This hearty leek and lentil soup is made for cold nights when you need a food hug - it is simple, warming and satisfying. With ginger, turmeric and spices, it's a healing soup too. Naturally vegan and full of fibre and protein, it's the kind of soup that will support your body as well as please your taste buds. Ready in thirty minutes, made in one pot (less washing up!) and no blending. This soup is as at home, in your flask for work lunch, as it is a relaxed supper with some bread on the side.
Why You'll Like This Leek and Lentil Soup
- This soup has all the anti-inflammatory boost you need this winter. Ginger, garlic, and turmeric support the immune system.
- Full of fibre and protein.
- A budget-friendly soup.
- One pot soup recipe. Not much washing up! No blending required.
- This soup is versatile - you can enjoy it just as it is, or add a protein of your choice to make it more substantial and meal-like.
Jump to:
Ingredients
- Leek and Red Lentils - Earthy red lentils meet subtly sweet leeks.
- Ginger and garlic - these add flavour to the soup, and support in these colder months.
- Vegetable stock - you can use stock cubes, but it is easy to make your own.
- Turmeric powder, Coriander powder & Cumin powder - Coriander and cumin aid digestion, which is much needed in these colder months as digestion tends to be sluggish. Turmeric has excellent anti-inflammatory properties.
- Coconut milk - adds body and creaminess to the soup.
- Spring onion & Jalapeรฑo peppers - for another layer of flavour, distinct but not overpowering.
See the recipe card for quantities.
How to Make Leek and Lentil Soup
Before anything else, wash the red lentils until the water runs clear and leave them to soak while you continue with the rest of the recipe.
Prepare The Garnish
- Wash and pat dry the jalapeรฑo peppers and the spring onions.
- Slice the jalapeรฑo peppers thinly and finely chop the spring onions.
- Heat the oil in a pot over medium heat, then fry the spring onions for 1 minute.
- Add the jalapeรฑo peppers and fry for another minute.
- Turn off the heat, then add the green part of the spring onion and cook for one more minute.
- Mix the fried spring onion and jalapeรฑo peppers in a bowl and set aside.
Make the Soup
- Slice the leeks lengthwise and thinly slice. Use the white and light green parts, and save the dark green part for stock-making or discard it.
- Peel the ginger, julienne (cut into thin matchsticks) and finely chop this julienned ginger (see the video in the recipe card).
- Peel and finely chop the ginger.
- In the same pot you fried the garnish, add olive oil, and fry the leek over medium heat until soft. Then add the garlic and ginger and fry until soft.
- Add the cumin and coriander powders, stirring as you add them.
- Next, add the drained lentils and stir.
- Finally, add the vegetable stock, salt and turmeric and stir.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer until the lentils are tender (about 10 minutes). The lentils should be soft but not mushy.
- Once the lentils have cooked, add the coconut milk, stir, and cook for 5 minutes.
- Optionally, add a squeeze of lime juice for some zing.
- Top with the garnish and serve hot.
Substitutions
You may use yellow moong beans instead of red lentils. You may need to soak it overnight or for at least 4 hours. The cooking time will be a bit longer.
Instead of cumin powder, you can use caraway seed powder.
Variations
To add more protein to this soup, you can use:
- Tofu, either panfried pieces on top, or crumbled and oven-roasted.
- Paneer, diced and roasted in the oven or paneer crumble
- Chicken, either boiled or roasted, shredded chicken
- Fish, you can use tinned fish like mackerel, salmon or tuna. Or freshly poached or grilled fish.
Instead of the garnish, you can use a bit of green harissa, dukkah, or even chopped fresh herbs like coriander and parsley.
Instead of using the spices, you can use adobo chillies or rose harissa for flavour.
Storage
Store in the fridge for up to three days.
This freezer-friendly soup can be bulk-cooked and frozen for up to 3 months.
Chefs Tips
Don't skip the rinsing and soaking of the lentils. Not only does it remove dust and grit, but soaking for a short while will help to reduce bloating.
When making the garnish, we add the green part of the spring onions last, with the heat off, because it cooks more quickly than the white part, and we want to retain some of its shape.
Remember that we are cooking the lentils until they are soft enough to squish between your fingers. Don't cook it further to a porridge consistency.
FAQ
Yes, you can omit coconut cream altogether. However, if you want to add some creaminess to the soup, you can add some vegan cream or dairy cream. Add half the amount given for coconut milk to begin with, and adjust to your liking.
Red lentils are the preferred option for this recipe for their consistency, texture, and taste. You can use moong dal, which yields similar results; however, the soak and cook times will change.
You can. Let the soup cool completely, then divide it into suitable-sized portions. Freeze for up to three months. This recipe is suitable for batch cooking. When ready to eat, defrost in the fridge overnight and reheat gently. The coconut may separate, but it will come back together.
This soup is gluten-free and vegan if cooked as given in the recipe. If you are using stock cubes, read the label to make sure they are vegan and gluten-free. You can make your own vegetable stock from vegetable peelings and scraps. Please check out my vegetable stock recipe.
This soup is gently spiced with cumin, coriander and turmeric, giving it an Asian feel, but to be honest, my primary consideration was their health benefits. The jalapeรฑo peppers add a bit of heat, but you can increase it by replacing the jalapeรฑos with chopped green chillies, or by adding chilli powder with the other spices to your taste.
Related Recipes
Looking for other hearty, healthy soup recipes like this? Try these:
๐ Recipe
Leek and Lentil Soup
Equipment
- Digital scales
Ingredients
Soup
- 200 g Red lentils
- 100 g Leek
- 25 g Ginger
- 25 g Garlic
- 400 ml Coconut milk
- 500 g Vegetable stock
- 1 teaspoon Cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon Turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon Coriander powder
- 1 tablespoon Olive oil
- 2 teaspoon Salt
- ยฝ Juice of lime
Garnish
- 80 g Spring onion
- 2 Jalapeรฑo one green, one red
- 1 tablespoon Olive oil
Instructions
Garnish
- Wash and pat dry the spring onion. Finely slice the white part of the spring onion and set aside. Then slice the green part and set it aside separately.
- Wash and pat dry the chillies. Finely slice the chillies into rings.
- Heat the oil in a pot over a medium heat, and fry the white parts of the spring onion for a minute. Then add the chillies and fry for a minute. Finally, turn off the heat and add the green part of the spring onion. Fry for a minute, then transfer the mixture to a bowl. Set aside.
Soup
- Soak and rinse the lentils, until the water runs clear.
- Thoroughly wash the leek and ginger. Pat dry.
- Cut the leek in half lengthwise, then slice both the white and light green parts. Save the deep green part for stock.
- Slice the ginger, then julienne it, and then finely chop it. (see the video)
- Peel and finely chop garlic.
- In the same pot used to fry the garnish, add the olive oil. Over a medium heat, fry the leek until soft, and then add the garlic and ginger and fry until soft (about one minute).
- Rinse and drain lentils.
- Add the spices and stir. Then add the drained lentils, followed by the Vegetable stock, Turmeric and salt. Cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower the heat to medium and simmer until the lentils are cooked. It should take about 10 minutes. We want the lentils to be cooked and soft, pressed between the fingers, not mushy.
- Once the lentils are cooked, add the coconut milk and simmer for five minutes.
- Once ready, serve hot, garnished with the fried jalapeno peppers and spring onion.
Nutrition
Food Safety
- Wash your hands regularly while preparing, handling and cooking food.
- Wipe down countertops and high-contact points regularly.
- If you cook meat and fish, do not use the same utensils on cooked food that previously touched raw meat. Use separate chopping boards for meat and fish. Wash your chopping boards immediately after use.
- Thoroughly cook food to a minimum temperature of 165 ยฐF (74 ยฐC).
- Don't leave food at room temperature for extended periods (more than 2 hours).
- Store food correctly.
Margaret says
Thank you for this recipe. It was indeed very comforting