Mediterranean Lentil Soup

One of my favorite things to do as a recipe developer is to take simple ingredients and pair them in fun, unique ways with deliberate cooking techniques so the end dish feels like more than the sum of its parts.

And that’s the philosophy behind this Mediterranean Lentil Soup. It’s built on simple elements—budget-friendly lentils, produce staples, herbs, and a few spices—but becomes something special. It’s brightened by preserved lemons and lemon zest and fancied up with an herby olive oil drizzle and lemony yogurt dollop. YUM!

Make this when you want warm-you-from-the-inside-out nourishment, or wholesome indulgence, or cozy comfort food…or, in other words, a really good lentil soup.

Table of Contents:
1. Ingredient notes
2. Step-by-step instructions
3. Tips for making this recipe
4. Frequently Asked Questions
5. Recipe card with notes

In a world of mediocre lentil soups, eat this really good one

There are probably a million-plus lentil soups out on the internet, so I wanted this one to be a little different. Not complicated or fussy, but unique and fun. So let’s talk about two of my favorite elements in this recipe (also two of my favorite things to talk about in general): preserved lemons, and toppings.

If you’re new to preserved lemons, I’m so excited for you—they’re salted and fermented lemons with a truly singular savory-salty-citrusy flavor and used in various Middle Eastern and Mediterranean recipes. I always have them on hand. I make the preserved lemon vinaigrette from my cookbook, Big Vegan Flavor (p. 164) at least once a month, I use them in mocktails, and I love to fold them into different stews and soups like this one.

They add their quintessential funky lemony flavor that makes people ask, “What is that flavor in the background?”

Second, toppings. If you know me at all, you know I love a topping. The herby oil topping in this recipe (fresh herbs + lemon zest + olive oil) is simple but so effective, adding richness and freshness.

Add to that a dollop of creamy yogurt (fun fact: in Middle Eastern as well as Indian cooking, yogurt is often incorporated in contexts like this), and you’re looking at an utterly indulgent soup experience.

Ingredient notes

Green lentils

Great news—your standard, budget-friendly supermarket green lentils are ideal for this soup! Brown lentils would also work. While I love French Green lentils (aka Puy lentils) and black Beluga lentils, they’ll take longer to cook here, so my recommendation is to save those pricier lentils for your salads and side dishes.

Onions

I firmly believe that every good soup starts with golden brown onions (or onion-adjacents, like leeks). This means that you’re going to be spending 10 to 15 minutes sautéeing these bad boys at the start of this recipe. I promise you this is not only worth it, but critical to developing the most flavorful soup base possible.

I actually tried this recipe with onion and fennel because I like pairing fennel with preserved lemons, but it crowded the pan too much and didn’t allow the onions to brown >> less flavor.

So I said goodbye to my dear fennel, thinking I would miss it—but the value added by browning the onions far outweighed the addition of fennel.

TLDR: Spend the time and wait until the onions turn golden brown. Your patience will pay dividends and give your soup serious depth of flavor.

Preserved lemons

When I develop recipes for hearty soups and stews, I’m often going for cozy-with-a-dash-of-fun-zippiness. Preserved lemons are one of my favorite ways to bring some brightness to meals like this one. They lend this soup a unique umami flavor and lemony edge that keeps it feeling light and fresh despite being a soup.

Tips for buying: You can find preserved lemons at Middle Eastern markets or online (and my Whole Foods now sells them).

For DIY-ers: Make them yourself using my recipe! Be warned—these need to ferment for three weeks

Substitute: Omit and when finishing the soup, stir in one tablespoon of lemon zest.

Spices

To complement the Middle Eastern-inspired addition of preserved lemons, I also add ground coriander and Aleppo pepper. The citrusy flavor of coriander complements the lemony flavors in the soup (hi, preserved lemons and lemon zest) while the Aleppo pepper adds a mild kick.

Nutritional yeast

As in my lemony chickpea soup, this recipe calls for some nutritional yeast stirred in at the end. It adds a savory depth of flavor, but it also naturally thickens the soup a bit. Start with 2 tablespoons, taste, then add more as desired.

Herb topping

I love my wholesome meals with a dash of indulgence—and this herby oil topping is exactly that. You’ll finely chop fresh basil, dill, parsley, or a mix of them, and combine the herbs with lemon zest and good quality olive oil. That’s it! Spooned over the soup before serving, it adds a luxurious mouthfeel and a fresh, herby flavor.

Step-by-step instructions

Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high, then add the onions and a bit of salt. Cook until softened and golden brown, stirring occasionally, 10 to 15 minutes.

Add the carrots, garlic, and preserved lemon peel, stirring frequently for 5 minutes until carrots begin to soften.

Add the Aleppo pepper and coriander and stir constantly for 30 seconds.

Pour in the broth, water, lentils, bouquet garni (bay leaves and thyme sprigs), and black pepper, then cover and bring to a boil. Simmer, covered, for 20 minutes, or until lentils are tender. 

As the soup simmers, make the Herby Oil: combine the lemon zest, chopped fresh basil/dill/parsley, olive oil, and flaky sea salt.

Prepare the yogurt sauce (optional): in a bowl, stir together the yogurt with lemon juice, salt, and pepper.

When the lentils are tender, remove the bouquet garni and stir in the nutritional yeast. Cook, uncovered, for 1 to 2 minutes.

Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice. 

Top each bowl of soup with the herby oil and yogurt sauce (if using). Serve with crusty bread!

Tips for making this recipe

Multitask

The first step of this recipe—browning the onions—takes at least 10 minutes, if not closer to 15 minutes. It doesn’t require you to babysit the pan, just occasional stirring.

Translation: this is time you can use to prep other ingredients, if you feel comfortable! If you want to give it a try, I recommend chopping the garlic, carrots, and preserved lemon peel and measuring out the spices during this time.

Don’t skip the toppings!

This lentil soup is good on its own, but the toppings are what give it an indulgence factor that sets it apart from other lentil soups.

Indulgence booster #1: An herby oil made of finely chopped herbs (basil, dill, flat-leaf parsley, or a mix of these), lemon zest, and enough good-quality olive oil to make it adequately spoonable. This topping is so transformative that I consider it mandatory in this recipe.

Indulgence booster #2 (optional): Yogurt brightened with some lemon juice and a bit of salt and pepper. I recommend a tangy & creamy yogurt with no sweet undertones (I love Culina or Cocojune coconut-based yogurts). If you can’t find that, skip the yogurt, or sub with vegan sour cream (I like Violife’s Just Like Sour Cream).

You’ll have plenty of time to prepare both of these components while the soup simmers. When it’s time to serve, spoon the herb oil over each bowl and (optionally), dollop with a spoon of the yogurt.

Adjust the salt as needed

I use regular vegetable broth in this recipe, which has a fair amount of salt, so if you happen to be using low-sodium vegetable broth, you’ll need to add considerably more salt to season.

Recommendation: Imagine Organic makes the best store-bought vegetable broth IMO, but if you really want to take this soup over the top flavorwise, use some better than bouillon “no-chicken” broth base with water instead of broth (this is what I use in my really good white bean soup). The package recommends using 1 tsp for every 1 cup water, but that can be a bit salty, so I’d start with 2 ½ teaspoons for 5 cups (1.2 L) of water and add more to taste.

Frequently Asked Questions

Did this lentil soup warm you up from the inside out? Let me know by leaving a rating and review below. I love hearing from you! 🥰

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Mediterranean Lentil Soup

Nisha Vora

5 from 23 votes

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This lentil soup is the definition of wholesome indulgence! Made from pantry staples with great flavor from browned onions and preserved lemons for a unique brightness. Topped with a drizzle of luxurious herby oil, this hearty, warming lentil soup is just what you need this season.

Prep Time: 10 minutes mins

Cook Time: 45 minutes mins

Total Time: 55 minutes mins

Course: Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine: Mediterranean

Diet Vegan, Vegetarian

Serving size: 4

Ingredients

• ▢ 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
• ▢ 1 large yellow onion diced (~2 cups / 300g once diced)
• ▢ Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
• ▢ 3 medium carrots, scrubbed and diced (6 to 7 oz / 170 to 200g diced)
• ▢ 6 cloves (22g) garlic, finely chopped
• ▢ 2 tablespoons (18g) preserved lemon peel, finely chopped (see Note 2)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper 1 ½ to 2 tsp for spicy
• ▢ 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• ▢ 4 cups (960 mL) vegetable broth (see Note 3)
• ▢ 1 cup (240 mL) water (or more broth)
• ▢ 1 cup (200g ) green lentils (or brown lentils)
• ▢ 2 to 3 tablespoons (10 to 15g) nutritional yeast

Bouquet Garni: use kitchen twine to tie together (see Note 4)

• ▢ 2 bay leaves
• ▢ 8 to 10 sprigs (1.5 to 2g) thyme

For serving

• ▢ 1 medium lemon
• ▢ 1 cup (16g) fresh basil leaves, dill, and/or flat-leaf parsley (see Note 5)
• ▢ Flaky sea salt
• ▢ ½ cup (4 oz / 120g) plain-flavored yogurt (optional but recommended, see Note 6)
• ▢ Crusty bread to serve 4 or 6

Instructions

• Heat 2 tablespoons (28g) of olive oil in a Dutch oven or soup pot over medium-high. Once shimmering, add the onion plus ½ teaspoon kosher salt. Cook until onion has softened and is golden brown, stirring occasionally, 10 to 15 minutes. If the onions brown too quickly, add a splash of water and scrape up any browned bits.

  a. While the onions cook, you can prep some of the other ingredients.
• Add the carrots, garlic, and preserved lemon peel. Stir frequently until carrots are just starting to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the Aleppo pepper and coriander and stir constantly for 30 seconds. If things are browning quickly or the spices dry out, deglaze with a splash of water and lower the heat a bit.
• Pour in a splash of broth and scrape up any browned bits. Add the remaining broth, 1 cup (240 mL) water, lentils, herb bundle, and about 10 twists of black pepper. Stir well, cover, and bring to a boil.
• Once boiling, reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer, covered, for 20 minutes, or until lentils are tender, occasionally uncovering to ensure the soup isn’t bubbling rapidly (the lentils will cook unevenly).
• While the soup simmers, make the Herb Oil: Zest the lemon. Finely chop the fresh herbs. Mix herbs and lemon zest together in a small bowl. Stir in 2 tablespoons (28g) good-quality olive oil and season with two pinches of flaky sea salt. Taste, adding more olive oil or salt as desired (I like more olive oil for richness and so it becomes a looser “herb oil”).
• While the soup simmers, make the yogurt sauce (optional): In a small bowl, mix the yogurt with 1 tablespoon lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper.
• When the lentils are tender, scoop out the bay leaves and thyme; discard. Stir in the nutritional yeast and gently cook, uncovered, for 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Taste, adding more lemon juice or salt as desired. For a richer, savory flavor, add the extra 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast.
• Serve soup in bowls and spoon with the Herb Oil and a dollop of yogurt sauce, if using. Serve with crusty bread.

Notes

1. The prep time assumes you multitask. Since the onions take a while to brown, I use this downtime to prep everything else: chop carrots, garlic, lemon peel, measure out spices, etc.
2. You can include the preserved lemon flesh but remove seeds and rinse the flesh, as it’s salty. If you don’t have preserved lemons, skip this. Add 1 tablespoon lemon zest to the soup when it’s done simmering.
3. If using low-sodium vegetable broth, you will need to add considerably more salt. Imagine Organic makes the best store-bought vegetable broth IMO, but if you want to take this soup over the top, use better than bouillon “no-chicken” broth base (start with 2 ½ teaspoons for 5 cups / 1.2 L water, then add more as desired).
4. If you don’t have kitchen twine, just add the herbs loose (and fish them out at the end).
5. I love using mostly basil with a little bit of dill. The basil is best when used on day 1 though, as the basil in leftover Herb Oil will blacken in the fridge.
6. My go-to yogurts are Culina or Cocojune, which are vegan coconut-based yogurts that are creamy, tart, and have no sweet undertone. A standard thin vegan yogurt will not add much in terms of texture or flavor, so I’d skip it altogether.

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Nutrition Info

Calories: 360.3kcal | Carbohydrates: 44.1g | Protein: 14.7g | Fat: 14.3g | Saturated Fat: 2.1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.36g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.11g | Sodium: 819.7mg | Potassium: 703.5mg | Fiber: 10.6g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 611IU | Vitamin C: 13.5mg | Calcium: 56.6mg | Iron: 3.7mg