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    Coconut Curry Lentil Soup

    A creamy, rich coconut curry broth loaded with veggies makes this coconut curry lentil soup the perfect 30-minute, one-pot dinner. Oh, and P.S. it’s vegan!

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    coconut curry lentil soup with kale and sweet potatoes in a bowl with a spoon

    Coconut Curry Lentil Soup

    If you love lentils, you're going to love this coconut curry lentil soup! A creamy, rich coconut curry broth loaded with veggies makes this coconut curry lentil soup the perfect 30-minute, one-pot dinner. Oh, and P.S. it’s vegan!

    Dried brown lentils in bowl

    Eye-of-the-Beholder Lentil Soup.

    Let’s be honest, lentil soup doesn’t exactly win the award for being the most beautiful supper on earth. But, oh man, is it good. This curry-spiked, vegetable-laden vegan lentil soup recipe is so more than meets the eye. It’s budget-friendly, packed with nutrition, and so, so creamy and delicious. No bland or mushy lentil soup, please. This soup was created to convince you to start cooking them and *hopefully* even start loving them as much as we do.

    onions sweet potatoes curry brown lentils in pot

    What Type of Lentils Do You Use for Soup?

    As you may know, lentils come in a rainbow of colors and types! Red lentils, green lentils, black lentils, brown lentils, yellow lentils and more! We love them all, but they all behave a bit differently when cooked—some take longer to cook than others, some hold their shape as they cook, whereas other turn to mush. For this particular soup we are using regular old brown lentils because we love their texture. They’re also easy to find. However, you could also use French lentils, black lentils, or green lentils if that’s what you have on-hand.

    Do You Have to Soak Lentils Before Cooking Them?

    Unlike dried beans, dried lentils do not need to be soaked before cooking! In fact, you don’t even need to rinse them if you don’t want to, making them ideal for the busy family. The variety in color and the ease of use are two of our favorite things about cooking with lentils.

    coconut curry lentil soup being ladled out of pot

    What is The Nutritional Value of Lentil Soup?

    Lentil soup is packed with nutrition, and this one in particular packs a nutritional punch. Vegan and vegetable-loaded, it’s a healthy, hearty power house. Here’s why lentils are so good for you:

    • Eating lentils may help to lower cholesterol, and having low cholesterol is associated with a lower risk for heart disease.
    • High in insoluble fiber, lentils take a long time to digest. This means that they can help to stabilize your blood sugar, and just generally are good for your digestive health.
    • Lentils are an excellent vegan source of protein! 26% of the calories in lentils come from protein. For this reason, lentils make a great vegan or “meatless Monday” option.
    • They’re also a great source of iron.
    close up of coconut curry lentil soup with toasted bread

    What Makes this Lentil Soup Recipe the Best Ever:

    The key to a flavorful soup is understanding that it all starts with a flavorful broth. The broth is really the foundation of flavor for the whole soup. The higher-quality your broth, the more flavor-packed your lentils will be. For this recipe, the broth is built from a mixture of coconut milk and good-quality vegetable or chicken stock (if you’re not worried about keeping it vegan) for the broth, which results in a very hearty and rich soup. For this creamy curried lentil soup, the coconut milk + broth soup base is flavored generously with:

    • Onions
    • Fresh garlic
    • Fresh ginger
    • Yellow curry powder
    • Cinnamon sticks
    bowl of coconut curry lentil soup with toasted bread

    Tools You Will Need:

    Fall is Here and Now You Need Soup.

    Now that the colder weather has arrived, this recipe will be on repeat. It’s healthy, delicious and only takes 30 minutes to make from start to finish! We like to serve it with a big hunk of buttered crusty bread. Here are a few more soups to try this season!

    side shot of coconut curry lentil soup in bowl

    Yum, Yum Lentil Soup.

    If you make this Coconut Curry Lentil Soup, we’d love to hear about it! Be sure to snap a photo, add it to your Instagram feed or stories and tag @themodernproper and #themodernproper if you do. Also, feel free to leave a comment on the post and tell your friends where you discovered the recipe!

    Related Recipes

    Coconut Curry Lentil Soup

    Originally published: September 20, 2018

    • Serves: 8
    • Prep Time:  15 min
    • Cook Time:  30 min
    • Calories: 253
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    Ingredients

    • 1.5 cups dried brown lentils
    • 2 (13.5 oz) cans coconut milk
    • 6 cups chicken stock or vegetable broth (for vegan)
    • 2 cups sweet potatoes, about 2 small potatoes, peeled and 1 1/2" cubed
    • 4 cups packed kale, stems removed and torn into 2" pieces
    • 2 tbsp olive oil
    • 1 large onion, chopped
    • 4 garlic cloves, minced
    • 1 tsp salt
    • 1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
    • 3 tbsp yellow curry powder
    • 1 cinnamon stick, or 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

    Method

    1. In a 5 quart soup pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and sauté until translucent (about 5 minutes).
    2. Add all other ingredients except for kale and bring to a boil before reducing to a simmer.
    3. Allow the soup to simmer covered for 20 minutes.
    4. Add in kale and simmer uncovered for another 5-10 minutes. Serve with warm bread and enjoy!

    If using a slow-cooker, add all ingredients (except kale) and cook on low for 4 hours. Add kale for the last 30 minutes of cook time.

    Nutrition Info

    • Per Serving
    • Amount
    • Calories253
    • Protein9 g
    • Carbohydrates24 g
    • Total Fat14 g
    • Dietary Fiber8 g
    • Cholesterol0 mg
    • sodium165 mg
    • Total Sugars7 g

    Coconut Curry Lentil Soup

    Questions & Reviews

    Join the discussion below.

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    • Lisa

      How much is a serving. You say 253 calories but I may have missed if you put the cups. How many does this service. Sorry if you posted. I did not see it. I am making it now! : )

      It serves 8 but we do not have the cup yield posted. So a serving would be 1/8th of the recipe. hope you enjoy!

    • jr boren

      I want this to taste more savory like the turkey curry meatball recipe but I also want it to be creamy still. Can I add the fish sauce like the turkey curry meatball recipe calls for and perhaps leave out the cinnamon? I really like the way fish sauce tastes in the meatballs but want something creamy like in this recipe.

      Sure! Sounds yummy.

    • Ann Nielsen

      It looks and sounds delicious, but I'm confused about the portion size: Adding all ingredients comes to well over 3 kg (or nearly 7 lbs). For four people. Being European, to me this sounds like a mistake: That adds up to a portions size of over 800 grams (or 1,8 lbs) and is a LOT of food in a helping - even if healthy. Is this a mistake?
      Where I live this would feed at least 6 - and likely 8 people. Especially with a slice of bread as in the pic. I get that I can save the leftovers... but how do you calculate your portion size?

      Feel free to half the recipe if you feel like it sounds too large of a portion. Hope you enjoy!

    • Annie

      Can canned lentils be used?

      In theory yes but this would change the level of liquid used in this recipe so we recommend using the dried lentils.

    • Lynn

      Would the soup be too thick with pureed lentils? What could compensate - maybe light coconut milk? Trying to sneak in the lentils.

      Hi Lynn, It would definitely be thicker but might be ok, difficult to say since we haven't tried. Maybe just add them a bit at a time until you like the consistency!

    • Darnell

      Excellent! So good and very easy to make. Have had with both butternut squash and sweet potato.

      Thank you Darnell, we are so glad you love it!

    • Debbie

      The flavors in this recipe are remarkable! I find lentils to be incredibly boring, but since they are healthy, I always have some on hand. I made this without changing anything and it was fantastic, though it makes way more than 4 servings. Today I made it again, but only had carrots and a bag of spinach on hand. I cut the recipe in half, and again it tastes amazing. Cutting it in half made 4 very large servings.

      So glad you love it! I will change the servings size. thanks.

    • Rani Rajagopalan

      I had made this recipe many times now and every time the pot gets wiped clean . Such a warming healthy recipe . I had made this today to my vegan soup potluck and everyone was raving about it I had made with potatoes and carrots as I was out of sweet potatoes and kale , threw in a cinnamon stick and bay leaf . Again Thank you so much !!!

      Thanks Rani, so glad to hear everyone enjoyed it!

    • A

      This has become one of our staples. Thank you!

      That is so wonderful to hear, glad you love it!

    • Caroline

      Oh my gosh this recipe is so good! I didn't have brown lentils and the store was out of yellow curry powder, so I just used green curry paste and red lentils. SO SO GOOD! Definitely a keeper. Thank you!

      Thanks Caroline, we are so happy you loved it!