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Slow Cooker Red Lentil Soup

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Slow Cooker Red Lentil Soup is so easy and the flavors are diverse and rich. It’s a soup the whole family will love and they’ll also want it over and over again.

Slow Cooker Red Lentil Soup is so tasty and it came out so good! The flavors are diverse and rich and my husband loves it.

There is something I have to tell you about Ed. He puts saltine crackers in every soup or chowder that he sees.

No question or thought – he just adds the saltines. Thank goodness he loves this with his signature saltines (oh, well).

I love it too, sans the crackers, and so will you. 🙂

You can easily double this recipe. Just make sure your crock-pot will be big enough. That would be 8 servings.

This plant-based stew is loved by everyone and if it isn’t gone on the first night the leftovers will be just as good.

If you serve it with grilled panini sandwiches on the side then you will definitely have leftovers – or go back to the original recipe that serves 4.

And, of course, you can freeze leftovers for another night. That’s always a good thing. Just reheat and serve – to all.

Red lentil soup ready 5


Have you ever heard of a ‘dump’ recipe? I think it all started with cakes where you mix everything in a pan and then bake.

Well, cooking has evolved and there are ‘dump and go’ recipes for slow cookers too. That is what I would call this recipe.

There is nothing missing and all the texture and spices are there. The difference is that you don’t have to do any pre-sautéing or soaking.

The flavors and quality all come through.

All the flavors meld over the long period so that you can walk into your home smelling the great aroma of a home-cooked meal. It is truly a ‘dump and go’ soup and it tastes delicious.

Ingredients

Red lentil soup ingredients labels
  • Red lentils are sturdier than brown lentils.
  • Vegetable broth adds flavorful liquid for the soup.
  • Carrots are sweet and cut into very small pieces for quick cooking.
  • Tomatoes add lots of tasty juices.
  • Tomato paste adds rich flavors for the base of this soup.
  • Onion is the best base for so many recipes. They cook up sweet and taste great.
  • Garlic has a pungent flavor but when used sparingly it is delicious.
  • Lemon juice just a little bit to add a tangy flavor.
  • Ground cumin is also unusual but gives more of a tasty kick.
  • Dried basil has a peppery taste and wonderful aroma.
  • Dried thyme is very earthy and a little bit sweet, with a slight mint taste.
  • Chili powder the king of spices for this soup and adds spicy heat.
  • Black pepper adds a bit of contrasting spice.

Instructions

  • You don’t have to pre-soak lentils. That makes this an even easier soup.
  • Put everything in the slow cooker and cook on low 8 hours or on high 4 hours.  
  • Add salt to taste, if needed.
  • This is what you could call a dump and go recipe.

I have a few more slow cooker soup recipes on the blog and here is another lentil one you might want to take a peek at.

It is Slow Cooker Lentil Vegetable Soup. Just a heads up. And how about a peek at what it looks like too?

Slow Cooker Lentil Vegetable Soup is rich colors of brown and orange with vegetables such as lentils, carrots and mushrooms.

More Crockpot Soup Recipes

You see, I love soup. I think everybody does and I’m not even at the end of making the ones I have swirling around in my mind.

There are already 25 soup recipes on my blog. Ha! Yeah, soup’s good stuff!

Red lentil soup is also more of an unusual one and you get an extra bonus because it has so much protein.

How do you freeze red lentil soup

  • IF FREEZING:
  • Let cool to room temperature. Package in rigid sided containers.
  • TO PREPARE AFTER FREEZING:
  • Remove from the freezer and put in the refrigerator overnight because it is a pretty solid mass and will take longer to defrost.
  • THE NIGHT OF SERVING:
  • Put all in a large saucepan and heat through. You can add more broth if you think it is too thick. Ready to serve.

Red lentil soup ready 2

Slow Cooker Red Lentil Soup

Ginny McMeans
This Slow Cooker Red Lentil Soup came out great!
4.37 from 191 votes
Print Pin Recipe Save
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 8 hours
Total Time 8 hours 15 minutes
Course Main Dish, Soup
Cuisine Comfort Food
Servings 6 servings
Calories 282 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups red lentils dried
  • 6 cups vegetable broth
  • 3 carrots cut into chunks
  • 14 ounces tomatoes canned, another ounce more is good too, depends on your can size
  • 6 ounces tomato paste
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic very finely diced or minced
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions
 

  • You don’t have to pre-soak lentils. That makes this an even easier soup.
  • Put everything in the slow cooker and cook on low 8 hours or on high 4 hours.  
    Put everything in the slow cooker and cook on low
  • Add salt to taste, if needed.
  • This is what you could call a dump and go recipe.
    Red lentil soup ready 3

Video

Nutrition

Serving: 14ouncesCalories: 282kcalCarbohydrates: 52gProtein: 17gFat: 1gSodium: 1290mgPotassium: 1153mgFiber: 21gSugar: 10gVitamin A: 6605IUVitamin C: 21.5mgCalcium: 77mgIron: 6.2mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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Comments

    4.37 from 191 votes (180 ratings without comment)

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  3. Hi!
    How well do you think this would work with a 28 oz can of diced tomatoes? Do you think reducing the broth would be sufficient?
    Thanks!

  4. You could add the larger can of tomatoes but it would definitely be more ‘tomatoy’. It would change the flavor balance but it might be really good. Just different. I would not reduce the broth by much – maybe 4-6 ounces or the soup might become a stew. That might be okay too. You could add another carrot if you were going for a stew.

  5. Hi,
    Just wanted to update you. I’m in Canada, and the smallest can of diced tomatoes I could find was 19 oz. I used the whole can, maintained the amount of broth, but decreased the tomato paste to 3 oz.
    It was soooooo yummy!
    Thanks again for all your recipes, I love your blog.

  9. My husband made this last evening. It was very tasty, however I had to add more water, it was just too thick. Next time I would add more vegetable broth (at least a cup) and towards the end add some small pasta too. Wonderful and healthy!

  10. Thanks for this fantastic recipe, which I found on Pinterest. We made it last weekend and it was a big hit – a definite keeper we’ll enjoy again and again!

    Though it was delicious as written, we’re spice-lovers so we upped the cumin to 2 teaspoons, and added two cooked potatoes (diced) that we had on hand at the very end, just long enough for them to heat through. The results were delicious and thick and hearty and abundant – we’re still enjoying the yummy leftovers (though it’s nice to know we can freeze it if so inclined!) Love how easy it is, and the mouth-watering aromatherapy as it cooked was an added delight! 🙂

  12. I understand about the spices. The cumin sounds really good too. I would put cumin in a lot of things but Ed does not love it so much. So glad you enjoyed it and thanks for letting me know. P.S. I love Pinterest.

  13. Hi Ginny,
    My Mum (who lives interstate), is elderly & lives on her own. She recently bought a slow cooker & is having trouble finding simple recipes. She needs basic recipes without too many additions and small portions. I’m glad I found your site as slow cooker recipes don’t seem very popular, at least on my search engine. I’d love to hear what you have to suggest. It was great to read everyone’s comments about the lentil soup! I think I’ll pull out the cooker (left at the back of the cupboard when my daughter left home!) and give it a a go myself.

  14. Hi JJ! I am so glad you have found me. I added Slow Cooker to my menu bar so that you could find my list of recipes more easily. The Edamamme Succotash (she could use lima beans instead of the edamame) is really easy. Also the mushrooms, black beans, rice and mushrooms and black eyed peas are easy. They don’t have any of the faux meats in them (I am also getting away from these because of GMO’s). Slow Cooker recipes are still very popular but try the words Crock Pot. You might find more that way. Does your mum get confused yet? Maybe you could find recipes and rewrite them for her in a simplified manner. I try to make mine really easy. Hope you get to make the lentil soup. Thanks for your interest and welcome!

  15. Thank you, this is in my slow cooker now! There’s a red pepper and some celery in too for good measure since they needed to be used. Dinner is on for tonight.

  17. This was delicious!! Served it over steamed cauliflower for a “meatless Monday” dinner! House smelled great, will also try over sweet potatoes.. Thanks so much for sharing it..

  21. I made this recipe last night. Huge hit! It was my families first experience w Lentils. Even my 4 year old ate her entire portion. I was wondering if you had the nutrition facts for this recipe? Such as, calories, fat, dietary fiber per serving. thanks!

  22. That is so wonderful! Love that your little child enjoyed it too. Makes me smile so big. I am sorry but I don’t have any of those nutrition facts. I have tried some apps but they never seem to match. At least not close enough for me to put on the blog. This soup is soooo good for you though. Lentils are way up there on the GOOD list.

  23. Hi! :] I was planning on making this but I have a few questions… Should my veggie broth be salted or unsalted? And should I drain my can of diced tomatoes before dumping them in? Thank you! I hope to make this in the near future!

  24. You can use unsalted but you might want to use a little sea salt to taste. I used salted. No, don’t drain the tomatoes. You want their juice. I am glad you are going to make it. I think you will be very happy.

  25. HI.I am not a fan of using tomatoes/food out of a can. Would you suggest stewing a few fresh tomatoes or adding one or two fresh chopped tomatoes to substitute and add more broth?

  31. I did it the way she was asking about. I took out the tomato paste and subbed one extra can of tomatoes. I used 2 14oz. cans of chicken broth, so I guess it reduced the chicken broth by about 4 oz. I don’t think it really increased the tomato taste. It still had plenty of lentil taste

  35. I love how much flavor this has! It came out thicker than I expected but I think I actually prefer it that way. It’s pretty and smells great, too. Thanks so much!

  39. Thanks for this recipe. I had bought some red lentils for some recipe a while back and then couldn’t remember or find what I was going to make. This looks like it’s going to be great! You didn’t say and so I used my 4 quart slow cooker, then I notice you linked to a 6 qt. I hope it’s okay, I’ll just keep my eye on it I guess, there’s 3 inches or so of room for expansion. Thanks again!

  43. I’m trying this out for the first time…followed your recipe exactly, except I added a bunch of kale that I needed to use up. Hope it’s good! We’ll find out in 6 hours or so. Thanks!

  44. Wonderful! Good & Easy. The kale was a nice addition, so I’m making it again today & I’m purposely adding kale for the extra oommph of nutrition & color…probably wait until the last hour or so of cooking.

  47. Hi, I am so sorry but I don’t even know what an Instant Pot is. I will have to research that. If I can figure out how this would work with it I will come right back. Thanks for your question.

  50. Hi, they will taste as god but the texture will be a little different. Brown lentils aren’t as firm as red lentils when they are cooked. Thanks for asking. 🙂