Spiced carrot & lentil soup in a bowl

Spiced carrot & lentil soup

By Jane Hornby
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(1035 ratings)
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Prep: 10 mins Cook: 15 mins

Easy

Serves 4

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

Nutrition and extra info

  • Freezable
  • Healthy
  • Vegetarian

Nutrition:

  • kcal238
  • fat7g
  • saturates1g
  • carbs34g
  • sugars0g
  • fibre5g
  • protein11g
  • salt0.25g
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Ingredients

  • 2 tsp cumin seeds
  • pinch chilli flakes
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
    olive oil

    Olive oil

    ol-iv oyl

    Probably the most widely-used oil in cooking, olive oil is pressed from fresh olives. It's…

  • 600g carrots, washed and coarsely grated (no need to peel)
    Carrot

    Carrot

    ka-rot

    The carrot, with its distinctive bright orange colour, is one of the most versatile root…

  • 140g split red lentils
  • 1l hot vegetable stock (from a cube is fine)
  • 125ml milk (to make it dairy-free, see 'try' below)

    Milk

    mill-k

    One of the most widely used ingredients, milk is often referred to as a 'complete' food…

  • plain yogurt and naan bread, to serve
    yogurt

    Yogurt

    yog-ert

    Yogurt is made by adding a number of types of harmless bacteria to milk, causing it to ferment.…

Method

  1. Heat a large saucepan and dry-fry 2 tsp cumin seeds and a pinch of chilli flakes for 1 min, or until they start to jump around the pan and release their aromas.

  2. Scoop out about half with a spoon and set aside. Add 2 tbsp olive oil, 600g coarsely grated carrots, 140g split red lentils, 1l hot vegetable stock and 125ml milk to the pan and bring to the boil. 

  3. Simmer for 15 mins until the lentils have swollen and softened.

  4. Whizz the soup with a stick blender or in a food processor until smooth (or leave it chunky if you prefer).

  5. Season to taste and finish with a dollop of plain yogurt and a sprinkling of the reserved toasted spices. Serve with warmed naan breads.

  • Recipe Tip

    Use a soup maker

    Save time and effort by placing all your ingredients in a soup maker and whizzing up a delicious soup in no time. Read our review on some of the best soup makers available. 

  • Recipe Tip

    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.

  • Recipe Tip

    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.

  • Recipe Tip

    Make it dairy-free

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

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Comments, questions and tips

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Fox Emerson's picture
Fox Emerson
28th Jun, 2020
5.05
I find myself making this recipe once a fortnight. Occasionally add garlic and sometimes if I don't have enough carrot, I substitute the shortfall with capsicum/pepper and just as tasty. I wanted to thank the creator for providing such a delicious soup.
Joan57
22nd Jun, 2020
Misread the recipe and did some things wrong i.e. Spices were fried in the oil and left there. Didn't add milk because I wanted to refrigerate some. Very agreeably surprised with the outcome. Need to order more cumin seeds now and lentils!
Mand89
4th Jun, 2020
5.05
Absolutely delicious, although I did make quite a few additions after reading the previous reviews. I increased quantities to 1 tsp of crushed chillies and 3 tsp cumin seeds at the start. Then I grated a large thumb of fresh ginger and crushed a large garlic clove which went in with the carrots. Also added some ground cumin, probably 2-3tsp, a pinch of salt and pepper and half a tsp of cinnamon. The flavour was beautiful and will be making again!
idleslie
23rd May, 2020
2.05
I was surprised by the lack of flavour given the reviews. Needs a lot more seasoning, and if I did it again I'd recommend doubling the quantities of both cumin and chilli flakes.
Quinten Broes's picture
Quinten Broes
21st May, 2020
5.05
What a great dish you're creating here! I personally spend a lot of time on nutrition as it determines 70% of your appearance. And these dishes keep me going! It's often the boring tasteless dishes that demotivate me. But this dish is just gorgeous and I thank you for that! It is so that I am a sports instructor by profession and i see countless people having difficulty with weight. And this while the theory as practice clearly shows that losing weight is 70% nutrition and 30% exercise. And it has been proven that losing weight is easiest through Tabata and HITT workouts. (takes little time and is most effective) This in combination with healthy and delicious dishes like these will keep me going. The sports programme that I follow and recommend is as follows. shorturl.at/gKRX6 Definitely check it out.
Molly Morris's picture
Molly Morris
12th May, 2020
5.05
Brilliant recipe. I added 3 garlic cloves, salt & pepper, an extra stock cube and used ground cumin. Can't wait to eat it for lunch this week!
Carolyn Tiley's picture
Carolyn Tiley
29th Apr, 2020
4.05
Read other comments and added a bit more cumin, as well as garlic and shredded ginger at the first stage. Turned out delicious
Jessica_webb__
19th Apr, 2020
3.05
This really was not to my taste but parents loved it.
katie_london
12th Apr, 2020
3.05
A bit bland, added a lot more cumin and lots of seasoning which made it a bit better. Would probably add a onion and/or garlic if I made it again.
thomasbw's picture
thomasbw
4th Apr, 2020
2.05
Didn’t do much for me. Thought it was bland and lacked depth.

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mkay17
14th Jun, 2020
Greek yogurt and milk both have calcium. Doesn't that get in the way of iron absorption? If so, is there another recommended way of adding protein in place of the greek yogurt?
goodfoodteam's picture
goodfoodteam
19th Jun, 2020
Thanks for your question. Yes, some studies suggest that calcium can have a mild impact on iron absorption, however this shouldn’t be an issue if you are getting plenty of calcium and iron in your overall diet. If you would like to optimise the absorption of iron, I would suggest having a salad or some fresh fruit on the side. These foods contain vitamin C which can enhance the availability of iron in the body. The protein count of this soup doesn’t include the yogurt garnish, however if you would like to use a dairy-free milk, then soy, pea or oat tend to have the highest protein levels. While not the highest in protein, coconut yogurt is a nice dairy-free option for garnish.
Molly65
25th Feb, 2020
Does the 238cal include the nanny bread? Tia
Barney Good Food's picture
Barney Good Food
26th Feb, 2020
Hi Molly, No it doesn't. Thanks, Barney
Sofi7
26th Oct, 2019
Hi, I am making this for the first time and wondering whether it needs garlic/coriander seeds/ginger or any of the above? Sometimes simple recipes can be better for flavour but other times they need something extra or risk being bland and I'm just wondering what people who have tried this recipe thought? Many thanks!
Sofi7
26th Oct, 2019
I am making this for the first time. The ingredients look a little basic but sometimes the nicest things are simple. Do people generally feel this needs garlic or ginger or coriander or is the cumin and chilli enough for flavour? Much appreciate anyone's tips! Great way to use up extra carrots when buy too many and avoid buying soup in plastic tubs - thank you.
keenanmd
12th Jun, 2019
Can I freeze this recipie?
goodfoodteam's picture
goodfoodteam
17th Jun, 2019
Thanks for your question. Yes, you can freeze this recipe. All our freezable recipe are marked with a blue star above the nutritional information. Freeze before adding the yogurt.
Alastair King
23rd Jan, 2019
When i add the oil to the hot pan it burns the seeds. Is it ok to add the oil after the stock?
Nicki Jade's picture
Nicki Jade
1st Mar, 2020
I’d like to know the answer to this too or can I omit the oil completely?

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Elliet_123
12th Jan, 2020
4.05
It would be a five star with onion, harissa and garlic as others have suggested and I tried. Life is too short for grating carrot. Just chop it and cook it.
Kungfoophil
7th Apr, 2019
5.05
I added a tin a of 5 bean salad and parsnips for a variation on a great recipe
jellymother
19th Mar, 2019
4.05
This soup was excellent although I did fry off some onions with fresh red chillies before adding the carrots & lentils. Great texture once blended. Will definitely make again.
Rochelle Beech's picture
Rochelle Beech
5th Mar, 2018
4.05
tasty, used a teaspoon of harrisa instead of chilli flakes.
harvey6
16th Jan, 2017
I have made this soup many times but my latest batch was the tastiest yet. I forgot to remove the scoop of toasted seeds so had double the amount in the pot from the start. I had two parsnips which needed used so I added them keeping the original amount of carrots but adding more water. I like the soup even better now, it's subtly different in a nice way.
notnixon's picture
notnixon
23rd Sep, 2016
Delicious! I used coconut milk (the drinking kind) rather than cows milk. The hint of coconut really helped the flavour.
Atay
27th Apr, 2016
5.05
Fantastic recipe - cheap, easy, tasty and healthy - I made it vegan by swapping the dairy milk for a tin of coconut milk. This has become a regular of mine and has been a big hit with friends.
JoanneMat
10th Sep, 2015
4.05
If you are going to blend at the end there is really no need to grate the carrots to begin with just chop quickly and throw in to pot!
ollynewport's picture
ollynewport
1st Mar, 2015
If you prefer a chunky soup, cut the the carrots into small cubes, keeping the rest of the ingredients the same. If you wish to have meat: take several slices of smoked streaky bacon, cut into small pieces, fry until crispy, and add to the saucepan along with the carrot, lentils, milk and stock.
fitnessjonas
6th Dec, 2014
A great soup, very filling. I have it as a snack as it has good balance of veg and vegetarian protein.

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