If you are looking for something easy to make for the whole family with just a handful of ingredients that everyone loves, this Arabic Lentil Soup is for you. Middle Eastern red lentil soup served with fresh parsley or coriander and a generous drizzle of lemon is all you need to warm up your body and soul.
Our Arabic Lentil Soup, aka Shorbat Adas, is a healthy, hearty, and comforting one-pot meal that you can prepare for the whole family in about 30 minutes. You will just need six ingredients, spices, and vegetable broth to make this Lebanese soup. The best part? Kids love it, too!
We've been making this recipe for a few years now, and we somehow manage to make it at least once a month or every two weeks. Red lentils cook quite fast compared to other dried lentils, which makes this soup a quick and easy fix for a weeknight meal. It basically became a family favorite from the first time we made it years ago!
This recipe is the perfect soup for batch cooking as well, as it can be made in advance and kept in the fridge for 2-3 days using an airtight container or freezer using a freezer-safe container until you want to serve it.
You can add some spice to it if you like spicy food, but we kept this recipe simple and family-friendly.
Our Arabic Lentil Soup is:
- Vegan
- Gluten-free
- Family-friendly
- Hearty
- A main dish or appetizer
- Lebanese
Ingredients
Red lentils. For our vegan lentil soup, we use red lentils as they cook fast, and kids love them. You can make this recipe using brown lentils or green lentils, but you may need to adjust the cooking time until the legumes are completely cooked. We are making fantastic recipes with red lentils, such as Red Lentil Tofu or Red Lentil Wraps. This legume is so versatile and definitely an ingredient you want to start introducing in your diet if you haven't yet.
Fresh vegetables. This recipe is made with finely chopped red or yellow onion, garlic, carrot, celery, and tomato. We add fresh coriander or parsley before serving the meal. You can add more vegetables to this recipe, such as sweet potatoes, parsnip, zucchini, or leek.
Vegetable stock. Our Arabic Lentil soup is vegan, and we use vegetable stock. You may find recipes that call for chicken stock, but if you want to keep this meal vegan, you will need vegetable stock. Alternatively, you can use marmite or vegemite (2 teaspoons) or soy sauce (3 teaspoons).
Spices. Cumin powder, coriander powder, ground turmeric, and ground cinnamon are the spice mix we use for this lentil soup. You can use other spices or leaves such as a bay leaf, nutmeg, or harissa for a little spice.
Salt and black pepper.
Lemon and fresh coriander to serve. Before serving the soup, add a generous drizzle of lemon juice and a handful of chopped fresh coriander or parsley.
Step-by-Step Method
This easy red lentil soup can be made following these four simple steps:
Heat some olive oil in a large pot; we like using our cast-iron pot for one-pot meals over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 2-3 minutes. Then, add finely chopped garlic, carrot, celery, and tomato. Cook for 7-8 minutes while you keep stirring regularly.
Add spice mix and lentils. Stir well and cook for 1-2 minutes.
Add the vegetable stock, bring to a simmer, and cook for 20 minutes or until the lentils are completely cooked.
Using an immersion blender or hand blender, half blend the soup or blend until you have the desired consistency. You can leave the soup without blending or completely blend it, depending on your family's preferences.
Serve with drizzled lemon and chopped coriander or parsley.
Arabic Lentil Soup
Ingredients
- 1 medium onion finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 2 carrots finely chopped
- 1 celery stalk finely chopped
- 1 tomato
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric
- 1 cup red lentils rinsed and picked over
- 4 cup vegetable broth
- Salt and pepper to taste
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- Lemon to serve
Instructions
- Heat some olive oil in a big pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Add finely chopped garlic, carrot, celery, and tomato. Cook for 7-8 minutes while you keep stirring regularly.1 medium onion, 1 garlic clove, 2 carrots, 1 celery stalk, 1 tomato
- Add spice mix and red lentils. Stir well and cook for 1-2 minutes.1 teaspoon ground cumin, ½ teaspoon ground coriander, ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon turmeric, 1 cup red lentils
- Add the vegetable stock, bring to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes or until the lentils and completely cooked.4 cup vegetable broth
- Add salt and pepper to taste.Salt and pepper to taste
- Using an immersion blender or hand blender, half blend the soup or blend until you have the desired consistency.
- Serve with drizzled lemon and chopped coriander or parsley.¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro, Lemon to serve
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Nutrition
Serving Suggestions
This hearty Arabic soup can be enjoyed as an appetizer if you serve a smaller bowl or as a main dish served with some Pita Bread or another type of crusty bread or even homemade croutons on the side.
If you like spicy food but are cooking this meal for the whole family, you may want to add some chili oil directly to your bowl.
Don't forget to serve it with some lemon wedges to add extra lemon if desired.
This soup's consistency is quite thick, but if you like it thicker, you could add some rice when you add the lentils to make it heartier.
Check out what other Vegan Spring Soups we enjoy at home.
FAQ & Tips
You can use a hand blender or a food processor.
Yes. When all the ingredients have been added to your Instant Pot, seal the pot and cook on high pressure for 15 minutes.
If you haven't got dried red lentils, you can use canned lentils. Add them about 5 minutes before blending the soup, as they don't need further cooking.
Sure! This is a perfect freezer meal. To thaw, simply leave it at room temperature for the day or heat it in a pot over low heat.
You can use green, brown, or yellow lentils. Any type of lentil will work for this recipe as long as you adjust the cooking time, as red lentils cook quite fast.
Janet Carlin says
Very easy to make, a filling, hearty soup. The lemon juice and fresh coriander at the end really lifts it. Will certainly make it regularly now.
Laura says
Thank you Janet! Glad you enjoyed the recipe 🙂
Rachel H. says
Where does the cilantro come in?
Laura Arteaga says
Hi Rachel, we chop it and add it as a topping before serving.
Jessica says
This is great! I much prefer the blended texture to regular lentil soup. This extra step is well worth washing an additional dish. Thanks for the recipe.
Laura Arteaga says
Thank you Jessica!
Sonia says
This soup is so easy to make, flavorful, and hearty. Cozy comfort in every spoonful! 😍
Laura Arteaga says
Thank you Sonia 🙂