Name: Creamy Thai Red Lentil Soup (One Pot)
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 45 min
Ingredients: 1 (14 oz) can full-fat coconut cream, 1 tbsp set aside for the drizzle; 2 tbsp virgin coconut oil, or any neutral oil; 1/2 cup (4 oz / 115 g) Thai red curry paste; 1 tbsp finely grated garlic; 1 tbsp finely grated ginger; 2 tsp fish sauce, or 3 tsp soy sauce for a vegetarian pot; 2 cups low-sodium vegetable stock (if it's homemade, add 1/2 tsp salt); 2 1/2 cups water; 1 1/2 cups dried split red lentils, rinsed; 1.2 lb butternut squash (about 3 cups), peeled and cut into 0.6-inch cubes, optional (or 1 medium sweet potato, cubed); 1 tightly packed cup baby spinach or kale leaves; A little milk, for thinning the reserved coconut cream; Lime wedges (or 1 tbsp rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar if you're out of limes); 2 tbsp roughly chopped cilantro; Sliced chili and crispy shallots, optional

Half a cup of red curry paste goes into one pot of this Thai red lentil soup, and it looks like far too much until you taste the broth. That much paste is what lets a bag of split red lentils carry the whole bowl.

I fry the paste with garlic and ginger before anything wet touches the pot. It should smell toasty and sharp, and the oil around it turns brick red.

After that it’s a quiet simmer. The lentils fall apart on their own and thicken the coconut broth, so there’s no blender to wash.

The squash is the part I watch. It goes in after the lentils get a head start, and the pot comes off the heat once a cube crushes easily against the side.

Prep: 15 minutes · Cook: about 30 minutes · Total: about 45 minutes · Serves: 4 to 6

↓ Jump to the recipe

How do you make Thai red lentil soup creamy without a blender?

Use split red lentils and give them about 20 minutes at a gentle simmer in stock, water and coconut cream. Split red lentils break down by themselves and thicken the broth into a creamy soup. Whole lentils hold their shape, so they need a longer simmer, extra water and a partial blend.

Why This Recipe Works

The curry paste, garlic and ginger cook in hot coconut oil for about 5 minutes before any liquid goes in. Frying wakes up the paste, while paste stirred raw into broth tastes flat.
Split red lentils cook fastest of the dried lentils and collapse into the liquid, turning 4 1/2 cups of stock and water thick and spoonable.
The squash joins the pot 5 minutes into the simmer and cooks 15 minutes more. RecipeTin Eats warns that much longer leaves it overly soft.

I give the pot a stir from the bottom a couple of times while it bubbles. When the spoon leaves a trail that fills in slowly, it’s ready.

Reasons to Make This Thai Red Lentil Soup

One pot does everything, and the only real knife work is peeling and cubing the squash.
The base is pantry food: dried lentils, a can of coconut cream and a jar of curry paste.
It’s on the table in about 45 minutes, and most of that is hands-off simmering.
A swap of soy sauce for the fish sauce makes the whole pot vegetarian.

What You’ll Need

1 (14 oz) can full-fat coconut cream, 1 tbsp set aside for the drizzle
2 tbsp virgin coconut oil, or any neutral oil
1/2 cup (4 oz / 115 g) Thai red curry paste
1 tbsp finely grated garlic
1 tbsp finely grated ginger
2 tsp fish sauce, or 3 tsp soy sauce for a vegetarian pot
2 cups low-sodium vegetable stock (if it’s homemade, add 1/2 tsp salt)
2 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups dried split red lentils, rinsed
1.2 lb butternut squash (about 3 cups), peeled and cut into 0.6-inch cubes, optional (or 1 medium sweet potato, cubed)
1 tightly packed cup baby spinach or kale leaves
A little milk, for thinning the reserved coconut cream
Lime wedges (or 1 tbsp rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar if you’re out of limes)
2 tbsp roughly chopped cilantro
Sliced chili and crispy shallots, optional

Ingredient Notes

Split red lentils are the reason this soup turns creamy without any help. RecipeTin Eats notes that split yellow lentils work with about 5 extra minutes, while whole green, brown or red lentils need 30 to 40 minutes, more water and a partial blend.

Skip French Puy lentils, which stay firm.

Curry paste changes a lot from jar to jar, in heat and in salt. The half cup here was measured against one Thai brand, so with a milder supermarket paste I taste the broth before the fish sauce goes in.

Both sources use coconut cream rather than coconut milk, and RecipeTin Eats asks for full fat. I stick with the full-fat can, since the soup’s thickness is built on it.

For the squash, the Australian School of Meditation & Yoga uses one medium sweet potato instead, which needs the whole simmer to soften.

How I Make It

Set aside the drizzle. Spoon 1 tbsp of the coconut cream into a small cup and whisk in a little milk, until it’s thin enough to drip off the whisk in a steady stream.
Fry the curry paste. Melt the coconut oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the curry paste, garlic and ginger and stir for about 5 minutes, until the paste smells toasty, darkens a shade and the oil around it turns red.
Add the liquids and lentils. Pour in the rest of the coconut cream, the fish sauce, stock, water and rinsed lentils. If you’re using sweet potato, add it now. Stir until the paste has dissolved into an even orange broth with no clumps.
Bring it to a simmer. Turn the heat to high until the broth bubbles across the surface, then lower it to medium or medium-high for a gentle simmer. Cook for 5 minutes, until the lentils swell and soften at the edges.
Add the squash. Stir in the squash and simmer for 15 minutes more, stirring from the bottom now and then. It’s done when a cube crushes easily against the pot and the lentils have broken down into a thick, creamy soup.
Loosen if needed. If the soup looks thicker than you like, stir in a splash of hot water at a time. Stop as soon as it pours off the ladle in a slow, even ribbon instead of dropping off in clumps.
Wilt the greens. Turn off the heat and stir the spinach or kale into the hot soup. Keep folding until the leaves collapse and turn a deep, glossy green all the way through the pot.
Serve with lime. Ladle the Thai red lentil soup into bowls, drizzle with the thinned coconut cream, and top with cilantro, chili and shallots. Squeeze lime over each bowl at the table, until the broth tastes bright instead of heavy.

Tips From My Kitchen

Don’t stir the curry paste straight into the liquid. Frying it first is where the flavor comes from, and a raw paste leaves the broth tasting dull.
Cut the squash cubes all the same size so they finish together.
Out of limes? Stir 1 tbsp rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar in at the start of the simmer. It isn’t the same as fresh lime at the table, but it keeps the soup from tasting flat.
I’m honestly not sure the crispy shallots are worth buying a jar for. If they’re already in my pantry they go on top, and if they aren’t, nobody misses them.

Make-Ahead and Leftovers

Let leftover soup cool, then move it to an airtight container in the fridge. Neither source behind this recipe gives a fridge time, so I treat it like any other cooked soup and eat it within the next few days.

Reheat it gently on the stove over medium heat, stirring from the bottom, until it’s steaming. If it’s thicker than you’d like, add a splash of hot water, the same fix you’d use while cooking it.

Keep the coconut drizzle, cilantro and lime out of the container and add them fresh after reheating. Freezing isn’t covered by either source, so I’m not giving a freezer time here.

What to Serve With Thai Red Lentil Soup

Warm roti, naan or any flatbread, for dragging through the thick broth.
A crisp cucumber salad with a splash of rice vinegar. The cool crunch sits well next to a warm, spiced bowl.
A pile of extra lime wedges and a small dish of sliced chili, so everyone sets their own heat and brightness.

Equipment Worth Having

A large heavy pot, so the curry paste fries evenly without catching on the bottom.
A fine grater for the garlic and ginger, so they melt into the paste instead of leaving chunks.
A sturdy vegetable peeler and a sharp chef’s knife, because butternut squash is hard to cut.
A fine-mesh strainer for rinsing the lentils.
A small whisk for thinning the coconut cream drizzle.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Thai red lentil soup a traditional Thai dish? No. RecipeTin Eats says so plainly: it’s a lentil soup flavored with Thai red curry paste, not something you’d find in Thailand.

Can I use coconut milk instead of coconut cream? You can, but expect a thinner, looser soup. Both recipes behind this one use coconut cream, and the texture here is built around it.

How spicy is this soup? That depends almost entirely on your curry paste. Taste the broth after the paste goes in, then pass sliced chili at the table for anyone who wants more.

Can I use whole red lentils? Yes, but they take about 30 to 40 minutes and need more water. A partial blend at the end gets you close to the same creamy texture.

More Recipes You’ll Like