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The creamiest Turkish lentil soup and you won’t believe that it’s made without even a drop of cream! This cozy soup is made with mostly pantry-staple ingredients and is vegetarian-friendly,and so comforting. Naturally gluten-free, creamy and can easily be made vegan!
Golden drizzles of delish-us-ness.
Serving up bowlfuls of Turkish Lentil Soup in Houstons perpetual 100º weather like it’s my job.
But this one is worth the hype. It’s the creamiest lentil soup you’ll ever experience and yet there isn’t even a drop of cream in this recipe. We’re talking a lentil soup loaded with vegetables like onions, carrots, a squeeze of tomato paste, served up with lemon wedges on the side. It’s thickened up by with a potato. Yes, you read that right. And lets just say after trying this recipe, you’ll want to skip making a roux and start using potatoes in all of your roux-based soup recipes. This is a soup that you’ll on every street corner in Turkey. I’ve can be made with both red lentils and yellow lentils. This Turkish red lentil soup dish, is called mercimek çorbası.
This is the coziest, warmest, most comforting lentil soup to come out of my kitchen in possibly forever. Bonus points that this recipe uses lots of pantry and refrigerator staple ingredients and the prep time it curbed at 15 minutes.
We’re talking about a veg-friendly turkish red lentil soup that contains almost 30 grams of protein not to mention that lentils are loaded with fiber, making this the perfect filling lunch. The total time is around 30 minutes and you only have a single pot to clean afterwards. All you need is a slice oftoasted crusty breaddrizzled with EVOO and a few rubs of a garlic clove to serve as a side.
Ingredients for Turkish Lentil Soup
- Butter:Feel free to use butter or olive oil for this recipe. You’ll need about 4 tbsp of butter. We’ll use half for sautéing the onions and carrots. The other half is for finishing the soup at the end.
- Onions:You’ll cook the onions in the oil to add flavor to the soup before pressure cooking the lentil soup.
- Carrots:I like to dice up the carrots and saute them in the butter with the onions for a bit. The carrots add color and extra nutrition!
- Lentils:You can use red lentils, yellow lentils or yellow split peas for this recipe.
- Russet Potatoes:You’ll need a pound of potatoes for 1¾ cup of lentils. This ratio works best in giving the soup the perfect creamy texture.
- Tomato Paste:
- Broth:You can use vegetable broth or chicken stock for this recipe. Either works.
- Spices:You’ll need turmeric and cayenne pepper to season the soup with when it simmers. You’ll also need kosher salt and black pepper.If you want to keep the spice level at bay, swap the cayenne pepper for paprika. It’ll give it that same color without giving it heat. I’ve seen people add ground cumin and lots of other spices to their lentil soup, I usually reserve that for my Indian Dal Soup.
- Lemon Wedges:To squeeze fresh lemon juice on the soup for serving.
Homemade Turkish Lentil Soup Recipe
- Saute the aromatics.Add a couple tablespoons of butter and saute the onions and carrots together until the onions just barely start to brown. Giving the onions a head start develops more flavor in the soup. Add the potatoes, washed lentils, tomato paste, broth, turmeric, and cayenne pepper. Bring to a simmer to make the process of reaching steam quicker. Cover the instant pot and let it do it’s thing.
- Blend it up.Using an immersion blender or by transferring the soup to a traditional blender, blend the soup to your liking. I blend it completely for a silky smooth texture. You may need more broth to thin the soup out, it all just depends. The soup will thicken as it sits, so if it looks super thin, just let it hang out for a bit.
- Taste the soup and make adjustments.Add the remaining butter to the soup and give it a stir. Give the soup a taste. If you usually like a little more heat, add another pinch of cayenne pepper. I like to serve this soup with lemon wedges and chopped up parsley for the top. You could also use cilantro if that’s what you have on hand. Red pepper flakes also add a little heat and give the soup a little texture. You can also use a teaspoon of dried mint for a refreshing flavor.
FAQs about this recipe
How do you store leftover Turkish soup?
I keep the leftovers in an airtight container and refrigerate it.
Can you make this soup on the stove top instead of the instant pot?
Yes, Saute the carrots and onions the same way. Then add all the other ingredients to the large pot and bring to a simmer over medium heat. The lentils will cause foam to rise to the top. Skim the foam off and then continue to cook until the potatoes are cooked through and the lentils have softened. Then you’ll just blend the soup up the same way!
If you like this soup, you might also like:
- Moroccan Sweet Potato Lentil Soup
- Comforting Red Lentil Soup (Dal Soup)
- 30 Minute Garlic Brown Lentil Daal
- Lentil Stuffed Zucchini Boats
- Lentil Rice Pilaf with Caramelized Onions
Yield: Serves 8
Luxurious Turkish Lentil Soup
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
The creamiest Turkish lentil soup and you won't believe that it's made without even a drop of cream! This cozy soup is made with mostly pantry-staple ingredients and is vegetarian-friendly,and so comforting. Naturally gluten-free, creamy and can easily be made vegan!
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons butter (or olive oil)
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 large carrot, diced
- 1 ¾ cups yellow lentils (or 1 ½ cups yellow split peas)
- 1 lb. russet potatoes, diced
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 5- 6 ½ cups of broth (vegetable or chicken)*
- ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
- cayenne pepper
- salt, to taste
- lemon wedges, parsley, etc. for topping
Instructions
- SAUTE:Heat 2 tablespoons of butter or olive oil in the instant pot on the sauté setting. Add the onions and carrots and sauté until the onions just barely start to brown, about 9-10 minutes. Add the potatoes, lentils, tomato paste, 5 cups of broth, turmeric, and if desired, 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper. Cover the Instant Pot, hit the bean/chili button and adjust the pressure time. 10 minutes for yellow lentils, 13-15 minutes or split peas depending on how old they are. Once the timer goes off, turn the knob to vent.
- BLEND: Using a hand blender or by transferring the soup to a traditional blender, blend the soup completely. You may need additional broth to thin the soup out. I ended up using 1 additional cup to blend/thin soup to my liking. But note that the soup will thicken as it sits, to make sure you have a little extra broth or add water.
- FINISH: Adjust salt to taste and stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. You can also add additional cayenne if you prefer spicier soups. Feel free to serve with lemon wedges and tons of chopped parsley. I go back and forth on the lemon wedge, love it with it, love it without it!
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By Diet Comfort Foods Gluten-Free Lunch Ramadan Under 500 calories Vegan Vegetariancayenne daal gluten free lemon wedges lentil lentil soup onions parsley potatoes soup split pea tomato paste Turkish turmeric vegan vegetarian yellow lentils
originally published on Jul 13, 2017 (last updated Mar 8, 2023)
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22 comments on “Luxurious Turkish Lentil Soup”
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Deanna — Reply
I don’t have an instant Pot; how would you make this recipe on a stove top or slowcooker? Any suggestions?
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Marzia — Reply
Haven’t tried it on the stove or slow cooker before, so you may need to play around with the cooking time a bit. I’d sauté the onions and carrots in a pot and add the remaining ingredients from step #1 and let the soup come to a simmer. Reduce the heat so that it maintains a gentle simmer and cook for 20-30 minutes. You’ll need to check and make sure the lentils or peas cook all the way through. It’s okay if they’re softer as you’re blending it up anyway, just make sure they aren’t underdone. Hope you enjoy the soup, Deanna! 🙂
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Alia @ Everyday Easy Eats — Reply
I love that you included “Luxurious” in the name of this recipe because it looks so velvety and smooth! I have never had Turkish lentil soup before, so this would be a great new recipe to try! Your photos are gorgeous too! 🙂
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vivian — Reply
This was delicious! I used yellow split peas and don’t have an instant pot, so I cooked it on the stove. My peas took about 45 minutes to get soft, but they may be old. \just keep checking. Don’t put salt in until they are cooked, as salt can keep legumes from getting tender. Thanks for a good recipe!
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Sabrina — Reply
This soup sounds incredible!! This definitely inspires me to start pureeing my lentil soups 🙂
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Emily williams — Reply
I made the soup! It was absolutely delicious. I added toasted cashews for a little texture. I prepared the soup on the stovetop, and I think the lentils took about 30 minutes to soften. Keep the vegetarian recipes a’comin’!
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Emily williams — Reply
This was fantastic! i will never eat a non-pureed lentil soup again. I made it on the stovetop, and I think my lentils took 30 or 35 minutes to soften. I added toasted cashews for texture. I like the lemon wedge — the soup demands a little acid. What else could I tweak to give the soup a little more acid? My go-to is pickled red onion, but I can’t envision that making sense in this context.
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Marzia — Reply
Glad to hear you enjoyed it Emily! Have you tried sumac powder? It’s got a acidic taste that would be great sprinkled on this as a finishing touch. It’s commonly used in Persian cuisine but I think the flavor would be fabulous with this soup. A tiny drizzle of pomegranate molasses would also be interesting. 🙂
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Karen Spor — Reply
one suggestion if not using instant pot. I soak my lentils or split peas overnight rinse and then cook them. cuts down on stove top time.
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Marzia — Reply
Thanks for your input, Karen!
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Tina — Reply
I just made this recipe! I sauteed the onion and carrot and then added everything to a slow cooker, which I left on high for 4 hours. I used red lentils as that’s what I had, red potatoes instead of russet, and avocado oil instead of butter. I also halved the recipe since I’m just feeding myself. I love this recipe! I usually over-spice my lentils. This recipe really lets their simple, wholesome flavor stand out. Plus you can’t beat how freaking simple it was to make. Was great topped with nutritional yeast. I love that it’s kind of a blank slate — might stir in some lemony parsley pesto at dinnertime?
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Radhika — Reply
This was absolutely delicious! I made this on the stove top, as I didn’t have an Instant Pot. Added a teaspoon of ginger garlic paste and half a teaspoon of crushed dried red chillies while sauteing the veggie.
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Rachel — Reply
How long did you cook it for on the stovetop?
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Eda — Reply
This looks so amazing! Do you think I could substitute with green lentils? Can’t wait to try this out!
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Marzia — Reply
Hmm.. not sure on the green lentils. I think the timing should be the same as the yellow lentils but just not too sure if the texture will come out just as smooth on the green lentils as it did on the yellow. Would love to hear how it went if you try it though!
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Laura — Reply
For fear of being one of those people… I swapped sweet potato for the regular potato and this soup was fantastic! I can see with using regular potato that the soup might need a bit of a flavour boost, but with the sweet potato it added a perfect oomph. A few toasted coconut chips took it over the top! Will definitely make again.
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Osman — Reply
Can you please explain what does 1 3/4 cups mean? Is it 1 + 0.75 cup of lentils, or it’s ~1 cups of lentils.
Same for 5-6 1/2 cups of broth.
They weren’t clear for us.
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Marzia — Reply
1 3/4 would be 1.75 cups of lentils or 1 1/2 (1.5 cups) of yellow split peas. For the broth, you’ll use 5 cups in the instant pot and then adjust with up to an additional 1.5 cups of broth if you would like to thin the soup out (which I do recommend.) Hope that helps!
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Nancy — Reply
Best ever soup, thankyou. THE CUPBOARD was bare this ticked the boxes for the whole family
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Marzia — Reply
Hi Nancy! I am so glad to hear it was such a hit for you! And I totally agree, it’s one of those recipes that you can pull of even if you haven’t got much on hand! Appreciate you circling back to leave a review 🙂
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Natasha — Reply
This has become one of my go-to recipes and I absolutely love it! I use olive oil to saute the onions and carrots and then add everything else (I use red lentils) and cook for about 25-30 minutes. I love this with a lot of lemon juice, I usually add some to the pot and more for serving.
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T Jake — Reply
Wow- this is excellent and easy. I used actual yellow Turkish split lentils (and why I went searching for something do to with them.) They are as soft and thin as red split lentils. I love yellow split peas but rarely find ones that aren’t too dry. I can never soak them or cook them long enough to be edible. Turkish yellow split lentils strike me as tastier than the red. I was intrigued by all the reviewer’s suggestions of acidic add-ons: pomegranate molasses (love that flavor), sumac, and lemon/lime juice are all good ones. I used black lime and mango powder for tartness, and they were also great. You need less salt when you add more acid. Mine turned out so creamy in the insta pot (because I let it depressurize for a full hour) that I didn’t need to put it in a blender afterwards. I topped it with lots of chopped baby kale.
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