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Vegan Coconut Lentil Soup

5.0

(9)

Image may contain Food Food Presentation Curry Meal Dish and Bowl
Photo by Heidi's Bridge, styling by Molly Baz

Never has such a flavorful, hearty, and warming meal come together so quickly or using so many pantry staples. We love it with a dollop of yogurt on top, but feel free to omit or use a non-dairy yogurt to keep it vegan.

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What you’ll need

Recipe information

  • Yield

    Makes about 8 cups

Ingredients

1 large onion
6 garlic cloves
1 3-inch piece ginger
2 tablespoons virgin coconut oil
5 teaspoons curry powder
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 13.5-ounce can unsweetened coconut milk
1 cup split red lentils
½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more
1 10-ounce box frozen spinach, thawed
1 15-ounce can crushed tomatoes
Plain non-dairy or whole-milk yogurt (for serving; optional)

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Peel 1 onion and chop. Smash 6 garlic cloves with the flat side of your knife. Peel, then finely chop. Peel 3" piece ginger with a small spoon, then finely chop.

    Step 2

    Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in large Dutch oven over medium. Add onion and cook, stirring often, just until translucent, 6–8 minutes.

    Step 3

    Add garlic and ginger and cook, stirring often, until garlic is starting to turn golden, about 5 minutes.

    Step 4

    Add 5 tsp. curry powder and ½ tsp. cayenne and cook, stirring constantly, until spices are aromatic and starting to stick to bottom of pot, about 1 minute.

    Step 5

    Add 13.5 oz. coconut milk and stir to loosen spices, then stir in 1 cup lentils, ½ cup shredded coconut, 2 tsp. salt, and 5 cups water.

    Step 6

    Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low to keep soup at a gentle simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until lentils are broken down and soup is thickened, 25–30 minutes.

    Step 7

    Meanwhile, remove 10 oz. thawed frozen spinach from packaging and squeeze between your hands over sink to remove excess water. Transfer to cutting board and coarsely chop.

    Step 8

    Add spinach and 15 oz. tomatoes to pot and stir to combine. Taste and season with more salt. Simmer just to let flavors meld, about 5 minutes. Taste and season again with more salt.

    → Frozen spinach: A shortcut we can totally get behind.

    Step 9

    Ladle soup into bowls. Top with yogurt, if desired.

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