Tomato Lentil Soup with Manzanilla Olives
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This tomato lentil soup is easy to make and a super cozy vegetarian meal. The lentils are cooked in a rich broth with tomatoes, carrots, celery, garlic, and spices. The soup is finished with a bit of spinach, a splash of cream, and some delicious Manzanilla olives.
You’re looking at one of my all-time favorite vegetarian soup recipes. It’s the kind of soup I make when I want something cozy and satisfying, but also full of big, interesting flavor.
The broth is rich and dreamy, with just a slight smokiness from paprika and a savory, almost briny depth from the Manzanilla olives. The tender lentils soak up all that goodness and make the soup hearty enough to count as dinner — no sides required.
I almost always serve soup with a slice of buttered bread or garlic bread, but this one is so full and flavorful that I’m perfectly happy with a big bowl on its own. It’s comforting and the kind of recipe I find myself coming back to again and again.
Also, be sure to check out my two other vegetarian lentil soup recipes: coconut red lentil peanut soup, a hearty one-pot meal, and my coconut lentil soup with ginger kale.
Store, freeze, and reheat
Store: This soup keeps well for at least 5 days in your fridge, making it ideal for meal prep. Make a pot of this creamy vegetarian lentil soup tonight and enjoy the leftovers for lunch this week!
Freeze: You can freeze this olive soup for up to three months. Let it cool completely before transferring it to a freezer-safe container. Note: it will thicken, and the lentils will become extra soft. Simply add a little more stock when reheating.
Reheat: I like to reheat this in a pot on the stovetop, but a microwave works well, too.
Tomato Lentil Soup with Olives Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion (minced)
- 4 cloves garlic (minced)
- 2 carrots (minced)
- 2 stalks celery (minced)
- 2 teaspoons EACH: thyme, oregano, and smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon EACH: salt and pepper
- 1 cup brown lentils
- 6 cups vegetable stock (can use chicken stock)
- 14 ounce can diced tomatoes
- 3 ounces chopped fresh spinach (or baby spinach leaves)
- 1 cup chopped Manzanilla olives
- ½ cup cream (optional)
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and let it cook until it softens, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic, carrots, and celery to the pot and let them cook for about 5 minutes. Mix in the thyme, oregano, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper.2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 medium onion, 4 cloves garlic, 2 carrots, 2 stalks celery, 2 teaspoons EACH: thyme, oregano, and smoked paprika, 1 teaspoon EACH: salt and pepper
- Add the lentils, stock, and tomatoes to the pot and bring the pot to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pot, and simmer for 30-40 minutes, or until the lentils are soft.1 cup brown lentils, 6 cups vegetable stock, 14 ounce can diced tomatoes
- Add the spinach, Manzanilla olives, and if using, the cream and stir until the spinach wilts.3 ounces chopped fresh spinach, 1 cup chopped Manzanilla olives, ½ cup cream
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Nutrition
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So easy to make and it tasted sensational.
Delicious! Used beef stock.
Do you need to soak the lentils first?
We don’t soak them. 🙂
This soup is SO flavourful and delicious. Definitely a family favourite!!!
Thanks for posting the amounts of ingredients right along with the instructions; very helpful and clever too. Delicious soup with lots of flavor. Definitely surprised to see a comment that the soup was bland. Quality and “fresh” (nothing older than 6 month) spices along with a good stock are a must. Thanks again.
Very simple and yummy recipe. However both my husband and I thought it was a little bland for our taste. (Which is easy, as we’re both herb/spice enthusiasts.) I definitely want to make again but am wondering how we might “up” the flavor? Add more of each herb? Throw in new ingredients (like onion or garlic powder)? Any suggestions would be appreciated!
If you eat meat then I would recommend using bone broth. It’s the best way to add depth to your soup recipes. You can also add additional salt – and you may need it if the stock you’re using isn’t salted. Or you could try a little extra herbs!
This soup was divine. The complexity of flavor was even better the next day!! Will definitely be making this again!
Simple and delicious lentil soup recipe. I had a bunch of cherry tomatoes I needed to use so I roasted them along with the garlic and put them in the soup. We are dairy free so I tried one bowl with a dollop of dairy free sour cream. That was really good too.
Going to try this next week, as I have most of the ingredients. Would it be okay to use Kalamata Black Olives. I bought a jar for another recipe, and am trying to get rid of them haha
That should work fine!
This soup is AMAZING! I’d serve this to company!
Can you use red lentils instead of brown?
Yes, but you’ll need to reduce the cooking time to 20-30 minutes. 🙂
One of my favourites!
This was one one of the best soups I ever made!
I used chicken-less vegan broth & coconut milk in place of the heavy cream…this soup was DIVINE!!
OMG I love how you wrote this recipe with the ingredients IN the instructions. I hate scrolling back and forth between the ingredient list and instructions. Aaaand I can’t wait to try this recipe. Maybe with a little shredded rotisserie chicken.
I’m so happy to hear that you find that helpful! It’s something we just added to the site. 🙂
Agreed! The ingredients and amounts IN the recipe steps is a pro move and makes it so much easier! Thank you for doing that, and this delicious recipe 🙂
Delicious Sautéed with vegetable stock instead of oil. Used oat milk instead of cream. Turned out tasty!
And it freezes well too!