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 61-80

  • Binder photo Nicola

    16 December 2008

    Nicola rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    Yummy, this was hearty and healthy, we all loved it.

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  • Binder photo Panna

    17 December 2008

    Panna rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    Delicious soup. Perfect winter warmer and very easy to make. Didn't change recipie.

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  • Binder photo ilyria

    18 December 2008

    ilyria rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Found this really really easy to cook and all who ate it agreed it was lovely. considering that I am notorious amongst my friends for culinary disasters (exploding ovens, burnt food, food that arrives 3 hours late) - I would say that if I can cook this and make it good, anyone can!

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  • Binder photo Elaine

    27 December 2008

    Elaine rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Fantastic recipe, quick, easy, tasty and healthy what more can you ask for. I take it to work for my lunch and it sees me through to my evening meal. I haven't changed a thing as its perfect as it is with or without the yoghurt.

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  • Binder photo jai

    30 December 2008

    jai commented on this recipe

    Yummy, easy to make, economical and usually have all the ingredients in the cupboard. Everyone enjoyed this.

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  • Binder photo Zita

    03 January 2009

    Zita rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    We eat a soup as a main meal twice a week and I am always looking for new ideas. Loved the toasted seeds on the top- used half cumin half caraway (favourite). Forgot to get naan bread , made croutons out of a day old sourdough bread- delicious!

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  • Binder photo Liezel

    03 January 2009

    Liezel rated and commented on this recipe

    3 stars

    I liked this soup, but I thought the cumin was overwhelming. I didn't blend it because I thought the texture was perfect. I served it with naan, which worked well. Next time I will use more chili, I think the soup can handle the extra heat, especially when served when a dollop of creme fraiche (or natural yoghurt)

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  • Binder photo littlelouise

    07 January 2009

    littlelouise rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    SO simple to make and easy to get on the table in 30 mins. was really tasty with the naan bread as suggested, will try a peshwari naan next time. Mmmmm.

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  • Binder photo Hannah

    07 January 2009

    Hannah rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    This was the first time I made soup from scratch rather than get it out of the tin and I am a convert. 100% delicious even with ground cumin rather than cumin seeds.

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  • Binder photo Noodles

    09 January 2009

    Noodles rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Yummy healthy & an easy soup to make!

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  • Binder photo Linny

    09 January 2009

    Linny commented on this recipe

    Fabulous soup! We just loved it!! Also I make it with sweet potatotes, it tastes great.

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  • Binder photo jaspercat

    11 January 2009

    jaspercat commented on this recipe

    A big favourite in this house! Hearty, warming and cheap.

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  • Binder photo jaspercat

    11 January 2009

    jaspercat rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • Binder photo anita_ive

    11 January 2009

    anita_ive rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    So quick and easy to make and absolutely delicious! I will definitely be making this again.

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  • Binder photo Manda

    11 January 2009

    Manda rated and commented on this recipe

    3 stars

    I thought this was a different carrot, lentil and cumin soup which I made a while ago. The other one is better and tastes more spicy. I added the juice of a lime to the finished soup as this worked well in the other recipe and it worked well.

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  • Binder photo Shelagh

    12 January 2009

    Shelagh rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • Binder photo pinkpaws

    15 January 2009

    pinkpaws commented on this recipe

    Instead of frying the spices I mixed a tablespoon of curry paste with the grated carrot and used the coconut milk. My Hubby loves this and I have had to make it regularly for him and his friends!!

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  • Binder photo Little Prawn

    19 January 2009

    Little Prawn rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Absolutley gorgeous and my favourite carrot soup recipe by far. Delicious with warmed naan bread on the side - yum yum!

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  • Binder photo red

    23 January 2009

    red rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    This soup is delicious. I don't use the oil and it tastes fab without. Perfect for a winter warmer

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  • Binder photo Gbobs

    29 January 2009

    Gbobs rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    it was delicious, we had a tin of lentils that we put in worked perfectly it was so quick and easy. Thought it would last us a couple of days but ate in one go!!! Definitely will make again

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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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