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.

Try 3 issues of Good Food magazine for £3 - subscribe now!

Latest comments and suggestions

Results 341-360

  • Binder photo Hartie28

    28 February 2011

    Hartie28 rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Very tasty, and very easy to make. Will make again - didn't have the yoghurt and was tasty without it !

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • Binder photo Loulou

    05 March 2011

    Loulou rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    One of the easiest, tastiest soups I have ever made. This is now a firm favourite in my repetoire, I also made it for one of our village lunches, and it disappeared very quickly!

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • Binder photo Frantic Flapjack

    08 March 2011

    Frantic Flapjack rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    This was such an easy soup to make and tasted lovely. I think it could probably do with being a bit spicier though - maybe some coriander would do the trick.

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • Binder photo sullie

    08 March 2011

    sullie rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    Made this morning and couldn't stop eating it. Really really good soup will make again and again and again.

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • Binder photo RTurner

    13 March 2011

    RTurner rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    My husband's favourite soup- filling and tasty but so easy to make.

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • Binder photo Alexandra

    19 March 2011

    Alexandra commented on this recipe

    very good, healthy low fat and filling

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • Binder photo SarahP

    20 March 2011

    SarahP rated and commented on this recipe

    3 stars

    Loved the concept and idea of this soup. It was tasty, easy to make and extremely healthy, but I found it to be lacking a certain something, still not sure what it is, but I ended up adding some medium curry powder and ground cumin to help matters... A recipe that needs some 'tweaking' i'd say...

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • Binder photo Iceteabar

    28 March 2011

    Iceteabar rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Tasty, quick and healthy.

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • Binder photo shep7774

    30 March 2011

    shep7774 commented on this recipe

    Very good Soup lots of flavour. I made the Morrocan version, be careful with the harissa paste. I put three tea spoons in ans my was it hot. When its that hot it makes a very good noodle sauce base, with prawns on top

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • Binder photo Fruitybooboo

    22 April 2011

    Fruitybooboo rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Omg this is LUSH got to b one of the best soups I have made..very very nice!!!

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • Binder photo Helen

    02 May 2011

    Helen commented on this recipe

    Fantastic soup loved by all used loads

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • Binder photo Isabel

    02 May 2011

    Isabel rated and commented on this recipe

    2 stars

    Thought it was a bit bland. For something similar but MUCH more yummy, I recommend the Spicy Root & Lentil Casserole: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1364/spicy-root-and-lentil-casserole

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • Binder photo sasha

    09 May 2011

    sasha rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Delicious!!!

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • Binder photo Tinkerbell

    11 May 2011

    Tinkerbell rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    Just made this with ground cumin & mild chili powder as didn't have correct ingredients and it tastes great! Now just baking some bread to have with it. yum yum :)

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • Binder photo Elliebean

    11 May 2011

    Elliebean rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Really easy and healthy.

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • Binder photo KITTY

    31 May 2011

    KITTY rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    A1 LOVE IT !!!!!!!

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • Binder photo rainowl

    18 June 2011

    rainowl rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I halved the ingredients so it made just enough for two. Placed it in a food processor to make a smooth soup. Surprisingly filling. I served mine with a slice of french stick.

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • Binder photo Gulius Caesar

    24 June 2011

    Gulius Caesar rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Yummy and easy to make :)

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • Binder photo debbie

    06 July 2011

    debbie commented on this recipe

    how much stock do i use

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • Binder photo Danijela

    06 July 2011

    Danijela commented on this recipe

    This is simply a "too good to be true" kind of recipe. BUT it is true and it's fantastic! Simple and easy and takes virtually no time time to make. Jane Hornby, you nailed it! Thank you

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

Leave a comment or suggestion

You must sign in or register to leave a comment.

Sign in / Register

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
Print this recipe
Add to your binder

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

Advertisement

Your binder

Here are three other great reasons why to sign up:

  • You get an online binder, where you can store all your favourite recipes and create menus.
  • You can add your own recipes to this site for others to try; plus, rate and make comments on recipes, and share your views on our blog.

Follow Good Food

Advertisement

All about Good Food

Magazine

Good Food Magazine

Subscribe to Good Food magazine - enjoy 100+ triple-tested recipes delivered to your door, every month.

Order today, and receive your first 3 issues for just £3

On TV

Foodie TV

See your favourite chefs on Sky Channel 247, Virgin TV 260 and find their recipes at goodfoodchannel.co.uk.

Good Food Apps

Good Food Apps

For Good Food on the go, download our apps to your phone or portable device.
Find out more here

Buy ingredients

With just one click, the full list of recipe ingredients will be put into a basket at your choice of provider. Choose from:

mySupermarket Compare prices and choose a retailer you wish to buy them from.

Ocado Let Ocado deliver all you need for this recipe, right to your door

Tesco Buy all the ingredients from our recipes through your Tesco online shop.

new

Asda Shop with Asda? You can now buy ingredients for our recipes via your Asda online shop.

In association with the above providers. Terms and conditions apply.

Close