This traditional Lebanese Crushed Lentil Soup is my favorite childhood soup recipe! Made with simple pantry ingredients, it's vegan, hearty and healthy!
Today I want to share with you one of my favorite childhood soups that I group up eating! It’s crushed lentil soup (Shorbat Adas in Arabic), which is basically made with red lentils, short grain rice, onions and cumin. We also like adding carrots to it to make it more hearty and colorful. You’re going to love this soup as much as I do. And here’s why! It’s:
- Vegan
- Easy to make
- Low in calories
- Made with staple ingredients
- Completely utterly cozy and comforting!
How to make crushed lentil soup
Like most soup recipes, you’ll start by sauteing some onions with olive oil in a large deep pot. Then add the red lentils on top.
Next, add the short grain rice along with the spices you’re using. What spices to include in lentil soup? The traditional crushed lentil soup recipe is only made with cumin, salt and pepper. So I stick to that and keep it pretty basic. You can also add a dash of paprika, cinnamon and turmeric if you’d like – all of them would work really well with this soup.
The next step is mix everything together, throw in some carrots cover with water and cook for half an hour until the mixture is all fluffy and well cooked.
The soup is ready to serve as is. But I like to use an immersion blender to give it a smooth texture. Then, stir in some lemon juice to finish it up with a fresh zing!
Tips to make the best lentil soup
- Use red lentils (they technically look orange) or yellow lentils for this recipe. Both kinds are small split lentils as the crushed lentil name suggests and have very soft texture when cooked. So that makes them ideal for this soup recipe.
- Make sure to stir occasionally to avoid the lentils burning or sticking to the pot, which can happen sometimes. You can also gradually add more water as you’re stirring for a thinner consistency if you’d like. Keep in mind that the soup will thicken as it simmers and especially the next day.
- I recommend that you saute the onions before adding the lentils, rice and spices which really enhances the flavor of the recipe. But if you’re in a rush, you can absolutely just toss everything together in a pot at the same time and bring it all to a boil together.
This Lebanese crushed lentil soup is my go-to soup when it’s cold outside, I want something filling, something diet-friendly and something that my kids will eat without complaining. In fact, they do a little soup dance when I make this. And if you’ve eaten at Lebanese restaurants, you’ll see this as a staple soup on all menus. Some make it without carrots, others leave out the rice. I say throw in the carrots and the rice and go crazy with the lemon juice in the end!
I always make a big pot of this Middle Eastern lentil soup and it’s on rotation at least once a month. This soup is rich, comforting, delicious and is super healthy with clean, wholesome ingredients! Gahhhh…just make it already and let me know what you think!!
If you’ve tried this healthy-ish feel good Lebanese Crushed Lentil Soup recipe or any other recipe on FeelGoodFoodie, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below! I would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some shots of it, share it with me on Instagram so I can repost on my stories!
For more soup recipes, check out:
- Vegetarian Lemon Rice Soup
- Chicken Lemon Orzo Soup
- Classic Chicken Noodle Soup
- Mediterranean White Bean Soup
- Peanut Soup
This traditional Lebanese Crushed Lentil Soup is my favorite childhood soup recipe! Made with simple pantry ingredients, it's vegan, hearty and healthy!
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 1/2 cups dry red lentils
- 1/2 cup short grain white rice brown rice is fine
- 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 large carrot roughly chopped
- Juice of one lemon
- Chopped green onions for garnish
- Chopped parsley for garnish
In a large pot, heat the olive oil and saute the onions until they soften, about 5 minutes.
Stir in the lentils, rice, cumin, salt and pepper, and cook for a few, stirring frequently until they are well mixed.
Add the carrots and 8 cups of water, and bring mixture to a boil. Turn the heat to low and cook for 30 minutes until the rice and lentils are fluffy and fully cooked. Make sure to stir several times while cooking to prevent any lentils from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
Using an immersion blender, pulse a few times to get the desired consistency. Stir in the lemon juice.
Garnish with green onions and parsley, if desired and serve warm.
Storage:Â Store any leftovers in an airtight container. The soup will last about 5 days in the fridge.
Sourcing: You can find red lentils at Middle Eastern markets, natural-foods stores or even in large supermarkets, often located with other Middle Eastern ingredients.
Substitutes: For best results, follow the recipe as is. However, here are a couple common substitutions you can consider:
- If you can't find red lentils, you can use yellow lentils in this recipe. You can also skip the carrots.
- To add more flavor, you can use vegetable broth instead of water. Although I love the simplicity of the soup with just water
- You can skip the carrots if you'd like since they're not essential to the traditional recipe.
Equipment: I love using my Cuisinart Smart Stick hand blender for blending soups. It's quick and easy and gets me the perfect consistency, without any chunks of vegetables leftover.
Nutrition: Please note that the nutrition label provided is an estimate only. It will vary based on the specific ingredients used. This recipe is estimated for 6 servings.
