Carrot and Lentil Soup

This healthy carrot and lentil soup is rich, cozy and simple to make. Full of fiber and protein with notes of lemon, turmeric, and ginger, it’s filling and flavorful!

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This Carrot and Lentil Soup is SO Good

It’s so easy with minimal ingredients. Admittedly, some of the ingredients are kind of trendy “healthy” ingredients, like ginger, turmeric, lemon, and garlic. But don’t let that scare you away, it totally doesn’t taste overly “healthy”. It’s still creamy and hearty, but with all nourishing ingredients.

With so few simple ingredients, it’s also a great soup for those with dietary restrictions. This soup is totally plant-based (so vegetarian and vegan) and is free of the top eight most common food allergens (wheat/ gluten, soy, dairy, egg, fish, shellfish, peanuts, tree nuts).

What You Need to Make This Recipe

Ingredients:

• Extra virgin olive oil
• Onion
• Garlic
• Carrots
• Red lentils
• Ground ginger
• Turmeric
• Black Pepper
• Salt
• Lemon

Equipment

• A knife and cutting board
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Medium-sized pot
• Immersion blender

Don’t have an immersion blender? You can use a regular blender (I love my Vitamix and Kitchen Aid K400 blenders). Just be very careful when you transfer the soup to the blender and while you’re blending, as it’s really hot!

How to Make Carrot Lentil Soup

1. Heat olive oil in medium-sized pot over medium-high heat until fragrant. Add onion and garlic and saute while stirring occasionally until onion is translucent. Add seasonings and carrots, and saute an additional minute.
2. Add lentils and water, then reduce heat to medium, cover, and let simmer 35-40 minutes, until carrots are tender when pierced with a fork.
3. When carrots are tender, remove the soup from the heat. Carefully use an immersion blender to completely, smoothly puree the soup (about 1-2 minutes). If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can also very carefully transfer the soup to a blender and blend on medium speed for a minute, until smoothly blended.
4. Stir in lemon juice and adjust salt and pepper seasonings to taste, if needed.
5. Serve and garnish with fresh parsley. (You can also stir the parsley into the soup if that is easier, but it looks prettier on top!)

Top Tips to Make This Recipe

• Save yourself some time and don’t worry about peeling the carrots. Just give them a good scrub and you’re good to go!
• Need to save a little time? Chop the carrots into smaller pieces. The smaller the pieces, the faster they cook.
• When you’re sauteing the onions and garlic, be sure to stir regularly so the onions and garlic don’t burn.
• If you don’t have an immersion blender and you’re using a blender while your soup is quite hot, see if there is a small, center, removable piece in your blender lid. Remove it, and instead cover the lid with a towel. This will still prevent anything from splattering out, but the towel can let small amounts of steam to escape to prevent too much steam from building up in the blender, potentially creating too much pressure. As soon as you’re done blending, remove the lid.

Serving Suggestions

Carrot and lentil soup is a delicious, creamy soup, which we love topped with a small drizzle of olive oil for extra richness, a spoonful of plain Greek yogurt, cracked pepper, an extra squeeze of lemon juice, and fresh parsley. If you’re looking for some texture contrast, add some crunchy chickpeas or homemade croutons.

While the soup can certainly be enjoyed on its own, you can also enjoy it with a sandwich (like my turkey avocado sandwich with veggies) or salad (try my honey mustard grilled chicken salad, broccoli kale quinoa salad, or mango chicken salad with cilantro lime dressing).

Nutrition Highlights

This soup packs a lot of nutrition in one cup! A one cup serving contains:

• 123 calories
• 1 gram fat
• 7 grams protein
• 22 grams carbohydrates
• 9 grams fiber
• 12% of the Daily Value of Vitamin C
• 11% of the Daily Value of Iron
• 193% of the Daily Value of Vitamin A
• 5% of the Daily Value of Calcium

Note that percent daily values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Is lentil carrot soup healthy?

I absolutely consider it healthy. It’s full of nourishing ingredients, vegetables, antioxidants, fiber, and plant-based protein. Meeting recommended amounts of fiber can help achieve better digestion and regularity, better balanced blood sugars, and creates more filling meals, which can also help with weight loss and weight maintenance.

Know, too, that “healthy” is subjective. The foods that help one maintain their health may or may not work for you – and that’s okay! Honor the body you have. As a registered dietitian nutritionist, I suggest eating a variety of nourishing foods that help you feel good and achieve or maintain your health, balanced with the foods you love. Remember – an election isn’t won with every vote, but the majority. Your health is the same way – the overall dietary pattern is what matters most.

Related Recipes

Check out more NTF favorite healthy soup recipes:

• Healthy Instant Pot Potato Soup
• Lentil Stew
• Spiced Sweet Potato Carrot Soup
• 3-Ingredient Black Bean Soup
• Vegan Broccoli “Cheese” Soup

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