Name: Spiced Carrot & Lentil Soup
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 34 min
Total time: 49 min
Yield: 6 Servings
Ingredients: For the Soup; 2 tablespoons olive oil; ¾ cup chopped onion; 3 garlic cloves, minced; ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon; ½ teaspoon ground turmeric; ¼ teaspoon ground cumin; ½ teaspoon smoked paprika; ½ teaspoon ground ginger; A pinch of red pepper flakes; ½ teaspoon salt; ⅛ teaspoon white pepper; 2 tablespoons tomato paste; 4 large carrots, peeled and sliced into ¼-inch coins; 1 can coconut milk (full-fat and lite both work great); 5 to 6 cups vegetable or chicken stock, as needed; 1¾ cup red or pink lentils; 2 to 3 tablespoons maple syrup; Plain Greek or coconut-flavored Greek yogurt thinned with a little coconut or almond milk; Pomegranate arils; Fresh mint sprigs

Mains

Spiced Carrot & Lentil Soup

Author: Mary DiSomma

I don’t make a ton of creamy soups because I didn’t grow up eating them. But this spiced carrot and lentil soup recipe is one that I adore! I made this recipe for my in-laws and it was absolutely delicious! It was super easy to make, by the way. My good friend Bud was there—you'll find a few recipes from him here. He has a sophisticated palate—and was delighted with the soup! In fact, everyone wanted the recipe! This soup is enjoyable any time. The flavor combination of turmeric and maple syrup was lovely, and the overall creaminess of the soup was so satisfying. I cannot stop raving about how yummy it was! Hands down, I would make this again!

Ingredient Tips

Yes! This soup recipe is vegetarian because it uses vegetable stock but it’s actually a vegan soup recipe if you omit the yogurt garnish! It’s great when you’re entertaining a crowd with different food preferences—one less dietary restriction to worry about! To keep the calories down, I like to use canned lite coconut milk instead of full-fat coconut milk. There is no compromise in flavor or creaminess! I’d leave the guests to garnish the soup themselves so that they can skip the yogurt garnish if they’re vegan or lactose intolerant.

But aromatic spices aren’t the only thing that makes a recipe good—in my opinion, food is better when it looks pretty, too. That’s why I recommend using pink lentils instead of brown, green, or any other variety. I would NOT recommend using substitutions for this recipe since you’d sacrifice that gorgeous color.

Preparation + Preservation Tips

Yes you can, and it freezes wonderfully! This coconut-based soup freezes much better than dairy-based soups. Have you ever reheated a frozen soup that has milk or cream in it, and it looked curdled in the pot? That’s because there is a lot of water content in milk that crystallizes during the freezing process and breaks down during reheating. Those darn ice crystals! This soup, on the other hand, will be just as rich and creamy after you reheat it—which means you can even make a double batch and freeze half!

You can garnish the soup with a little swirl of Greek yogurt, a couple of mint sprigs, and a few pomegranate arils to make it look restaurant quality. Yum!

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