Slow cooker spiced red lentil and coconut soup
Creamy, spiced red lentil and coconut soup made in the slow cooker — simple prep, big flavour and ready with minimal fuss.
This slow cooker spiced red lentil and coconut soup is the kind of midweek hero that does nearly all the work while you get on with life. A quick sauté wakes up the spices, the slow cooker does the rest and you finish with a bright squeeze of lemon and coriander.
It’s vegetarian, naturally gluten-free and freezer-friendly — perfect for batch cooking, lunch boxes or a comforting supper when you want something wholesome with minimal faff.
Ingredients
- 15 ml olive oil
- 1 brown onion — about 150 g, finely chopped
- 2 carrot — about 150 g, diced
- 2 celery — stalks, thinly sliced
- 3 garlic cloves — crushed
- 250 g red lentils — rinsed briefly
- 400 g tinned chopped tomatoes
- 1 l vegetable stock — hot
- 200 ml coconut milk — full-fat for creamier result
- 10 ml ground cumin
- 5 ml smoked paprika
- 5 ml chilli flakes — optional
- 10 ml sea salt — adjust to taste
- 5 ml black pepper
- 100 g baby spinach — stir in at the end
- 1 lemon — juice to finish
- 15 g fresh coriander — roughly chopped, to garnish
Equipment
- slow cooker
- stick blender (or stand blender)
Instructions
Prepare the vegetables: finely chop the brown onion, dice the carrot, thinly slice the celery and crush the garlic.
Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over a medium hob. Fry the brown onion, carrot and celery until softened and starting to colour, 7–8 minutes. Add the garlic, ground cumin and smoked paprika and fry for 1 minute until fragrant — do not let the garlic burn.
Tip the sautéed vegetables into the slow cooker. Add the red lentils, tinned chopped tomatoes, vegetable stock, sea salt, black pepper and chilli flakes. Stir to combine.
Cook on the slow cooker high setting for 2 hours or on low for 4 hours. (Recipe timings use low: 4 hours.)
Critical: 30 minutes before the end of cooking, stir in the coconut milk and baby spinach so the coconut milk doesn’t split and the spinach just wilts.
When the cooking time is up, use a stick blender to purée the soup to your preferred consistency — about 30–60 seconds for a mostly smooth texture. If you prefer a chunkier finish, blitz briefly or mash with a potato masher.
Taste and adjust seasoning with sea salt and black pepper, then stir in the juice of the lemon. Ladle into bowls and garnish with fresh coriander.
Tips
- Rinse red lentils briefly under cold water to remove excess starch; they cook faster and give a silkier finish.
- If you don’t want to sauté first you can skip that step, but the soup will have a flatter flavour—sautéing the veg is worth the extra 8–10 minutes.
- Add the coconut milk in the final 30 minutes to prevent separation; for an even creamier texture, use full-fat coconut milk.
- Freeze leftovers in portions for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the fridge and reheat gently on the hob.
- If the soup is too thick after blending, loosen with a little hot water or extra stock until you reach the desired consistency.
Substitutions
coconut milk → 200 ml single cream or double cream
Noticeably differentred lentils → 200 g puy (green) lentils — increase cooking time and expect a firmer texture
Noticeably differentvegetable stock → chicken stock (1000 ml) for a non-vegetarian option
Noticeably differentsmoked paprika → sweet paprika
Stays close
Nutrition
Per serving · estimated
- 390
- Calories
- 16 g
- Protein
- 48 g
- Carbs
- 15 g
- Fat
- 8 g
- Fibre
- 5 g
- Sugar
- 700 mg
- Sodium
FAQ
Can I make this on the hob instead of a slow cooker?
Yes — simmer in a large pan for 25–30 minutes after adding the lentils, or until the lentils are soft. Add the coconut milk and spinach in the final 5 minutes.
Can I freeze the soup?
Absolutely. Cool completely, transfer to airtight tubs and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat gently.
My coconut milk split — can I fix it?
If separation happens, whisk a spoonful of boiling stock into a small bowl, then whisk that back into the soup over a gentle heat to re-emulsify. Adding the coconut later, as instructed, helps prevent splitting.
Can I add extra vegetables or protein?
Yes — diced sweet potato or butternut work well (add at the same time as the lentils). For extra protein, stir through cooked chicken or tinned chickpeas at the end.
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