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This lentil potato soup with turmeric and cumin is the perfect accompaniment to any cool or rainy day. It’s filled with anti-inflammatory turmeric, fiber, protein-rich lentils, and potassium-packed potatoes, creating a soup that’s both healing and delicious.
Vegan soups are a budget-friendly meal to use throughout the year. But this potato and lentil soup with its naturally warming flavors of cumin and turmeric and its creamy texture is perfect for colder days.
Made with dry lentils (a complete guide to lentils here) and simple pantry staple ingredients, it’s definitely the perfect meal to make on a limited budget. I often make a batch or even a double batch and freeze some for later. That way I have easy meals to grab for lunch or dinner.
More soups to serve up for an entire meal are this vegan split pea soup or coconut curry soup.
Why This Recipe Works
- Mostly inexpensive ingredient list.
- Great for making ahead.
- Naturally warming and satisfying soup.
- Easy to make.
- Soups travel great, making it perfect for easy lunches.
What Goes Into This Recipe
The ingredients you will need to make a bowl of lentil potato soup may already be in your cabinet! Let’s look at the main ingredients you will need.
Substitutions and Variations
Sometimes you want to change things up! Here are some tried and true swaps you can make when preparing potato lentil soup.
- Lentils: For a creamier soup stick with the red lentils or you can swap with yellow lentils which have a similar texture and mild flavor. While you can also make this soup with any lentils including, green, brown and even black, these other varieties of lentils may require a longer cooking time.
- Cumin: If you don’t have whole cumin seeds, you can substitute with ground cumin but use two teaspoons of ground instead of one tablespoon of seeds.
- Coconut milk: Adding coconut milk is completely optional but it adds a nice flavor, mellows out the spices and adds more creaminess to the soup. You can also use other plant-based milks but they will not be as creamy as the canned coconut milk. Just be sure to use a plant milk with a mild flavor.
- Want it spicy? Add in some cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes or some sliced chilies.
How To Make Potato and Lentil Soup
Step 1: Heat the oil in a large dutch oven or soup pot. When heated, add the cumin seeds and toast them for about 1 to 2 minutes. Keep a close eye on them and don’t let the cumin seeds burn.
Step 2: Add the onion, garlic, and ginger. Cover with a lid and cook over medium-low heat for 2 to 3 minutes until the onion begins to soften.
Step 3: Add the potatoes and red lentils and stir to coat them with spices and oil. Add the broth to a pot and bring to a gentle simmer.
Step 4: Cover with the lid and cook over medium-low heat for 15-20 minutes until potatoes and lentils are very soft and mashable. Add salt, black pepper, and turmeric to taste. Stir in coconut milk, if using. For a creamier soup, blend the soup using an immersion blender or a regular blender working in batches until you reach desired consistency.
TOP TIP: Blending vegan lentil potato soup is completely optional! You get great flavor when it’s served as a chunky soup or when blended. If you swap out the lentils and use green or brown, this soup will work much better served up chunky.
Expert Tips
- For a creamier soup, use red or yellow lentils.
- Puree the soup by pulsing the immersion blender or regular blender to leave the soup with a bit of texture.
- Adjust the seasoning to your own taste.
- Serve it up with some freshly made jalapeno cornbread or vegan focaccia bread.
FAQs
You don’t need to soak lentils for soup or other recipes. They cook rather quickly so this step is not necessary.
Any lentils work well for soup, but in this recipe, the texture and mild flavor of red and yellow lentils really work best. Personally, I enjoy brown and green lentils in chunky soups and red or yellow lentils in creamy soups. Here’s a great guide to lentils you can check out to learn more!
How to Store
- Make ahead: Red lentil potato soup is perfect for meal prep. After cooking the soup, transfer it to containers to fit the desired number of servings and allow the soup to cool completely. Then cover and store in the fridge or freezer.
- Storage: Store in the fridge for up to five days and in the freezer for up to three months.
- Reheat: Allow the frozen soup to thaw out in the fridge overnight. Transfer the amount you wish to serve and heat on the stove for 5-8 minutes over medium heat until heated through. You can also microwave smaller amounts of the soup until hot. If the soup seems a bit thick add more vegetable broth, coconut milk, or water to thin it out a bit.
Lentil Potato Soup
Video
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon of medium-high heat oil
- 1 Tablespoon of cumin seed whole
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1- inch of ginger chopped
- 2 cups of yukon or russet potatoes unpeeled and cubed
- 1 cup of red lentils
- 4 cups of vegetable broth
- 1 teaspoon of salt or more to taste
- ½ teaspoon of black pepper
- ½ teaspoon of turmeric
- 1 cup of canned coconut milk for added creaminess (optional)
- Pinch cayenne pepper if desired
Instructions
- In a large soup pot, or dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat. Add cumin seeds. Heat about 1 to 2 minutes. Do not let cumin seeds burn.
- Add onion, garlic, and ginger. Cook over medium-low heat with the lid on for 2 to 3 minutes until the onion begins to soften.
- Add potatoes and red lentils and stir to coat. Add broth and bring to a gentle simmer.
- Cover pot and cook over medium-low heat for 15-20 minutes until potatoes and lentils are very soft and mashable.
- Add salt, black pepper, and turmeric to taste. Stir in coconut milk, if using.
- The soup will be chunky at this point. Eat as is, or use an immersion blender to blend until creamy. You can also use a regular blender working in batches until you reach desired consistency.
Notes
- For a creamier soup, use red or yellow lentils.
- Puree the soup by pulsing the immersion blender or regular blender to leave the soup with a bit of texture.
- Adjust the seasoning to your own taste.
Nutrition
Disclaimer: Although plantbasedonabudget.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, kindly note that these are only estimates. Nutritional information may be affected based on the product type, the brand that was purchased, and in other unforeseeable ways. Plantbasedonabudget.com will not be held liable for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on nutritional information. If you need to follow a specific caloric regimen, please consult your doctor first.
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My whole family loves this delicious soup! It’s wonderful paired with roasted asparagus too.
YAY! So happy to hear that!
I made this today and it was absolutely delicious. I omitted the oil and added a pinch of gluten free hing and it was so good. I have made so many complicated soups with lots of ingredients, and this was just so good and so easy. I will be making this on repeat. Thanks for such a great recipe.
That’s so awesome! So glad you enjoyed it!
So easy and so damn good! Five stars!
So glad you enjoyed it!
I forgot to say, I also added a dollop of fat free Greek yogurt on each serving which worked really well. Thanks for the recipe!
Some dairy free greek yogurt sounds like an amazing addition!
I really enjoyed this. I did need to modify to accommodate some food sensitivities, so I omitted onion and garlic and used celery in their place. Also had to eliminate black pepper and coconut milk, but given all this it was still delicious. I always prefer soups much thicker than recipes suggest, so I doubled all the ingredients except for the broth. Am making it for the second time tonight.
The thick soups are my favorite too! So glad you enjoyed it!
Could you add or have you ever cooked it with other vegetables into it.
That sounds amazing! Let us know what you end up trying 🙂
I love this soup. I made it for my husband who is on a no salt, oil or sugar andno processed food diet. it has been difficult as most recipes call for oil or salt. with this one I just didn’t add anything that he can’t eat. I have to say, it’s my fave soup now. thanks for sharing it. can you just confirm….the 400 calories is that per bowl? thanks
So glad you guys enjoyed this soup! It is 392 calories/serving and there are 4 servings 🙂
This looks delicious and I’m going to make it this weekend but I’m confused about the ginger. I am using pre-chopped ginger from a jar..how much would I use?
Fresh ginger is great and the same amount from a jar should work great too!
Okay I love soup and make it all the time, but this is probably my favorite recipe ever!! I have to control myself to not make it every week. You won’t regret it!
That’s so awesome! So glad you enjoyed this recipe 🙂
Delicious! We added the coconut milk and used the stick blender. It was creamy and tasty. Thanks for the great recipe.
Love it! So glad you enjoyed it!
I stuck to the recipe and it turned out DELICIOUS! So easy to make!
So glad you enjoyed it!
Yummmm. Thanks for sharing such a simple, cozy recipe. Perfect for a weeknight dinner: quick and easy to prepare and delicious. The coconut milk is an excellent addition – we also added some lime juice and just a dash of sriracha. 🙂
Bet it was extra amazing with the added sriracha!
Love those additions!
Can you make this without oil?
We at PBOAB haven’t given that a try yet but let us know how it comes out if you do 🙂
Oh boy this was delicious! So creamy and if a soup can be cozy this is it…31° outside making it a perfect dinner. I normally am not a fan of coconut but the milk was a great add in. Didn’t taste it all and it makes it sooo creamy! Love it
So glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Gotta love how creamy it turns out!
This soup is delicious! I didn’t use coconut milk and I used dry cumin. Other than that left it as it and it is so tasty! Thanks for the great recipe!
So glad you enjoyed this soup! It’s a yummy one!
This soup is amazing. I’ve made it twice: once with the recipe as is and another time using sweet potato instead of white. Both times, I blended it a bit after to make it creamy. Each time it tasted fantastic!! It’s such an easy recipe for a wonderful taste.
Thank you so much! I’m so glad you enjoyed it with the sweet potatoes too.
So glad you enjoyed this soup! Love the sweet potato addition!
Amazing. It’s one of those things where I couldn’t believe the end result because it was so simple. I did not use the coconut milk to save calories and I hit it with the immersion blender for a few seconds to have a hybrid creamy/chunky texture. This one is a keeper!
Thank you so much! 🙂
I have never felt as compelled to write a review as I do right now. WOW. Make this – you will not be disappointed!! Outstanding recipe and flavor, and so darn easy to make! I could literally eat this every day.
Thank you so much! 🙂
I made this Saturday evening after already filling up on other foods. I thought I’d put it in the fridge for this week’s lunch. Then, I tasted it….3 cups later, I had to make myself stop. I just had it again for my work lunch and had to come leave a review. I second the reviewer below that said she could eat this everyday. This soup is like a warm, soothing hug from an old friend. THANK YOU!! ❤️❤️
So glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
This was delicious. whole family killed it with some crispy ciabatta bread on the side 😋