If you like soups where you can feel a burst of citrusy flavors with every spoonful, then this Lebanese lentil soup should be right up your alley.
This Middle Eastern Lentil soup is a Rich, warming, and soul-satisfying soup recipe. It is easy to make, freezes well for later, is naturally vegan, and is gluten-free. It gets ready in under 30 minutes in an Instant pot
You can enjoy a bowl on its own or with some crusty bread or with rice.
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I love making lentil soups. I tend to make them more in the fall and winter when I am looking for something warm and hearty.
This Arabic lentil soup is my go-to soup, especially during winter. It's a perfect soup when I want something filling, and something diet-friendly.
This soup is a staple in Lebanese homes. You will also see this soup at most of the Lebanese restaurants on menus.
There are many versions of this soup. Some make it without carrots, others make it the rice. There is no right or wrong way of making it. Make the way your family enjoys it.
I am sharing the basic version. No cream or anything. But I do add some extra spices in there that I like. I always make a big pot of this Mediterranean lentil soup and it's on rotation.
This soup is rich, comforting, and delicious and is super healthy with clean, wholesome ingredients!
Why do I love this Lentil Soup so much?
- Vegan, Low in calories, Easy to make
- Made with staple ingredients
- Completely utterly cozy and comforting!
- So creamy without adding cream
- It has lots of fibers, and it’s high in proteins from the lentils
- This soup gets done in less than 30 minutes.
- The spices are highly customizable. You can add any veggies or greens of your choice.
Ingredients required
- Lentils – Red lentils work best in this soup because they cook in less than 30 minutes without pre-soaking and have a great creamy texture.
- Vegetables – you’ll need a mix of onion, carrots, celery stalks, and potatoes. We are using a potato to get a more creamy texture. You can skip if you don't want to use potatoes.
- Spices – I use a blend of ground cumin, black pepper powder, salt, and paprika powder for a bit of a kick.
- Vegetable stock – make sure the stock you’re using is vegan and low sodium. You can add more or less than recommended in the recipe card below, depending on how thick you want the soup to be. You can also use water instead of stock.
Step by step process
- Heat oil in an instant pot on sauté mode.
- Once the oil is hot, add onion, celery, carrots, and potatoes. Saute for a few seconds.
- Now add washed lentils, vegetable stock, salt, cumin powder, paprika, and crushed black pepper. Mix everything well.
- Cover the instant pot with its locking lid, turn off the instant pot from sautéing mode, press the manual/pressure cook button, and set the timer for 12 minutes under high pressure.
- Once cooking time is done, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes and then quickly release the remaining pressure.
- Open the instant pot and stir the soup once.
- Using a hand blender (immersion blender), blend until it’s super creamy, leaving no chunks behind. I blend for at least 1 minute on high to get a very nice creamy texture.
- Now add lemon juice and stir well.
- Take out a ladle full of soup in a serving bowl, garnish it with Italian parsley, some black pepper powder, and some red crushed pepper for a spice kick. Enjoy Lebanese Lentil Soup with some toasted pita bread or plain rice!
Notes, tips, and quick FAQs
- Finely dice the vegetables.
- You can use sweet potatoes instead of regular potatoes.
- If you want the soup to be spicier, add some red chili powder or use ½ seeded and minced red thai chili instead.
- There is no need to blend the soup if you don't want to.
- Adjust the amount of thickness to suit your tastes. You can add more water/stock during cooking and after blending if needed.
Let the soup cool to room temperature and store in an airtight container, it will last about 5 days in the fridge and up to 3 months in the freezer.
This Lebanese lemon lentil soup freezes well, so you can make a big batch and freeze the leftovers in air-tight containers for up to 3 months. Make sure you cool your soup completely in the fridge before you put it in the freezer.
To reheat, thaw the soup in the refrigerator overnight and reheat it on the stovetop or in the microwave. You may need to add a bit of water when reheating if it looks too thick.
I would not recommend using green or brown lentils to have more firm consistency as compared to red lentils.
If you want to make this comforting soup a bit heartier add a ¼ cup of rice when you add the lentils. You'll also want to add a cup of vegetable stock to help the rice cook with the lentils.
This soup is perfect on its own, but you can serve it with some crusty bread if you want. Some pita, Naan, or sourdough bread is also excellent choices.
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Instant Pot Lebanese Lentil Soup
Ingredients
- 1 cup Red Lentil Masoor dal
- ¼ cup Potatoes chopped
- ¼ cup Carrots chopped
- ½ cup Onion chopped
- 2 tablespoon Celery chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1 teaspoon black pepper powder
- 2 teaspoon paprika powder
- 2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 6 cups low sodium vegetable broth or water
- 3 tablespoon lemon juice
Method
- Wash the lentils 2 to 3 times with water. Drain the water and keep the lentil aside.
- Heat oil in an instant pot on sauté mode.
- Once the oil is hot, add onion, celery, carrots, and potatoes. Saute for a few seconds.
- Now add washed lentils, vegetable stock, salt, cumin powder, paprika, and crushed black pepper. Mix everything well.
- Cover the instant pot with its locking lid, turn off the instant pot from sautéing mode, press the manual/pressure cook button, and set the timer for 12 minutes under high pressure.
- Once cooking time is done, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes and then quickly release the remaining pressure.
- Open the instant pot and stir the soup once.
- Using a hand blender (immersion blender), blend until it's super creamy, leaving no chunks behind. I blend for at least 1 minute on high to get a very nice creamy texture.
- Now add lemon juice and stir well.
- Take out a ladle full of soup in a serving bowl, garnish it with Italian parsley, some black pepper powder, and some red crushed pepper for a spice kick. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Notes
- Finely dice the vegetables.
- You can use sweet potatoes instead of regular potatoes.
- If you want the soup to be spicier, add some red chili powder or use ½ seeded and minced red thai chili instead.
- There is no need to blend the soup if you don't want to.
- Adjust the amount of thickness to suit your tastes. You can add more water/stock during cooking and after blending if needed.
- Let the soup cool to room temperature and store in an airtight container, it will last about 5 days in the fridge and up to 3 months in the freezer.
- I would not recommend using green or brown lentils to have more firm consistency as compared to red lentils.
- If you want to make this comforting soup a bit heartier add a ¼ cup of rice when you add the lentils. You'll also want to add a cup of vegetable stock to help the rice cook with the lentils.
- This soup is perfect on its own, but you can serve it with some crusty bread if you want. Some pita, Naan, or sourdough bread is also excellent choices.
Private Notes
Tried this recipe?
Let us know We would love to hear your thoughts! Please leave your comments, ratings, and any ideas or changes you think could help us make our recipes even better. Thank you for your feedback!Warm Regards,
Dhwani.
I could eat this every day. One modification: I added .5 tsp ground coriander. Perfect with basmati rice, bread, or by itself.
I’ve made this recipe a dozen times and it always hits the spot. The best part is you can do a real rough chop of the veg since you’re going to use an immersion blender to emulsify it anyway! I up the veg and lentil by 1/3 and add two 4c veg stock containers and it is the most wonderful lunch throughout the week. I actually think it gets better as it sits. Thanks for this phenomenal recipe!
So glad to know. Thank you!