This Vegan Mulligatawny Soup has been on my favorite list for quite a few years. At some point, I fell in love with Indian food. And, it’s a bit surprising given that I was not exposed much of any unique cuisine growing up.
It was standard American fair, meat and potatoes. Although I did love the white bean soup my mother often made.
Although the ingredient list is long, it’s mostly spices. You do need to get your chopping chops going, with a good, sharp knife. It’s that way when you’re eating a plant-based diet, isn’t it?
If you’re staying away from all added oils, you could use coconut extract as a substitute for the lite coconut milk by mixing 1 teaspoon with 2/3 cup non-dairy milk. It’s certainly creamy enough without if you blend part of it.
Pair this delightful soup with a salad:
- Farro Salad
- Kale Salad with Oranges
- Arugula, Orange Fennel Salad
- Romaine Salad with Kale, Apples & Cranberries
- Caesar Salad
The addition of lots of garlic, ginger, and turmeric, as well as, all of the veggies, makes this an immunity and anti-inflammatory powerhouse.
Bringing together your soup after prepping
After water sauteing the onions and garlic, add all of the veggies and spices. Then it’s a matter of tossing in the tomatoes and veggie broth.
I like to let this simmer over medium-low heat for about 30 minutes until the veggies are nice and tender. You can puree part (or all) of the soup at this point. Then put back into the pan, add the coconut milk and heat through.
Serve with some crusty bread and a large lettuce salad. This vegan mulligatawny soup is a warm and cozy addition to your day.
I’d love to hear your feedback in the comments below for this Vegan Mulligatawny Soup! If you have a photo, post it on my Facebook page, tag me using the hashtag #plantbasedcooking
This recipe is Certified Plantricious because it meets the following guidelines.
The Trusted Seal for
Plant-Based Nutrition
- Must be whole food plant-based, contains no animal products
- May be minimally processed
- No added oil
- No added sugars
- No artificial additives or preservatives
- Sodium (mg) to Calories ratio, 1 ≤ 1
- Total Fiber to Calories, 2g ≥ 100 calories
Mulligatawny Soup
Equipment
- Measuring Cups and Spoons
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup homemade vegetable broth or water for sauteeing
- 1 cup uncooked red lentils rinsed and cleaned
- 1 large yellow onion chopped
- 1 large carrot peeled and diced
- 2 small or 1 large potato peeled and diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tsp fresh ginger peeled and minced
- 1 large firm apple peeled, cored and diced
- 1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
- 1 tbsp curry powder
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp Ceylon cinnamon*
- 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
- 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
- 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 4 cups homemade vegetable broth (or 4 cups homemade)
- 2/3 cup light canned coconut milk (or use 2/3 cup non-dairy milk mixed with about 1 tsp coconut extract)
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 1/3 cup cilantro chopped, and/or scallions for garnish
Instructions
- Add the onion and carrot to a large pot with ¼ cup water or vegetable broth over medium heat, then sauté for 4 to 5 minutes, or until the onions have softened.
- Add the potatoes, garlic, ginger, apples, and diced tomatoes to the pot. Sauté for another 3 minutes, then add all of the spices and toss to coat.
- Add the lentils and broth and let the contents come to a boil. Turn the heat down to medium-low and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Add more water or broth if it gets too thick.
- Transfer about half of the soup, slightly cooled, into a blender and blend until smooth. Then pour back into the pot and stir well. Or use an immersion blender to cream part of the soup in the pot.
- Stir in the coconut milk and cook a few more minutes.
- Taste, and adjust salt and black pepper as needed.
- Serve topped with scallions along with crusty bread or naan for dipping.
This recipe is a keeper. I used 1/2 sweet curry and hot curry for the rest of the tablespoon. Next time I will try all hot. Thanks for the recipe. Dee
So glad you enjoyed it! I had it this week, too, and it was better than I’d remembered. I used a new vegetable stock so maybe that was it. I like the little bit of sweetness from the apple.
Tasty! Yet, my red lentils took waaaay longer than 30 mins.
That’s interesting, red lentils usually take no more than 30 minutes to cook so I’m at a loss as to why they took so long. They also usually break apart much more than green lentils, too. Maybe they were dried out more than usual. I’m glad you enjoyed it, though ????????
I needed a vegan/gluten free option for feeding bunch of kids, and came across this recipe. It was really good. I made it just as written, except I used regular coconut milk. I’ll make it for our meat-eating family as a change-up to our regular mulligatawny soup (which has chicken and orzo.) Thanks you!
Thanks for giving it a try.
Thank you for this recipe! I made this last night, it was delicious! I used a Granny Smith apple and the only changes I made were, I used 1/2 of an onion and full-fat coconut milk. This is a keeper and would definitely make again (soon)!
You’re welcome, it’s one of my favorites! I’m so glad you enjoyed it and to hear that your changes were still delicious. 🙂
I love this soup! I added a sweet potato instead of a regular potato. Personal preference. I think I added a bit too much ginger by mistake but otherwise I followed the recipe exactly. Very nice spice and so much flavor! The spices are some of my favorite in the world. Thank you from my vegan family!
Hey Dani, You’re welcome! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! It really is one of my favorites. I love those spices.
Soooooo flame. I made this tonight on a colder night and it warms up the soul! I swear this soup could grow back a limb. Awesome recipe and an even awesomer soup!
I know, right? One of my faves!
Delicious soup! Even my eight-year-old ate two bowls. I didn’t use the tomatoes because I didn’t have any, but it still came out great.
Thanks Bethany! I’m so happy to hear that your eight-year-old loved it, too.
Looking around it appears that curry powder contains most if not all of the individual Indian spices in the recipe (turmeric, coriander, cinnamon, cardamon).
I will try this recipe.
Great, Jim… I hope you enjoy it!!
Made exactly as listed and it was a 10! My boys loved it and went back for seconds as did I …had it with some crusty French bread and a glass of Riesling.
Going in my soup rotation for sure. Would be delicious in the wintertime! We just added a little hot sauce. Ty! Excellent recipe!
Thanks so much for the feedback, Rhonda! I’m so glad your family enjoyed it. This soup is really one of my faves. A nice glass of Riesling sounds lovely, too. 🙂
I made it exactly as written, and served it with basmati rice to add in. Great recipe, and yummy dinner on a cold rainy night! Thanks
You’re welcome. 🙂 I’m so glad you enjoyed the soup. It’s really one of my favorites and I like the addition of basmati rice, too. 🙌
I was able to make this with some pantry items and leftovers in my refrigerator (with a couple substitutes – half a jar of pizza sauce and a bit of apple cider since I didn’t have canned tomatoes or an apple)..even so, it was such an incredible flavor combo! I will definitely make it again.
Thanks so much for the feedback! I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe! 💕
I am sorry, I am trying to figure out where the saturated fat is coming from. Can you tell me.
Hey Dawn, It’s from the coconut milk. If you’re avoiding saturated fat, try mixing 1/2 teaspoon coconut extract with 2/3 cup of non-dairy milk. Add more extract for flavor as needed. I think many people don’t realize that olive oil also has saturated fat…
I used French Vadouvan curry powder for this and trippled the seasonings. I used vidalia onions (sweet) and granny smith apples (green/tart and firm). I left the peel on the apples and the potato. I fully pureed the vegetables before adding the lentils. I also added lemon juice, a small amount when cooking the seasoned mix and a generous amount after the coconut milk was added. I served it with chopped cilantro and lemon juice.
We are very fond of mulligatawny soup in my family and prefer it to be vegan.
This was served at a Church dinner, it fed vegans, folks with nut and dairy issues, was gluten free and, most importantly, it was intensely flavored.
My husband commented that it has an excellent aftertaste.
I made this for 18 and had enough to fill a large crockpot (for the Church dinner) and three quart soup containers. One quart was shared with my neighbors and the other two are for family dinners.
Hey Michele, I enjoyed reading how you customized the recipe with some great ideas. I’m going to try it with the apple peels on next time and it sounds like it was a good choice for your event. Thanks for the feedback.