Lemony red lentil potato soup with kale is hearty, bright, and weeknight-easy. This Mediterranean-inspired soup comes together in about 45 minutes. Rustic and warming, it's a complete one-pot meal.
One thing I love about cooking with dried lentils is that you don't need to soak them first. While I use firmer brown or green lentils to make my lentil, spinach, and potato soup and Greek-style lentil soup, here fast-cooking, mild red lentils are the star.
They soften quickly alongside the vegetables and soak up the flavors of the broth. In fact, they nearly melt into the vegan soup, leaving a cozy, stew-like texture.
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This soup is delicious. My teenage son requests this soup often and it has fast become a family staple. No need to change any ingredients in the recipe as posted, though I can never resist throwing in extra veggies! Thanks for the great recipes!
- Karen
Ingredients
- Potatoes: I like to use yellow potatoes like Yukon Gold, but you can also make this soup with red, white, or even sweet potatoes.
- Red lentils: Choose red lentils (which are actually more of an orange color) rather than longer-looking, firmer green, brown, or black lentils for this recipe. They will turn a yellow color when cooked.
- Kale: Any variety you like such as Lacinato (Tuscan), curly, or baby kale work well in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card at the bottom of this post for the complete ingredients, measurements, and instructions.
How to make red lentil potato soup
- Saute onion, garlic, carrots, and celery in olive oil in a large pot until softened.
- Add vegetable broth and potatoes and simmer for about 5 minutes or until the potatoes are partially cooked through.
- Stir in the red lentils and kale. Continue to cook 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are cooked and the vegetables are tender.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in fresh lemon juice and serve.
Stocked up on red lentils? Keep the cozy going with vegan red lentil chili.
Made this recipe? Have a question? Please leave a comment below. 💙 And for even more recipes, join my email list for community, inspiration & to chat directly with me!
Love and Veggies,
Amy
📋 Recipe
Lemony Red Lentil Potato Soup with Kale
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ cup carrots, diced
- ½ cup celery , diced
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 2 cups yellow potatoes, peeled and chopped (or your favorite variety)
- 1 cup red lentils, rinsed
- 1 bunch kale, (any variety) roughly chopped
- salt and pepper, to taste
- ½ lemon, squeezed (about 1½ Tablespoons of juice)
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- Saute the onion until soft and slightly translucent.1 cup onion
- Add the garlic and saute 30 seconds longer.2 cloves garlic
- Then add the carrots and celery and saute for about 2 minutes more until softened.½ cup carrots, 4 cups vegetable broth
- Add the vegetable broth and potatoes to the pot. Bring to a low boil and simmer for about 5 minutes until the potatoes are starting to get tender but are not all the way cooked when pierced with a fork.½ cup celery, 2 cups yellow potatoes
- Stir in the red lentils and kale. Cook for 10-15 minutes until the lentils and kale are tender and the potatoes are cooked through.1 cup red lentils, 1 bunch kale
- Taste and add salt and pepper, as needed. Stir in the lemon juice and serve.salt and pepper, ½ lemon
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Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimation only.
Rene says
Taste is great, but the timing in instructions is off. I've never had carrots soften in 2 minutes, even if they're grated. Potatoes, even fine diced ones, seem to take a lot longer to soften, and my split red lentil package even says to cook for 20 minutes. I sauteed all the veggies, even potatoes for more than 10 minutes, added broth and cooked 10 more, then added lentils and cooked for 25 minutes more. The lentils were done and disappeared into the stew (definitely not a soup), but there were still some veggies that were not as tender as I'd have liked. I added spinach, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper at the end. I used yukon gold potatoes, and fine-diced every vegetable. I will make it again because I love stew, and it tastes great, but start to finish, this dish took me 90 minutes including veggie prep.
Deb says
It was surprisingly good. I did end up adding more garlic and salt. I also dumped in maybe 1/2 cup coconut milk I had left in the fridge. Mashed soup up a little with potato masher. It was lovely with nice robust homemade bread. YUM!
Sheri says
I made this soup today. Just threw it all in the IP for 10 min. It turned into a delicious creamy thick delicious potato lentil soup that I LOVED!! Added sriracha at the end of cooking! Ty for this recipe!
Amy Katz says
I'm so happy to hear it, Sheri! What a great idea to add hot sauce.
Michelle says
What can be substituted for Kale, as no one here likes it
Amy Katz says
Hi Michelle, you can use any green you like such as spinach or chard. Or simply omit the kale without adding a substitute. I hope you enjoy it!
Ella says
Just made this and it's so yummy and cozy! Perfect for a winter day. And so EASY! Love it, will definitely make again.
Amy Katz says
I'm so happy you enjoyed it, Ella!
Karen says
This soup is delicious. My teenage son requests this soup often and it has fast become a family staple. No need to change any ingredients in the recipe as posted, though I can never resist throwing in extra veggies! Thanks for the great recipes!
Amy Katz says
I'm so happy to hear this, Karen!
Bridget says
I've been looking for a classic minimal ingredient lentil potato soup and kept striking out. I had a feeling this would be too bland, but it has a nice flavor once you add the salt. It's simple and comforting and delicious- exactly what I was looking for. Thanks!
Amy Katz says
I'm so glad you enjoyed it, Bridget!
Ellen McCann says
What attracted me to the recipe was the beautiful red lentils in my cupboard and no clear plan on how to consume them. Try as I might I just couldn't ruin the soup. I don't read/follow directions so there was a pot change to the appropriate "large pot" like it clearly states, the only organic potatoes at the store came in a bag and turned out to be old, and I have issues with getting the right temp, especially when it comes to maintaining a simmer - I spent the whole 10-15 minute cooking time trying to get it back up to simmer. Finally I did not have a ripe lemon on my tree so I'll have to wait until next time to see how that brings out the flavors. In spite of all the nonsense, it turned out delicious and was best on day three when I finished it. So, if you too have red lentils you don't want to contribute to the Thanksgiving food drive, this recipe is for you.
Amy Katz says
I love this review, thank you, Ellen!
LisaRose says
Made it, loved it! Used red chard because I’m not a kale person. Was a fantastic addition! Thanks for another winner, Amy.
Amy Katz says
I'm so glad you enjoyed it, LisaRose! Chard is a great choice.
Louise says
Sounds yummy. Do you have directions for preparing in the Instant Pot too?
Amy Katz says
Thank you, Louise! I like to make this soup on the stove because it cooks so quickly. In the Instant Pot, you probably only need 4 minutes at the most with quick release.
Cat says
I made this soup earlier in the week & my Husband & I LOVED it! So healthy, hearty, & yummy! Thank you Veggies Save The Day for another wonderful recipe!
Amy Katz says
I'm so happy you both enjoyed it!
Kristi says
Great soup! Really tasty and nice and hearty. My family really enjoyed it. Thank you for sharing 🙂
Amy says
So happy to hear it, Kristi! 🙂