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a bowl of Turkish lentil soup on a wooden board with parsley in the background
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Turkish Lentil Soup

This Turkish lentil soup makes a great weeknight dinner for busy days. It's smooth, creamy, comforting, and nutritious. And the recipe comes together in just 30 minutes!
Course Soup
Cuisine Turkish
Diet Vegan, Vegetarian
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Servings 6 servings
Calories 201kcal
Author Sina

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon vegan butter
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped or minced
  • 1 potato, peeled and chopped
  • 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
  • 1 red bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
  • 1 teaspoons hot paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1 1/4 cups red lentils
  • 4 cups vegetable broth
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped
  • 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
  • pul biber, to sprinkle crushed chili flakes, also called Aleppo pepper

Instructions

  • Finely chop the onion and the garlic. Dice the bell pepper, carrots, and potatoes. 
  • Heat some oil in a large pot and sauté the onion for 2-3 minutes or until translucent. 
  • Add the carrots, bell pepper, and potatoes and cook for 5 minutes. 
  • Then add the spices and the tomato paste. 
  • Stir well and cook for 2 minutes until the spices are fragrant. 
  • Add the red lentils and stir well. 
  • Add the vegetable broth and cook for 15 minutes on low heat. 
  • Discard the bay leaf and use an immersion blender and blend the soup directly in the pot. Serve hot and sprinkle with freshly chopped parsley, mint, and red pepper flakes. 

Notes

  • Don't replace the red lentils with any other kind of lentils such as brown or green lentils. The recipe only works with red lentils as they break down and soften very easily. 
  • The soup is rather thick, so just add more vegetable broth to make a thinner version. Besides, it gets considerably thicker when being stored in the fridge. So in this case, you also might want to add some more vegetable broth. 
  • I like to add a potato to this Turkish lentil soup to make it more filling. However, you can also skip it and use three carrots instead of two. 

Nutrition

Calories: 201kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 0.1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Sodium: 1081mg | Potassium: 765mg | Fiber: 14g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 5527IU | Vitamin C: 45mg | Calcium: 56mg | Iron: 4mg