Description
Easy Red Lentil Soup is a comforting and flavorful dish made with red lentils, vegetables, and spices. It is blended to a silky smooth texture and finished with a warm, spiced Aleppo pepper butter drizzle, served with lemon wedges for added brightness.
Ingredients
Scale
Main 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
For Serving
- Lemon wedges
- 3 tablespoons butter or olive oil
- 2 teaspoons Aleppo pepper
Instructions
- Sauté the aromatics: Heat the extra-virgin olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the diced onion and carrots, and cook for 4 to 5 minutes until softened. Then add the diced potato and cook for an additional 2 minutes.
- Add the spices: Stir in the minced garlic, tomato paste, paprika, ground cumin, kosher salt, and black pepper. Cook and stir for about 30 seconds until fragrant.
- Simmer the lentils: Add the rinsed red lentils and low-sodium vegetable broth to the pot. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 25 minutes until the lentils and potatoes are very soft.
- Blend: Use an immersion blender to puree the soup until smooth. You can blend it completely or leave it slightly textured according to your preference.
- Make the pepper butter: In a small pan, melt the butter over low heat. Stir in the Aleppo pepper and cook for 20 to 30 seconds until fragrant.
- Serve: Ladle the soup into bowls, drizzle with the Aleppo pepper butter, and serve alongside lemon wedges to squeeze over the soup.
Notes
- This soup is best served warm and can be stored refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 1 month.
- For a vegan version, substitute the butter with olive oil for the pepper drizzle.
- Adjust spice levels by adding more or less Aleppo pepper according to your heat preference.
- If you prefer a more textured soup, blend only half and stir in the rest unblended.
- Adding a squeeze of lemon juice before serving brightens the flavors beautifully.
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
