• Kırmızı Mercİmek Çorbası •
Smooth, spicy, and nutritious, Turkish Red Lentil Soup is simple to make and is best served with a squeeze of lemon and drizzle of paprika-infused oil.
A soup course is regularly present at the beginning of most Turkish meals and this red lentil soup is perhaps the most favored. It’s quick to make, cheap, and filling. A wonderful all-purpose soup, it is great any time of the year and is also a wonderful soup to feed to those who are sick. I remember my mom making a version of this soup almost on a weekly basis when I was younger…and she still makes it to this day! For this version, I’m following classic Turkish preparation and seasonings: onion, cumin, mint, and pepper. If you always keep red lentils in your pantry (you should!), you’ll always be able to make this perfect last-minute dish.
Unlike green or brown lentils, red lentils break down very easily when cooked and transform into a creamy texture when blended. This soup can be made as smooth as you like; just keep blending for a silky consistency or, instead, blend briefly for more texture. For a chunkier-textured lentil soup check out my more heavily spiced Middle Eastern Green Lentil Soup recipe.
Be sure to make the super simple paprika oil; it adds a beautiful pop of color in presentation and an earthy depth of flavor. To serve this soup, drizzle a teaspoon or so of the paprika oil on each bowl along with a squeeze of lemon and an extra sprinkle of mint or red pepper.
- 1 cup red lentils
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion, finely diced
- 1 large carrot, diced
- 1 heaping Tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon dried mint
- ½ teaspoon thyme or oregano
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (Turkish pul biber is great if you can get it)
- 8 cups water
- 4 teaspoons vegetable broth powder, or replace 4 cups of the water with 4 cups of a prepared vegetable broth
- ½ teaspoon sea salt (or more to taste, depends on the saltiness of your broth)
- 3 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1½ teaspoons paprika
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- Pick through your lentils for any foreign debris, rinse them 2 or 3 times, drain, and set aside.
- In a large pot over medium-high heat, sauté the olive oil and the onion with a pinch of salt for 3 minutes. Add the carrots and sauté for another 3 minutes.
- Add the tomato paste and stir it around for around 1 minute. Now add the cumin, paprika, mint, thyme, black pepper, and red pepper and sauté for 10 seconds to bloom the spices. Immediately add the lentils, water, broth, and salt. Bring the soup to a boil.
- After it has come to a boil, reduce heat to medium, cover the pot halfway, and cook for 15-20 minutes or until the lentils have fallen apart and the carrots are completely cooked.
- In the meanwhile make the paprika oil by swirling together the olive oil, paprika, and red pepper in a small sauce pan over medium heat. The moment you see the paprika starting to bubble, remove the pan from the heat. It's done.
- After the soup has cooked and the lentils are tender, blend the soup either in a blender or simply use a hand blender to reach the consistency you desire. Taste for seasoning and add more salt if necessary.
- Serve the soup with a drizzle of paprika oil, wedges of lemon, and extra mint and red pepper for everyone to customize to their taste.
I’m so impressed with the recipes you make!.. Ingredients are so healthy and the photos are incredible!.. I look forward to making this recipe! Thank you Omar!
Thanks so much for the encouragement Rosanna, that’s so nice of you to say. 🙂 Welcome and I hope you continue to enjoy the recipes!
This such a beautiful dish and your photos are stunning! So simple, healthy, and lots of yummy flavors!
Hi Melissa! Thank you! It is so yummy…I enjoyed the leftovers for a few days, too! 😀
Nice recipe, Omar. I love lentil soups, but I never tasted this kind of soup with mint and oregano – it must taste heavenly!
Thanks Jasmin! You will love it…a nice combo and then the paprika on top makes it great. 😀
Omar, I’m making this right now, and I’m a bit confused as to when the lentils are added. I added them with the water because that’s when I realized they were missing, but should they be sautéed with the onions and carrots? So far, it looks and smells amazing anyway!
Whoops thanks for the heads-up! I’ve edited the recipe to be more clear. You did it right, though! No need to sauté the rinsed lentils…just dump them in along with the water. 😀 Thanks Erin and enjoy!
Hi! I just made this recipe as a test run for my graduation party. Anyway, I have 30-35 guests coming over for my party, how many times do you reckon I should multiply the recipe?
Thank you for the recipe! It tastes and smells just like it did in my childhood (:
Hello Jeannette! How embarrassing that I’m responding to your message so late. 🙁 I hope your party went well. I’m impressed that you have taken on making soup for that big of a crowd! Off the top of my head, I would probably times it by 5 just to be safe? Did you end up making it? I’d love to know how it turned out. And I promise a quicker response this time as well!! 😀
A response, no matter how late, is better than no response at all, don’t you think? 😉 My party did go quite well. I ended up making a lentil stew based on this recipe, it was amazing! I didn’t have any paprika on-site, but I added some sumak, which suited the stew-version spot on!
Oooh that sounds great, too. Excellent choice with the sumac, creative! 😀
How many servings is the recipe for? I don’t see that info…maybe I’m missing it.
Hi Tilda! You’re right, I rarely list the servings of the recipes because it’s hard to judge how much different people will eat! It has 1 cup lentils and 8 cups of water and some of that evaporates so figure on a minimum of 7 cups of finished soup. So generally speaking 4-6 servings. 🙂
I just want to let you know that I tried this today and absolutely loved it. I have been a vegan for almost 2 months and never knew this stuff could taste so good. While I still have cravings for a good steak once in a while, recipes like this keep me fro cheating so thanks so much :).
That’s great to hear David! I think just a bit of seasoning and playing around with textures and flavors makes a world of difference. I hope you keep enjoying the recipes!
I just made this soup. It is delicious. It is a little bit thin for my taste, so next time I will use less water. You are right about the paprika oil. It has such a rich and delicious flavor. Absolutely wonderful!
Great to hear, Claudia! Yes, good idea to add less water for a heartier texture. 😀
Oh my gosh this is so good! I stumbled upon this as I tried to recreate a red lentil soup I tasted at a Turkish restaurant. Thanks for sharing! This one will be on repeat in my kitchen.
Great to hear, Maria! It is yummy, especially during the winter… 😀 Enjoy!
Omar!!! Hi!!! I’m making this delicious soup today with your batata harra recipe! ❤️❤️❤️
Hi Rola! I’m glad you enjoyed the soup! Give the batata harra another go, but keep your eye on the oven next time! 😀 😀
We made this for our dinner tonight. Excellent.
Hello Janet! Thanks for your comment and enjoy! 😀
Hello omar! First happy new year. Second I took the recipe and will definitely try it soon. But I have a question. When I visisted Istanbul I tried two kind of lentil soup. One was orange and the second was red and spicy. All the restaurants in Istanbul have it. I guess that is your red lentil soup recipe. Right?
Hi Tarek! Happy New Year to you too! Yes, you are right, they make two types. This one would probably be closer to the orange type. The redder one has more tomato paste, red pepper paste, and red pepper flakes added. You can adapt this recipe to make the spicier, redder version by adding a few heaping Tablespoons of tomato paste, red pepper paste (salça), and red pepper flakes (pul biber). Enjoy!
I made this tonight and loved it. I’m not vegan or even vegetarian, but I love to add meatless meals into the rotation every week. I made this exactly as directed and it was so full of flavor with just enough heat. I can’t wait to have more tomorrow. So glad I happened upon your site.
That’s great, Heather! You’re right, I think when someone goes meatless, the seasonings and flavor have to be on point in order to be satisfying. So glad you’re getting value out of the recipes. 🙂
Great!!!!
I added a bay leaf and a little garlik to this, as was suggested by one of my turkish friends.
The result – excellent.
Hi Stan! Both are excellent additions to this soup, indeed. Enjoy!
One thing I should point out – don’t blend hot soup in plastik blenders :-))
Haha agreed, also always remove the hole in the lid and cover with a towel to allow steam to vent. Or else you can have a real disaster. 🙁 😀
I studied in Turkey, now that I’m back home I find myself craving some of the Turkish meals. Unfortunately the turkish restaurant here only sells doner, glad to find a place where I can find the recipes to make them myself….love mercimek çorba
Hi Rotha! So glad you are enjoying the soup and other recipes. Definitely give the Lentil Köfte, Börek, and of course, the Simit a try! 😀
Just made it and it turned out yummy. Was looking through recipes and every recipe i came across was simple with no flavors or seasoning except salt and pepper. So glad to have bumped across your recipe. I did add 1 clove if garlic to enhance the flavour which worked very well.
Thank u
Hi Shivangi! Thanks, I’m glad you like it! Yes, I agree…lentils need spices. Garlic is an excellent addition, that I often throw in as well. I could eat lentil soup every day! 😀 😀