Packed with flavors and super healthy and nutritious, this garlic red lentil tomato soup will become your next favorite comfort food.
The red-orange color of the soup is a total delight, and when teamed up with the tangy, earthy and peppery flavors, this easy soup recipe will have your heart.
Best of all, the soup comes together super quick in your pressure cooker- it can be a great easy meal to make and enjoy with the entire family.
Scroll down to get a closer look at everything you need to know about making the soup.
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Ingredients For the Recipe
You will need two sets of ingredients to make this garlic red lentil tomato soup.
For the cooked dal
- Red lentil: ¼ cup
- Oil: ½ tbsp
- Cumin seeds: ½ tsp
- Bay leaf: 1
- Dry red chilies: 1
- Tomatoes (roughly chopped): 1 medium
- Vegetable broth/stock (home made or stock cubes): 2 cups or 2 cubes of stock with 2 cups water
For the soup
- Oil: 1 tbsp
- Cumin seeds: ½ tsp
- Garlic (finely chopped): 2 tbsp
- Onions (finely chopped): ¼ cup
- Turmeric powder: A pinch
- Cumin powder: ½ tsp
- Salt: ½ tsp
- Pepper powder: 1 tsp
- Prepared dal mixture
- Vegetable broth/stock (home made or stock cubes): 1 cup
- Cilantro (freshly chopped): For garnish
- Lemon juice: For garnish
- Cream: For garnish
How to Make the Garlic Red Lentil Tomato Soup
Once you have all your ingredients ready, here is what you will need to do to make this soup.
Soak the red lentil in water for at least 2 hours.
Next, take a pressure cooker and heat oil. Add the cumin seeds, bay leaf, and dry red chilies.
Next add the soaked dal, tomatoes, and the vegetable stock. Let the mixture pressure cook for 4-5 whistles.
You can replace the stock with 2 stock cubes and 2 cups of water.
Heat oil in a pan. Add the cumin seeds and let them crackle.
Add the garlic next and saute. Cook until you get the nice garlic aroma.
Next, add the onions and saute. Cook until they turn golden brown.
Add the spices and mix.
Now add the cooked dal mixture into the pan and mix well.
Add the stock and let the mixture simmer. You can replace the stock with 1 stock cube and 1 cup of water.
Using a hand blender, blend the mixture into a smooth paste.
Adjust seasoning and serve hot with cilantro and lemon juice and cream garnishing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Red lentils and tomatoes are the hero ingredients of this soup, but you can also add some other ingredients if you want to.
Sweet potatoes, carrots and bell peppers are all great choices because they have a very versatile taste and maintain the color and the freshness of the soup. 
The leftover garlic red lentil tomato soup can be refrigerated for up to 3 days in the airtight container.
To reheat it, just use your microwave and keep stirring the soup at every 30 second interval.
You can also choose to reheat the soup over the stove top in a pot. Just remember to keep the heat low when you’re doing this.
Tips & Tricks to Make the Garlic Red Lentil Tomato Soup
Ready to make this flavourful and tangy soup? Check out these few tips and tricks you might want to take note of before you do.
- I used red lentils for this recipe, but you can also use yellow split moong dal if you want to.
- I used a stick blender to blend the dal for the soup. You can also just pour everything into a food processor and give it a good blitz if you want to.
- To make a vegan version of this soup, you can skip adding the cream and just use some cashew paste or coconut milk instead to bring a little creaminess into the soup.
- Since the soup contains dal, it will already have a nice creamy texture. If the soup is still runny, you can adjust its consistency by adding a simple slurry of cornflour and water.
- Fresh chopped garlic is the essence of the soup. If you don’t have fresh garlic, you can totally use some garlic powder if you want to.
- Make sure you choose red and juicy tomatoes for the soup. Not only will they give the soup a nice bright color, but will enrich the soup with their vitamin C and antioxidant content.
- To bring some extra red color to the soup, you can also add a little sprinkle of red chili powder or red pepper flakes if you want to.
Serving Ideas & Suggestions
You can enjoy this flavourful garlic red lentil tomato soup on its own as an appetizer or a side dish.
To make it a complete meal, you can team it up with some crusty bread on the side if you want to. I also like serving this soup with a crunchy salad like my crunchy raw mango salad or my cucumber bell pepper lentil salad.
If you loved how this soup turned out, and are inspired to try your hands at some more comforting soup recipes, here are a few handpicked ones you might want to try out.
- Instant Pot Red Lentil Tomato Soup
- Instant Pot Asparagus Soup {Vegan}
- Instant Pot Mexican Beans Soup
📖 Recipe
Garlic Red Lentil Tomato Soup
Ingredients
Ingredients For the cooked dal
- ¼ cup Red Lentil
- ½ tablespoon Oil
- ½ teaspoon Cumin Seeds
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 1 Dry Red Chilies
- 1 medium Tomatoes , (roughly chopped)
- 2 cups Vegetable Broth/Stock, (home made or stock cubes)
Ingredients For the soup
- 1 tablespoon Oil
- ½ teaspoon Cumin Seeds
- 2 tablespoon Garlic , (finely chopped)
- ¼ cups Onions , (finely chopped)
- 1 pinch Turmeric Powder
- ½ teaspoon Cumin Powder
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Pepper Powder
- 1 bowl Prepared Dal Mixture
- 1 cup Vegetable Broth/Stock, (home made or stock cubes)
- 1 sprig Cilantro , (freshly chopped)
- Lemon Juice, For Garnish
- Cream, For Garnish
Instructions
- Soak the red lentil in water for at least 2 hours.
- Next, take a pressure cooker and heat oil. Add the cumin seeds, bay leaf, and dry red chilies.
- Next add the soaked dal, tomatoes, and the vegetable stock. Let the mixture pressure cook for 4-5 whistles. You can replace the stock with 2 stock cubes and 2 cups of water.
- Heat oil in a pan. Add the cumin seeds and let them crackle.
- Add the garlic next and saute. Cook until you get the nice garlic aroma.
- Next, add the onions and saute. Cook until they turn golden brown.
- Add the spices and mix.
- Now add the cooked dal mixture into the pan and mix well.
- Add the stock and let the mixture simmer. You can replace the stock with 1 stock cube and 1 cup of water.
- Using a hand blender, blend the mixture into a smooth paste.
- Adjust seasoning and serve hot with cilantro and lemon juice and cream garnishing.
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