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overhead view of white bowl with creamy lentil soup and lemon slices
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5 from 49 votes

Creamy Vegan Lentil Soup (With Turmeric and Lemon)

This delicious Creamy Vegan Lentil Soup has delicious subtle flavors of ginger, turmeric and lemon for a bright, but warming flavor and it's easy to make, oil-free and plant-based!
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time45 minutes
Course: Dinner, Soup
Cuisine: American, Gluten-free, Vegan
Keyword: creamy vegan lentil soup, vegan lentil soup, vegan lentil soup recipes
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 293kcal
Author: Brandi Doming

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup (75g) raw cashews (see step 1 how to make and NOTES for nut-free)
  • 4 1/2 cups quality flavorful low-sodium veggie broth (I love the Pacific and Imagine brands)
  • 1 cup (160g) finely diced yellow onion
  • 5 large cloves (15g) minced garlic
  • 1 heaping cup (150g) 1/4 inch sliced carrots
  • SPICES: 2 teaspoons garlic powder, 2 teaspoons onion powder, 1 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1 1/2 cups (280g) rinsed uncooked green lentils
  • 2 teaspoons maple syrup or agave
  • 2 tablespoons (30g) fresh lemon juice
  • 4 large handfuls fresh spinach
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons fine sea salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • I use this scale.

Instructions

  • Have all your ingredients measured and ready to go since the soup comes together pretty quickly. Make the cashew cream first or sunflower cream first. See NOTES below. If you have a Vitamix, no need to soak them. If you don't, I would soak them in a bowl of water overnight to soften or boil them for 10 minutes. Drain and rinse well and then proceed. Blend the cashews (or sunflower seeds) with 1 cup (240g) water until completely smooth.
  • Add only 1/2 cup of the broth to a large pot over medium heat. Once hot, add the onions and cook about 5 minutes, stirring a bit, until soft.
  • Add the carrots and garlic and cook another 3-5 minutes until the carrots are mostly tender, but not fully. Add small amounts of broth as needed to prevent sticking.
  • Add all of the spices (garlic powder, onion powder, ginger, turmeric, salt and the black pepper. Stir in the veggies for about 30 seconds.
  • Add the rinsed lentils, the remaining broth (4 cups) and the maple syrup. Stir well and bring to a boil on high. Once boiling, cover partially just allowing a small amount of steam to escape, reduce the heat to low and simmer about 20 minutes or until the lentils are tender to your liking.
  • Add the cashew cream, spinach and lemon juice and stir through. Cook another 5 minutes until it thickens a bit and the spinach is wilted.
  • Taste the soup. Add any more salt or pepper if needed. This can really vary depending on the broth used. Mine needed another good pinch. The lemon should be noticeable but not overpowering. The lemon flavor does settle down after awhile of sitting. If you'd like more, add more to serving bowls. I like to add extra freshly ground black pepper on top for serving.

Notes

  • NUT-FREE: If you are allergic to cashews, then I would suggest subbing with a scant 1/2 cup of raw unsalted sunflower seeds plus 1 cup water. Since these are more bitter and less creamy, you may need an extra teaspoon of syrup. I would wait to taste the soup after it is done and decide then.
  • SWEETENER: If preferred, you can sub the maple syrup with agave or a smooth date syrup.
INSTANT POT: To make this in the instant pot, there are a couple of changes. Since the IP sucks up more moisture here, you will be increasing the broth. I tested this twice and using the above amount of liquid made it way too thick and was not a soup, so note the changes below.
  1. Add the onion and 1/2 cup broth to the IP and press the saute button and cook for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 more minute.
  2. Add the spices, but NOT the salt. So you will only be adding the garlic powder, onion powder, turmeric, ginger and pepper. Stir for 30 seconds in the onion mixture.
  3. Add 4 1/2 cups more broth, the carrots, syrup and lentils. Stir well. Seal the pot and press the "Pressure Cook" button on high pressure for 6 or 7 minutes. 6 gives the lentils more of a bite and 7 makes them extra soft to wear they melt in your mouth, so choose your preference. I tested both times. Note that it will take about 10 minutes for the IP to come to pressure before the 7 minutes starts counting down, so keep an eye on it.
  4. When the 7 minutes is up, the IP will beep several times (mine beeps 10 times). Now leave the pot to naturally release for just 10 minutes. Unplug the IP. Do a quick release to release any remaining pressure by pressing the venting button. The float valve will drop down once all the pressure is released. Remove the lid carefully.
  5. Now stir in the salt (1 1/4 teaspoons), the cashew cream (see step 1 above in the regular directions how to make this), lemon juice and spinach for a couple of minutes until the spinach is wilted. Taste and add any more salt/pepper/lemon if desired.