Description
Easy Red Lentil Soup is a comforting, nourishing dish featuring tender red lentils and vegetables blended into a smooth, flavorful soup, finished with a warm spiced Aleppo pepper butter and served with lemon wedges for brightness.
Ingredients
Scale
Soup Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
- 1 medium Yukon gold potato, peeled and diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 cup red lentils, rinsed
- 6 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
Finishing Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons butter or olive oil
- 2 teaspoons Aleppo pepper
- Lemon wedges, for serving
Instructions
- Sauté the aromatics: Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the diced onion and carrots, and sauté for 4 to 5 minutes until they become softened. Then add the diced Yukon gold potato and cook for another 2 minutes to start softening.
- Add the spices: Stir in the minced garlic, tomato paste, paprika, ground cumin, kosher salt, and black pepper. Cook and stir the mixture for 30 seconds to develop the flavors and toast the spices slightly.
- Simmer the lentils: Add the rinsed red lentils and the low-sodium vegetable broth to the pot. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. Cover the pot and let it simmer for 25 minutes, or until the lentils and potatoes are very soft and fully cooked.
- Blend: Use an immersion blender to blend the soup until smooth. You can blend completely smooth or leave some texture, depending on your preference; Turkish home cooks often blend it fully smooth for a silky texture.
- Make the pepper butter: In a small pan, melt the butter over low heat. Add the Aleppo pepper and stir for 20 to 30 seconds until the butter is fragrant with the spicy pepper infusion.
- Serve: Ladle the warm soup into bowls. Drizzle the spiced pepper butter over the top and serve alongside lemon wedges for squeezing over the soup to add brightness and tang.
Notes
- This soup is naturally vegetarian and can be made vegan by substituting butter with olive oil for the pepper drizzle.
- Adding lemon juice at serving enhances and brightens the flavors.
- If you prefer a chunkier texture, blend only half of the soup or use a potato masher instead of blending fully.
- Use Aleppo pepper or substitute with mild chili powder or paprika if unavailable.
- Leftover soup stores well in the refrigerator for up to 4 days and freezes beautifully for later meals.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 261 kcal
- Sugar: 4 g
- Sodium: 505 mg
- Fat: 11 g
- Saturated Fat: 4 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6 g
- Trans Fat: 0.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 32 g
- Fiber: 12 g
- Protein: 10 g
- Cholesterol: 15 mg
