My Cookbook: Souk to Table 
Middle Eastern Lentil Soup (Instant Pot or Stovetop)
This authentic Middle Eastern lentil soup is delicious, hearty and made with just a handful of pantry staples. Red split lentils are simmered with onions, potatoes, and carrots, then seasoned with warm spices like cumin and turmeric for that signature flavor. It’s a one-pot, easy-to-make recipe that can be blended for a smooth texture or enjoyed chunky. Serve it hot with a squeeze of lemon and warm pita bread for dipping. Stovetop and Instant Pot instructions included!
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5-STAR READER REVIEW
“I tried different versions of this and this recipe so far has been the best! So yummy and filling especially with some lemon juice 😋thank you🤍”
—Khadija
My Childhood Soup!
This Arabic lentil soup called “Shorbat Adas” in Arabic is the soup of my childhood. Not only is it *the* soup to make during Ramadan (along with harira of course!), but my mom also made it year-round. It’s quite simple to make and uses split red lentils which melt into a smooth soup once cooked.
Why do I keep making it over and over again? It’s easy, perfect to meal prep and freeze, and my kids love it since it is mild in flavour. I do alternate between this one and my Turkish style lentil soup which has a slight kick from the Aleppo pepper butter.
The soup is served either chunky or blended. My mom always left it chunky. I also often make it using a pressure cooker. Using the instant pot, this recipe’s cook time is about 20 minutes.
Let’s Make Middle Eastern Lentil Soup
Grab your ingredients! The onions here are necessary, but you can omit the potato, or swap in carrots or add both if you like!
Step 1: Start by chopping the onions, carrots and potatoes. If you’re going to blend the soup at the end for a smooth texture, don’t worry about the size of the vegetables. But if you want to keep it chunky, then dice them into small cubes.
Step 2: Add the vegetable oil to your pot and heat it. If you’re using the instant pot, do this step using the “SAUTE” function. Cook the vegetables until they soften and start to caramelize. Then add in all the spices and continue to cook and toast the spices.
Step 3: Add the washed and drained lentils and all the water and chicken broth. Mix well.
If you’re cooking on the stove top, cover and boil for 40-60 minutes on medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft. Taste and adjust the water and salt half way through. You may need to add more water if necessary as the soup simmers.
If you’re using the Instant Pot, secure the lid and pressure cook for 15 minutes, then manually release the pressure.
Step 4: Taste and adjust for seasoning. Blend the soup using an immersion blender straight in the pot. If you don’t have an immersion blender, transfer to a blender and blend until smooth.
This Soup Is Freezer Friendly!
I love to make a large batch of this soup because it freezes so well. To freeze the soup:
- Allow the soup to cool completely on the counter, then scoop the soup into freezer bags and add enough for one meal.
- Close the bag, ensuring you get rid of all the air inside. Flatten the bag so it takes up less space in your freezer, and you can stack them up easily. Freeze for 2-3 months.
TIP: When re-heating the soup, it can get lump so the trick is to use a whisk and add a bit of water so you end up with a smooth consistency and it will taste as good as new.
If you tried these recipes, please consider leaving a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page – I’d love to hear from you! You can also hop on over to Instagram and say hello!
Middle Eastern Lentil Soup (Instant Pot or Stovetop)
Ingredients
- 2 onions, diced
- 1 potato, diced
- 1 carrot, diced (optional)
- 2 cups red lentils
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon salt, plus more per preference
- 1.5 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1 teaspoon black pepper, more or less per preference
- 8-10 cups water or chicken stock
- 1 chicken stock cube, if using water
- Lemon juice, optional
- Crunchy pita chips, optional
Instructions
- Start by peeling and chopping the onions and potatoes into large chunks. If you don’t want to blend the soup at the end, then dice them into smaller cubes
- In the Instant Pot (I used 8Qt for this size – see notes), add the vegetable oil, potatoes, onions, and spices and cook for 5 minutes on saute mode. If using stove top, use a regular soup pot
- Add the lentils and water, mix well ensuring you scrape the bottom of the pot, and secure the instant pot lid. If using stove top, cover the pot
- If using Instant Pot, pressure cook for 15 minutes. The Instant Pot will take approximately 10-15 minutes to come to pressure
- If using stove top, allow it to boil for 40-60 minutes until the vegetables are soft. Adjust the liquid and salt half way through
- For the Instant Pot, manually release the pressure valve and blend the soup using a hand mixer
- For the stove top, you can leave it chunky or blend it as well
- Taste and adjust the salt and also the water. If you like it thinner, add more water and allow it to cook for a few more minutes on saute mode
- If you’re making the crunchy pita topping, simply cut pita bread into small squares and fry on medium heat using 3-4 tablespoons of oil. Continue stirring until golden and crunchy
- Serve with a squeeze of lemon and crunchy pita on top
Notes
- If you don’t have an Instant Pot, you can follow the directions and cook on the stove top instead of pressure cooking. Cook time will be closer to 40-60 minutes.
- I used an 8 Qt instant pot for this batch size. You can halve the recipe and use a 6 Qt instant pot
- You can skip adding the potatoes if you don’t have any (but don’t skip the onion!)
- You can also add carrots to this soup, the same way the potatoes and onions are added
- Adjust the thickness of the soup at the end by adding more water for a thinner soup or allow it to boil for a thicker soup. This recipe yields a thick consistency
How many servings does this soup make?
Hi Bobbi! If you jump to recipe, you’ll get to the recipe card which will always have the servings. This soup makes about 8 servings, roughly. Hope you enjoy it!
Looks good. Any healthy fats i could add to this to make it more filling? Perhaps Any tahini on top?
You can add a chopped up potato along with the vegetables which will definitely bulk up the soup. Another option is to toast small squares of pita bread in olive oil and add them on top of the soup as croutons! I wouldn’t suggest tahini as I don’t think the flavour will go. Hope you love it!
I’ve been chasing recently felt this urge to chase childhood food memories and I found and then made your recipe and it instantly felt reminiscent of what I remembered. <3 🙂 Thank you for sharing this simple yet elegant recipe. It's been many years since having it and it was exceptional.
Hi Alyssa – aww I am so glad this brought back happy memories for you. Thanks for sharing that with me!
Finally found the Middle Eastern lentil soup recipe I was looking for. Awesome!! I added juice of one lemon. Perfecto!
So glad you enjoyed it Ari – it is so delicious indeed!
Can this be made in a crockpot? I can sauté on stovetop but would love to transfer to a crockpot.
Hi Lori! Yes you can definitely Sautee stove top then transfer to Crock-Pot. Give it an hour or two!
I have made this recipe twice now, both times intended for my friends to eat. I got sick the first time and lo and behold, I had an almost endless supply of soup for one sick person, I ate this soup till I was sick of it (almost impossible to do but it was done). Second time, I wanted more of a lighter appetizer so I omitted the potato, still amazing. I packed it for my friend so she can start her fast w some meal prep and she adores this recipe. Thank you for putting instructions and measurements that are hard to pry out of our parents!
I am so glad you enjoyed it Sally! Having some of this soup in my freezer is always a comforting thought 🙂 You are so nice to make some for your friend!
My husband got a tonsillectomy so this was great as a soft food option for him and to use up my red lentils (would reduce the lemon juice in that circumstance though) 😷
This is so cozy for winter and this is one of favorite soups that’s traditionally vegan too!
I am so glad you enjoyed it and were able to make it for your husband – I hope he is recovering well!
I added preserved minced lemon to the recipe. Added great flavor.
Curious on the carb content.
Very healthy, delicious and inexpensive! I served this with brown rice to make a complete protein. Shorbat Adas is going into my rotation forever 🙂
Totally agreed – it’s such a great dish for all those reasons. Very glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Love it!
I used the Instant Pot to make this soup and it was so quick and easy, and delicious! It’s amazing how few ingredients were required, yet so flavourful. I followed the measurements of ingredients exactly as suggested, and did not blend the soup at the end. Amina does a great job of presenting a recipe andwith interesting tips and information! This will become our go-to lentil soup recipe from now on!
Thanks so much for the valuable feedback Linda! So glad you enjoyed it!
YESSSSSS!!!!!! Takes me back to my childhood. Haven’t had this soup in forever and I always, randomly crave it! I’m so happy I made this! Thanks so much for sharing it! So good!
I’m so glad this brings you back memories Fatimah! Thanks for the feedback!
As Egyptian, lentil soup is linked to winter automatically!. When we hear the rain sound the lentil soup is ready on the table :D. We made it as main dish not only soup.
I love that! Lentil soup is core to all of our middle eastern countries. Thanks for sharing Eman!
I don’t have an instant pot or an immersion blender – but I do have a Ninja blender with cook/saute options. I split the recipe into two batches to fit in the blender and it was so easy – the “hot soup” setting cooked it for 30 minutes then blended it nice and smooth. The flavors were delicious and I loved having leftovers for lunches the next day. My husband and kids enjoyed it as well!
Yay! Leftovers are so great when the recipe is delicious. Glad this worked out for you Samantha!
I tried your lentil soup recipe yesterday! It’s very delicious. I will definitely be making this again. Thanks for the yummy recipe.
Thank you Regina, appreciate the review!
This was super good! The recipe is easy to follow. Kids and grownups approved too. Thank you.
Amazing to hear Malak, thank you!
just made this and it was so easy and yummy! everyone was surprised by how good it was!! going to make it again in ramadan because it’s hearty and good!!
Thank you so much Mariam!
This lentil soup is SO delicious, light and easy!
So glad you are also a fan Juweria! Thank you!
I tried different versions of this and this recipe so far has been the best! So yummy and filling especially with some lemon juice 😋thank you🤍
Yay! Wonderful to hear thanks Khadija!
Thanks for the recipe, it’s become a staple at our house. I love how it’s so versatile and I’ve used different vegetables I have in the fridge!