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Fresh carrots, tender red lentils, creamy coconut milk, and fragrant spices combine into a delicious, protein-packed One Dish Vegan Carrot and Red Lentil Soup the whole family will love. So good! And so easy to make!
Coming Home to a Whole Lot of Carrots
As you can tell, I’ve been all about carrots recently. They really are one of my favorite veggies. But when I returned from a trip to the east coast a few weeks ago, I found myself with a garden and refrigerator full of carrots, far more than I could possibly eat fresh.
Even after canning four jars of the pickled carrot recipe that I shared a few weeks ago, I still found myself with a whole lot of leftover carrots. Figuring out what to do with them wasn’t difficult. Crisp mornings and turning leaves have signaled the start of soup season, and carrots are one of my favorite vegetables to use in soup.
My first thought was to make a pot of my Carrot and Pear Soup, one of my favorites for fall. But I didn’t have any pears on hand and didn’t feel like running to the store. Also, I wanted a soup that included some protein. (Since I’m just starting work on a new novel and am even busier than usual, one-dish meals are very big with me right now!)
After doing a little digging through the pantry, I came upon a jar of red lentils and a can of coconut milk. I realized they would pair beautifully with the carrots and make a terrific soup.
Problem solved!
Vegan Carrot and Red Lentil Soup: Not Just for Vegans
In case you were wondering, I’m not a vegan.
But since more and more people are adhering to strictly plant-based diets, it never hurts to have a few good vegan recipes in your arsenal, especially if they taste as good as this Carrot and Red Lentil Soup.
Vegan or not, this is a soup that everyone will love!
Coconut milk adds a subtle sweetness to this soup and balances nicely with the slightly sharper taste of the recipe’s carrots, celery, and onion. It also gives the soup a rich, creamy texture and taste.
The coconut flavor is quite subtle, but if even a little coconut taste is too much for you, it’s possible to substitute whole milk or half and half. Just remember that if you do, the recipe will no longer suit those on vegan diets.
The spices are important here too. Cumin, garlic powder, and garam masala lace this soup with subtly exotic flavors that wake up the taste buds and smell amazing.
How to Make Vegan Carrot and Red Lentil Soup
This is a very simple soup to make.
You’ll start by cooking the vegetables – carrots, celery, onion – on the stove in olive oil until they’re slightly soft. Next, add spices, red lentils, and broth to the pot. (The recipe calls for vegetable broth but you can substitute chicken broth or stock, just remember that it won’t be vegan if you do.)
After simmering the soup until the vegetables are fully cooked and the lentils are very soft, you’ll blend everything into a thick puree, add coconut milk, and adjust the seasonings.
That’s all there is to it!
Vegan Carrot and Red Lentil Soup: One Dish Deliciousness
With plenty of vegetables, protein from lentils, and a bit of fat from the olive oil and coconut milk, this filling soup is a perfect, and perfectly delicious, one-dish meal. It’s been my go-to lunch of choice during a busy week of writing.
Paired with a simple green salad and some bread, it would also make terrific main dish at dinner time.
No matter how you serve it, Vegan Carrot and Red Lentil Soup is a bowl of unadulterated deliciousness and a perfect way to fill up on a chilly day.
Try making a pot this week!
Print
One Dish Vegan Carrot and Red Lentil Soup
- Yield: Makes approximately 6 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 4 stalks celery, diced
- ½ red or yellow onion, diced
- 2.5 cups peeled and diced carrots
- 1 T olive oil
- 1 cup red lentils, rinsed and sorted
- 1.5 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground garam masala
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- 2 T tomato paste
- 6 cups vegetable broth (can sub chicken broth but soup will no longer be vegan)
- 1 tsp salt
- ¼ tsp fresh ground pepper
- 1 14 oz. can unsweetened coconut milk (can sub light coconut milk)
Instructions
- Place olive oil in a deep, heavy bottomed stock pot over medium-high heat. Add carrots, celery, and onion. Cook vegetables in oil, stirring occasionally, until the onion is quite soft, about 4-5 minutes.
- Add lentils, cumin, garam masala, garlic powder, and tomato paste to the pot. Stir to combine with vegetables. Pour in broth. Raise heat on stove and bring broth to a boil, then lower heat to simmer.
- Place lid on the pot and simmer the soup for approximately 15 to 20 minutes, until the carrots and lentils are soft. Add salt and pepper, simmer for an additional two minutes. Stir in the coconut milk.
- Puree the soup, either by using an immersion blender or by pureeing in batches with a regular blender. Taste and adjust spices if needed, then serve.
