My family’s favourite (and authentic) Lebanese lentil soup (shorbet adas) is made with orange lentils, rice, vegetables and spices. The is the best Arabic lentil soup recipe.
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Lebanese Lentil Soup is a staple soup in my family - it features several times in my menu over the cooler months.
It's comforting and nutritious, just like Molokhia - another ultimate comforting Lebanese dish.
This soup is called 'shorbet adas' (or shorbat adas) in Arabic, and it's one of my top two favourite soups - I always want to lick the bowl dry afterwards.
Shorbet Adas which literally translates to 'Soup Lentil' has so many things going for it.
I have been making this Lebanese soup since my 20's, originally it wasn’t a vegan soup, however now that I have switched it over, the difference is negligible.
My family also loves to eat air fryer corn ribs with this soup, it's such a great combination.
Before we get into it, I want to mention another Arabic lentil soup recipe called Lebanese lemon lentil soup.
It's completely different, it has chunky bits of vegetables and uses brown lentils instead of orange lentils. It’s worth checking out and adding this soup to your list.
😋Why you’ll love this recipe
- It's super tasty, kids and adults love it.
- This vegan lentil soup is healthy - packed with nutrients and is nut free, gluten free, corn free* and soy free.
- Very easy to make, ready in around 35 minutes.
- You can change the consistency - can be made as a thick or thin soup
I promise you, you'll be pouring yourself a second serving and maybe even a third.
✔️What You’ll Need
🥘 Ingredients
Olive oil is used to sweat the onions and garlic in the spices at the start of cooking this soup.
You can omit the oil if you prefer a vegan and oil-free soup, use spoonfuls of the vegetable stock in place of it.
Brown onion, carrot and celery - this shorbet adas only uses these three vegetables which complement each other well. Chop them up into small pieces.
Garlic - use freshly crushed garlic where possible, otherwise frozen or garlic flakes can be used.
Red lentils (visually when we look at these they are orange lentils) are the hero of this Lebanese soup.
They can be placed directly into the pot as they cook quickly. No pre-soaking is needed.
Short/medium grain rice helps to thicken this soup up.
Vegetable stock adds flavoring and brings this soup together. No additional salt is needed.
Since I switched my diet, I now use a good veggie stock* to make this a vegan lentil soup. Please check the veggie stock for gluten, corn, soy or nuts.
The soup consistency can be adjusted through the number of cups of vegetable stock added.
Anywhere between 8 - 10 cups work well. The photos within this recipe show 8 cups, which is a thicker style soup.
Lemon should be freshly squeezed and added at the end, once the heat is turned off.
Additional lemon in the form of wedges can be served with this Lebanese lentil soup.
Ground turmeric* is wonderful for adding a vibrant color along with the health benefits that come with this spice.
Ground cumin* is a key flavor, do not skip this spice.
Flat-leaf parsley is finely chopped and added into the soup at the end but is also used as a garnish.
Divide the parsley into two portions.
🔪 Instructions
Here's how to make Lebanese lentil soup
Step 1 - In a large pot heat olive oil on med-high heat. Add onion, garlic and spices, sweat until the onions have softened.
Step 2 - Add lentils, stir through until coated in olive oil.
Step 3 - Add vegetable stock and rice. Cover and cook on medium heat for 15 minutes.
Step 4 - Add celery and carrot and simmer for another 10 minutes with the lid on.
Step 5 - Turn heat off and stir through half of the chopped parsley and the lemon juice.
Blend with an immersion (handheld) blender* until soup is part smooth, part chunky.
Step 6 - Garnish with the other half of parsley and serve with a wedge of lemon.
💭 Pro Tips
You can omit the lemon if you're not a citrus fan. Though I do not recommend this.
Only use red lentils (orange lentils). This is what gives this Arabic lentil soup its distinctive taste and color.
Avoid other types of lentils as it will change the look and taste of this soup.
Storage - allow this vegan lentil soup to completely cool down and store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
✔️Variations
Blending is only done until the soup is semi chunky, however as all the ingredients within this crushed lentil soup are cooked, you can opt to not blend.
Whilst it is not traditional to add leafy greens to lentil Lebanese soup (such as spinach or kale), this can be done. You may need to adjust the amount of stock.
Add some heat - I always leave this as optional, but you can add some chili flakes or a good amount of black cracked pepper, I personally love black cracked pepper this in shorbet adas.
This Arabic lentil soup is totally satisfying - I could eat a few bowlfuls.
❓FAQ
Absolutely. Once fully cooled, store in a snap-lock bag and place bag flat in the freezer for up to three months. Defrost as required.
If you don't have all the veggies, no problem. I have made it before without some of the veggies and it tasted fab!
Other Vegan Lentil Recipes
- Mujadara Hamra - Lentils and bulgur topped with caramelised onion
- Lentil Porridge - a savoury warming bowl of goodness
- Mujadara recipe - An authentic lentils and rice pilaf from Lebanon
💡Related Recipes
Another easy Lebanese soup is my vegan white bean soup.
Try my light, low-fat carrot and celery soup or my tasty vegetable borscht or my deliciously creamy vegan asparagus soup.
For something with more starch, I recommend my vegan potato and leek soup or my oil-free 4 ingredient potato soup or a comforting bowl of yellow split pea dal.
For a very spicy soup try spicy cauliflower soup
Did you enjoy making this Lebanese lentil soup? I would love to hear from you, leave me a comment below and give me a rating. This will help me sustain Plant Based Folk.
Alternatively, did you happen to take a photo of your crushed lentil soup? Tag me @plantbasedfolk on Instagram to be featured via stories. If you love sharing your vegan food pics, join the PBF community group.
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Janelle x
📖 Recipe
Best Lebanese Lentil Soup (Shorbet Adas)
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Olive oil
- 1 large Brown onion diced
- 2 medium Carrots diced
- 2 small Celery stalks diced
- 2 cloves Garlic crushed
- 1 ½ Cups Red lentils dry
- ½ cup Short grain rice
- 8 Cups Vegetable stock or 10 cups (you can adjust the thickness of this lentil soup)
- 1 medium Lemon juiced
- 1 teaspoon Ground Turmeric
- 1 ½ teaspoon Ground cumin
- 1 handful Flat-leaf parsley chopped
Instructions
- In a large pot heat olive oil on med-high heat. Add onion, garlic and spices, sweat until the onions have softened.1 tablespoon Olive oil, 1 large Brown onion, 2 cloves Garlic, 1 teaspoon Ground Turmeric, 1 ½ teaspoon Ground cumin
- Add lentils, stir until coated in olive oil.1 ½ Cups Red lentils
- Add vegetable stock and rice. Cover and cook on medium heat for 15 minutes.½ cup Short grain rice, 8 Cups Vegetable stock
- Add celery and carrot and simmer for another 10 minutes with the lid on.2 medium Carrots, 2 small Celery stalks
- Turn heat off and stir through half of the chopped parsley and the lemon juice. Blend with n immersion (handheld) blender until soup is part smooth, part chunky.1 medium Lemon, 1 handful Flat-leaf parsley
- Garnish with additional parsley and serve with a wedge of lemon.1 handful Flat-leaf parsley
Video
Notes
- Mujadara Hamra - Lentils and bulgur topped with caramelised onion
- Lentil Porridge - a savoury warming bowl of goodness
- Mujadara recipe - An authentic lentils and rice pilaf from Lebanon
Equipment
Nutrition
N.B., nutrition info is an estimate based on an online nutrition calculator. This will vary based on the specific ingredients you use.
Are you looking for something sweet afterwards? Try making No Bake Gooey Chocolate Pretzel Slice recipe. You'll be licking your fingers!
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Lathiya
Soup is always my go to comfort food. this lentil soup sounds amazing.
Shane
I am the fan of Lentil soup, I am going to keep making this Labenese lentil soup over and over again
Julie
I bookmarked this Lebanese lentil soup! It’s the first time I bookmarked a recipe. 😀 I can make this soup and it lasts me all week. I keep the leftovers in the fridge and just reheat what I need each evening for dinner. Its so delicious and easy to make, thank you.