A quick and easy Turkish lentil soup, with fresh lemon juice to brighten the dish and a drizzle of paprika-infused oil to serve. A nourishing mid-winter meal, ready in 35 minutes.
🇹🇷 Traditional Turkish lentil soup, known as mercimek çorbasi, features red lentils, carrot, tomato and potato cooked in vegetable broth, seasoned with cumin and dried mint. It’s easily the most popular soup in Turkish cuisine! Don’t let the basic ingredients fool you, this is seriously flavour-packed.
I adore this recipe, as I can’t help but reminisce on my days working at a Turkish restaurant when I make it.
The food was epic - sweet Turkish apple tea, real Turkish delight, Lamacun (pizza – long and thin with the sides folded over the filling) and my fave – the Turkish red lentil soup - which was always intensely lemony and served with freshly toasted pide.
We used to have the Buddha Bar albums playing on repeat, and smoke cigarettes on crates out the back whilst sipping sangria at the end of shift.
So, here I present my own recipe for Turkish lentil soup - which is possibly one of my most favourite soups ever (jostling for #1 alongside this Vegetable Lentil Soup and this Thai Pumpkin Soup).
Always delicious, quick to make, and brimming with nutrition.
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🥕Ingredient notes
Traditionally, Turkish red lentil soup is a simple dish made from basic ingredients:
Red lentils, onion and garlic, carrots, potato, tomato paste, vegetable stock, a trio of spices: cumin, dried mint, black pepper, and always with lemon wedges!
Red lentils are the preferred choice, as unlike green or brown lentils, they will give a smooth and creamy texture once blended. They’re also super quick to cook.
I chose to add a few extra spices to the mix – paprika, turmeric and red pepper flakes. Though honestly, the cumin, mint and pepper combo are all you need.
This robust Turkish soup is topped with a drizzle of paprika oil, made by heating olive oil in a pan with paprika powder and red pepper flakes to provide colour and heat.
🌟Benefits
Here’s why this hearty soup is a wonderful addition to your weekly menu:
- Packed with protein and dietary fibre – in fact, lentils contain both soluble and insoluble fibre. Soluble fibre is readily fermented by bacteria in the colon, which then produce short-chain fatty acids – the preferred fuel source for the cells of the gut wall
- Polyphenol rich – polyphenols (such as quercetin in onion) are bulky molecules that can’t pass through the gut wall. They have a potent antioxidant effect inside the gut lumen – and also act as prebiotics
- Contains B group vitamins, which are readily depleted in times of stress, and are required for the production of energy within our cells
- Particularly good source of the antioxidant lycopene
🧑🏽🍳How to make Turkish lentil soup
1. Prepare the ingredients. Peel and finely dice an onion, a couple of carrots, and a large potato. Mince 3 cloves of garlic, then rinse a cup of red lentils well under water.
2. Cook the vegetables. Heat a glug of olive oil in a large pot, soften the onion, then add the garlic and remaining vegetables.
3. Add tomato paste, spices. From here, add a few tablespoons of tomato paste, mix well, then add all your spices and cook till they release their aroma.
4. Simmer. Add lentils, and pour in 3 cups of vegetable stock and 4 cups of water.
Bring the Turkish lentil soup to a boil then reduce to a simmer over gentle heat, cooking for 15-20 minutes, or until the vegetables have softened and the soup has reduced down slightly.
5. Blend and serve. Once cooked, remove from the heat and use an immersion blender to blend up to three quarters of the soup (leave some texture). You could transfer to a regular blender if that’s all you have.
Taste test to check the seasoning is to your liking, adding salt or more pepper flakes if necessary, then ladle into bowls.
🍋Serving suggestions
You’ll have this Turkish red lentil soup on repeat over the winter months – here are some delicious serving ideas:
- Add a generous squeeze of fresh lemon juice (this is a must!)
- Tear up a few fresh mint leaves
- Drizzle with paprika-infused oil (see recipe)
- Pair with soft pide or a crusty bread to your liking
🍅Variations
You may notice that some Turkish red lentil soup recipes are a yellow colour rather than orange-red. This is because they have left out the tomato paste – so feel free to experiment.
This red lentil soup is similar to another famous Turkish soup known as ezogelin çorbasi. Ezogelin soup differs in that it uses rice and or bulgar wheat in place of the carrots and potato.
🥣Storage
This delicious Turkish lentil soup is even better the next day, allowing the flavours to meld together. It’s a great recipe to meal prep and have stored in the freezer for a quick dinner.
- Fridge: store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days, re-heat before serving
- Freezer: store for up to three months
👏Expert tips
- If you like a thicker consistency, simmer for longer to reduce the liquids
- I’ve used red pepper flakes to add a little heat, though Aleppo pepper is a variety used in Turkish, Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisine. If you can source it from a specialty store, I highly recommend
- Finishing the soup with lemon juice truly elevates the dish
🌿Enjoyed this recipe? Leave a comment below, better yet - share a snap with me on instagram @ascensionkitchen. If you're after personalised health and nutrition advice, contact my clinic, I'd be happy to work with you.
📖Recipe
Turkish Lentil Soup
Equipment
- Large saucepan or stockpot
- immersion blender
Ingredients
Turkish lentil soup:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion, white
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 medium carrots
- 1½ potatoes Agria variety
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons cumin powder
- ½ teaspoon dried mint
- Few grinds of black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon paprika powder optional
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder optional
- 1 cup red lentils
- 3 cups organic low sodium vegetable stock
- 4 cups water
- Lemon wedges to serve
- Fresh mint leaves to serve
- Fresh pide bread to serve
Paprika-infused oil:
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1½ teaspoons paprika powder
- ½ teaspoon red or Aleppo pepper flakes
Instructions
Turkish lentil soup:
- Prep ingredients. Peel and finely dice an onion, carrots, and potatoes. Mince garlic, then rinse lentils well under running water.
- Add tomato paste, spices. Add tomato paste, mix well, then add all spices and cook till they release their fragrance.
- Simmer. Add lentils, and pour in 3 cups of vegetable stock and 4 cups of water. Bring soup to a boil then reduce to a lively simmer over medium heat, cooking for 15-20 minutes, or until the vegetables have softened and the soup has reduced down slightly.
- Blend. Once cooked, remove from heat and use a stick blender to blend about two thirds to three quarters of the soup (some texture is good). Taste test to check the seasoning, adding salt or more pepper flakes if necessary, then ladle soup into bowls.
- Serve. Serve with a generous squeeze of lemon, a little bit of fresh mint and a drizzle of paprika oil. Fresh pide bread is a must!
Paprika-infused oil:
- Heat olive oil in a saucepan, then add the spices and stir them in. Once it start to bubble or sputter, remove from heat and drizzle over soup.
Notes
- No need to soak your lentils prior – just give them a good rinse
- Season with salt right at the end, if you’re using stock, it might already be salty enough
- I used sweet paprika powder – not smoked. The latter would be a little overbearing
- Aleppo flakes are a great (and more authentic) alternative to the red pepper flakes if you can source them
- Turkish red lentil soup (mercimek çorbasi) is similar to another famous Turkish soup known as ezogelin çorbasi. Ezogelin soup differs in that it uses rice and or bulgar wheat in place of the carrots and potato
- Nutrition info is an estimate only. But enjoy - it's good for you!
Nutrition
Sandra Kidd
This is a beautiful soup. The lemon and mint kick take it to an even better place. I made this last week and am making it again now. One of my favourites.