Curried Lentil, Tomato, and Coconut Soup (2024)

Bon Appétit

By Yotam Ottolenghi

5.0

(208)

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Curried Lentil, Tomato, and Coconut Soup (1)

Photo by Alex Lau

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This recipe calls for medium curry powder, but it’s flexible. If the one you have is mild or very spicy, adjust the heat level with more, or less, red pepper flakes.

Ingredients

4 servings

2 tablespoons virgin coconut oil or extra-virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 (2 1/2") piece ginger, peeled, finely grated

1 tablespoon medium curry powder (such as S&B)

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

3/4 cup red lentils

1 (14.5-ounce) can crushed tomatoes

1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro, plus leaves with tender stems for serving

Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper

1 (13.5-ounce) can unsweetened coconut milk, shaken well

Lime wedges (for serving)

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium. Cook onion, stirring often, until softened and golden brown, 8–10 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, curry powder, and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add lentils and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add tomatoes, ½ cup cilantro, a generous pinch of salt, and 2½ cups water; season with pepper. Set aside ¼ cup coconut milk for serving and add remaining coconut milk to saucepan. Bring mixture to a boil; reduce heat and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until lentils are soft but not mushy, 20–25 minutes. Season soup with more salt and pepper if needed.

    Step 2

    To serve, divide soup among bowls. Drizzle with reserved coconut milk and top with more cilantro. Serve with lime wedges.

  2. Do Ahead

    Step 3

    Soup (without toppings) can be made 3 days ahead. Let cool; cover and chill.

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Reviews (208)

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  • This was delicious just as written! Will definitely make it again.

    • Anonymous

    • Mountain View, CA

    • 2/5/2024

  • A cozy, satisfying soup on a blustery winter day. I had all of the ingredients in my pantry, and I added cubes of butternut squash and some diced red bell pepper that I had prepped in the fridge. Delicious!

    • Anonymous

    • Seattle, Washington

    • 1/11/2024

  • Yummmmm. This is excellent. Would be nice topped with toasted unsweetened coconut flakes too! I added the juice of one lime to the soup at the end and loved the added acidity. Saving this one!

    • Becca

    • Boulder, CO

    • 1/10/2024

  • Easy & flavorful soup. Great for a healthy, fast meal. Don't forget the squeeze of lime at the end, it really brings out the taste!Last time I made it used diced tomatoes rather than crushed and ended up liking a little better. The tomato pieces gave it some more texture.

    • Anonymous

    • Portland, Maine

    • 12/5/2023

  • I nice new twist on lentil soup. Easy to make and tasty.

  • This soup has such perfect flavour. It is a staple in my home! Every single person I have served it to asks for the recipe!

    • Anonymous

    • Kelowna BC Canada

    • 5/4/2023

  • My first time making a lentil, curry type soup. I love it, so flavorful and perfect on a cold, winter night. I want to make it again but explore more with the ingredients next time.

    • Jim Lamb

    • Colorado Springs

    • 1/22/2023

  • This is so delicious….and very easy to make. I used fire roasted crushed tomatoes and couldn’t. E happier with the depth of flavor and consistency of this soup. Will definitely make it again.

    • Rachel P.

    • Snoqualmie, WA

    • 12/27/2022

  • Yummy! I made this soup because I had some left over crushed tomatoes and I'm so glad that I did. It is absolutely delicious and very easy to make. We love all the ingredients and they were wonderful together.

    • Anonymous

    • Victoria, BC

    • 8/9/2022

  • I batch this recipe often. It’s now become a staple. Loads of flavor and so quick to put together!Great source of micronutrients and antioxidants!

    • Lizzie D

    • Athol, MA

    • 2/11/2022

  • This recipe is a treasure, the kind that is easy to put together, has far more flavor than expected and will be one that I make over and over. I don't think I would have tried this if it didn't already have so many good reviews, so thank you to everyone that went first!

    • Anonymous

    • 2/10/2022

  • Perfect pantry soup, perfect cold weather soup, perfect make me feel better soup! I have tried this multiple ways; more lentils, chicken broth in place of water, more curry and crushed red pepper flakes or Aleppo peppers in place of red pepper flakes, etc ... there's really no way to muck this recipe up. As to the question of the missing water - it turns up in the instructions "Add tomatoes, ½ cup cilantro, a generous pinch of salt, and 2½ cups water; season with pepper." After the lentils and before the coconut milk. Enjoy the recipe and make it often!

    • JulieBulie

    • Ontario, canada

    • 1/18/2022

  • I haven’t made this soup yet. But I noticed the water apparently needed in this recipe is missing from the instructions

    • Anonymous

    • 1/11/2022

  • Delicious, flavorful, easy! Hearty but not heavy. Served with warm roti- an excellent veggie dinner!

    • mamazoni

    • New Haven, CT

    • 1/2/2022

  • Can anyone please advise for those of us in locations with difficulty sourcing cilantro…perhaps for a soup like this one could use dried cilantro leaves? So many ottolenghi recipes for which I turn the page….

    • Maggie

    • Milan

    • 12/18/2021

TagsSoupSoup/StewLentilBean and LegumeVegetableTomatoCoconutFruitStarterMainLunchDinnerDairy FreeGluten FreeNut FreeVegetarianVeganWeeknight MealsOne-Pot MealsMake AheadBon Appétit

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