Turkish Red Lentil Soup
This Turkish red lentil soup is a creamy soup made with red lentils, potatoes, carrots, and aromatic spices. It’s easy to make in less than 30 minutes, wonderfully satisfying, and delicious any time of year. Lemon and mint give the smooth Mercimek Çorbası a wonderfully fresh and flavorful finish.
Ingredients for Turkish Red Lentil Soup
You only need simple ingredients for this red lentil soup. Here are a few helpful tips and notes on some of them:
- Red lentils become very soft as they cook and create that wonderfully creamy texture once blended. There’s no need to soak them – a thorough rinse is all they need.
- Potato and carrot make the soup thicker and add a touch of natural sweetness.
- Onion, garlic, and celery form the flavorful vegetable base. You can leave out the celery if you don’t have any or simply don’t like it.
- Vegetable broth: I like to use water and my homemade vegetable stock powder.
- Tomato paste adds extra flavor and gives the soup a beautiful color.
- Cumin, paprika, and mint give the soup its characteristic flavor. You can use either fresh or dried mint.
- Lemon is an absolute must for me. Its acidity adds freshness to the creamy soup and beautifully balances the spices.
As always, you’ll find the exact quantities in the recipe card at the end of the post.
How to Make Red Lentil Soup Creamy
You don’t need cream or coconut milk to get that wonderfully creamy consistency. The red lentils become very soft as they cook, while the potato adds even more body. At the end, the soup is blended until smooth.
How thick or thin you like your lentil soup is entirely up to you. If it’s too thick after blending, simply add a little more water until you reach the consistency you like.
And don’t worry if you open the fridge the next day and suddenly find a much thicker soup waiting for you – that’s completely normal. The lentils continue to absorb liquid, so the soup thickens quite a bit as it sits.
How to Serve Turkish Red Lentil Soup
A squeeze of fresh lemon juice is an absolute must for me. Fresh or dried mint, a little parsley, and sumac also work beautifully – the slightly tangy flavor of sumac is particularly lovely with this soup.
Mercimek Çorbası is also delicious topped with a little paprika butter. Add some fresh flatbread or white bread – my sourdough root bread works wonderfully, too – and you’re all set.
How to Store, Reheat, and Freeze
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about 2 to 3 days. As mentioned above, the red lentil soup will thicken considerably as it sits. When reheating, simply add a little water at a time until it reaches your preferred consistency again.
The soup also freezes beautifully. Let it cool completely, then freeze it in portions in suitable containers. Once thawed, reheat it gently and add a little water if needed.
Turkish Red Lentil Soup with Mint
Ingredients
- 1 carrot
- 1 onion
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 stalk celery optional
- 1 potato small
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- ½ tablespoon dried mint alternatively, leaves from 1–2 sprigs of fresh mint
- 2 –3 sprigs fresh parsley leaves and stems
- 1 tablespoon vegetable stock powder
- a little chili powder optional
- 200 g red lentils
- 1.5 liters water
- 5 tablespoons lemon juice about ½–1 lemon, to taste
- 1 teaspoon salt
- black pepper to taste
- lemon wedges for serving
- sumac optional, for serving
Instructions
- Prepare the vegetables: Peel or clean the carrot, onion, garlic, and celery, if using, and roughly chop. There’s no need for pretty or even pieces – the soup will be blended later anyway. Peel and roughly chop the potato and set aside separately.
- Sauté the vegetables: Heat the olive oil in a pot and sauté the carrot, onion, garlic, and celery, if using, over medium heat until the onion becomes translucent.
- Add the spices and tomato paste: Add the cumin, paprika, tomato paste, mint, parsley, vegetable stock powder, and a little chili powder, if using. Stir well and cook for 1–2 minutes.
- Rinse the lentils: Meanwhile, rinse the red lentils thoroughly in a fine-mesh sieve under running water until the water runs mostly clear.
- Cook the soup: Add the lentils, potato, and water and bring to a boil. Simmer for about 15 minutes, until the lentils and vegetables are soft.
- Blend the soup: Blend until smooth using an immersion blender directly in the pot or transfer to a regular blender. If the soup is too thick, gradually add a little more water until it reaches your preferred consistency.
- Season to taste: Add the lemon juice, salt, and black pepper and adjust to taste.
- Serve: Serve the Turkish red lentil soup hot, topped with lemon wedges and sumac, if desired. Fresh, soft bread is perfect on the side.
Notes
- Servings: This recipe makes about 4–5 servings.
- Consistency: The soup thickens considerably as it sits. When reheating, simply stir in a little water as needed.
- Paprika butter: Optionally, melt 2 tbsp vegan butter, stir in ½–1 tbsp sweet paprika, and heat for a few seconds. Add a little dried mint, if desired, then drizzle the paprika butter over the finished soup.
- Storage: Store the soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about 2–3 days. It also freezes well.
Wonderful!! Just made this EASY recipe and it was amazing! […] I’ve seen other recipes for this Corbasi but in my opinion this is the best
– Rick (Comment)