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This lentil potato soup recipe by my friend Renee (a personal chef!) is always a hit with everyone who tries it. It has over 100 5-star reviews because who doesn’t love a hearty, nutritious, flavor-packed meal that comes together in just 35 minutes. Renee also developed my red lentil stew, which is just as easy and packed with veggies.
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Why You’ll Love this Potato Lentil Soup Recipe!
This soup couldn’t be much easier or heartier! It’s made with dry red lentils (see my complete guide to lentils) and simple pantry staples, which are wonderfully budget-friendly. I often make a double batch and freeze some for later. That way I have easy meals to grab for lunch or quick dinners. Plus, it’s super customizable if you want to switch things up.
This delicious and healing soup is filled with anti-inflammatory turmeric, fiber, protein-rich lentils, and potassium-packed potatoes. Not sure if this is the flavor combo you want? Check out my vegan split pea soup or coconut curry soup instead. Or for another hearty potato soup, try this dairy-free broccoli potato soup.
Ingredients for Lentil Potato Soup
You likely already have the ingredients for this lentil potato soup! If not, check out my easy grocery list.
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 and will turn your soup a different color.
- 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 sweeter 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 thick and 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. While heating, keep a close eye on them and don’t let the cumin seeds burn.
Step 2: Add the onion, garlic, and ginger. Then 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. Next, 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 mash-able. After that, add salt, black pepper, and turmeric to taste. Then 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.
Toni’s Recipe Tips
- For a creamy potato lentil soup, add the optional can of coconut milk.
- 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 for Lentil Potato Soup
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 for soup, but in this recipe, the texture and mild flavor of red and yellow lentils 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 Lentil Soup
- 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.
More Yummy Ways to Enjoy Lentils
Vegan Dinners
Root Vegetable Lentil Stew
Vegan Dinners
Vegan Lentil Meatballs
Vegan Lunches
Vegan Lentil Chickpea Salad
Vegan Appetizers
Easy Yellow Lentil Hummus
If you tried this Lentil Potato Soup recipe or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks!
If you’re loving my recipes and would like a more comprehensive resource, check out my cookbooks!
Lentil Potato Soup
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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, add the can of coconut milk.
- 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.
![completed Vegan Chickpea Noodle Soup [Stove + Crockpot] in two bowls on a white surface](https://plantbasedonabudget.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Screen-Shot-2023-12-06-at-10.47.55-AM-378x378.png)
sounds good wpuld love to see about doing in crockpot /slow cooker I haven’t seen any comment anyone has yet
Hi Amy! A slow cooker version would be so handy! I don’t have verified slow cooker instructions for this particular recipe, so I’d hate to steer you wrong with a cooking time. My butternut squash and lentil soup does include a slow cooker option if you’d like to try a similar recipe. Thanks so much for the suggestion! I’ll put it on my list to test.
I wonder if a frozen vegetable blend (celery, carrot, onion, and bell peppers) would work, since I keep it on hand instead of the seperate raw vegetables, both because it keeps better for a month and because it is easier for me to work with because of arthritis.
That should work for this recipe! Let us know how it turns out for you 🙂
Rather than the coconut milk, I plan to try adding some canned pumpkin instead, I think the flavor profiles should match up fairly well. Good nutrition in canned pumpkin. 🙂 I keep some in my pantry at all times, its affordable, shelf stable, and often I add some of it to my oatmeal, and sometimes, to pasta sauce, to get more fiber in it.
Sounds like a delicious addition! Hope you enjoy the soup 🙂
What a great idea to add pumpkin to all those recipes!
I love hearing everyone’s ideas, too, Kathleen! Keeping canned pumpkin in the pantry makes it so easy to add a little to different meals. Thanks so much for joining the conversation!
Sounds yummy. Can I use black lentils instead or red?
That should work 🙂 You’ll just have to adjust the lentil cooking time. Enjoy!
Could this be done in the crockpot?
Hi! You should be able to! We on the PBOAB team haven’t tried it out yet so I can’t give the best guidance on doing so. If you end up trying it out, let us know how it turns out 🙂
This was very tasty. It is hard not to love something with such great ingredients.
Just wondering how I can do this in a slow-cooker. Suggestions would be appreciated.
So glad you enjoyed this lentil potato soup 🙂
This potato lentil soup looks so hearty and comforting. I love how turmeric adds both warmth and beautiful color to the recipe. For natural spice products and golden milk options, check out The Organiks: https://theorganiks.com/
You would love this soup 🙂 Hope you’re able to give it a try!
Hello. I do not eat onions. Can I just leave them out? Substitute celery (which I often do)? Thank you.
Can’t wait to try this.
That should work out just fine! Hope you enjoy the recipce 🙂
Recipe looks wonderful! I plan to make it today. Just used your Amazon Affiliate link and purchased your book. Can’t wait to see even more tasty recipes!
Thank you!
Angela
Hi Angela! Thank you so much for the support! You are going to love Toni’s cookbook! 🙂 Hope you enjoy this lentil potato soup!
Is the nutritional information include the coconut milk?
Hi Holly! Yes, it does! Though, note that the nutritional information is still an estimate. Hope you enjoy the soup 🙂
Absolutely delicious and I’m now trying to dehydrate it for camping! Are the nutrition estimates for one bowl or the whole pot of soup?
So glad you enjoyed it! Love that you’re thinking about bringing it with you on a camping trip! The nutrition info is for one serving/bowl with the recipe yielding approximately 4 servings/bowls. Have fun on your camping trip! 🙂
Delish and so easy! The only mod I made was add ginger powder because I didn’t have fresh ginger on hand. 10 out of 10 and husband approved!
That’s so awesome! So glad you and your husband enjoyed this yummy soup 🙂
I love the ingredients but can I add less liquid ingredients so it would be more like a stew?
That sounds like a great idea! Let us know how it turns out for you 🙂
I am in awe of this recipe. Fiber, protein and smelt so yummy while cooking.
My swaps: I couldn’t find cumin seeds so I used ground cumin. I also opted not to use onions. add the coconut milk (not the full cup around 3/4 cup).
This was so yummy! I can’t wait to eat them for the next few days. I could even freeze this to have longer, but something tells me this isn’t going to last long at my place.
Thank you for sharing this lovely recipe!
So glad you enjoyed this lentil potato soup! It’s such a great staple 🙂
Can this be made in the instant pot? If so how would I do it? Thank you for this fabulous recipe !
Hi! We on the PBOAB team haven’t tried this recipe in the IP just yet so I can’t provide recommendations. If you try it out, please let us know how it works out for you 🙂
I want to make this, but never have fresh ginger, because it always goes bad before I make time to use it. I want to use ginger spice, so I can make the soup when it works for me. Can someone estimate about how much spice would work? Thanks much!
Hi! That should work out just fine 🙂 ½ a teaspoon would be a great start! Let us know how it turns out for you! 🙂
I freeze my ginger and then just grate a teaspoon or two while still frozen and then pop it right back in the freezer.
Hi Julie! Such a handy tip, and a great way to keep ginger from going to waste! Thanks so much for sharing it with everyone!
Hubby and I LOVED this soup.
I’m just about to make my second doubled up batch but first I’m going to put the bread machine on to serve with it.
That is so awesome to hear! So glad you and your husband are enjoying this soup 🙂
We love this recipe so much and always make a double batch. I’m new to meticulous calorie counting, could you tell me what the serving size is? Thank you! And thanks for sharing what has become a staple
Hi! So glad you guys are enjoying this soup 🙂 For this particular recipe, we didn’t take into account the serving size for each serving. Sorry about that! Hope you continue to enjoy this recipe 🙂
My family and myself always enjoy different and hearty soups. This looks really easy and quick to make. I can hardly wait to get the ingredients and make it.
Hope you both enjoy this easy lentil soup 🙂
can’t wait to try these recipes
Hope you enjoy this lentil potato soup 🙂
Looks great! Can you cook this in an Instant Pot and for how long? Thanks!
Hi! We haven’t tried this recipe in the IP just yet so I can’t provide recommendations for time/temp. If you try it out, please let us know how it works out for you 🙂 Enjoy!
I have read somewhere that you cook the ingredients for the time it takes to cook the one that would take the longest, which in this case would be the potatoes. Red lentils cook in just a very few minutes in the pressure cooker. I would think they would just get softer if you cook them longer, so I would go for it! Maybe sour in the coconut milk after it’s cooked and let it simmer a bit?
Thank you so much for sharing your tips, Kara! I haven’t tested this one in the Instant Pot myself, so this is really helpful for other readers.
I made this in the instant pot. 8 min, natural release. Mine came out green instead of yellow. I can’t figure out why. I used red onion instead of yellow and red potatoes instead of gold. Other than that everything was the same. It was good, though!
Hi Jewell! I’m so happy you enjoyed the soup, and thank you for sharing your Instant Pot timing! I’m not quite sure what caused the color change, but did you use red lentils and add the turmeric? Those both help give the soup its yellow color. I appreciate you sharing how you made it!
I followed the recipe and it turned out amazing. I can’t wait to serve this with my friends. Warm flavours and texture for winter in the southern hemisphere.
So glad you enjoyed this yummy soup! Hope your friends enjoy it too 🙂