lentils For Soup?
One of the things that makes red lentils so incredible for weeknight dinners or even lunches is that they don’t need to soak overnight like other legumes. Just give other lentils a good rinse and they’re ready for the stockpot! They’ll only need 20-30 minutes of cooking time to become tender and ready to enjoy.
Our Vegan Red Lentil Soup recipe is naturally vegan and gluten-free. No fancy ingredients needed, just red lentils, garlic, cilantro, lemon, olive oil, and done! We love a simple, affordable vegan meal option.
What Do You Eat With Red Lentil Soup?
This soup truly is delicious by itself! It’s a hearty, warm meal with vibrant flavors. For delicious sides, though, we would recommend a crusty bread or a nutritious salad. We think Vegan Kale Caesar Salad with Mushroom Bacon Bits or Black Bean, Quinoa, & Delicata Squash Salad would be great pairings.
Rinse red lentil until water runs clear 
Red lentils will become yellow once cooked Saute garlic and cilantro in olive oil Add cooked garlic and cilantro to cooked lentils
How to Make Red Lentil Soup From Scratch
You may be surprised to learn that it’s only a couple of steps. In fact, most of the time is just letting the soup simmer on the stovetop, which makes it really easy to prepare sides!
- First, pick through the lentils and remove any small stones or debris
- Rinse the red lentils well and place them in a pot of boiling, salted water.
- While the lentils cook, saute the cilantro and garlic in olive oil. Add them to the pot with the red lentils.
- Add lemon to taste and let it simmer for about 20 minutes. That’s it!
More Lentil Recipes
- Easy Rigatoni with Lentil Bolognese
- Spiced Coconut Dal
- Lentil and Sweet Potato Vegan Chili
- Rice and Lentils (Mjadra)
- Freekeh & Lentil Stuffed Peppers
- Avocado & Tomato Lentil Salad
- Turmeric Coconut Lentil Quinoa Bowl
- Red Lentil Soup with Lemon and Cilantro
Did you like our Red Lentil Soup Recipe?
If you enjoyed this recipe, it would help us tremendously if you left us a star rating in the comments below or on the recipe card. Do you have any questions about the recipe or do you need a swap for any of the ingredients? We are here to help, just leave us a question in the comments below.
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Red Lentil Soup with Lemon and Cilantro
- Total Time: 40 mins
- Yield: 8 cups 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This bright and tasty Red Lentil Soup with Lemon and Cilantro will become a quick favorite in your kitchen. It comes together in very little time, and with just a couple of ingredients, it couldn’t be easier to make
Ingredients
- 1 lb of red lentils about 2 ½ cups
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large bunch of cilantro, chopped
- 4 cloves of garlic, chopped
- ⅓ cup freshly squeezed lemon
Instructions
- Spread the lentils on a large plate and remove any small stones and other debris
- Rinse lentils in a fine-mesh colander and rinse well until the water runs clear
- In a large soup pot, boil lentils in 8 cups of water with the salt until tender, about 20 minutes. The lentils will turn yellow. Skim and discard any white from the surface, if any.
- While the red lentils are cooking, heat olive oil in a medium-size skillet sauté cilantro and garlic for 3-4 minutes or until the cilantro turns dark green. Set aside
- When lentils are tender and cooked garlic and cilantro, lemon juice and stir well.
- Simmer for an additional 20 minutes.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 40 mins
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 250
- Sugar: .3
- Sodium: 586
- Fat: 4.8
- Saturated Fat: .7
- Unsaturated Fat: 3.9
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 39
- Fiber: 6.6
- Protein: 14.5
- Cholesterol: 0
Keywords: Red lentil soup, recipe, lemon, cilantro, how to cook red lentils
rebeca says
Hi girls!!!!!!!!!!!!! I've tried the lentils soup and it is great!
Thanks a lot 4 the recipe.
mayihavethatrecipe says
Glad you enjoyed it!!!! Please keep trying our recipes and sending us feedback!!
Taly says
Vicky and Ruth! I used to make a different kind of lentil soup, now YOURS looks definitely tasty because of the lemon, garlic and cilantro, thanks so much for the recipe, I can't wait to let my family try it!
mayihavethatrecipe says
Thank you so much. I hope you enjoy it!
Robin says
This soup is simple to make and simply delicious to eat. Thank you for sharing !
marta says
I am excited to have the lentil soup today! it is simmering now.. This is exactly what I wanted, and I believed it must be possible to make a great red/yellow lentil soup with just the garlic lemon and cilantro...but all the other recipes out there were cumin heavy and canned broths and so on... simplicity is the best...I cant wait to share this with my vegan friends. thank you
★★★★★
Vicky & Ruth says
We love to keep our soups simple and delicious! We hope you and your vegan friends enjoy it! Let us know how it goes!
Laura says
I made this New Years Eve 2020. It was awesome. The cilantro was a pleasant surprise. Added that special burst of flavor!
Happy New Year girls!
Vicky & Ruth says
Happy Healtyhy New Year Laura! Thank you so much!
Rebeca says
Thank you for sharing! This soup is really good and excellent for this time of the year.!
★★★★★
Lexi says
Just made this and it was so simple and delicious! Had some low sodium broth in my pantry, so I used that to boil the lentils instead of water- so good!
★★★★★
Vicky and Ruth says
Thank you so much!
juleezee says
OMG, how did I not know about this version of red lentil soup until now? I've been making red lentil soup for years, but sautéing the garlic AND cilantro, then adding it to the pot of simmering soup is genius. Switching to this recipe pronto.
★★★★★
Vicky and Ruth says
Ha,ha,ha. We're glad you found it! Enjoy!
susan g says
Just right!
You didn't mention the salt in the directions -- I put it in the skillet with the garlic and cilantro, since I read somewhere that it controls spattering (is that true?).4
★★★★★
Vicky and Ruth says
Hi Susan, thank you for letting us know that we missed the salt in the directions. We usually add salt to the lentils. We never heard of salt controlling spattering, we will have to test that out. Thank you for the tip!
alfonso none cabral says
very good! i used brown lentils
★★★★★