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This Turkish Lentil Soup recipe tastes wonderfully light and fresh, and it’s easy to make in less than 30 minutes.
Our trip to Istanbul this past autumn was hands-down one of the most delicious trips of my life. ♡
We were able to sample a record number of new-to-us Turkish dishes, from menemen to manti, balik ekmek to beyaz penir, pide to piyaz, pistachio kebabs to pink pickle juice, chicken breast pudding to Turkish delight and so much more. (All washed down with a record number of tiny cups of tea along the way, too.) Barclay and I decided that Turkey’s approach to food — with their elaborate Turkish breakfasts, bustling food markets, grilled street food of all kinds, unending meze (small plates), and long evenings with rakı and wine — is basically our dream way to eat, especially when we travel. And my goodness, we loved it all so much.
That said, while our priority was definitely on trying as many new dishes as possible during our trip, there was one familiar dish consistently present on every menu that I couldn’t help but order at least once a day — a cozy small bowl of Turkish lentil soup.
You all already know that I adore a good bowl of lentil soup. But I especially fell in love with the Turkish version during this trip because it was so light and simple. By contrast to many other lentil soups that I have tried (or made) in the past, Turkish lentil soup is generally super-smooth and brothy, it’s lightly seasoned with just a few simple spices, and it’s served up with fresh herbs and lemon wedges, plus an occasional sprinkle of Aleppo pepper or pepper oil for some extra heat. This lentil soup was always served as an appetizer in Istanbul, often with some freshly-baked lavash on the side. And it was always so lovely and delicious.
So of course, I asked our servers a million questions so that I could learn how to make it at home! Turns out, it’s incredibly simple to whip up in less than 30 minutes, it’s naturally gluten-free and vegan, and it’s nice and healthy, which we especially appreciate this time of year. We’ve been loving this lentil soup served with just a simple side salad, plus maybe some lavash or bread to go with it. And in my opinion, the lemon and fresh herb (either mint or cilantro) toppings are essential, so be sure to pick them up while you’re grocery shopping for this recipe too.
Alright, let’s make some healthy lentil soup!
Turkish Lentil Soup Ingredients:
To make this traditional Turkish lentil soup (mercimek çorbası), you will need the following ingredients:
Veggies: This lentil soup recipe is made with a simple base of onion (white or yellow), carrot, and a small potato (I used a Yukon gold).
Stock: Either vegetable or chicken stock — whichever you prefer.
Red lentils: Which cook quickly and break down well in this soup.
Tomato paste: Most of the lentil soups we tried in Turkey were also made with tomato paste, which adds some great flavor and makes the soup more of an orange (versus light yellow) color.
Seasonings: A mix of ground cumin, sea salt, black pepper, and Aleppo pepper. (That said, if you don’t have Aleppo pepper on hand, you can substitute sweet or smoked paprika, plus a hint of cayenne.)
Fresh lemon wedges and fresh mint: Lots of freshly-squeezed lemon juice is essential to brighten up this soup. Restaurants also tended to sprinkle the soup with either fresh mint or cilantro, which I love.
How To Make Turkish Lentil Soup:
To make this Turkish lentil soup recipe, simply…
Sauté the veggies. Sauté some diced onion and carrot in olive oil until softened. Then stir in the tomato paste, cumin and Aleppo pepper, and sauté a bit longer to bring out their flavors.
Simmer. Then add in the stock, red lentils, and potato. And simmer the soup until the lentils are tender, about 15 minutes.
Purée (optional). My preference is to use an immersion blender to purée the soup right there in the stockpot until it is completely smooth. Or if you don’t have an immersion blender, you can transfer the soup in two batches to a traditional blender and purée until completely smooth. (As always, though, be very careful when blending hot liquids in a traditional blender, as they expand when blended. I recommend dividing the soup in half and blending in two separate batches, and tenting the cap of the blender lid so that hot air can escape as needed.)
Season. As always, don’t forget to taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.
Serve. Then serve it up nice and warm, sprinkled with chopped fresh herbs and and some generous squeezes of fresh lemon juice.
Possible Variations:
Feel free to get creative and customize this Turkish lentil soup recipe however you prefer! For example, feel free to…
Make a chili sauce drizzle: Some of the lentil soups we tried in Istanbul were drizzled with chili oil, which was delicious. To make it, simply melt a few tablespoons of butter (or olive oil), stir in a teaspoon or two of Aleppo chilis until combined, then drizzle over the soup in serving bowls.
Add garlic: Garlic doesn’t seem to be as traditional in authentic Turkish lentil soup, but I like adding an extra clove or two (pressed or minced) to the veggie sauté for extra flavor.
Omit the potato: Some places told us that they thickened their soup with a roux instead of a potato, which you are welcome to do instead if you would like to omit the potato.
Make it vegan: Just opt to use olive oil, and vegetable stock instead of chicken stock, and you’re good to go!
More Healthy Soup Recipes:
Looking for more healthy soup recipes to make this time of year? Here are a few of my faves!
1 small Yukon gold potato, diced into 1/2-inch cubes
fine sea salt and freshly-cracked black pepper, to taste
fresh lemon wedges and chopped fresh herbs (cilantro and/or mint), for serving
Instructions
Sauté the veggies. Heat oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add onion and carrot, and sauté for 5 minutes until softened, stirring occasionally. Stir in the tomato paste, cumin and Aleppo pepper. Sauté for 1 more minute, stirring occasionally.
Simmer. Add the stock, red lentils, potato, and stir to combine. Continue cooking until the soup reaches a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low to maintain the simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes or until the lentils are tender.
Purée (optional). If you would like to purée the soup, use an immersion blender to purée until completely smooth. Or transfer the soup to a traditional blender (I recommend doing this in two batches, so as not to overfill the blender), and carefully purée* until smooth.
Season. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve. Serve warm, garnished with chopped fresh herbs and fresh lemon wedges for squeezing. (The lemon juice is essential, in my opinion, so be sure to add a good squeeze!)
Aleppo pepper substitute: Feel free to instead substitute 1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika plus a pinch of cayenne, if you do not have Aleppo pepper.
Traditional blender note: As always, be very careful if using a traditional blender. Hot liquids expand when blended, so it’s important not to overfill the blender (I recommend no more than half full) and to always keep the cap on the blender lid slightly tented open, so that hot air can escape.
Storage: Any leftovers can be stored in sealed containers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or in the freeze for up to 3 months.
I made this soup today. I followed it exactly for the vegan version. Super easy, quick, nutritious and tasty. Thank you
Ps I have also made the cozy curried cauliflower soup and best chicken enchiladas- both 5 stars.
I made this for my lunch just now, and I LOVED it! I cheated and used a soup kettle as that makes a really smooth soup, but I did saute the veggies and spices first. Only had dried mint, but will try it with fresh as well. (Although its hard to see how it could be improved on x)
Another alternative – try using Turkish pepper paste instead of tomato paste. Fortunately it’s now pretty widely available in
Middle eastern food stores.
The soup was delicious! Made it for my husband tonight and we both enjoyed it very much. Kind of everything you would want from a soup…. tasty, healthy and easy to make!
This was so so good, it’s become a staple. We had it with warm garlic cilantro naan bread, it was such a good meal. My boyfriend who isn’t fond of pureed soups absolutely loved it. Thank you!!!
Made as written. Got Aleppo pepper from amazon. So glad I did. This is a keeper. The lemon juice at serving makes it even better. Tastes totally authentic. Thank you so much.
I was in Istanbul a couple of years ago & had lentil soup exactly like this! Your recipe is amazing! I followed it exactly & it turned out so yummy! Thank you for a wonderful & easy soup on a very cold & rainy day!
Our family loved the lentil soup when we were visiting Turkey so of course I had to figure out how to make it at home. This is now a family favorite and go-to recipe that we have at least a couple of times a month. Guests also enjoy it and I’ve been asked for the recipe multiple times. I love having an easy, vegetarian option that everyone loves.
I made this soup twice the first time it came out really well and nicely thick. I followed the same exact way and for some reason it was too water. Where did I go wrong?
I did the double for the ingredients, I did two cups of lentil and 12 cups of water broth. I feel maybe that wasn’t a good ratio. I’m a beginner at cooking.
Also how can I make the color more like the picture. My soup color came out more brown/yellow.
I made this soup today. It’s absolutely delicious.
I didn’t have Aleppo pepper so used paprika instead – still so tasty! It’ll be gone in no time.
I’ll be sure to buy Aleppo for next time to see what the difference is.
Thank you so much for the recipe!
Made this for lunch today. I have a sensitivity to onion bulbs of any type, so I improvised, using about a quarter cup of leek greens, (in a spice bag, to preserve the colour of the soup), and a quarter cup of sweet potato (to add a touch of sweetness that I’d miss by leaving out the onions), otherwise I stuck to the recipe. It’s fabulous! I had expected it to have a very pronounced cumin flavour, so imagine my pleasant surprise to taste how the Aleppo peppers flavour really bloomed. So delicious! And the little bit of sweet potato made the colour of the finished soup just beautiful. Thank you!
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This looks so good! I really want to cook more with lentils in 2020!
Paige
I made this soup today. I followed it exactly for the vegan version. Super easy, quick, nutritious and tasty. Thank you
Ps I have also made the cozy curried cauliflower soup and best chicken enchiladas- both 5 stars.
I made this for my lunch just now, and I LOVED it! I cheated and used a soup kettle as that makes a really smooth soup, but I did saute the veggies and spices first. Only had dried mint, but will try it with fresh as well. (Although its hard to see how it could be improved on x)
It was delicious. Did not need any additional salt.
Another alternative – try using Turkish pepper paste instead of tomato paste. Fortunately it’s now pretty widely available in
Middle eastern food stores.
The soup was delicious! Made it for my husband tonight and we both enjoyed it very much. Kind of everything you would want from a soup…. tasty, healthy and easy to make!
Love the scaling feature – so handy.
I am a big fan of red lentils and am looking forward to trying this recipe, so thank you.
My family absolutely loved this recipe—including two soup-resistant children. The lemon and mint really elevated everything. Thank you so much.
Love this Turkish lentil soup recipe. Looks amazing!
This was so so good, it’s become a staple. We had it with warm garlic cilantro naan bread, it was such a good meal. My boyfriend who isn’t fond of pureed soups absolutely loved it. Thank you!!!
This is the best lentil soup I have ever had! I am half way through the bowl and had to comment. Quick, easy and delicious!
Made this for my Turkish boyfriend- he gave it 2 thumbs up! Great recipe!!!!
This was the best lentil soup I have ever had. It was super easy to make. I didn’t top it with anything. The soup was gone in no time.
Easy and delicious! The lemon in it was the best. I’ll have to try it with fresh mint in the future. Thank you!
Made as written. Got Aleppo pepper from amazon. So glad I did. This is a keeper. The lemon juice at serving makes it even better. Tastes totally authentic. Thank you so much.
This is my favorite Turkish soup and the only lentil soup that I really like. Thank you for the recipe!
My first time actually making lentil soup in general. It came out really well and my family who are old school arabs enjoyed it.
My main question, my soup did not come out a nice orange color like the image. Actually it came out more of a light brown color to it.
How can I have more of a orange color to it next time, similar to the image.
Thank you all
The same thing here! I can’t achieve That beautiful orange color! Did you ever figure out why?
Maybe the tomatoes paste?
I was in Istanbul a couple of years ago & had lentil soup exactly like this! Your recipe is amazing! I followed it exactly & it turned out so yummy! Thank you for a wonderful & easy soup on a very cold & rainy day!
Our family loved the lentil soup when we were visiting Turkey so of course I had to figure out how to make it at home. This is now a family favorite and go-to recipe that we have at least a couple of times a month. Guests also enjoy it and I’ve been asked for the recipe multiple times. I love having an easy, vegetarian option that everyone loves.
Lovely, a little more subtle than I expected. I will make again as a first course, rather than an entree.
I made this soup twice the first time it came out really well and nicely thick. I followed the same exact way and for some reason it was too water. Where did I go wrong?
I did the double for the ingredients, I did two cups of lentil and 12 cups of water broth. I feel maybe that wasn’t a good ratio. I’m a beginner at cooking.
Also how can I make the color more like the picture. My soup color came out more brown/yellow.
I made this soup today. It’s absolutely delicious.
I didn’t have Aleppo pepper so used paprika instead – still so tasty! It’ll be gone in no time.
I’ll be sure to buy Aleppo for next time to see what the difference is.
Thank you so much for the recipe!
Made this for lunch today. I have a sensitivity to onion bulbs of any type, so I improvised, using about a quarter cup of leek greens, (in a spice bag, to preserve the colour of the soup), and a quarter cup of sweet potato (to add a touch of sweetness that I’d miss by leaving out the onions), otherwise I stuck to the recipe. It’s fabulous! I had expected it to have a very pronounced cumin flavour, so imagine my pleasant surprise to taste how the Aleppo peppers flavour really bloomed. So delicious! And the little bit of sweet potato made the colour of the finished soup just beautiful. Thank you!