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A creamy, delicious Greek lentil soup that is prepared Greek-style. Of course, you know me, I always love making Greek recipes for you. This traditional Greek lentil soup combines lentils, onions, and carrots, all with a delicious tomato-based broth. It’s creamy, it’s flavorful, and it’s the ultimate comfort food for fall and winter!
Why You’ll Love Greek Lentil Soup
- 10-Minute Prep: Yep, that’s it – whip this bad boy up in under an hour, but the prep will only take about 10 minutes.
- Incredibly Flavorful: The combo of spices mixed with lentils, carrots, and a tomato broth is seriously perfect.
- Healthy & Hearty: This vegan Greek lentil soup recipe is healthy and hearty, filling you up with so many nutrients. Find more recipes like this in my healthy Greek dinners guide.
- Budget-Friendly: Made with simple, inexpensive ingredients that deliver maximum flavor and nutrition.
Ingredients
Red Lentils – Use red lentils for the best consistency in this soup. Lentils are rich in fiber, folate, and potassium making them an awesome choice for your recipes. They also provide energizing iron and vitamin B1, plus they cook quickly and break down beautifully to create that signature creamy texture.
Maria Koutsogiannia
Maria is the creator of FoodByMaria and your go-to Greek food expert for cozy, flavor-packed recipes. Inspired by her Mediterranean roots, she brings traditional Greek flavors, feel-good ingredients, and a whole lot of joy to everyday cooking.
Tomato Paste – Don’t skip the tomato paste as it’s what makes this Greek lentil soup so delicious with its rich, concentrated tomato flavor. It creates the perfect base for the broth and adds depth and umami that transforms simple ingredients into something extraordinary.
How to Make Lentil Soup
1. Into a large pot, heat the olive oil for 30 seconds on medium heat. To the pot, add the onions, garlic, and carrot, and cook for 5 minutes stir often to avoid burning
2. You want the onions to be golden, not brown. Turn the heat to low if your stovetop is strong
3. To the pot, add the bay leaves, tomato paste, vegetable stock paste salt, and pepper. Stir to evenly coat all the ingredients
4. Increase heat to high, add the lentils and water (or vegetable stock), and cook for 20 minutes or until the carrots are completely tender and perfect.
Serve with vinegar. This is a must.
Tips and Tricks
- Vinegar: For this recipe, vinegar is so important as it heightens the flavor and blends everything perfectly.
- Heat: Turn the heat to low if your stovetop is strong to prevent the onions from browning too quickly.
- Prep: Make a big batch of this fakes soup and freeze some to have on hand for easy, healthy meals.
- Consistency: Red lentils break down naturally to create the perfect creamy texture without any dairy.
Substitutions
- Lentils: Green or brown lentils work but will take longer to cook and won’t break down as much.
- Vinegar: Any type of vinegar will work, but avoid substituting it with lemon juice for an authentic flavor.
- Stock: Water works fine, but vegetable stock adds extra depth of flavor to the soup.
- Vegetables: Add celery or bell peppers for extra vegetable content and Mediterranean flair.
Best served with
How to Store Leftovers
Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days in the fridge. You can also freeze this Greek Lentil Soup. Let it cool, then package it up in an airtight container and store in the freezer for up to 4 months.
Common Questions
“Fakes” in Greek is a traditional vegan soup that is served in many Greek homes. This combo of tomato broth with lentils is something I’ve grown up with. Bonus that it’s vegan!!
Vinegar is a traditional ingredient in Greek lentil soup, providing the perfect acidic balance that enhances all the flavors, while lemon would alter the authentic taste profile.
Red wine vinegar is traditional, but white wine vinegar or even apple cider vinegar work well for this recipe.
Yes! Sauté the vegetables first, then transfer everything to a slow cooker and cook on low for 4-6 hours until lentils are tender.
The carrots should be completely tender and the red lentils will have broken down to create a naturally creamy consistency.
Yes! This traditional Greek lentil soup is naturally vegan and packed with plant-based protein and nutrients.
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Ingredients
- 3 tbsp. olive oil
- 6 garlic cloves, roughly chopped or smashed
- 1 medium onion, minced
- 1 large carrot, chopped
- 2-3 bay leaves
- 1 ½ tbsp. tomato paste
- 1 ½ tbsp. vegetable stock paste
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 2 cups cooked lentils, cook before you start the recipe
- 6 cups of hot water, or vegetable stock if you don’t have the stock paste
- 1-2 tbsp. red wine vinegar to serve with each serving, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Instructions
Start Cooking- Into a large pot, heat the olive oil for 30 seconds on medium heat.
- To the pot, add the onions, garlic, and carrot and cook for 5 minutes stir often to avoid burning. You want the onions to golden, not brown. Turn heat to low if your stovetop is strong.
- To the pot, add the bay leaves, tomato paste, vegetable stock paste salt, and pepper. Stir to evenly coat all the ingredients.
- Increase heat to high, add the lentils and water (or vegetable stock), and cook for 20 minutes or until the carrots are completely tender and perfect.
- Serve with vinegar. This is a must.
12 people are discussing this recipe.
Super delicious! I added extra green lentils as well as the red lentils since the red break down into the broth and the green provide a nice added texture. I also added some bell pepper which was a fantastic suggestion. The vinegar at the end is technically optional, but I’d never skip it as it gives the soup such delicious depth and complexity. Served with some delicious bread and butter, this will be a cold-weather staple for us!
this makes me so happy, katie! so glad you enjoyed the vinegar!!!!
Easy and tasty! I didn’t quite follow the recipe to a T but it was still good
Love to hear it!
Do you add the vinegar to cook in it or add to soup as it’s served ?
As it’s served!
Hi! Plan to try this but the pictures do not look like the red lentils I am farmiliar with, which cook very quicly and “disintergrate”. Is that what you are using or is there a “red” version of a green or brown lentil?
Hey Cat, where in the post so I mention red lentils. I want to edit that but I can’t see it. But you can use any lentils of choice. Brown lentils are yummy with this.
Maria, This is it! I had a wonderful lentil soup at a Greek restaurant and wanted to cook it at home. Your recipe tastes exactly like what I remember. Thank you!
that makes me so happy, thank you donna!
One of my favorite Greek comfort dishes, and Maria’s recipe does not disappoint! Tastes just like Yiayia’s and comes together so easily.
this makes me so happy, thank you so much, Catherine!