Carrot Lentil Soup
This easy and budget-friendly carrot & red lentil soup with ginger and coconut milk is always popular, and the perfect warming soup on a cold Winters day!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion diced
- 5 (approx 320g/11.2oz) carrots peeled and roughly chopped
- 1 stick celery roughly chopped
- 1 zucchini/courgette roughly chopped
- 1 red capsicum/pepper roughly chopped
- 1 clove garlic crushed
- 70g (⅓ c) red lentils
- ⅓ teaspoon mild curry powder
- 750ml (3 c) stock or water
- 125ml (½ c) coconut milk
- salt
- black pepper
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over a gentle heat and fry the onion for 5 minutes, until starting to soften.
- Add the chopped carrots, celery, zucchini, capsicum and garlic.
- Place the lid on the pan and cook for 5-10 minutes until the vegetables are beginning to soften.
- Stir in the curry powder and then the red lentils and add the stock/water.
- Season with salt and black pepper and then bring to a simmer and simmer for 20-25minutes until the vegetables and lentils are tender.
- Add the coconut milk and heat through for a couple of minutes, then turn off the heat and blend until smooth with a stick blender.
- Check for seasoning, adding a little more salt and black pepper if needed.
- Serve straight away, or cool and keep in the fridge, covered, for up to 3 days. Or freeze.
Notes
- Carrots – the star of the show! Budget friendly and popular with everyone. The weight suggested in the recipe card below is approx. 4 large carrots or 5 smaller carrots. You don’t have to be exact – if a little but over, use the rest of the carrot!
- Onion – brown onion or yellow onion.
- Garlic – you can either use a fresh garlic clove or 1 teaspoon of store-bought minced garlic.
- Red Lentils – a cheap source of protein, red lentils don’t take long to cook and thicken the soup.
- Stock – chicken or vegetable stock works well. I also make this soup with just water if I don’t have stock. Use water if making this soup for baby led weaning to reduce sodium levels.
- Vegetables – this soup can be made with a variety of vegetables: celery, capsicum/pepper, zucchini/courgette, a couple of tablespoons of sweetcorn or 2-3 fresh tomatoes.
- Curry powder – I use a mild curry powder, which gives a background warmth to the soup rather than being hot and spicy.
- Coconut milk – this adds a rich, creamy taste to the soup. If you don’t want to use coconut milk just leave it out, adding 120ml / ½ c extra stock or water, and reduce the curry powder to ¼ teaspoon.
- Use different vegetables – this soup is a great recipe for using up leftover vegetables that are sat in the fridge and reducing food waste. You can use mostly carrots, or add other vegetables.
- If you use different veggies to make the lentil soup, try to use red, yellow or orange vegetables. Adding green vegetables like peas or spinach makes the soup turns brown, which can put younger family members off.
- This soup is developed to appeal to kids and toddlers. To make a spicier soup add an extra ¼ teaspoon curry powder, a pinch of dried chilli flakes or 2 cm finely grated fresh ginger, added with the crushed garlic.
- This is a thick carrot red lentil soup – if you prefer a thinner soup, add a little more water/stock/coconut milk.
- For baby led weaning – this soup was one of my sons favourite baby led weaning soups! For a baby lentil soup – make the soup with water, omit the ginger and reduce the curry powder to ¼ teaspoon. Make sure to blend the soup until completely smooth and no lumps remain.
Nutrition
Calories: 191kcalCarbohydrates: 23gProtein: 7gFat: 9gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gSodium: 80mgPotassium: 702mgFiber: 9gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 13821IUVitamin C: 53mgCalcium: 62mgIron: 3mg
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