Spiced carrot & lentil soup

Spiced carrot & lentil soup

A delicious, spicy blend, packed full of iron and low fat to boot. It's ready in under half an hour or can be made in a slow cooker

Difficulty and servings

Easy

Serves 4

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 10 mins

Cook time

Cook 15 mins

Vegetarian Freezable

Vegetarian, Dairy-free

To make dairy-free, see 'Try' below

Method

  1. Heat a large saucepan and dry-fry the cumin seeds and chilli flakes for 1 min, or until they start to jump around the pan and release their aromas. Scoop out about half of the seeds with a spoon and set aside. Add the oil, carrot, lentils, stock and milk to the pan and bring to the boil. Simmer for 15 mins until the lentils have swollen and softened.
  2. Whizz the soup with a stick blender or in a food processor until smooth (or leave it chunky if you prefer). Season to taste and finish with a dollop of yogurt and a sprinkling of the reserved toasted spices. Serve with warmed naan breads.
Try

Make it Moroccan

Substitute the chilli flakes and cumin seeds for a few teaspoons of harissa paste. You could add cooked shredded chicken at the end of cooking, too.

IF YOU WANT TO USE A SLOW COOKER...

Place half the cumin seeds, half the chilli flakes, the oil, carrots, lentils and 700ml stock into your slow cooker pot. Cover and cook on High for 3 hours until the lentils are tender. Dry-fry the remaining cumin seeds and chilli flakes just until fragrant. When the lentils are done, stir in the milk and whizz up the soup depending on how chunky you'd like it.

Make it dairy-free

For a richer but dairy-free alternative, use a can of reduced-fat coconut milk instead of the milk.

238 kcalories, protein 11g, carbohydrate 34g, fat 7 g, saturated fat 1g, fibre 5g, salt 0.25 g

Recipe from Good Food magazine, October 2005.

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Latest comments and suggestions

Results 261-280

  • Binder photo S G-S

    06 October 2010

    S G-S rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    This was the first time I have made this soup and it was lovely. I personally would not add more stock as the consistency for us was right. The only thing different was I got 7 portions out of it not 4 so it was even better for me calorie wise.

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  • Binder photo Denise du Bois

    10 October 2010

    Denise du Bois rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Easy to make and really tasty. Good taste and really spicy. Definately going to make this again!

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  • Binder photo Denise

    15 October 2010

    Denise commented on this recipe

    Just about to make this and I think it would be a good idea to make the ingredients list a little easier to understand by listing the amount of stock in ml as I am never quite sure if it is supposed to read as 1l (as one L) or as a half. In most cases litre is abbreviated to lt.

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  • Binder photo Denise

    15 October 2010

    Denise rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Made several soups this morning and had some of this one for lunch. What a star this one is, my oh was too intent on eating to do more than put his thumb up.Brings lots of cheer to a cold autumn day, thanks.

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  • Binder photo cookingforgirls

    15 October 2010

    cookingforgirls commented on this recipe

    I made this again today for a lunch with friends.. Wish I could review my rating. It was absolutely gorgeous. Served it with naan and with out the creme fraiche.

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  • Binder photo rena

    16 October 2010

    rena rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Oh, this soup has just warmed both my tummy and my heart, it's so delicious!

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  • Binder photo messyjessie86

    19 October 2010

    messyjessie86 rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Delicous, perfect warming soup when you need cheering up. It even looks lovely and sunny, and tastes delicious:)

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  • Binder photo Magenta

    20 October 2010

    Magenta rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    This is absolutely gorgeous and I've now got about six portions' worth in my freezer waiting to be used up for my lunches at work. It's so simple and just allows the flavours of the carrots to come through. I did adapt the recipe a little and had to use cumin powder as I didn't have any seeds. I also added a little tabasco when eating it - delicious! I used baby carrots as they were on special offer, so the soup had quite a sweet flavour. Rather than grating them, I just used my mini food processor to chop them up in batches.

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  • Binder photo karen

    20 October 2010

    karen rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    A very tasty soup. I didn't have chilli flakes so used a fresh chilli instead, which worked well.

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  • Binder photo Debs

    21 October 2010

    Debs rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    This is a great soup, super easy and quick. Tasted fab, made for a birthday meal and went down a storm.

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  • Binder photo SadieB

    21 October 2010

    SadieB rated and commented on this recipe

    3 stars

    Lovely easy soup to make, even my 4 year old liked it, I would of prefered more of a kick so will be add more chilli next time. It's nice and thick so its a good lunch time filler.

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  • Binder photo lloydy5

    22 October 2010

    lloydy5 rated and commented on this recipe

    3 stars

    It was easy to make but not over fussed a little thick.

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  • Binder photo G-Girl

    22 October 2010

    G-Girl rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    This is a delicious hearty soup, with just the right amount of spice, and it is effortlessly easy to make! Yum!

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  • Binder photo WineGirl

    24 October 2010

    WineGirl rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    Very easy to make....and can see why they suggest yogurt and Naan bread to sever!

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  • Binder photo Sotongirl61

    02 November 2010

    Sotongirl61 rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    I made this using up the cooked carrots from the Sunday roast (over estimated how many we would eat!). A lovely warming soup that I will definitely make again

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  • Binder photo menziesj

    02 November 2010

    menziesj rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Very simple and quick, from store cupboard ingredients - my hand slipped a bit when adding the chilli, but we do like our food quite spicy. Husband's comment, on first spoonful, "That tastes terrific!" This will definitely become a regular make, both for everyday and as a dinner party starter.

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  • Binder photo TY

    02 November 2010

    TY rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • Binder photo Nutty

    04 November 2010

    Nutty rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    Lovely warming soup so quick and easy that tastes great. Will be making it again as the nights grow colder!!

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  • Binder photo niklin

    04 November 2010

    niklin rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I added some fresh ginger root. It came out more spicy.

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  • Binder photo stella bee

    04 November 2010

    stella bee rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    This is a lovely warming soup, i put 1 finely chopped white onion in the recipe instead of lentils as i didn't have them to hand. To keep it low fat i used skimmed milk and i would suggest using a bit more carrot if you would like it to be thicker...A light sprinkling of ginger adds to the over all spicy Autumn feel :-)

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Difficulty and servings

Easy

Serves 4

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 10 mins

Cook time

Cook 15 mins

Vegetarian Freezable

Vegetarian, Dairy-free

To make dairy-free, see 'Try' below

Healthy vegetarian supper

Ingredients

  • 2 tsp cumin seeds
  • pinch chilli flakes
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 600g carrots , washed and coarsely grated (no need to peel)
  • 140g split red lentils
  • 1l hot vegetable stock (from a cube is fine)
  • 125ml milk
  • plain yogurt and naan bread, to serve
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238 kcalories, protein 11g, carbohydrate 34g, fat 7 g, saturated fat 1g, fibre 5g, salt 0.25 g

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