Lentil, Lemon, and Dill Soup is a hearty and flavourful soup that you can make in 1-pot without much effort. If you like lemon and dill you’ll love this! You can make this soup plant-based or vegetarian.
Not pictured: optional egg and coconut milk.
Most of the ingredients in the soup are common pantry staples.
About Puy Lentils
We used Puy lentils for this recipe. These are green lentils that are from a region in France called Le Puy. These lentils hold their shape well – they won’t get mushy from cooking like some other lentils.
You can substitute other types of green or brown lentil, or really any colour of lentil, but they will have a more mushy/creamy consistency. Be sure to read the instructions on your lentil package, as some may require longer cooking or a bit more water.
Substituting Fresh for Frozen Spinach
You could use fresh spinach in this recipe instead. Wash and chop it and then add it to the soup at the same time as you would add the frozen spinach.
Substituting Fresh for Dried Dill
We haven’t tried this but it would probably be delicious. Add the fresh dill toward the end of cooking. You will need more fresh dill to attain the intense dill flavour of this soup.
Options for Thickening the Soup
There are 2 ways you can thicken this soup:
- If you’re vegetarian, you’ll mix eggs with lemon juice and then whisk them into the soup. This combination is inspired by Avgolemono, a traditional Greek sauce made with egg and lemon (avgo means egg and lemono means lemon).
- If you’re vegan (or just out of eggs), you can thicken it with coconut milk. The taste will obviously not be identical to the vegetarian version but it’s still delicious.
Visual Overview: Making Lentil, Lemon, and Dill Soup
Beyond Meat Garlicky Meatball Sub
Kale, Apple, Walnut Salad
Note: To make a vegan version, stir in a cup of coconut milk instead of the eggs and lemon juice. The flavour will not be exactly the same as the vegetarian soup, but it’s still delicious.
Kale, Apple, Walnut Salad
Tips: Where do I get my Protein?
"Where do I get my protein?" -- it's one of the biggest questions that meat-eaters have when trying plant-based recipes. Lentils and other legumes (such as green peas, chickpeas, kidney beans, black beans, edamame beans) are all a good source of protein, among other nutrients.
People who follow the Standard American Diet (SAD) often eat a main meal that consists of a piece of meat, chicken, or fish, alongside something starchy (such as potatoes or rice) and a small serving of vegetables.
When eating plant-based or vegetarian meals, you'll find that the portions on the plate, and the number of items on the plate might look quite different.
For example, instead of one protein (such as a chicken breast), you often have 2 or 3 or more foods that each contain some protein.
For this recipe, if you make the vegetarian version of this soup, with eggs, you'll get protein both from the eggs and from the lentils.
Every recipe on the site has nutritional information. You can see the serving size at the top of the Recipe Card and the nutritional breakdown at the bottom of it. This including calories per serving, and units of carbohydrates (carbs), protein, and fat.
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Recipe Card
Lentil, Lemon, and Dill Soup
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup onion, diced
- 1 cup Puy Lentils (or substitute green, brown or other lentils)
- 2 1/2 cups water
- 250 gram frozen spinach
- 2 tablespoons butter or vegan substitute
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons dried dill
- 2 tablespoons dried garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
For the vegetarian version
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
For the vegan version
- 1 cup coconut milk
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pot.
- Add the onions and saute for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the lentils and water and bring to a boil. Then reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes.
- Stir in the spinach, butter, lemon juice, dill, garlic, and salt and heat until the spinach is defrosted and the soup is hot, about 10 minutes.
Continue with these steps for the vegetarian version
- In a measuring cup, mix the 2 eggs with the lemon juice.
- With the soup over low heat, whisk in the egg/lemon mixture, until well-blended. Heat through.
- Taste and add more salt if needed.
Continue with this step for the vegan version
- Stir in coconut milk and heat through. Taste and add more salt, if needed.
Hi…You’re instructions say to add butter but butter is not listed in the ingredients.
Making your soup right now… so far so good! I guess I’ll add a couple tablespoons of butter. Hope you can clarify how much butter to add!
Thanks!
Tricia
Hi Tricia! So sorry about that! I have corrected the recipe and your instincts were good – it’s 2 tablespoons of butter.