Oi Gente!
This vegan carrot and red lentil soup with coconut milk is a nutritious and delicious one pot recipe. This easy to make soup has great texture, a hint of sweetness from the coconut milk, and a smoky heat from the chipotle in adobo sauce. A truly great flavor combo your whole familia will love.
Why I love this easy red lentil soup
During my first lunch ever in France, at a little bistro in downtown Nantes called La Trinquete, I received some pretty upsetting news. I’m not going to get into details because I don’t want to get too dramatic. I mean, I can get as dramatic as the lead of the 9pm Brazilian soap opera. Except, we shouldn’t go there right now. Anyway, I’m sat there, trying to assimilate everything, trying not to break any of the furniture around me (again, NOT dramatic…). And then, I had to order my food, in French. My brain was spinning way too fast for me to make sense of anything, let alone speak a foreign language. So, soupe du jour, s’il vous plait.
Minutes later, a beautiful red lentil soup arrives. After my first spoonful of the soup I stopped and wrote down on my food journal ‘red lentil soup – chunky, sweet, light smoke, light/medium heat, beautiful orange color, heart fixer, soul hugger’. For a second I forgot just how sad those stupid news made me feel.
I knew right away I wanted to be able to eat some version of this soup for all eternity. I had to come up with something that made me feel just as wonderful as I felt when I tasted that red lentil soup for the first time. So here we are with my version of it!
I hope you love it as much as I do,
Bom Apetite!!
What you’ll need to make Red Lentil Soup with Coconut milk
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You can make this this delicious vegan red lentil soup in a dutch oven, or heavy bottom soup/stock pot. Other than that, you’ll just need the following easy to find ingredients:
- coconut oil
- onion
- carrots
- garlic or Brazilian sofrito
- red lentils
- tomato paste
- coconut milk
- vegetable broth or water
- chipotle in adobo sauce
- bay leaf
How to make red lentil soup
This carrot and red lentil soup recipe comes together in just 5 easy to follow steps:
- Sauté the aromatics – sauté the onion, then add in the carrots, then add in the garlic.
- Add lentils – add the lentils to the aromatics, and stir.
- Add the liquids – to that, add in the tomato paste, and stir in the coconut milk and the veggie broth.
- And the spices – to that, add in the bay leaf, and the chipotle sauce and stir.
- Simmer – Let it come to a gentle boil, season with salt and pepper, and reduce to a simmer. Let it simmer until the lentils are cooked through.
FAQ & Tips on how to make red lentil soup
Are lentils and legumes the same things?
Lentils, like beans, are part of the legume family, because they grow in pods. They’re full of health benefits. For example, they’re high in protein, rich in minerals, low in fat, high in fiber…! They’re great!
Do red lentils need to be soaked?
Lentils do not require soaking, as beans do. You certainly can soak them to reduce cooking time, but they already cook in under an hour, so, I find it unnecessary.
Do you cook lentils before adding to soup?
No need! All you need to do is rinse them to remove dirt and dust that you don’t want in your food. After that, you can add the rinsed, uncooked lentils right into the recipe and it’ll cook with the soup.
Can you freeze lentil soup?
Yes!! Lentil soup freezes quite well. After you cook the soup, put it into to freezer safe containers, make sure it cools off completely before you cover with a lid, then freeze!
How long can you keep lentil soup in the freezer?
You can freeze lentil soup for 3-6 months.
More recipes with lentils you’ll love:
If you love lentils, you may like these legume recipes:
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Vegan Red Lentil Soup With Coconut Milk
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp of coconut oil
- 1 onion chopped
- 2 large carrots cut into small cubes
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 2 cups of red lentils rinsed
- 1 Tbsp of tomato paste
- 1 15 oz can of coconut milk
- 4 cups of vegetable broth if you need more, add more… water ok too
- 1 Tbsp of chipotle in adobo sauce or more if you like it hot!
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 bay leaf
Instructions
- Heat up the coconut oil in a dutch oven or heavy bottom pan
- Add the onion and cook for about 3 mins until its translucent
- Add the carrots
- Add the garlic and cook until it is fragrant, about 2 minutes (do not brown it)
- Add lentils, stir
- Add tomato paste, stir
- Add coconut milk, broth, bay leaf, salt and pepper, and chipotle sauce and stir
- Let it come to a gentle boil, and reduce to a simmer
- Let it simmer until the lentils are cooked through, about 25-40 mins
As most people well know, I am absolutely terrible at cooking, and perhaps the least patient person when it comes to food prep or waiting for things to be ready to eat! This soup is incredibly simple to prepare, only takes about 30 mins to cook (for me, anyway!), and is absolutely delicious. It makes enough for several meals for me, and it’s great by itself, or over rice or potatoes. My son (10 years old) loves it as well!
Thank you, Liz!! I am glad you and your son love this soup!!
Red lentils are a favorite in my house. This soup looks fantastic. I can’t wait to try it.
Thanks, Robin! I hope you love it 🙂 Let me know if you have any questions.
I have never cooked lentils at home before, so I was worried how my family would react to this soup. But this soup was so easy to make and everyone loved it! Will definitely be making this again and again!
Yay!!! That makes me so happy, Jenni!! Beijinhos xx
Red lentils, I never had them before because I was focused only on the brown ones, but after reading your recipe I wanted to try them. I wonder why I didn’t make this soup before! Very good. Thanks!
I’m glad you liked it, Fiorenza! Lentils are so delicious!!
This is pure comfort food in a bowl! It’s perfect for the chilly fall weather!
This looks delicious! We are always hunting for new recipes! Adding this to the menu plan this week! I cannot wait for my family to try it! YUM!
I just made some naan this morning! I love that you’ve used red lentils. They have a minty-floral flavor that we just love.
This Soup looks so good! I love using Lentils so this is definitely right up my alley!
I love lentils in soup, so hearty and flavorful. The coconut milk makes this soup even more moouthwatering
OMG yesssss! Love me some red lentil soup!
Yum!! This would be perfect right about now!
I would love to try this recipe!!
This soup looks so soothing. I imagine the chipotle peppers giving it a nice kick.
I’m always searching for a new lentil recipe. This one is perfect – It’s so hearty and filling, with robust flavors!
This looks so comforting and I love that it’s dairy free!
I was just saying how I wanted to make soup because it’s raining this week and I came across your recipe and just so happen to have lentils! Can’t wait to try it!
I’d def enjoy this with some fresh chapati
What a creamy and flavorful lentil soup. I loved every bit of it.
Boom! I eat lentils all the time, but I’m getting really bored with them. I just cook them per package directions. Blah. I can’t wait to try this.
Lentils are a favorite in our house and served or rice or in a soup is our favorite way to enjoy them. Thanks for all the great tips!
I actually have most of the ingredients on hand for this Lentil soup and am excited to try it. Do you think it freezes well? I am the only one here that eats lentils. If not I will make a smaller batch.
Yes!! Lentil soup freezes quite well. After you cook the soup, put it into to freezer safe containers, make sure it cools off completely before you cover with a lid, then freeze away! Enjoy!
I love lentils. Lucky for me I have some red lentils in my pantry. And I just bought some coconut milk a few days ago, so I’m all set to make this delicious looking soup. I’ll definitely give this soup a try. Thanks for posting! Your photos really make it look good!
I love the combination of lentils and coconut milk. Its going to be my dinner tomorrow.
I was craving soup and the soups I thought of, I didn’t have the ingredients on hand. I was not going to try to go to the store — again. I saw this recipe and I couldn’t believe I had everything!! Luck me, because I made it and it was delicious. I did add a little jalapeño to it along with the chipotle – we like it spicy. It was delicious and I’ll be making it again.
Oooh – the jalapeno addition sounds fantastic! So happy you liked it, Marisa!!! xx
This soup is fabulous! I just love the coconut and chipotle paired together, and the lentils give it the perfect heartiness.
This is nice and thick and hearty and I love the color. Perfect while it’s still a little chilly out too.