Warm up with this gently spiced carrot and lentil soup. This easy recipe is made with fresh vegetables, lentils and a generous amount of herbs and spices, all cooked and blended in just one pot. It’s not only delicious but naturally free from top allergens like dairy and wheat/gluten. And it’s suitable for vegetarian and vegan diets too.
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Jump to RecipeDairy free pumpkin and lentil soup ingredients
To make this allergy-friendly and vegan carrot and lentil soup you’ll need:
- 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large brown onion, diced
- 6 large carrots, diced
- 2 sticks celery, diced
- 1 bunch fresh coriander/cilantro including leaves and stems, washed and roughly chopped
- 2 teaspoons garam masala
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin seeds
- 2 cups vegan and dairy free chicken-style or vegetable stock/bouillon, warmed
- 2 cups hot water
- 420g (14.8 oz) canned lentils, rinsed and drained
- 2 bay leaves
- Ground black pepper to taste
- Extra fresh coriander/cilantro leaves for garnish
- Optional: dairy free sour cream or natural yoghurt to garnish
Choosing fresh soup ingredients
The great thing about this vegetable based soup is that it uses just a few simple vegetables, combined with pantry staples like canned lentils, stock/ bouillon and dried spices. The main fresh ingredient you’ll need is a big bunch of coriander/cilantro. Using fresh herbs, including the leaves and the stems, gives a much richer flavour to the soup than dried herbs can achieve.
Vegan stock (bouillon )
Making soup with homemade vegetable stock is great if you have it, but you can definitely use pre-made. If buying liquid stock or stock cubes (bouillon) at the shops, watch out for allergens in the ingredients. Some pre-made stocks (even vegetable stock) contain milk, and others may contain wheat or gluten. Our favourite allergy-friendly ready made stocks (which also suit our pescatarian and low fodmap family members) are Massel organic chicken-style stock and organic vegetable stock. We used the vegetable style in this recipe.
Optional garnishes
We’ve used fresh retained lentils and coriander leaves to garnish our soup. You could also add a dash of non dairy sour cream or natural yoghurt on top.
Cooking method
Prepare the vegetables by peeling and chopping the onion and washing and chopping the celery and carrots into a medium dice. Rinse the coriander/cilantro, separate stems and coarsely chop (leaves and stems).
Rinse and strain the canned lentils in a fine mesh strainer.
Heat extra virgin olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the chopped onion, carrot, celery and coriander/cilantro and cook , stirring occasionally, until the vegetables soften (about 8 minutes). Next add the garam masala and ground cumin and cook the mixture whilst stirring through for a further 2 minutes.
Add 2 cups of warmed stock, 2 extra cups of hot water and bay leaves. Cover the saucepan and bring the mixture to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes or until carrots have softened.
Carefully remove the bay leaves. Add 3/4 of the lentils to the soup mixture and stir through. (Reserve remaining lentils for serving.)
Blend soup
Blend the soup mixture, either with an immersion/stick blender or using a food processor. While a food processor probably gives smoother results, I usually opt for the quick and easy method by using my Bamix immersion blender. Season with freshly ground black pepper.
If the mixture is too thick for your taste, you can always add a little more stock or boiling water to thin it.
Transfer soup to serving bowls and garnish with the reserved lentils and fresh coriander/cilantro leaves. Serve soup on its own, with warm crusty bread (gluten free if required) or even with crunchy pappadams.
Serves 4.
Storing and freezing soup
Being pure vegetables and stock, this dairy free spices carrot and lentil soup will keep well covered in the fridge for up to 4 days. Soup can also be frozen for up to 3 months. Just be sure to reheat thoroughly and stir well before serving.
More allergy friendly recipes
For more delicious allergy-friendly soup recipes, you may also like our roast tomato soup with basil, spiced roast pumpkin soup, dairy free creamy mushroom soup or potato and leek soup. Make it a meal by serving soup with our homemade sausage rolls.
Or for another recipe using carrots, try our nut and dairy free carrot cake with ginger.
You’ll find lots more allergy-friendly recipes on our recipe page.
Spiced Carrot And Lentil Soup (Gluten Free, Vegan)
Equipment
- 1 large saucepan with lid
- 1 chopping board and sharp knife
- 1 mesh strainer
- 1 mixing spoon
- measuring cups and spoons
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large brown onion, diced
- 6 medium to large carrots, diced
- 2 sticks celery, diced
- 1 bunch fresh coriander/cilantro including leaves and stems, washed and roughly chopped
- 2 teaspoons garam masala
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin seeds
- 2 cups vegan vegetable stock/bouillon, warmed
- 2 cups hot water
- 420 g (14.8 ounces) canned lentils, rinsed and drained
- 2 bay leaves
- ground black pepper to taste
- Extra fresh coriander/cilantro leaves for garnish
- Optional: dairy free sour cream or natural yoghurt to garnish
Instructions
- Prepare the vegetables by peeling and chopping the onion and washing and chopping the celery and carrots into a medium dice. Rinse the coriander/cilantro, separate stems and coarsely chop (leaves and stems).
- Rinse and strain the canned lentils in a fine mesh strainer.
- Heat extra virgin olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the chopped onion, carrot, celery and coriander/cilantro and cook , stirring occasionally, until the vegetables soften (about 8 minutes). Next add the garam masala and ground cumin and cook the mixture whilst stirring through for a further 2 minutes.
- Add 2 cups of warmed stock, 2 extra cups of hot water and bay leaves. Cover the saucepan and bring the mixture to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes or until carrots have softened.
- Carefully remove the bay leaves. Add 3/4 of the lentils to the soup mixture and stir through. (Reserve remaining lentils for serving.)
- Blend the soup mixture, either with an immersion/stick blender or using a food processor. While a food processor probably gives smoother results, I usually opt for the quick and easy method by using my Bamix immersion blender. Season with freshly ground black pepper.If the mixture is too thick for your taste, you can always add a little more stock or boiling water to thin it.
- Transfer soup to serving bowls and garnish with the reserved lentils and fresh coriander/cilantro leaves. Serve soup on its own, with warm crusty bread (gluten free if required) or even with crunchy pappadams.
