Creamy Red Lentil Soup - Vegan Recipe (2024)

How’s it going friends!

It is February 2020 in Montreal. We had the biggest snowstorm of the year yesterday and the streets are covered in snow. As I am writing this blog post, Tis’ -15 Celsius (5 F), -26 (-15 F) if wind factored in. It’s cold, is my point.

That is why soup. But not just any soup. This is a Vegan Creamy Red Lentil Soup, garnished with homemade pumpernickel croutons, freshly ground black peppers and a drizzle of coconut cream.

It is just fantastic for this weather, or any weather really.

The Inspo Behind this Curried Lentil Soup

All thanks for this genius idea goes to the Atomic Café on Ontario St.

Atomic Café is one of my favorite hang outs. They serve all kinds of food, vegan and not vegan. Not to mention that they make a kick ass Latte. When I was working at Hochelaga, this Cafe was my go to spot. They have a different soup for each day of the week, and that’s how I got to try their awesome Dahl Soup. It blew my mind.

That is why I decided to create a version of my own, based on the awesome one I had at the Atomic.

P.S. If you are ever planning on visiting Montreal, do yourself a favor and stop by Hochelaga. You can’t really get a true appreciation of the city without visiting Ontario Street. Trust me.

How to Make Red Lentil Soup

This is an Instant Pot soup. However, if you do not have one, you can make it in a regular pot. You will however need to cook it longer and might need more broth.

For those who are going to make it in an instant pot, this recipe is as straight forward as it gets.

1. To your instant pot add your red lentils, your diced potatoes and carrots, turmeric, cumin, ground ginger, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper and cayenne. Cover with your veggie broth. Close your instant pot and cook on the chili setting (30 minutes on high pressure).
2. Once all the steam is out, open your Instant pot, add your coconut milk and your cup of water.
3. Stir and move your soup into the blender. You can use an immersion blender if you have one. Blend your soup until smooth.
4. For garnish, I just toasted some pumpernickel bread (in my good old toaster) and diced it. You can also add a drizzle of coconut cream and some freshly ground black pepper.

Possible Substitutions

Red lentils: dried split peas are a good substitute for red lentils. However, you might need to add more broth as they do absorb more water.

Coconut milk: you can use any other kind of dairy-free milk you like if you can’t stand coconut milk

Potatoes: you can substitute with sweet potatoes, rutabagas and even plantains

Veggie Broth: if you are vegan, you can substitute with a shiitake broth. If you are not vegan, feel free to use any other kind of broth that you like.