Coconut Curry Lentil Soup

Soup is ideal for gray weather. Right now on the east coast, the days are short and the air is Bitter cold. Whether it's early in the morning, or right before bed, warm and flavorful soup is just the best thing to keep your soul alive. That and dogs..... so if you have a dog you're 2-for-2. 

This Soup is Versatile

The coconut milk makes the soup creamy and the diced tomatoes give it a bright orange color, however, they’re completely optional. As per my Easy Lemon Lentil Soup, you only really need 6 cups of vegetable broth per 1.5 cups of red lentils. So since this soup already contains 4 cups of vegetable broth, feel-free to replace either of those cans with an additional cup of  veggie broth (each). So:

  • Replacing the coconut milk with 1 cup of broth will result in a bright red soup with and a more pronounced tomato flavor
  • Replacing the diced tomatoes with 1 cup of broth will result in a creamier soup with a stronger coconut flavor
  • Replacing BOTH the coconut milk AND diced tomatoes with 2 cups of broth will result in a soup soup with a lighter consistency but more pronounced spices, because it won’t have the coconut milk or tomatoes to temper them
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Made from pantry staples, this spiced lentil soup will warm (and fill) you up. Make it an even heartier meal by serving it on a bed of brown rice. Vegan & Gluten-Free
Author: 
Recipe type: Soup
Cuisine: Indian
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 1 tbsp coconut oil (or olive oil)
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste (or ketchup)
  • 2 tbsp curry powder
  • ½ tsp hot red pepper flakes
  • 4 cups vegetable broth
  • 1 400ml can coconut milk
  • 1 400g can diced tomatoes
  • 1.5 cups dry red lentils
  • 2-3 handfuls of chopped kale or spinach
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • Garnish: chopped cilantro (fresh coriander) and/or vegan sour cream
Instructions
  1. In a stockpot, heat the coconut oil over medium heat and stir-fry the onion, garlic and ginger until the onion is translucent, a couple minutes.
  2. Add the tomato paste (or ketchup), curry powder, and red pepper flakes and cook for another minute.
  3. Add the vegetable broth, coconut milk, diced tomatoes and lentils. Cover and bring to a boil, then simmer on low heat for 20-30 minutes, until the lentils are very tender. Season with salt and pepper.
  4. {Make-Ahead: May be cooled, frozen in air-tight containers, and re-heated over medium-low heat.}
  5. Before serving, stir in the kale/spinach and garnish with cilantro and/or vegan sour cream.

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