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This Slow Cooker Curried Lentil Soup recipe is quick and easy to prep, made with feel-good ingredients, and full of the best curried flavors!
Last Monday was a lentil soup kind of Monday.
It was rainy and gray and chilly here in Kansas City, I was bustling around all day running 2.5 million errands trying to get ready to leave the country the next day (yep, I’m still adventuring around Korea and Japan, you can follow along here!), and I was in major Let’s-Clean-Out-The-Fridge-Before-Being-Gone-For-Three-Weeks mode. Oh, and I really wanted to bring some food over to a friend who was in the throes of wedding week, figuring that her life was even crazier that day than mine. She happens to be a vegetarian, and I happen to have been tinkering with various lentil soup recipes this fall. So it seemed like this soup was downright meant to be. ♥
Since I was out and about most of the day, I decided to just toss everything in the crock-pot instead of hovering near the stove stirring for an hour. And sure enough, once I returned from my rain-soaked errands all over the city, the most heavenly smelling pot of soup was waiting for me all ready to go. I just stirred in some chopped spinach and lemon juice to brighten things up, sprinkled a ton of fresh cilantro on top, and voila — dinner was served.
Oh, and then I took a second batch over to my friend, Kara’s, so that dinner could be served for her (well, sometime that week) too.
Totally hit the spot all around. Lentil soup FTW!
Now if you aren’t into slow cooking, you’re totally welcome to transition this recipe to the stovetop. But the crock-pot version literally could not be easier, so I totally recommend it if you happen to have one. Simply dump all of your ingredients (minus the last four) in the crock-pot, and give them a good stir. Then let the crock-pot work its magic for 4-5 hours on high, or 6-8 hours on low.
Then once those lentils are nice and tender, stir in a bunch of chopped leafy greens. (Spinach, kale, or collards would all work well here.) Sprinkle in lots of fresh lemon juice, to give it a zippy kick. Season everything generously with salt and pepper to taste, also adding extra spices if you’d like.
Then dish it up!
I like mine served with a generous handful of chopped fresh cilantro on top. But a dollop of plain yogurt or sour cream would also be yummy, as would some extra lemon juice sprinkled on top.
Seriously, SO GOOD, and thanks to the slow cooker, also SO EASY.
So if you happen to love good curried lentil soup, be sure to bookmark this one to have your own lentil soup kind of day. :)
This Slow Cooker Curried Lentil Soup only takes about 10 minutes to prep, then let the crock-pot do the rest of the work to make this delicious, healthier vegetarian comfort food.
Ingredients
Scale
4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 large carrots, peeled and diced
1 medium white onion, peeled and diced
6 cups chicken or vegetable stock*
1 1/2 cups uncooked green or brown lentils, rinsed and picked over
1 tablespoon Madras curry powder**
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 bay leaves
2 cups roughly-chopped baby spinach
3 tablespoons lemon juice, plus extra lemon slices for serving
salt and pepper
chopped fresh cilantro leaves, for topping
Instructions
Add the garlic, carrots, onion, stock, lentils, curry powder, cumin, and bay leaves to the bowl of a 4-quart or 6-quart slow cooker, and stir to combine.
Cook on high for 4-5 hours or on low for 6-8 hours, until the lentils are tender.
Stir in the baby spinach and lemon juice until combined.
Taste, and season with salt and pepper to taste. (I used about 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, but the saltiness of the soup will vary based on your type of stock.)
Serve warm, garnished with lots of chopped cilantro and extra lemon slices, if desired.
Notes
*If you’re making this soup vegetarian or vegan, go with vegetable stock. ;) Also, if you want to make this gluten-free, double-check and be sure that all of the labels on your ingredients are certified gluten-free.
**I highly recommend using Madras-style curry powder for this recipe. It adds a little extra heat, which I love. (I used this brand, which I recommend.) Also, if you’re new to making curried dishes and aren’t familiar with these spices, feel free to wait and add them in at the very end, and just add a teaspoon or so at a time until it tastes good to you.
This recipe has two of my faves: lentils and curry, so I was excited about this post. Haha! It’s been getting really chilly in my area, so this is exactly what I need to stay all nice and toasty warm!
I just made this recipe and it was fantastic! In my case I didn’t have cumin so I used 1/2 tsp of ground coriander and 1/2 tsp of chili powder and it tasted great. I also added in some kale with the spinach. Would highly recommend this one!
Just cooked your lentil dish. LOVED IT! Added peas and mushrooms at the end, just to bulk it up! A dollop of sour cream also….
The lemon wakes it up, and the spinach and cilantro are great!!
I love almost every recipe I’ve made from this site, but this one was a huge miss for me. I checked the soup after just 3 1/2 hours on high, and everything was already overcooked and mushy. And the taste was really off as well; very bland. I use my crockpot all the time and have never had issues with other recipes, so I’m not sure where this one went wrong.
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
We’re not sure what could have gone wrong, Genevieve, but we’re very sorry this didn’t work out for you! :(
I made this the first time with brown lentils…my family couldn’t get past how it looked. It was also a bit bland. I’m making it today with green lentils and some extra curry so we will see how it goes. Love your recipes so willing to give it another shot.
My husband made this for us over the weekend, and we really enjoyed the flavors, particularly the balance of the earthiness of the lentils with the vibrant lemon flavor. We used a moderately spicy curry powder that was heavy on the cumin, and I think it gave it an excellent flavor. We are both writing our graduate school dissertations so we both appreciated this easy yummy meal with leftovers. Thanks :)
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
We’re so happy you both enjoyed it, Jennifer — thanks for taking the time to comment! :)
WOW! This is delicious! My kids LOVE it. I doubled the recipe so we can have soup for the busy weekend. I will make it again and again. I added sliced smoked sausage to this batch. The cilantro and lemon juice really make it over the top. My house smells GREAT!
Your Blog is beautiful, a pleasure to visit and I tell everyone about it. I love that you have added crock pot and stove top instructions on several of your recipes. We also loved the Vegetable Beef Soup.
We used your egg drop soup for our 4-H club and everyone loved it.
I have scoped out several other recipes I am getting ready to try.
My son has multiple serious food allergies, and can have many of your recipes, thank you.
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Thank you so much for sharing, Karla — we’re happy you and your kiddos enjoy the soup, and we bet the smoked sausage was wonderful in this! :) We’re also glad to hear that the egg drop soup was a hit!
I just made this recipe!! Left it in for 4 hours on high I added more garam masala than called for. It turned out lovely!! Perfect for a rainy day in the north! Definitely keeping this for the winter ahead! It was perfect
Just made this tonight and I gotta say it’s SO GOOD! The spicy curry powder made me nervous, but I bought some to try anyway. Overall, I think the pepper I put in made this more spicy than anything, it’s only got a hint of heat, which I enjoy. I cooked for 6 hours on low, and I think the lentils were a tad bit over cooked, but otherwise everything turned out perfect! Will definitely save this recipe for another time!
Absolutely delicious! I didn’t see where to add the 1 teaspoon garam masala and really didn’t know what garam masala is. I added 1 tsp of Zahtar, two TB of cornstartch and 1 TB of water to thicken it up, about 2/3 bag of petite peas, 1/2 white potato already cooked and a few slices of roasted sweet potatoes. I really enjoyed it with the sour cream. This is definitely a do over! – Tracy
Excellent recipe, yet again! Thank you, Ali. The simplicity of the ingredients, plus the ease of throwing it all in the crockpot (hi winter, hello crockpot,) made for dazzling whiffs as it cooked, and excellent flavor as we ate! We varied the recipe and added chorizo sausage which we browned and sliced up first, before adding with all other ingredients. We let it cook overnight, and this morning we ate the stew with a fried egg on top. We’ll have it for dinner as well, sans egg. Excellent recipe, I love your work!
oh my goodness, was this delicious !!! It is the first lentil soup I’ve had that is full of flavor and zing ! Have recently been making diet changes and this healthy, tasty soup is just the thing. My husband equally enjoyed it and I am now a big fan…..will have to try some more of your recipes ! Thank you so much for sharing this one !
Hi, your recipe sounds wonderful. I cook a lot of Indian foods and this is almost like what I make. I usually add potatoes and carrots to mine, minus the spinach. Cook everything on stove for about 10 mins, then in my pressure cooker for about 1/2 hour. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro when done and a twist of lemon juice. Oh one last thing, I use Dhansak powder, which gives more of a black pepper heat than spicy heat. You might want to try out this powder, since you like the heat. :):):)
I have had this five pound bag of lentils sitting in my pantry for six months from me not knowing how to eat them/hating lentils. But let me tell you this recipe made me love them so much that bag won’t last me long! Every recipe I have tried from this blog is fantastic and so is this soup! I added some potatos and peas so I could get more veggies in there and it turned out great
Very flavorful!! My husband and I really enjoyed this soup. I will be curious to see how it does when we defrost some for leftovers. I think it should be just as good. I hate to buy spices I may not use again, so I looked up to see what was in garam masala. I had most of the items already, so I just estimated the one teaspoon. I didn’t have cardamom, though, but looked up a substitution for it and added a little cinnamon and nutmeg instead. I used kale in place of the spinach and that was delicious. Also, I used red lentils I had on hand and they worked fine. I will definitely make this again.
Sondra —
Whole Foods market sells bulk spices. You can get as little or much as you want. I like to do this so as not to waste larger quantities. Also the spices don’t lose thier flavor, it’s always fresh.
I just finished making this soup and it is excellent. I was concerned that I might not like the curry but it turns out that I love it! My husband and I follow the Ornish Food Plan and this recipe fits the bill. Thanks, Nancy
My liquid practically dried out after 3 hours! I adjusted the recipe to make it in a 2 quart so halved everything. Used water since I didn’t have chicken stock but there was barely any water left at the end of the 3 hours. Basically it’s something you would have with rice. Any advice?
I remember coming across this recipe when I lived in Korea as well. I had some lentils and spices on hand and wanted to make it, and I REALLY loved it. I even added sausage to mine. I’m about to make it for the first time in 2 years tomorrow, and I think it’s going to make me really homesick haha. Thanks for sharing this recipe! It’s amazing how much nostalgia food can give you …
Superb!
I’ve had neighbors, upon getting a whiff of it’s aroma, ask what on earth I am making that smells so good :)
If you are planning to have leftovers of this, I suggest adding the spinach to your bowls at the time of dining rather than to the pot.
The spinach doesn’t look appealing and loses freshness
when reheated.
Hey, I’m Ali!
My favorite thing in life is time spent around the table. And all the better with some seriously tasty food to bring us all together. more about me »
Dying for my wife (I mean myself) to make some good, hearty soups this season. This fits the bill. Soup and football. Bring it.
This looks perfect. I can’t wait to test this out =)
This recipe has two of my faves: lentils and curry, so I was excited about this post. Haha! It’s been getting really chilly in my area, so this is exactly what I need to stay all nice and toasty warm!
Awesome, we hope you enjoy this! :)
this looks so yummy! I have a bag of mixed beans in my pantry that need to be used, I might try with that, do you think it would taste just as good?
Wow! This is a perfect soup for these cold months!
Thanks, Julia — we hope you enjoy!
I just made this recipe and it was fantastic! In my case I didn’t have cumin so I used 1/2 tsp of ground coriander and 1/2 tsp of chili powder and it tasted great. I also added in some kale with the spinach. Would highly recommend this one!
We’re happy to hear you enjoyed it, Titania!
Just cooked your lentil dish. LOVED IT! Added peas and mushrooms at the end, just to bulk it up! A dollop of sour cream also….
The lemon wakes it up, and the spinach and cilantro are great!!
Thanks so much!
Poppy Harris
Yay, so glad you enjoyed it! :)
I love almost every recipe I’ve made from this site, but this one was a huge miss for me. I checked the soup after just 3 1/2 hours on high, and everything was already overcooked and mushy. And the taste was really off as well; very bland. I use my crockpot all the time and have never had issues with other recipes, so I’m not sure where this one went wrong.
We’re not sure what could have gone wrong, Genevieve, but we’re very sorry this didn’t work out for you! :(
Love lentil peas but I would love to try it. Never had it before looks good
I made this the first time with brown lentils…my family couldn’t get past how it looked. It was also a bit bland. I’m making it today with green lentils and some extra curry so we will see how it goes. Love your recipes so willing to give it another shot.
My husband made this for us over the weekend, and we really enjoyed the flavors, particularly the balance of the earthiness of the lentils with the vibrant lemon flavor. We used a moderately spicy curry powder that was heavy on the cumin, and I think it gave it an excellent flavor. We are both writing our graduate school dissertations so we both appreciated this easy yummy meal with leftovers. Thanks :)
We’re so happy you both enjoyed it, Jennifer — thanks for taking the time to comment! :)
WOW! This is delicious! My kids LOVE it. I doubled the recipe so we can have soup for the busy weekend. I will make it again and again. I added sliced smoked sausage to this batch. The cilantro and lemon juice really make it over the top. My house smells GREAT!
Your Blog is beautiful, a pleasure to visit and I tell everyone about it. I love that you have added crock pot and stove top instructions on several of your recipes. We also loved the Vegetable Beef Soup.
We used your egg drop soup for our 4-H club and everyone loved it.
I have scoped out several other recipes I am getting ready to try.
My son has multiple serious food allergies, and can have many of your recipes, thank you.
Thank you so much for sharing, Karla — we’re happy you and your kiddos enjoy the soup, and we bet the smoked sausage was wonderful in this! :) We’re also glad to hear that the egg drop soup was a hit!
Can’t wait to try this recipe, but I was wondering if it would freeze well? Thank you!
Thanks, Annelies, we hope you enjoy it! And yes, it freezes well!
So good!!!
I just made this recipe!! Left it in for 4 hours on high I added more garam masala than called for. It turned out lovely!! Perfect for a rainy day in the north! Definitely keeping this for the winter ahead! It was perfect
Just made this tonight and I gotta say it’s SO GOOD! The spicy curry powder made me nervous, but I bought some to try anyway. Overall, I think the pepper I put in made this more spicy than anything, it’s only got a hint of heat, which I enjoy. I cooked for 6 hours on low, and I think the lentils were a tad bit over cooked, but otherwise everything turned out perfect! Will definitely save this recipe for another time!
Absolutely delicious! I didn’t see where to add the 1 teaspoon garam masala and really didn’t know what garam masala is. I added 1 tsp of Zahtar, two TB of cornstartch and 1 TB of water to thicken it up, about 2/3 bag of petite peas, 1/2 white potato already cooked and a few slices of roasted sweet potatoes. I really enjoyed it with the sour cream. This is definitely a do over! – Tracy
Excellent recipe, yet again! Thank you, Ali. The simplicity of the ingredients, plus the ease of throwing it all in the crockpot (hi winter, hello crockpot,) made for dazzling whiffs as it cooked, and excellent flavor as we ate! We varied the recipe and added chorizo sausage which we browned and sliced up first, before adding with all other ingredients. We let it cook overnight, and this morning we ate the stew with a fried egg on top. We’ll have it for dinner as well, sans egg. Excellent recipe, I love your work!
Allison and Patrick from VT
When do you add the garam masala? The recipe does not specify. I presume it goes in with the initial batch of spices and stock?
Just made today and enjoyed for dinner…the flavors were great! I added some diced tomatoes, garlic powder and ginger paste at the end of cooking.
oh my goodness, was this delicious !!! It is the first lentil soup I’ve had that is full of flavor and zing ! Have recently been making diet changes and this healthy, tasty soup is just the thing. My husband equally enjoyed it and I am now a big fan…..will have to try some more of your recipes ! Thank you so much for sharing this one !
Hi, your recipe sounds wonderful. I cook a lot of Indian foods and this is almost like what I make. I usually add potatoes and carrots to mine, minus the spinach. Cook everything on stove for about 10 mins, then in my pressure cooker for about 1/2 hour. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro when done and a twist of lemon juice. Oh one last thing, I use Dhansak powder, which gives more of a black pepper heat than spicy heat. You might want to try out this powder, since you like the heat. :):):)
I have had this five pound bag of lentils sitting in my pantry for six months from me not knowing how to eat them/hating lentils. But let me tell you this recipe made me love them so much that bag won’t last me long! Every recipe I have tried from this blog is fantastic and so is this soup! I added some potatos and peas so I could get more veggies in there and it turned out great
Very flavorful!! My husband and I really enjoyed this soup. I will be curious to see how it does when we defrost some for leftovers. I think it should be just as good. I hate to buy spices I may not use again, so I looked up to see what was in garam masala. I had most of the items already, so I just estimated the one teaspoon. I didn’t have cardamom, though, but looked up a substitution for it and added a little cinnamon and nutmeg instead. I used kale in place of the spinach and that was delicious. Also, I used red lentils I had on hand and they worked fine. I will definitely make this again.
Whole Foods market sells bulk spices. You can get as little or much as you want. I like to do this so as not to waste larger quantities. Also the spices don’t lose thier flavor, it’s always fresh.
I loved this!! The spinach & lemon juice really made it special ??
I just finished making this soup and it is excellent. I was concerned that I might not like the curry but it turns out that I love it! My husband and I follow the Ornish Food Plan and this recipe fits the bill. Thanks, Nancy
My liquid practically dried out after 3 hours! I adjusted the recipe to make it in a 2 quart so halved everything. Used water since I didn’t have chicken stock but there was barely any water left at the end of the 3 hours. Basically it’s something you would have with rice. Any advice?
I am a fan of lentils. Thank you for this!
I remember coming across this recipe when I lived in Korea as well. I had some lentils and spices on hand and wanted to make it, and I REALLY loved it. I even added sausage to mine. I’m about to make it for the first time in 2 years tomorrow, and I think it’s going to make me really homesick haha. Thanks for sharing this recipe! It’s amazing how much nostalgia food can give you …
Superb!
I’ve had neighbors, upon getting a whiff of it’s aroma, ask what on earth I am making that smells so good :)
If you are planning to have leftovers of this, I suggest adding the spinach to your bowls at the time of dining rather than to the pot.
The spinach doesn’t look appealing and loses freshness
when reheated.