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 381-400

  • Binder photo chaffinski

    13 September 2011

    chaffinski rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Really tasty soup. I made it with coconut milk, and added a few curry leaves, some orange juice and some english mustard. Really tasty with some naan. Will have it again for sure.

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  • Binder photo Treaclepud

    18 September 2011

    Treaclepud commented on this recipe

    Lovely soup, but a bit of chopped onion adds an extra dimension and flavour! x

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  • Binder photo Chloe

    18 September 2011

    Chloe rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    really yummy and easy!

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  • Binder photo Good Cook

    24 September 2011

    Good Cook commented on this recipe

    I found this recipe under the dairy free, how can that be with milk and youghurt added to the soup???

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  • Binder photo Beth769

    24 September 2011

    Beth769 rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    really easy & full of flavour! Yum Yum :)

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  • Binder photo Karen

    27 September 2011

    Karen rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Lovely and very easy soup. I too added some extra stock second day as it was so thick. A favourite in the making.

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  • Binder photo Clare

    28 September 2011

    Clare rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Definitely adding this to my favourites

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  • Binder photo claire1

    28 September 2011

    claire1 rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Outstanding with some home made bread on a cold winters night. Will be making this again.

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  • Binder photo pattiemac

    02 October 2011

    pattiemac rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    We all loved this soup. Very quick and easy to make.

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  • Binder photo rookie chef

    02 October 2011

    rookie chef rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • Binder photo zippiepurplemonkey

    05 October 2011

    zippiepurplemonkey rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Really good. I omit the dairy and dont use any subsitutes and it's still realy good! Great for batch cooking too, and very cheap to make!

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  • Binder photo Lesandricko

    09 October 2011

    Lesandricko rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    Very nice soup, good consistency, husband, toddler and 1 yr old all yummed it up.

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  • Binder photo AllieB

    11 October 2011

    AllieB commented on this recipe

    This soup was easy to make and had a lovely texture but I found it a bit bland. I even checked the recipe afterwards to see if I had missed out an ingredient. I added extra seasoning and a fresh chilli but there was no depth to the taste. Perhaps it was the carrots as they can sometimes be a bit tasteless bought from the supermarket.

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  • Binder photo Scarlett19

    16 October 2011

    Scarlett19 rated and commented on this recipe

    3 stars

    I found it a messy business to grate the carrot, it could have been chopped and cooked a little longer. I also wasn't keen on the finished dish. It had an unpleasant, slightly grainy texture and I felt overall it was lacking any depth of flavour.

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  • Binder photo the_girls_not_grey

    17 October 2011

    the_girls_not_grey rated this recipe

    4 stars

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  • Binder photo claire1

    18 October 2011

    claire1 commented on this recipe

    Absolutely love this soup. This is a new favourite in our house. Lovely on a cold winters evening with some fresh rustic bread. Also very filling to. :-)

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  • Binder photo Babka the Brave

    24 October 2011

    Babka the Brave rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I've just found my favourite lentil soup. Absolutely delicious.

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  • Binder photo Mrs Horse

    04 November 2011

    Mrs Horse rated and commented on this recipe

    3 stars

    It's kind of yummy but not as good as the others on the website like the butternut squash and chilli one. But it will do!

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  • Binder photo toffeelady

    05 November 2011

    toffeelady rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Lovely warming tasty soup which was so easy to make! Left out the milk and added and onion in with the carrots. Will definately be making this again and again!

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  • Binder photo glenglynis

    05 November 2011

    glenglynis commented on this recipe

    Made this soup for Bonfire Night to warm people up. It was delicious! Easiest soup I have ever made and one of the tastiest.

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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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