Creamy Spiced Coconut Lentil Soup

If I ever get to death row...what? It could definitely happen, that's all I'm saying. I'm a pretty irritable person. Anyways, this is the meal I would ask for. No joke.  Try as I might, I can't figure out why it's taken me this long to share my all-time favorite, favorite, favorite recipe! I've even made it several times since I started this blog in April. I've also made it for Todd's family, who lives in Ohio, twice. While visiting, all us kids had to go on a grandadventure for ground cardamom. One of my favorite spices ever, I guess it's just not that hot in Ohio. Instead of buying a bottle for $13 we ended up getting only the amount needed for the soup, from Whole Foods in the bulk section for a quarter. Man, I wish we had a Whole Foods up here in Alaska. Sad face.

In August, coconut milk, spices, and even lemongrass paste were trucked all the way to Turks and Caicos (I still haven't posted any pics! Sorry!) That's 22 hours of flight time from Alaska! Just to make this soup. It's that good. I'd do anything for this soup. Okay? That's the the reality of it. 

I can't say whatexactly it is that I love so much about it. Just all of it. The combination of such aromatic spices, creamy coconut milk and hearty lentils is just...the best damn thing ever. Throw in a little sweet (sugar), a little sour (lemon juice) and some greens of course (kale) and there you have it. The best meal eva.

Creamy Spiced Coconut Lentil Soup

By Katie Henry - Produce On Parade

This soup is the best thing I've ever eaten. The combination of beautiful aromatic spices like cardamom and cinnamon, creamy coconut milk, and hearty lentils is just perfect. There’s a subtle sweetness, a little zestiness from lemon, and a healthy dose of kale for additional fiber and protein.

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cup dry red lentils
• 5 cups vegetable broth
• 1 Tbsp. coconut oil
• ¾ tsp. ground turmeric
• ¾ tsp. curry powder
• ½ tsp. ground cardamom
• ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
• sprinkle of crushed red pepper
• pinch of fresh ground nutmeg
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 1 Tbsp. fresh lemongrass paste (or 2 stalks)
• 1 tsp. fresh ginger paste (or minced ginger)
• 2 tsp. dried thyme
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 15 oz. can of full-fat coconut milk
• ½ small bunch of kale, de-stemmed and chopped
• 1 small lemon, juiced
• 1 Tbsp. vegan sugar
• ½ tsp. kosher salt
• ½ cup cilantro, chopped
• coconut flakes, for garnish (optional)

Ingredients

1. In a large soup pot, combine the lentils and vegetable broth and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer and allow to cook for about 20 minutes, or until the lentils are tender.
2. Meanwhile, heat the coconut oil over medium-low in a large saute pan. Add in the turmeric, curry, cardamom, cinnamon, crushed red pepper, and nutmeg.
3. Saute for about one minute, then add in the diced onion. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until the onions are limp. Add in the lemongrass, ginger, thyme, and garlic. Continue to saute for another few minutes, then remove from heat.
4. Add the coconut milk as well as the cooked onions to the lentil mixture and stir. Now, stir in the chopped kale, lemon juice, sugar, and salt. Allow to cook for about 5 minutes, over low heat, or until the kale is tender.
5. Serve hot and topped with a liberal amount of chopped cilantro and a sprinkle of coconut flakes!

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 00:40
Total time: 00:50
Yield: 6 servings

SAVE MONEY!

I buy my canned coconut milk here.

It’s only $2.20 per can vs $4 per can at my local grocery store Fred Meyer!

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More Lentil Soup Recipes

Remarkable Root Soup

Thai Lentil Sweet Potato Stew

Copycat Amy's Lentil Soup

Spiced Lentil Soup with Roasted Beets and Delicata Squash

Maybe this will be your new favorite dish, too?

Swaying to Vampire Weekend – Step

This recipe has been adapted many times over. I adapted my verison from Sprouted Kitchen, who adapted it from someone else, who adapted it from a cookbook!

Thai Lentil & Sweet Potato Stew

Hello my darlings! I'd like to take just a quick minute to encourage you to help kickstart Home Grown Food Products! Home Grown Food Products (HGFP) is a small-scale, intentional food processing business making all natural, holistically healthy food products for the benefit of their community. They are located in McMinnville, Oregon, a town of over 32,000 residents in the lush Yamhill River Valley, approximately 35 miles southwest of Portland. HGFP is operated by just a handful of environmentally-friendly stewards of the earth, one from my hometown of Palmer, Alaska! They have until December 30th to reach their Kickstarter goal. See their Kickstarter page here. Even if it's just one dollar, it's the small contributions that add up to make the difference! Feel good this Christmas by helping out a local, small-scale, healthy food company with integrity.

So, go do it! Then, make this delicious Thai Lentil & Sweet Potato Stew. When Todd and I first started removing animal products from our lives, this was one of the first things we made and we loved it! It's pretty quick and very hands off. I'm so excited to share it with you!

This stew is thick, and filling. It's sweet and hearty and has a wonderful Thai influence. I really like to use red lentils because they cook so quickly. They also happen to be the most nutritious of lentils and the prettiest too! 

Thai Lentil & Sweet Potato Stew

Serves 6

• 4-6 cups vegetable broth
• 1 cup red lentils
• 2 medium sweet potatoes, unpeeled and diced
• 15 oz. can of fire roasted tomatoes
• 2/3 cup canned full-fat coconut milk
• 2 Tbsp. coconut oil
• 1 tsp. ground turmeric
• 1 Tbsp. fresh ginger, minced
• 1 tsp. lemongrass paste (optional)
• sprinkle of crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
• 1 small green cabbage head (or half a large one), chopped
• 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

--Notes-- Using brown or green lentils will significantly lengthen the cooking time. Dice the sweet potato fairly small, to ensure a shorter cooking time. 

In a large soup pot, bring the vegetable broth, lentils and sweet potatoes to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer. Allow to simmer over low heat for about 15 minutes, uncovered and stirring occasionally or until the lentils and sweet potatoes are cooked. The lentils should not be hard, yet, the sweet potatoes should still hold their shape.

Remove from heat and stir in the tomatoes and coconut milk.

In a large frying pan over low, heat the coconut oil. Then add in the turmeric, lemongrass, ginger and red pepper flakes. Saute for about 30 seconds or until fragrant. Now, add in the garlic, onion and cabbage. Saute for about 10 minutes, or until the cabbage is limp and cooked through. 

Add the cabbage mixture to the lentil and sweet potato mixture and stir to combine. At this point, if you want a thinner soup, feel free to add more coconut milk or water. 

Serve hot and garnished with a liberal amount of cilantro.

Listening to The Head And The Heart – Down in the Valley

[yumprint-recipe id='51']Adapted from Pinch of Yum

Super Vegetable Stew

Sometimes, most times...I just want some veggies. I mean, I have the occasional "give me Swedish fish, lots of Swedish fish" phases and I'll always breathe chocolate...but, you know. Can't be eatin' Swedish fish all damn day... Well, I had a serious need for vegetables the other day. Any vegetable. All vegetables. Nay, the healthiest vegetables! It was time to make one badass veggie soup. I was crazed. Maybe it was the -10 F weather, maybe it was my excessive consumption of the "healthy" chips I ate, maybe it was my lack of exercise last week. Whatever it was, I needed some nutrients runnin' through my veins. I needed to recharge. Okay, I think you got the picture. 

Well, this is how I came upon my Super Vegetable Soup. No fluff veggies like carrots and celery. No, Sir! Don't be bringing those weak-ass veggies all up in my soup! Only serious veggies need apply. Red cabbage, broccoli, sweet potato, kidney beans, mushrooms, etc. This soup is so BA that I had also bought beets, kale, and red bell peppers...all which didn't make it into the soup...because the pot ran out of room! 

This soup is extraordinarily easy and it makes enough for a crowd.  Feel free to add in whatever other vegetables you desire and/or remove the ones you don't like. Freeze what you don't eat or just cut the recipe in half. Make this stew work for you!

Super Vegetable Stew

Inspired by The Model Foodie

Serves 12

• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 tsp. turmeric 
• 1 tsp. Italian seasoning
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 64 oz. bottle of low-sodium V8 juice
• 1/2 medium red cabbage, chopped
• 1 medium sweet potato, diced
• 1 head of broccoli florets, chopped
• 1 medium yellow summer squash, chopped
• 8 oz. baby button mushrooms
• 4 vine-ripened tomatoes, diced
• 1 15 oz. can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• nutritional yeast, for topping

In a very large soup pot, heat the oil over medium-low heat. Add the turmeric, Italian seasoning and black pepper and saute for about 30 seconds.

Add in the onion and garlic and saute for about 5 minutes, or until the garlic becomes fragrant and the onion begins to turn translucent. 

Now, add in the V8 juice and all the remaining ingredients except for the nutritional yeast. Cover and allow to simmer for about 30 minutes, or until the sweet potato is fork tender. 

[gallery type="rectangular" ids="2855,2850"]

Serve hot and topped with cheesy nutritional yeast!

I can't be helped...Classical Christmas Music – O, Christmas Tree

Also, here's me trying to coax a stray dog into our home. I shall call him Bos. You know, from Bos primigenius...a.k.a. cow. He looks like a cow. Doesn't he?!

[yumprint-recipe id='40']