Lebanese Lentil Soup

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Rich, flavorful, easy Lebanese lentil soup (shorbet adas) is warming and hearty, perfect for a family-friendly weeknight meal. Made with red lentils, vegetables, spices, and lemon juice, this easy dish is healthy, vegan, and naturally gluten free too!

This authentic Lebanese lentil soup is one of my favorite recipes to make when I need an easy, filling, healthy meal. I love using lentils in all sorts of recipes because they’re a healthy, protein and fiber rich, plant based staple that can be transformed in so many different ways!

You can add them to salads (like this feta salad with veggies & lentils), use them as a meat replacement like in this vegan bolognese or this vegan wellington, add them to curries and dahls like this chickpea and lentil curry, and even turn them into veggie burger patties like in these lentil burgers!

But one of the easiest ways to use lentils is to add them to soup. This Lebanese soup recipe is also called “shorbet adas” or “shorbat adas” – which literally translates to “soup lentil”.

Serve this simple soup all on its own, or with homemade vegan flatbread, pita bread, or some crusty bread like this vegan air fryer garlic bread for dipping, with a side salad like this tomato avocado and cucumber salad for some brightness, or with some vegan roasted potatoes for a hearty side!

It’s full of flavor, super filling, comforting and perfect for the whole family. It’s also great for meal prep, so you can make a big big pot of this Mediterranean lentil soup and freeze half for later!

👩🏽‍🍳 Why This Recipe Works

• Smooth texture
• Vegan & gluten free
• Hearty soup, super satisfying
• Family friendly
• One pot meal
• Requires just a handful of ingredients
• Great way to get a ton of plant protein in one meal
• Best Lebanese lentil soup recipe ever!

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🥘 Ingredients

This shorbet adas recipe requires pantry staples that are easily found at your local grocery store! Here’s what you need:

• Veggies & Olive Oil: Yellow onion, carrots and potatoes add flavor, texture, and heartiness to this tasty soup. You’ll need olive oil to get the veggies nice and caramelized before you add the lentils.
• Red Lentils & Vegetable Broth: Red split lentils make up the base of this delicious soup! They cook down really quickly and easily, and are a great source of protein. You’ll also need vegetable broth (or stock) to simmer the soup in. Check out my easy red lentils recipe.
• Spice Blend: A blend of ground cumin powder, salt, black pepper, turmeric, and fresh lemon juice add big flavor to this Arabic lentil soup recipe.

🔪 Instructions

Lebanese red lentil soup is super easy to make! Here’s how to make this adas soup recipe.

Prep & Saute Onions: Wash the lentils in a strainer until the water runs clean, drain and set aside. In a large pot or dutch oven, heat the oil and sauté the onion over medium heat until softened.

Add Veggies: Add the carrot and potatoes. Continue to cook for another 1-2 minutes, stirring continuously.

Add Rest Of Ingredients: Add all remaining ingredients, except the lemon. Stir and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 40 minutes.

Blend: Remove from heat and allow this adas bi hamod to cool slightly before blending to avoid burning yourself. Using an immersion blender or high speed blender, blend this vegan lentil soup until smooth and creamy.

Serve: Adjust seasoning to taste. Serve this Lebanese lentil and potato soup with a squeeze of lemon juice.

💭 Expert Tips

• Make sure to wash your lentils! Washing the lentils before cooking helps to remove and dirt or debris.
• To prevent sticking, make sure to stir your soup throughout the cooking process so the lentils don’t stick to the bottom of the pot.
• An immersion blender (or hand blender) is easier to use to blend the soup, but you can use a regular blender if you don’t have an immersion blender. Just make sure to blend the soup in batches and once it has cooled to avoid splatter.
• You don’t need to soak your lentils: Red lentils don’t need to be soaked prior to cooking, however, they do need to be rinsed and removed of any stones or debris. If you choose to use a different type of lentil in this recipe, you will need to soak them to reduce overall cooking time. Different types of lentils require different cooking times. Red and yellow lentils need less cooking time than green lentils and brown lentils.
• Adjust texture as needed: Feel free to blend all or just half of this crushed lentil soup depending on your desired consistency. For a thick soup, blend only half so you get a thicker, chunkier texture.

📖 Variations

• Lebanese Lentil Soup With Rice: Feel free to add 1/2-1 cup of cooked white rice, brown rice, or even quinoa to the soup once it’s cooked and blended for added texture, and to turn this into a complete meal (lentils + rice make a complete plant based protein!).
• Different Veggies: We used onions, carrots and potatoes, but you can try sweet potatoes, cauliflower, butternut squash, or even bell peppers!
• Lebanese Lentil And Spinach Soup: For more veggies, you can add some leafy greens into this recipe for Lebanese lentil soup! You can add it at the same time as you add the lentils if you want the greens to get super cooked down, or you can add it 5 minutes before cooking is over for a brighter green color. Try baby spinach, swiss chard, kale, or your favorite leafy green veggie.
• Garnishes: Try fresh cilantro, fresh parsley, Greek yogurt or plain vegan yogurt, feta cheese or vegan feta, or even crumbled pita chips!
• Spices: Add some more heat to this vegetarian lentil soup with some crushed red pepper flakes, more black pepper, or even a pinch of cayenne pepper.

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