No.83 The 100 Most Popular Recipes Ever · October 2026

Red Lentil Soup with Lemon

Made famous by Melissa Clark

Photo: E4024, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

From The New York Times, 2009; In the Kitchen with a Good Appetite, 2010.

A Turkish-style lentil soup that's been one of NYT Cooking's most cooked and highest rated recipes for well over a decade.

Written in our own words and tested in a home kitchen. Get the original in In the Kitchen with a Good Appetite.

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp salt, plus more to taste
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• Pinch of ground chili powder or cayenne, plus more to serve
• 1 quart (1 l) chicken or vegetable broth
• 2 cups (480 ml) water
• 1 cup (200 g) red lentils, rinsed
• 1 large carrot, peeled and diced
• Juice of 1/2 lemon, or more to taste
• 3 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

Steps

1. Heat the oil in a large pot over high heat until hot and shimmering. Add the onion and garlic and cook until golden, about 4 minutes.
2. Stir in the tomato paste, cumin, salt, pepper and chili and cook 2 minutes more.
3. Add the broth, water, lentils and carrot. Bring to a simmer, then partly cover, turn the heat to medium-low and cook until the lentils are soft, about 30 minutes. Taste and add salt.
4. Blend half the soup with an immersion blender (or in a blender, then return it to the pot) so it's thick but still a little chunky. Reheat if needed and add a splash of water if it's too thick.
5. Stir in the lemon juice and cilantro.
6. Serve drizzled with good olive oil and a dusting of chili powder.

Chef's tips

• Be generous with the lemon. It's what makes the soup.
• Red lentils turn golden as they cook; that's normal.

This is Chef Amazing's write-up of the dish, tested for a home kitchen. The original is in In the Kitchen with a Good Appetite by Melissa Clark: get the book.

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