This Egyptian yellow lentil soup is a super comforting, filling and incredibly nutritious meal that’s perfect for the entire family.
It has subtle flavors and comes together super quick, making it the ideal meal to whip up on a busy weeknight.
Best of all, the dish is gluten free, dairy free and vegan too!
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Ingredients For the Recipe
You’ll need two sets of ingredients to make the yellow lentil soup.
For the cooked dal
- Yellow lentil: ¼ cup
- Potato (roughly chopped): 1 medium
- Tomatoes (roughly chopped): 1 medium
- Carrot (roughly chopped): ½ medium
- Vegetable broth/stock (home made or stock cubes): 2 cups or 2 cubes with 2 cups water
For the soup
- Oil: 1 tbsp
- Cumin seeds: ½ tsp
- Onions (finely chopped): ¼ cup
- Turmeric powder: A pinch
- Cumin powder: ½ tsp
- Salt: ½ tsp
- Pepper powder: 1 tsp
- Prepared lentil mixture
- Vegetable broth/stock (home made or stock cubes): 1 cup
- Cilantro (freshly chopped): For garnish
How to Make the Egyptian Yellow Lentil Soup
Once you have your ingredients ready, here’s what you need to do to make the Egyptian yellow lentil soup.
Soak the yellow lentil in water for at least 2 hours.
Next, take a pressure cooker and add the soaked dal, potatoes, tomatoes, carrots and the vegetable stock.
Let the mixture pressure cook for 4-5 whistles. If you do not have vegetable stock, you can use stock cubes and water as a replacement.
Heat oil in a pan. Add the cumin seeds and let them crackle.
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.
Using a hand blender, blend the mixture into a smooth paste.
Adjust seasoning and serve hot with cilantro garnishing.
Frequently Asked Questions
I’ve added potatoes, carrots and tomatoes to the soup, but you can also add some more veggies of your choice if you want to.
Green beans, shallots, bell peppers and zucchini are some other great choices to consider adding in. 
Yellow lentils are super easy to source, have a delicious, earthy flavor and are easier to cook than other lentils too, which makes them a great choice for this Egyptian yellow lentil soup recipe.
If you don’t have yellow lentils, you can also choose to use red lentils, which have a similar flavor and are just as easy to cook with.
You sure can! While using a pressure cooker or an Instant Pot can speed things up and help the lentil cook faster, you can actually use a regular pot and cook the lentils on your stovetop too, if that’s what you prefer.
Just remember to soak the lentils for a few hours, ideally overnight if you’re planning to use the stovetop. This will help soften them and cut down the cooking time. 
If you have any leftover Egyptian yellow lentil soup, you can transfer it to a clean, glass container with an airtight lid and refrigerate it for 2-3 days.
You can then reheat this on the stovetop or in the microwave with a little water to get it to the right consistency. 
Tips & Tricks to Make the Egyptian Yellow Lentil Soup
Making this Egyptian yellow lentil soup is super easy, but you might want to take note of these little tips and tricks too.
- If the lentil mixture appears grainy and textured, you can use a whisk or an immersion blender
- To bring some creaminess into the soup, you may want to add some coconut milk or heavy cream into the mix.
- Blending the ingredients together will get the soup nice and creamy, but if you want to loosen it up a bit, you can add a bit of water or vegetable stock into it and let it simmer for a few extra minutes.
- If you don’t have the individual spices that the recipe calls for, you can make do with a teaspoon or two of your favorite yellow curry powder too.
Serving Ideas & Suggestions
This easy Egyptian yellow lentil soup has the perfect subtle flavors which makes it a great meal all on its own.
If you really want to go the extra mile, you can team it up with some crusty bread on the side, or a nice crunchy salad like summer celery salad or cucumber corn salad.
Don’t forget to top the soup with a squeeze of lemon juice and some freshly chopped cilantro to lend it some extra flavor.
If you enjoyed trying out this wholesome and nutritious soup recipe, and are on the hunt for some more unique and easy to make soups, here are a few handpicked ones to choose from.
📖 Recipe
Egyptian Yellow Lentil Soup
Ingredients
Ingredients For the cooked dal
- ¼ cup Yellow lentil
- 1 medium Potato , (roughly chopped)
- 1 medium Tomatoes , (roughly chopped)
- ½ medium Carrot , (roughly chopped)
- 2 cups Vegetable broth/stock, (home made or stock cubes)
Ingredients For the soup
- 1 tablespoon Oil
- ½ teaspoon Cumin seeds
- ¼ cup Onions , (finely chopped)
- 1 pinch Turmeric powder
- ½ teaspoon Cumin powder
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Pepper powder
- 1 bowl Prepared lentil mixture
- 1 cup Vegetable broth/stock, (home made or stock cubes)
- 1 sprig Cilantro , (freshly chopped for garnishing)
Instructions
- Soak the yellow lentil in water for at least 2 hours.
- Next, take a pressure cooker and add the soaked dal, potatoes, tomatoes, carrots and the vegetable stock. Let the mixture pressure cook for 4-5 whistles. If you do not have vegetable stock, you can use stock cubes and water as a replacement.
- Heat oil in a pan. Add the cumin seeds and let them crackle.
- 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.
- Using a hand blender, blend the mixture into a smooth paste.
- Adjust seasoning and serve hot with cilantro garnishing.
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