Curry Sweet Potato + Red Lentil Soup
This glowing Curry Sweet Potato & Red Lentil Soup recipe features nourishing sweet potatoes, and protein-rich red lentils, simmered together with a tart green apple, aromatic ginger, curry, cilantro, onion, garlic, and coconut milk!
With soup season about to start and the temperatures beginning to fall, warm up the kitchen and wrap your hands around a bowl full of this thick, hearty soup.
Nourishing and full of flavor, it’s a lovely combination of both savory & sweet and just might be your new go-to soup!
Curry Sweet Potato + Red Lentil Soup
I ran across this recipe from BBC Good Food with (mostly) great reviews and couldn’t pass up adapting it to fit into the recipe collection. The ingredient list is fairly simple and straightforward. What I really love about this recipe is the addition of a green apple and toasting the curry.
I didn’t change the original recipe too much, just a few tweaks to make it vegan and ensure it wasn’t overly sweet.
A few of the changes I’ve made include:
- Narrowing down the apple choice. The original recipe calls for an ‘eating’ apple, but after reading reviews that the soup was too sweet, I decided to narrow it down and go with a green apple. The tartness helps cut into the sweetness of the potatoes.
- Some reviewers didn’t like the lime juice, but I loved it here. It will also help cut the sweetness and add a little brightness. I would suggest starting with half of the lime juice and adding the other half if needed. With the green apple and lime juice, the soup wasn’t too sweet at all; it was just a nice balance of sweet and savory.
- For the milk, feel free to change it up using either coconut milk (light, full-fat, or cream), or your favorite non-dairy unsweetened milk. I used coconut cream here, and needless to say, it was delicious!
How To Make Curry Sweet Potato + Red Lentil Soup
- Cube, dice, and mince your ingredients.
- Cook the soup in a large Dutch oven or pot—at least a 5-quart pot.
- Once the soup is done simmering, you can either eat it as is or puree it using an immersion blender. The soup on the left has just finished simmering and can be eaten as is if you like. At this point, the soup is a mustard color, but once pureed, the soup will take on an amber glow (shown on the right).
- If you prefer your soup pureed or chunky, you can always roughly puree it, which is what I usually do. I love finding a few chunks of goodness here and there!
- Serve with a spoonful of ultra-creamy coconut cream and freshly chopped cilantro over top. And for those who like a little heat, add a sprinkle of red pepper flakes and/or jalapeno slices to get your fix.
Both wholesome and nutrient-dense, I hope you enjoy this soup as much as I did!
How Long Will Leftovers Keep?
Leftovers can be stored for 5 – 6 days in the refrigerator, in a covered container. Simply re-warm on the stovetop or the microwave. It makes a great meal prep for the week with homemade No Knead Bread or Naan on the side for soaking up the juices.
Can You Freeze Sweet Potato + Red Lentil Soup?
Yes, it freezes well for up to 2 months! To freeze, store in freezer-safe containers leaving 1/2 inch head space for expansion. You can also freeze larger portions in large ziplock bags or containers. Let thaw in the refrigerator.
Adjusting For Dietary Restrictions
- Grain-Free: Omit the lentils and reduce the liquids to 3 – 4 cups to make this recipe grain-free, adding more liquids as needed.
- Gluten-Free: This soup is already gluten-free!
- Low-Fat: Instead of using coconut milk, opt for unsweetened plant milk.
- Oil-Free: When sauteeing the onions and garlic, be sure to use water or vegetable broth instead of oil to make this recipe oil-free. The broth will yield the most flavor, but water is great, too, and what I usually use.
More Red Lentil Soup Recipes!
Red lentils add a good dose of protein and heartiness to soups. Try these other vegan recipes using red lentils. You may find a new favorite for the meal rotation!
- Creamy Asparagus + Red Lentil Soup
- Creamy Broccoli + Red Lentil Soup
- Butternut Squash + Red Lentil Soup
- Curry Red Lentil Stew with Kale & Chickpeas
- See all vegan Soup recipes on TSV!
If you try this curry sweet potato soup recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment and rate it below. I love to hear what you think, or any changes you make.
PrintCURRY SWEET POTATO + RED LENTIL SOUP
Cozy up with a bowl of this golden, thick & hearty curry sweet potato and red lentil soup. It’s both nutrient dense and full of flavor!
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Cook Time: 30 min
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4 – 6 1x
- Category: Soup, Entree
- Cuisine: Vegan
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons curry powder
- 2 tablespoons olive oil or 1/4 cup water, for water saute
- 2 onions, diced
- 1 green apple, peeled, cored and diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/3 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
- 1 inch piece fresh ginger, minced
- 2 large sweet potatoes, cubed
- 1 cup dried red lentils
- 5 cups vegetable both, water, or combo
- 1 can ( 14oz.) coconut milk (light, full-fat or cream) or 1 1/2 cups unsweetened almond milk
- juice of 1 lime
To serve (optional)
- choppped cilantro
- red pepper flakes
- coconut cream
- lime slices
Instructions
Toast the curry: Heat a large dutch oven or pot (at least a 5 quarts) over medium heat, add the curry powder and toast for about 2 mins. The color will darken slightly and become fragrant. Add the olive oil, and give a good stir, letting the spices sizzle.
Saute: Next, add the onions, apple, garlic, cilantro and ginger, gently saute for 5 mins, stirring occasionally (things are really starting to smell good now!).
Simmer: Add the sweet potatoes, lentils, broth and milk, bring to a gentle boil, cover and reduce heat to low and let simmer for 20 minutes, sweet potatoes should be fork-tender and lentils soft.
Puree: Once done, let cool a few minutes and blend until smooth using an immersion blender. Stir in the lime juice (start with 1/2 lime), check for flavor, adding the remaining 1/2 lime juice, salt & pepper to taste. Add a tad more milk/water if you prefer a thinner soup.
Serve with chopped cilantro, red pepper flakes, and a drizzle of coconut cream. For extra brightness, add a squeeze of lime over top.
Serves 4 – 6
Store: Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 – 6 days in an airtight container. It’s also freezer friendly and can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months. Defrost the soup in the refrigerator overnight and reheat on the stovetop over medium heat until warmed through.
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I just finished making this soup and it’s absolutely delicious! You rocked the flavor combos and I’ll definitely be making it again. Thank you for sharing such great recipes!
WOW! I cannot even put into words how good this soup was. I added a pinch of cayenne at the same time as the curry powder to let them “bloom” together and by the end, the soup was the perfect balance of salty, sweet, sour, and spicy. The extra squeeze of lime was a must, as was a good bit of cracked black pepper. Thank you – this recipe will serve us well in the future!!
This is my new favorite soup! I love it! It’s so easy to make and I thought the flavor was perfect, not too sweet. I used 1 teaspoon medium heat curry and 1 teaspoon garam masala because I love garam. I double the lentils because I like to get more protein in my bowl. I also did half broth half water and it was perfect. For the people who think it’s too sweet..maybe you could use some regular potato and sweet potato mixed to cut the sweetness down a bit? Thank you so much for an amazing recipe!!
I wondered how garam masala would taste with it! Next time, based on your comment, I will try it! Did you have to add extra liquid to account for the extra lentils?
I made this dish with a granny smith and unsweetened coconut. I’m not a fan of sweet dishes. IMO, this is too sweet. I haven’t given much thought on how to alter this as the sweet potato, apples and onions are the source of sweetness. In general, it’s a good recipe. It’s just sweet. I added hot sauce and cilantro to cut it some and that helped.
Besides it being a bit too sweet for you, I’m glad you were able to cut the sweetness a bit. I found using a big squeeze of lime helped mellow the sweetness. If you make it again, definitely don’t skip the lime juice at the end. Thank you for the feedback! Cheers :)
OMG THIS IS SO GOOD.
I made it last night and used fresh grapefruit instead of lime and it came out perfectly. I didn’t blend it either. Was delicious, and I am sure it would be amazing blended as well. Will definitely be keeping this on hand.
This is delicious comfort food in a bowl. Thanks for a wonderful recipe!
This was delicious and very easy to make! I made it in my instant pot. I added all ingredients through the coconut milk and cooked in the IP for 20 min on the Bean program.
Wonderful, so glad it worked well in the instant pot! I need one of those myself. Cheers :)
Ohh wow what a clever adaptation! Will definitely be giving this a go to warm me up during the winter – looks super delicious :)
This soup is absolutely delicious! I didn’t have a lime on hand so I used a lemon, and it worked out great. I also used half broth and half water plus extra cilantro as suggested. So so good!
This looks really good. Do you think it would work out ok in the instant pot, and if so, for how long??
Great question! I have yet to use an instant pot (it’s definitely on my list of things to get), so I’m not sure exactly how it would do. It does cook really fast on the stove-top so if you decide to use an instant pot, I imagine it wouldn’t take very long at all. I’d love to know how it goes if you give it a try.