This wonderfully flavorful, rich, and nutritious lentil soup reaches for cultural ethnicity with various spices as well as the well-known and lauded Harissa paste. You can make this soup quickly either on the stove-top or in your Instant Pot pressure cooker!!
In my single and married (but pre-child) past I had the privilege of traveling across the world to Africa and Nepal as well as a handful of other countries. I think Ethnic food is incredible. The flavors in the soup truly seem to transport me to other places!
What do you need to make this Mediterranean – style Red lentil soup?
- Harissa paste – this is a big one. It’s a combination of a variety of spicy red peppers as well as some spices. Really contributes a depth of flavor and cultural authenticity to this soup!
- Fresh Ginger – I did add the option to use dried ginger in the recipe card but fresh is best!
- Red Lentils – there are other lentil colors out there, brown, black etc., but red is quick cooking and perfect flavor for this recipe
How to serve this soup:
- Over rice
- with a side salad and crusty bread
- alongside hummus and vegan yogurt
One last comment! The white stuff you see swirled in the top bowl of soup is a bit of my homemade yogurt. I talk about it in this post: 2 Easy Ways to Make the Vest Vegan Yogurt. Happy cooking everyone! Can’t wait for you to get wrapped up in the flavors!!
IF YOU LIKE THIS POST YOU MIGHT ALSO BE INTERESTED IN:
- Vegan lentil burgers
- Vegan Nacho Cheese
- Best Vegan Egg Salad
- Easy Vegan Buttermilk Biscuits
- Vegan Smoked Gouda Cheese
If you’ve tried this Mediterranean Chickpea and Lentil Soup recipe or any other recipe on the blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I LOVE hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST to see more delicious food!!!
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Mediterranean-Style Red Lentil and Chickpea Soup
Ingredients
- 1 C. Finely Diced Onion
- 1 C. Finely Diced Carrot
- 4 Large cloves minced Garlic
- 1 tsp. Fresh minced Ginger OR 1/4 tsp Dried Ground Ginger
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1 1/2 tsp. Himalayan Salt, or other sea salt
- 1/4 tsp. Cumin
- 1/4 tsp. Tumeric
- 1/4 tsp. Paprika
- 1/4 tsp. Cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp. Chilli Powder
- Pinch Coriander
- 1 tsp Harissa paste, or cayenne powder (use more of either depending on how spicy you like it)
- 1 Can Diced Tomatoes, 14.5 oz
- 1 Can Chickpeas, garbanzos (15.5 oz)
- 1 C. Dry Red lentils Rinsed
- 32 oz. or 4 Cups Vegetable Broth
- 2 C. Water
- 1 T. Fresh Lemon Juice
Instructions
- Finely dice onions and carrots either by hand or with a food processor. Mince Garlic and Ginger root. Add all these to instant pot or stock pot and begin to Saute’ with olive oil. Add seasonings and salt. Saute’ for a few moments until fragrant and onions begin to soften. Stir frequently to prevent burning.
- Now add can of diced tomatoes (with juice) that you’ve either pulsed in a food processor, or chopped a bit to create smaller pieces. Add the remaining ingredients (lentils, rinsed/drained chickpeas, veg. broth, water, Harissa) with the exception of the fresh lemon.
- If using Instant Pot: set Manual (high) pressure to 11 minutes and allow pressure to naturally release for 10 minutes before manually releasing remaining pressure.
- If cooking on stovetop: Bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer for approx 45 minutes or until lentils are tender.
- Stir in Fresh Lemon, garnish with fresh herbs if desired, and serve!
Nutrition
Had this for lunch today – it was amazing – loved it – this is my new go-to-lentil soup recipe. I didn’t have vegetable stock so I used just plain water and added some chicken style seasoning. I had tried it once before and got impatient and didn’t wait for the instant pot to depressurize by itself for 10 minutes and it wasn’t as good. Today I made myself wait and it was absolutely perfect.
Thx for your comment! So glad you enjoyed it! Loved the idea of using water and chicken-style seasoning as well!
This soup is amazing! I love it and so do my kids!
So glad the whole family loves it! That’s a win for sure! 😉
This looks delish!! I especially love Instant Pot recipes. Can’t wait to give it a try.
Thanks so much! Hope you love it! 😉