Vegan tomato lentil soup! Here’s a kid-friendly lentil recipe for the whole family that’s easy to make, healthy, and plant-based.
As the seasons change, so do the recipes on rotation in our homes.
So naturally, when it’s cooler outside, we tend to gravitate toward warm recipes that can also be reused in batch cooking or heated up quickly for leftovers.
This is our Tomato Lentil Soup recipe, which uses just five main ingredients and a handful of palate-pleasing spices.
Even our kids have enjoyed this soup, both by the spoon or by dipping in some chunky bread or grilled “cheeze” sandwiches served on the side.
Here’s how to make it!
First, heat your olive oil (or another plant-based oil of your choice) in a large skillet over medium heat.
Dice some onion and bell pepper and saute these in your skillet until they become softened and fragrant. This usually only takes a minute or less. Sometimes we’ll add a little minced garlic in here too.
Next, you’re going to add in a can of crushed tomatoes and let your ingredients simmer together for a few minutes.
Then, add in your lentils, salt, water, and coconut milk.
Cook everything, stirring gently, over medium-low heat. Let your soup cook and meld together until the lentils are thoroughly heated and the soup is thickened.
This usually takes around 25-30 minutes.
Once your soup is done, serve in bowls and let cool a little before presenting to your babes.
Tomato Lentil Soup pairs perfectly with our Pear Grilled Cheeze OR our Grilled Cheese Dippers, the recipe for which you can find in the Plant Based Juniors Batch Cook Ebook!
Find the full, printable recipe for Tomato Lentil Soup below.
Tomato Lentil Soup
Equipment
- Large skillet
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 bell pepper, diced
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp oregano
- 1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 1 cup brown or green lentils, dry
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 15 oz can coconut milk, light or regular full-fat
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Add the onion and bell pepper and cook until tender. .
- Add in the spices and cook until fragrant, just 30 seconds
- Add in the crushed tomatoes and simmer for a few minutes, then add in the lentils, salt, water and coconut milk. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until lentils are cooked through and soup is thickened, about 25 minutes.
- Serve alongside toast strips or grilled cheeze!
We think you’ll love this vegan tomato lentil soup! Add it to your kid-friendly lentil recipes and put it on rotation this fall and winter.
Chime In: Do you prepare lentils often in your home?
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Made this for dinner tonight. It has been on the stove simmering for 45 minutes and the brown lentils are still hard. Going to give it another 15 minutes before I have to go to plan B for the 14 month old. The flavor is great but my lentils are not cooking. I even considered using red lentils as I just seem to prefer them but decided to go with brown. I also made the grilled cheeze sauce for sandwiches to accompany the soup but my blender burned out just as it turned creamy and smoke was coming from the inside. My husband convinced me to cut our losses and discard the cheeze. I thought it tasted great and not like smoke but didn’t want to take a chance. Striking out tonight 🙁
Hi Angie– do you know how old your lentils are? If they are older then they likely will never become soft. We’ve had that issue before with older lentils/beans and we know how frustrating that is.
Hi, the recipe mentions cumin twice (1/2 tsp cumin and 1/2 tsp ground cumin). I’m assuming it’s 1/2 tsp cumin for the whole recipe, or is it 1 tsp?
It’s 1/2 teaspoon! Just updated– it was accidentally added twice.
The soup was awesome. Thanks so much for sharing.
So glad you liked it!
Can I use almond milk instead of coconut milk?
Yes, it just won’t be as creamy.
This recipe was a life saver last night! I didn’t have a can of tomatoes, so I grabbed two fresh ones and blended them up, it was perfect. Super fresh and quick, this is definitely going to be a weeknight staple in our house.