5 Best Vegan Soup Recipes (plant-based, oil-free, gluten-free) (2024)

5 from 45 votes

• 1 1/2 tablespoons plus 3 1/2-4 cups water divided
• 1 1/2 cups diced onion
• 1 cup diced carrot
• 1 cup diced celery
• 3 large cloves garlic minced
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon mild curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 2 cups dried red lentils
• 3 cups vegetable stock
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary see note
• 1 – 1 1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar or lemon juice

• In a large pot over medium heat, add 1 1/2 tablespoons of the water, onion, carrot, celery, garlic, paprika, curry powder, sea salt, thyme, and black pepper and stir to combine. Cover and cook for 7-8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Rinse the lentils. Add the lentils, the remaining 3 1/2 cups of the water, and stock and stir to combine. Increase heat to bring mixture to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 12-15 minutes. Add rosemary and simmer for another 8-10 minutes or more, until lentils are completely softened. Stir in vinegar, and add more water to thin the soup if desired. Serve.

5 from 45 votes

• splash water
• 1½ cups diced onion
• 1 cup carrot that has been cut in disks
• 4 to 5 medium to large cloves garlic minced
• 1½ teaspoons dried thyme
• 1¼ to 1½ teaspoons smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• ¾ teaspoon sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups French lentils rinsed (see note)
• 2 cups vegan vegetable stock check label for allergens
• 5 cups water
• ¼ cup tomato paste
• 1 bay leaf
• 1½ tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice optional, but nice
• 2 tablespoons chopped chives for garnish (optional)

• In a large pot over medium heat, combine the water, onion, carrot, garlic, thyme, paprika, mustard, salt, and pepper. Stir, cover, and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion starts to soften. Add the lentils, stir, then add the vegetable stock, water, tomato paste, and bay leaf. Increase the heat to bring to a boil, then lower the heat to medium-low, cover, and cook for 30 to 35 minutes, or longer if needed, until the lentils are fully cooked through. Remove the bay leaf. Add the lemon juice, if using, stir, and serve, sprinkling with chopped chives, if desired. Serves 4-5.

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• Kid-Friendly Tip: Your little ones might like the smoky flavor, but if you aren’t sure, ease off on the smoked paprika, starting with just 3/4 to 1 teaspoon. You can also add precooked pasta shapes to this soup, for packing in lunches.
• Savvy Subs and Adds: If you can’t find French lentils, brown (green) lentils substitute nicely. Red lentils do not substitute well as they do not have a similar texture.
• Serving Suggestions: Serve with crostini or baguette slices with Truffled Cashew Cheese (also in Let Them Eat Vegan), or a dollop of Spinach Herb Pistachio Pesto (also in LTEV).

5 from 45 votes

• splash or water
• 2 cups onion diced
• 1 1/2 cups celercy diced
• 3 large cloves garlic minced
• 3/4 tsp sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 – 1 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1 cup dried red lentils
• 3 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas
• 2 cups zucchini or tomatoes chopped (I used tomatoes)
• 3 cups vegetable stock
• 2 cups water
• 2 dried bay leaves
• 1/4 – 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

• In a large soup pot on medium heat, add water, onion, celery, garlic, salt, pepper, mustard seed, cumin seeds, paprika, oregano, and thyme and stir to combine. Cover and cook for 6–7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Rinse lentils. Add lentils and 21⁄2 cups chickpeas (reserve remaining 1 cup), zucchini or tomatoes, stock, water, and bay leaves and stir to com- bine. Increase heat to bring mixture to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20–25 minutes until lentils are completely softened. Remove bay leaves. Stir in 1⁄4 cup lemon juice, then using a hand blender, purée the soup, keeping some texture. Stir in remaining 1 cup chickpeas. Season with additional sea salt, pepper, and lemon juice if desired, and serve.

5 from 45 votes

• 2 tbsp water or more as needed, to saute
• 1 ½ cups onion diced
• 2 ½ – 3 cups red or yukon gold potatoes cut in chunks about 1 ½ – 2” thick
• 1/2 cup celery diced
• 1 cup carrots diced (or 1 cup red pepper, chopped in small chunks, added later, see note)
• 4-5 medium-large cloves garlic minced
• 1 ½ tsp dried rosemary leaves
• 1 tsp dried thyme leaves
• 1 tsp dried marjoram leaves or dried oregano leaves
• 1 ½ tsp ground mustard
• 1 tsp sea salt
• ¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg see note
• freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1 cup brown green lentils, rinsed (see note)
• 2 cups vegetable stock
• 5 cups water
• 1 tbsp red miso
• 1 1/2 tbsp blackstrap molasses
• 2 dried bay leaves
• 1 14/15 oz can cannellini beans (or other white beans), drained and rinsed
• 6-7 cups loosely packed fresh kale leaves, roughly chopped or torn (roughly 1 smallish bunch of kale, can use curly kale or dinosaur kale) (keep fairly large pieces, they will wilt significantly)

• In a large pot over medium heat, add the water, onion, potatoes, celery, carrots (if using), garlic, dried herbs and spices, salt, and pepper. Stir through, cover, and cook for 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally. If veggies are sticking, add another splash of water. Add the lentils, stir through, cover and cook for another few minutes, and then add the vegetable stock, water, miso, molasses, bay leaves and stir through. Increase heat to bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover and let cook for 30- 40 minutes, until the lentils are very soft and fully cooked. (If using the chopped red pepper, add after first 25-30 minutes of cooking lentils, see note). Turn off heat, add the cannellini beans (see note), kale, stir through, cover, and let wilt in soup for about 5 minutes. Remove bay leaves to serve, and taste to add additional salt and pepper if desired.

• Spice Note: Nutmeg seems an odd addition to this soup, I know. However, it actually works nicely with bitter greens, and adds a subtle flavor to the soup that is very pleasant. Give it a try!
• Red Pepper Note: I add the red pepper a little later, just to preserve a little more of the freshness of the pepper. You can add it earlier if you prefer, or use carrot in place of red pepper – though I prefer the red pepper variation.
• Beans Note: Adding the cannellini beans later in the cooking helps preserve the white color of the beans. You can certainly add them earlier, with the lentils, if you want, but they will absorb the broth and turn a brownish color. Just for visual appeal, I prefer to add them later.
• Savvy Subs and Adds: Mung beans would make a good substitution for the green lentils if you have those handy. You can substitute other greens in place of the kale if you like, such as collard greens, swiss chard, or spinach. If using swiss chard or spinach, you won’t need to cook them through, just stir through for a minute and serve.