This Red Curry Lentil Soup has a cabbage base that is blended until smooth and then combined with coconut milk & cooked lentils.
You would not believe the amount of veggies I've snuck into this soup! The base has your typical soup ingredients - onion, garlic, celery, carrots. BUT, to get in even more veggies (and make this soup extra creamy), there is a whole half a head of cabbage in there too! It is simmered in the broth until tender and then blended until smooth. Add some coconut milk, cooked lentils and spinach to the creamy mix and you are ready to go. This soup is so simple but incredibly delicious!
Jump to:
How to Make the Soup Base
Start out by heating some oil in a stock pot and add the onion, garlic, ginger, celery and carrots. Let this cook down for a few minutes - the veggies should just be starting to get tender. Stir the curry paste & tomato paste in with the veggies for a couple of minutes. Once fragrant, pour in the broth (I used vegan beef broth) and add the chopped cabbage. Bring this to a boil, lower the heat and partially cover the pot. Let this simmer for about 30 minutes. You want the cabbage to get super tender.
Carefully transfer the mixture to a standing blender (you could also use an immersion blender, but I wanted this to be extra smooth, so standing will definitely get the job done) and blend until smooth. Because the mixture is hot, cover the opening in the top of the blender with a dish towel and allow some of the steam to release while blending.
Finish it Up
Transfer the blended mixture back to the stock pot over medium heat. Pour in a can of coconut milk, low sodium soy sauce and cooked lentils. You want to used cooked lentils so that they don't absorb all of the broth. Once everything is heated through, add in the spinach and lime juice. Give everything a stir and one last taste.
Serve the soup hot and top with fresh cilantro and fresno chiles. I also like to have extra lime wedges on the side.
This soup is so flavorful, veggie-packed and super easy. You can prep this for lunches or make it on a cold night for a cozy dinner!
Need More Recipe Inspo? Check these Out!
Did you Make this Recipe?
If you made this Red Curry Lentil Soup I would LOVE to hear what you thought. Be sure to drop a comment and a rating below! You can also tag me on social media if you snapped a photo. I LOVE seeing your recreations!
📖 Recipe
Red Curry Lentil Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ yellow onion diced
- 4 cloves garlic diced
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger diced
- 1 large carrot diced
- 2 stalks celery diced
- 3 tablespoons red curry paste
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 3 cups broth I used vegan beef broth
- ½ head green cabbage chopped
- 1 15-ounce can coconut milk
- 3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
- sriracha to taste
- 2 ½ cups cooked lentils
- 2 handfuls spinach chopped
- 1 lime juiced
- cilantro, fresno peppers, lime wedges for serving
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a stock pot over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, ginger carrot & celery and cook down until the veggies start to get tender (approx. 5 minutes). Stir in the curry paste & tomato paste and cook for another couple minutes. Pour in the broth and add the cabbage. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, partially cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Transfer everything to a standing blender and blend until smooth (be sure to cover the opening in the top with a dish towel and allow the steam to escape while blending).
- Pour the soup back into the stock pot over medium heat. Add the coconut milk, soy sauce, sriracha and lentils*. Once heated through, add the spinach and lime juice. Give it a stir and a taste - adjust seasonings as needed.
- Serve hot with the extra toppings.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Mechelle
This is so, so , SO dang good. I made this yesterday and cannot wait for lunch to get here. I have also save most of it to take to my daughters tomorrow.. Cannot wait for her to try it. Thank you for all your recipes. They are bomb !! Happy New Year. Looking forward to trying so many more of your recipes. They make me happy !
Rene
Thanks Mechelle - Happy New Year to you too!
Meghan Sara
Hi there! Question: what kind of lentils do you use? Red lentils? Brown lentils? Thanks for the advice!
Rene
I used brown, but any will work!
Jacque
This is my new favorite soup! I doubled it but only used one can of coconut milk because when I tasted it after adding one, I liked it so much. Next time I will look for heartier spinach or opt for chard. I took it to a soup potluck and it was gobbled up quick! I’ll have to make it again this week so I can have an entire bowl (or three), ha! Btw, I’ve been trying a lot of your recipes and haven’t been disappointed yet, all so, so delicious, interesting and elevated, thanks!
Rene
Thanks so much Jacque! You can also try adding rice noodles to this - one of my favorite ways to eat the leftovers!