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Creamy Thai Curry Red Lentil Soup

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Creamy Thai Curry Red Lentil Soup is comforting and full of spicy Thai flavors. Full of nourishing ingredients including red lentils, sweet potatoes and coconut milk that will fill you up while keeping things healthy.

Creamy Thai Curry Red Lentil Soup in pot with limes and baguette slices

When it comes to soup, nothing beats a big bowl of creamy lentil soup. Not only does it have the most heavenly smooth texture, but it actually fills you up!

The other thing I love about red lentil soup is that it is a complete blank canvas for whatever you’d like to flavor it with. Most often people will go Italian or Greek with their lentil soup flavors (and you can check out this Greek Lentil Soup for my personal version).

But today I’m sharing my absolute favorite way to spice up lentil soup: with the flavors of Thailand!Β  Red curry paste, fish sauce and lime juice bring the spicy/salty/sour flavors that are characteristic of Thailand, while sweet potatoes balance everything out with a bit of sweetness, and coconut milk brings a rich, creamy texture to the soup.

Between the red lentils, sweet potatoes and coconut milk, you will be hard pressed to find anything creamier than this Thai curry lentil soup!

Β Creamy Thai Curry Lentil Soup before pureeing

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Thai Curry Soup after pureeing

How to make this Thai curry red lentil soup

Creamy soups are pretty hard to screw up, and this one is oh-so-simple:

  1. Sautee your onions.
  2. Add garlic, ginger and red curry paste, then stir up for 1 or so minute. This helps bring out the flavors of the curry paste as well as helps it soften and mix in properly.
  3. Add the rest of the veggies, the stock, some fish sauce and lime juice. Simmer until everything is softened. This should take around 20 minutes.
  4. Bust out your immersion blender (this is the one I have) and blend everything until it is creamy and dreamy.
  5. Stir in the coconut milk some extra lime juice and salt. Adding some extra lime juice at the end really helps brighten the flavors of the soup!

Β Thai soup with sweet potatoes and lentils in pot beside baguette slices

How to store and serve this Thai soup

  • This Thai soup makes for the perfect lunch. Not only is it filling (thank you lentils for that protein!), but it actually gets better after sitting overnight. This makes it absolutely perfect for a meal prep lunch!
  • I love storing this soup in these meal mugs, because you can re-heat them right in the storage container. So convenient for packing soup in your lunch.
  • This curried lentil soup also freezes like a dream! I like these freezer jars for soup, and you can freeze it for up to 3 months…in fact, I’ve frozen it for even longer with no issues.
  • We serve this recipe with some crusty baguette but it is also great served with some soda crackers.

Dunking bread in Creamy Thai Curry Red Lentil Soup

Swaps and options for this curry lentil soup

  • you can swap the sweet potatoes for butternut squash or more carrots
  • make it vegan– swap the fish sauce for vegan fish sauce or a few teaspoons of soy/tamari
  • I bet you can make this in the Instant Pot! Follow the directions for this Vegan Carrot Ginger Soup.

Watch the video below to see exactly how I prepped my Creamy Thai Curry Red Lentil Soup. It’s so easy! You can find more of my recipe videos on my YouTube channel, or on Facebook.

Β Tips for the BEST curry lentil soup

4.9 from 19 votes
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Creamy Thai Curry Red Lentil Soup
Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
35 mins
Total Time
50 mins
 

Creamy Thai Curry Red Lentil Soup is comforting and full of spicy Thai flavors. Full of nourishing ingredients including red lentils, sweet potatoes and coconut milk that will fill you up while keeping things healthy.

Course: Lunch
Cuisine: Thai
Servings: 6
Calories: 148 kcal
Ingredients
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 medium onion diced
  • 2 cloves garlic sliced
  • 1 tbsp ginger peeled & diced into small pieces
  • 1 tbsp Thai red curry paste My favorite curry paste
  • 1 medium sweet potato {500g} peeled and diced into 1/2 inch cubes
  • 2 medium carrots peeled and diced
  • 3 cups stock {veggie or chicken}
  • 3/4 cup dried red lentils
  • 1 tbsp fish sauce
  • 1 tbsp lime juice
After simmering:
  • 1 can coconut milk
  • 1/4 tsp salt {or more; to taste}
  • 1 tsp lime juice
  • 1 tsp fish sauce
Instructions
  1. Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.
  2. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent and cooked through. Add the garlic and ginger, and cook for a minute.
  3. Add the curry paste and cook until onions/garlic/ginger are coated and you can smell the curry paste, 30 seconds-1minute.
  4. Add the sweet potato, carrots, stock, lentils, fish sauce and lime juice. Cover, bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 20 minutes, until lentils and sweet potato are cooked through.
  5. Using an immersion blender, puree the soup until smooth and creamy. Stir in the coconut milk. Add salt and additional lime juice and fish sauce to taste.
Recipe Notes
Nutritional Information (for 1 of 6 servings)
Calories: 204 // Fat: 7g // Saturated Fat: 4g // Cholesterol: 0 mg // Sodium 507mg // Carbohydrates: 26g // Fiber: 6g // Sugars 4g // Protein 8g
Nutrition Facts
Creamy Thai Curry Red Lentil Soup
Amount Per Serving (1 /6 of batch)
Calories 148 Calories from Fat 18
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 2g 3%
Sodium 909mg 38%
Potassium 388mg 11%
Total Carbohydrates 24g 8%
Dietary Fiber 8g 32%
Sugars 4g
Protein 6g 12%
Vitamin A 142.5%
Vitamin C 6.8%
Calcium 3.5%
Iron 11.1%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

More Sweet Potato Soup Inspiration:

Creamy Thai Curry Red Lentil Soup is comforting and full of spicy Thai flavors. This curry lentil soup is full of nourishing ingredients including red lentils, sweet potatoes and coconut milk that will fill you up while keeping things healthy. #sweetpeasandsaffron #soup #thai #curry #lentil #glutenfree #mealprep #veganfriendly
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Comments

  1. I have made this soup over a dozen times! It’s a favourite in my house. I usually double and I’ve even tripled the recipe and gifted some soup! We love to add thinly sliced, super ripe mango As a garnish- it’s absolutely delicious! And as a bonus, I’ve made potatoe and pea samosas to dip in and honestly, it’s divine. I’m preparing to make some this weekend!

    Reply

    • Hi Tiffany, I’m so happy you enjoy this soup! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review πŸ™‚ Also I’m going to have to try it with mango now!

      Reply

  4. This is one of the best soups I’ve ever had! I used soy sauce to keep it vegan and oh man! It’s so velvety and has just enough of a kick to warm you up. I’ve made it a bunch of times and my twin toddlers love it too! One time I was out of sweet potatoes so I used butternut squash instead and it worked really well too, but the original is perfection. Thank you for sharing this awesome recipe!!

    Reply

  5. This soup is absolutely delicious!! While the temperatures outside aren’t fall just yet, although it’s October, I’ve been feeling like making fall-type dishes. I came across your recipe and was extremely interested. It’s not spicy whatsoever, but has such a full flavor. The ginger and spices come together perfectly! I ended up using soy sauce instead of fish sauce since that’s what I had on hand. I was also nervous to use coconut milk since I’m not a fan of anything coconut. It merged very well, gave a subtle sweetness, and added more creamy goodness to the mix. I think a nice apple cider (alcoholic or non-) would pair great with this. Thank you for sharing your creativity!

    Reply

  6. I really want to make this, sounds delish. However, I just had weight loss surgery and have to avoid spicy foods. How spicy are we talking here? Do you have a suggestion for a milder version?
    Thank you so much!

    Reply

  9. This recipe looks so tasty that I plan on making it this week but am wondering how it would taste without the coconut milk. I love coconut milk but see that 400 ml is 933 calories. Does the coconut milk really add to the flavour or would milk work as well.

    Reply

    • Hi Maureen, I HIGHLY recommend going for the coconut milk as it really adds flavor that goes with all the Thai seasonings in the recipe. As you can see, the calorie count is only 200 per serving, so it’s not very high at all. You could always try light coconut milk?

      Reply

  12. I have been making this soup for a few years now and I have to say it is my favourite soup of all times. Life would not be the same without it. I make a HUGE dutch oven full for lunches for my husband and I. It’s a warm bowl of comfort that I love in any weather. There is something so smooth and satisfying about it. I can never get enough of this little bowl of goodness.

    Reply

  13. So delicious! My hubby and toddler both enjoyed it too which is very rare! And so easy to make, will become a new regular for me. Will hunt out your soup with lemongrass next.

    Reply

  15. I’m violently allergic to fish, & apparently vegan fish sauce uses mushrooms & our son is allergic to mushrooms…so, soy was most ofte cited as a substitute & I used that.

    So…I used more oil, switched to grapeseed oil (olive oil somehow didn’t seem to fit an Asian flavor profile to me).I put tge chopped carrots in 1st & let them soften…then added the sweet potatoes & gor then started to soften, then added the rest. Since the carrots I got weren’t very sweet, I added some sugar, ~ 2 tsp. I also used a half pound of Red lentils…because IMHO you can never have too many lentils. The Thai red curry paset I have has what I call an “afterburner” taste: the heat blossoms in the back of your mouth/throat. I added some of my favorite mild curry powder, Madras (I get vit from my spices age dot com) to mellow the buRN h a ltlle Hungarian paprika – ~1 tsp – to bring the burn forward more. .zthe combo didn’t alter the overall taste IMHO, even though paprika isn’t Thai.

    I also served it over plain quinoa, made in my rice cooker.

    The overall effect on the heat was mild enough for my husband, but with enough for my hot-sauce-on-everything (well, almost everything) son, it suited my somewhere-in-between heat preference. A constant taste test as I went resulted in these changes. It was very well received, but I was almost overstuffed on half a bowl, so I advisor waiting until 20 min. past your meal starttime to avoid feeling like an over-packed suitcase! lol
    Great recipe…I know I changed it up but your basics were great. I wouldn’t have thought of carrots & sweet potatoes with red lentils! You’re a genius! Also, I hate pureed soups, sorry…I got a taste of them when we lived in Scotland. Both my husband & I disliked it. instead, I mashed up some of the soft sweet potatoes Ε₯o thicken it. served it over quinoa because it was too thin for our tastesm, plus quinoa is a neutral taste that blends well with other stuff, plus adds protein.

    Reply

  16. Made this soup last night. It is DELICIOUS!!!!!! A new favourite for me. I added 2 tbsp of curry paste (I like spicy). I will be making this again and again!

    Reply

  17. Love this soup. I did change a couple of things. Used coconut oil instead of olive oil. Added 1/2 tsp. of cumin seeds to the oil before adding onion. Also, used 4 cups of stock instead of three. Will certainly make again.

    Reply

  22. Wow, this is amazing!! This was the first soup I made and I love it! Thank you for such an amazing recipe! πŸ™‚
    Greetings from Finland!

    Reply

    • Thank-you SO much, Marianne! I’m glad you liked the soup! I am going to be posting another sweet potato soup, this time with some Caribbean flavors, in the next week or so!

      Reply

    • You are quite right! I thought I had fixed that, sorry about that! Not meaning to mislead anyone. Reagan mentioned in a comment above that she subbed the fish sauce with liquid aminos? But someone else mentioned that there may be fish or shrimp in certain curry pastes. Thanks, Amanda!

      Reply

  25. I made a double batch of this soup for my book club, which met last night. I made it the day ahead because I had a busy day yesterday, and I suspect the extra day of mixing of flavors just added to the soup’s deliciousness. It was a huge hit at book club. People went back for seconds and gave rave reviews. What a perfect soup for a chilly wet fall night amongst friends. I am loving your recipes! So glad I found you!

    Reply

    • I LOVED reading your comment, Suzanne! I agree, the soup gets so much better over night! I am glad that you and your friends liked it. I actually have a similar soup going up next week, except it will be with butternut squash and lemongrass!

      Reply

  26. This sounds delish! I always am on the hunt for new soup recipes to try. During the colder months, I usually make a pot of soup on the weekend to eat for lunch during my busy week! I am going to try this, but sub in butternut squash for the sweet potato, as that is what I have on hand. I am sure it will turn out great!

    Reply

    • I haven’t tried it with butternut squash but I think those flavors will be just perfect together! I’d love to know how it works out for you πŸ™‚

      Reply

    • Hi Juan Carlo! There is a popular cookbook that my mom owned (The White Water Cookbook), and we used to make her Ymir Curry Bowls, which have sweet potatoes in a Thai curry sauce…and it was my favorite! The flavors are really nice together πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚

      Reply

  28. This is excellent! I used coconut oil instead of olive; full-fat coconut milk because, honestly, it’s so much more flavorful than lite; and 1/2 t of liquid aminos to give it that umami flavor since I was out of fish sauce. Will be making again!

    Reply

    • I am so glad you liked the soup, Raegan! I definitely love the flavor from full-fat coconut milk. I have never purchased liquid aminos, but will have to keep an eye out for them πŸ˜‰

      Reply

  29. I just made this and man is it good! I filled four 500mL mason jars, so I’m set for lunches for the week!

    Thanks for the delicious recipe.

    Reply

    • Hi Stephie! I’m so glad you like the soup! It gets better as time goes on, so I hope you have a week of delicious lunches πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚

      Reply

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