Creamy Lentil Soup with Kale

A creamy, lemony vegan lentil soup made with kale with vegan sour cream and a squeeze of lemon.

Course Soup

Cuisine gluten free, Mediterranean, vegan

Keyword creamy lentil soup, green lentil soup, vegan lentil soup, vegan lentil soup with kale

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 20

Total Time 35

Servings cups

Calories 151kcal

2 cups green lentils
2 tablespoons olive oil (divided)
1 large onion peeled and diced
3 cloves garlic
1/4 teaspoon turmeric (optional)
2 medium carrots peeled and diced
10 cups water (or vegetable broth)
2 cubes Not Chick'n Broth (vegan chicken flavored broth) or use veggie broth instead of water
2 teaspoons salt (omit if using all vegetable broth)
4 cups kale

Start by boiling water in a large pot. Once it boils, add the lentils and cook for 15 minutes, then drain and rinse them well.
While the lentils are cooking, sauté the onion and minced garlic in olive oil over low heat until the onions are translucent.
Add diced carrots, water, turmeric, and vegan broth, then simmer for about 10 minutes, until the carrots are tender.
Add the cooked, drained, and rinsed lentils to the soup pot and simmer for about 5 more minutes.
While the soup simmers, prepare the kale to add to the soup. To do this, pour 1 tbsp olive oil and a sprinkle of salt over clean kale. Using your hands, rub it and break it into small pieces until it turns dark and shiny.
Add the massaged kale to the soup pot and simmer for about 5 more minutes.
Turn off the heat, add 1 1/2 cups sour cream to the pot of soup, and stir well, or serve the soup with sour cream and lemon wedges on the side to adjust to your preference.

You can substitute spinach instead of kale. Just omit massaging the spinach and add it at the end of cooking instead of 5 minutes before the end.
Kale holds up better in freezing and reheating than spinach does.
If you're not using the Not Chick'n broth, use vegetable broth instead of water and omit the extra salt.