This classic Middle Eastern lentil soup is also known as shorabet adas. It is incredible how a few simple ingredients make such a phenomenal dish. This soup is vegan, naturally gluten-free, and super easy to prepare. My mom often made this or freekeh soup, especially during Ramadan growing up. I now do the same for my family. It has such great flavor and a smooth velvety texture. We love to serve this with crispy pita chips and a fresh squeeze of lemon.
Almost every region has its own take on this lentil soup. Some may add potatoes; others may prefer it porridge-like. There is no right or wrong. However, this is the way my Palestinian family has always made it and enjoyed it. All you need are a few basic ingredients and seasonings and you will have a delicious soup ready in no time.
What lentils are used in this Middle Eastern Lentil Soup?
For this soup, red lentils are used instead of the brown or green variety. This gives it its traditional taste and color, unlike other lentils, which have a different texture, taste, and longer cooking time. You can find red lentils in almost any market especially ethnic grocery stores.
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How is this soup served?
Typically, this is served with fresh lemon wedges and pita chips. The pita chips offer a crispy textural component to the dish, making it more hearty. You can see how I make homemade baked pita chips in my fatteh recipe. This would be added before serving, so it doesn’t get soggy. The fresh lemon should also be squeezed over the top to your liking just before serving. I enjoy lots of lemon with this soup because of its acidity and freshness.
Red Pepper Soup from my friend Amina’s blog
Let me know what you think of this Middle Eastern red lentil soup when you give this recipe a try by leaving a rating and review below!
Creamy Lentil Soup
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups Red Lentils
- 6 cups Water or Vegetable stock
- 1 Bouillon Cube
- 1 cup Carrots chopped
- 1 Onion chopped
- 2 Garlic cloves chopped
- 1 tbsp Olive oil
- Salt & Pepper to taste
- 1 tsp Cumin
- 1/2 tsp Turmeric
What to serve this soup with:
- Lemon wedges
- Pita chips
Instructions
- In a pot, add the olive oil. To that, add the onions, garlic, and carrots. Add salt and pepper to this and then saute for 5 minutes until fragrant.
- To that, add the lentils and saute for a few minutes. Season with the cumin, turmeric, and crushed bouillon cube. Mix together.
- Add the cooking liquid and bring this mixture to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, bring down to a simmer. Let this cook for about 25 minutes until the carrots are tender.
- Once tender, use an immersion blender to puree this soup until creamy. If you do not have an immersion blender, then pour the contents of the soup into a regular blender for a minute until smooth.
- Enjoy with crispy pita chips and fresh lemon juice!
One of the best lentil soup recipes I’ve tried! Super simple and the soup comes out very flavorful. Thanks Fufu!
My pleasure!
I am not a lentil soup fan, but my husband requested it for Ramadan. I used this recipe from your e-book and I actually love the soup!! I think it’s the mix of carrots, but either way, it’s a hit with the husband and a lentil soup I truly enjoy. I also love how easy it is to make!
My hubby loves shorabet adas, but I growing up I thought it tasted like paper lol. But in adulthood I have grown to like it. My hubby is sick and I thought is giving making it a try. This recipe is super easy to follow and the soup tasted great. I’m definitely making this again.
One of my favorite soups to make. This recipe has never failed me, It comes out delicious every time.
Looks amazing . Can’t wait to try. May I ask if it is possible to cook the soup without the bouillon cube?
Hi, yes you can just make sure to salt it!
what flavor of boullion cube do you use?
Hi Lisa,
Sorry for the late reply. I use vegetable bouillon to keep the soup vegetarian friendly.
Making it second time today, i did not have boullion, so i added half a cube chicken stock and half teaspoon 7 spices. Thank youu! Tastes good
Awesome! Great substitutions!
I love this recipe so much!
Made this tonight, with chicken stock instead of vegetable stock. Absolutely delicious, will definitely make again in the future!
So happy you enjoyed the soup, Abby!
Really delicious and easy soup to make!! Did not take me longer than 30 minutes to make 🙂
So delicious and so easy. A perfect weeknight meal.
I made this tonight! Perfect for a cold Monday night. Lots of flavour and no ingredients I don’t already have in the pantry or freezer.
If I want to double the recipe do I add 3 cups of addas, 12 cups of stock ? Ty
This is my comfort soup recipe, so good and comes out amazing every time
This soup is delicious! It’s also the only soup my 6 year old likes. It’s such a quick and simple recipe
That’s awesome. It is a favorite in our household too!
I haven’t tried lentil soup let alone make it before this and omg!!! It was so delicious and so easy to whip up. Such an amazing and hearty starter! My husband and I loved this recipe!
Thanks so much, Khadija!
Amazing recipe! So so simple yet really flavoursome and delicious. Will definitely come back to this one again and again inshaAllah!
Thanks so much, Zahidah
Another perfect recipe!
Super fast and easy and finally the authentic version I was looking for.
I have never been a fan of lentil soup until I tried this recipe. I started making this last Ramadan when I bought your ebook and now, a year later, can still say this is the only lentil soup I still like! Flavorful and it’s a hit with guests too!
This is so easy to make and so so delicious. This is the first time I have ever left a review on a recipe before ever. I just loved it so much and will definitely be making it again❤️
I just used this recipe yesterday for iftar. I have a lentil soup recipe (Turkish) already but love that this one is super simple and full of flavour! Went down a treat and will definitely be entering my recipe book.
Delicious! Recipe was very easy to make and tasted great.
Hi! Could I make this is in a crockpot?
Hi,
Yes, I dont see why not!
This is my new FAVORITE soup! I made it today for meal prep for the week, and it came out perfect. I added a little curry powder, and it was amazing. I served it with rice too. It’s my new go-to soup. Thank you, Heifa!
When I went to college, I moved to Chicago and my first job was in a restaurant owned by a Jordanian man. (Oasis Cafe on Wabash!) I loved the lentil soup, hummus, baba ghanouj, and falafel he made. To this day, 20 years later, I still compare every Mediterranean dish I have to Oasis Cafe’s.
While the Oasis version was a bit thinner and time may have eroded my memory on flavors, this recipe is the closest to the essence of the lentil soup from Oasis as I think I’ve had! I’ve made many red lentil soup recipes I found on the internet, and this is my favorite by far. It is a great soup for cold weather. Thank you!
This recipe is perfect. I make it for my Ramadan gatherings and it’s always a hit.
I’ve used this recipe many times and it’s amazing every time! Thank you!!
Recently diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes and I’m trying to eat more lentils/increase the fiber in my diet. This was so quick and easy to make and absolutely delicious. Don’t skimp on the lemon it really takes it to the next level. Next time, instead of carrots, I might try adding some cauliflower rice instead.
So happy to hear it was enjoyed, TY!
I am going to try this tomorrow….why do some recipes add sweet potato or plain yet you omit it?
I am not quite sure as I personally never had that version.
Very authentic and easy! Best with homemade broth!
I made this soup yesterday spontaneously after Heifa shared the recipe in her Instagram story.
The recipe is easy to follow. We already had all ingredients at home but they’re also easily available in most grocery shops or supermarkets.
The lentil soup was delicious and the perfect food to have on a chilly, dark winter evening. Even our son, who’s not a soup person (no idea what’s wrong with him :D), liked the soup and asked for a second serving.
I will definitely make the lentil soup again because it’s tasty and quick to make.
Thank you so much for this recipe. Will be gracing my Ramadan table inshallah.
Loved this soup at Maghrib in Makkah during Ramadan.
Very tasty! I’ve made several times and does not disappoint
So good! I added a bit of lemon and a touch of cream at the end and topped it with a bit of fresh coriander and pita chips. My toddler even enjoyed it!
Made this soup for the first day of Ramadan and it’s the most authentic shorbet adas recipe I’ve tried to date! I doubled the ingredients and it made enough to freeze and eat over multiple days!
So delicious, cozy, nourishing, and super easy! I opted not to blend the soup since we love the texture of the lentils. Topped off with a generous squeeze of lemon juice and olive oil. Thank you for this classic recipe!
We absolutely adore it! I was searching for a simple and flavourful soup, and this definitely did the trick.
I bought a hand blender just so I could do this recipe!! It is delicious and I’m so impressed. Can’t wait to try more recipes, you rock FUFU 🤘🏼
Very good recipe, I adjusted down to use 4 cups (1 qt) of broth and 1 cup (0.5 lbs) of lentils, and roughly everything else used about 2/3 of the recommended amount (well, same amount of veg as in recipe, but it’s soup, it works.). This worked out to 1 container of broth, and half of a 1 pound bag of lentils, so very efficient for leftover ingredients. Everything (just) fit in a 2 quart sauce pan, and resulted in about 1.5 quarts or two large servings.
Love this recipe! Tastes great and easy to follow! I can eat the whole thing by myself! Thank you!
Love this recipe!! It’s to tasty! Thank you for all your recipes!!
I never leave comments, but I’ve made this soup enough times to warrant a 5-star. It’s easy to make, absolutely delicious and so cozy! Thanks for the recipe 🙂 Ive been sharing it with everyone!
Mahalo for the recipe! Would you by chance know how long to cook this if using a slow cooker crock pot?
Hi! No, sorry. I am not familiar with cooking in a crock pot but I can imagine you would use it like you would any other soup!
perfect, very tasty
Been dying for lentil soup. Thank you beautiful. Recipes are always easy and delicious!
Excellent soup. I make it often. I may use a bit more seasoning, but that’s just a matter of taste.
This soup is amazing. So much flavor yet so simple, easy, and healthy!
Simple ingredients but the result is delicious! Thank you!
This lentil soup was so easy to make and delicious! The flavor was great and it’s the perfect comfort food for the winter months.
Thank you, Gloria!
Look forward to making this. One question: you said bouillon.. Which kind? Chicken or vegetable?
Hi! Forgive me for the late reply. Either works! Since this is a vegetarian soup; I opt for vegetable bouillon.
I love your Adas soup recipe ! its the creamiest and most balanced recipe I’ve tried. especially a favorite during Ramadan
1st time making this soup and I can honestly say it was a dead ringer for the soup that Jerusalem Shawarma serve up I’m quite chuffed to say the least. 10/10
Thank you, John!
Simple, authentic and super satisfying. Love the recipe and use all through winter
Very dependable recipe – kids and adults enjoy it!
Fantastic
So delicious! This is going to be a regular meal in our house.
So delicious!
We love this adas recipe! This soup is a staple in our household. It turns out creamy and flavourful every time.
This is truly an authentic lentil soup recipe it’s soo delicious.
This recipe was so easy and delicious! The best thing to make when you forget to defrost meat , my kids loved it with rice on the side!
My go to lentil soup recipe. It’s the best
I made this when i got from work tired and craving a heartwarming recipe, it tasted amazing, the instructions were easy to follow, measurements were clear and precise and it was so easy to make, and i was so happy with the results, my husband said “i put my foot in this” his way of saying he loved it, thank you so much, having a recipe like this makes things so much better, especially since i want to spend time with my daughter ❤️❤️