Greek lentil soup, also called Fakes soup, is a simple easy to make nutritious recipe made with lentils, vegetables and herbs.
This fakes recipe is full of protein and iron and so comforting. It was a staple growing up and still remains one today!
This post was originally published on May 27, 2015.
This lentil soup recipe reminds me of my childhood. I love the simplicity, how both my dad and I top it off with hot sauce, and how healthy it is! Pair it with Greek Salad and make it a full authentic meal.
Fakes is the Greek name for lentil soup, which is pronounced 'Fah-kehs'. This hearty soup is a popular family friendly meal that is not only delicious, but nutritious as well! Just like any classic recipe, there are many variations, but the following is our favorite plant based way to make it.
Ingredients
The cozy flavors of Greek lentil soup are created with just a handful of wholesome ingredients. Here is what you need:
- Lentils - our family uses green lentils for soup, but any variety can be used. See the section below to learn more details about the best type of lentils to use for soup.
- Mirepoix - a mix of diced onion, carrots, and celery create a deep flavor in the soup. Sweet or yellow onions are best for their more mellow flavor.
- Garlic - mincing your own fresh garlic cloves will result in the best taste!
- Tomato sauce - this adds to the rich and deep flavor profile. Make sure to select one without added seasonings, and choose low sodium if needed.
- Veggie broth - using vegetable broth keeps this lentil soup recipe vegan and vegetarian. If you eat meat, chicken broth can be substituted.
- Herbs and seasonings - oregano, bay leaves, salt, and pepper round out the overall flavor. Depending on the broth you may not need as much salt, so add to taste.
- Olive oil - you will need a drizzle of olive oil to sauté the vegetables. If you'd like to make the soup oil free you can use vegetable broth instead.
The Best Lentils for Soup
- French green lentils are the most "al dente". We prefer the firmer consistency in this fakes soup recipe.
- Brown lentils are a little softer for an in-between firm and mushy texture.
- Red lentils are the softest. I wouldn't suggest red as they may get too mushy. However, some people like to let them get extra mushy to thicken the broth, it's all personal preference!
No matter what color you use, keep an eye on them while pre-cooking to make sure they are tender enough as they vary in cooking time.
How to Make Lentil Soup
This comforting fakes recipes is so easy to put together, which makes me love it even more! Here's what to do:
- Rinse and partially cook the lentils. Strain and set aside.
- In a large pot over medium heat, sauté the veggies and garlic in extra virgin olive oil, or veggie broth to keep the recipe oil free.
- Add the lentils, tomato sauce, and spices.
- Mix in the broth and bay leaves, then simmer, dish into bowls, and enjoy!
Flavor suggestions
This classic recipe is excellent as it is, but sometimes it's fun to change up the flavors a bit. Get creative and experiment each time you make this vegan lentil soup.
- Adjust the amounts of oregano, salt, and pepper to fit your preference.
- A sweet or yellow onion will give the best taste without overpowering the other flavors. Feel free to use a red onion as well for a stronger taste.
- Mix in extra veggies! Make this a fully loaded lentil vegetable soup and try including roasted peppers, peas, spinach, green beans, or anything you have on hand.
- Try out a variety of fresh herbs and spices like thyme, rosemary, cumin, coriander, paprika, or cayenne pepper.
What to Serve With Greek Lentil Soup
Fakes soup is traditionally topped with white vinegar and lemon juice, but I like drizzling on some hot sauce and even some vegan feta cheese. Dress it up any way you like and pair with some crusty bread or any of the following recipes:
Meal prep and storage tips
- Do a little preparation in advance to make things easier. You can wash and chop the vegetables and rinse and partially cook the lentils ahead of time.
- Keep the prepared ingredients in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days.
- Leftovers of cooked Greek lentil soup can be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- You can also freeze lentil soup to save for later! Seal the cooled soup in a freezer safe airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months.
- For an added layer of protection from freezer burn, place a sheet of plastic wrap or parchment paper directly on the surface of the soup before sealing the container.
- Re-warm the soup either on the stovetop or in the microwave.
Common Questions
Not only are lentils loaded with protein, iron, and fiber, but they are a great source of B vitamins, magnesium, zinc and potassium as well.
Lentil soup recipes vary based on the ingredients used, and ends up tasting like the veggies and herbs you use. Because the lentils themselves are mild, they absorb the flavors of whatever they are cooked in.
Nope! Lentils do not need to be soaked before cooking.
Partially pre-cooking the lentils before adding to a soup is a good idea to make sure they are cooked enough. However, if you don't mind simmering your soup for a long time, they can also be added in uncooked.
Topping lentil soup with vinegar, lemon juice, or hot sauce tastes amazing. Crusty bread is ideal for dipping, and fresh salads make a nice accompaniment for a complete meal.
It depends on what texture you prefer. Green lentils are a bit more 'al dente', where brown lentils are more tender.
More Vegan Soup Recipes
If you enjoy this Greek lentil soup recipe make sure to cozy up with any of these healthy plant based soups all Fall and Winter long:
Greek Lentil Soup (Fakes Recipe)
Ingredients
- 1 cup lentils , see note
- 1 cup sweet or yellow onion
- 1 cup chopped carrots , about 2 large
- 1 cup chopped celery , about 2 sticks
- drizzle oil to sauté , or broth if you don't use oil
- 3 cloves garlic , chopped
- 2 - 4 tablespoons tomato sauce
- 1-2 teaspoons dried oregano
- ½ - 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ - ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 5-6 cups veggie broth , low sodium if needed
- 3 bay leaves
Traditional toppings to drizzle on top:
- vinegar
- lemon juice
- hot sauce (not traditional but I love it)
- fresh parsley
Instructions
- Rinse the lentils and add them to a pot. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Cook for about three minutes or until half done. Strain and set aside.
- In the pot, sauté the onion, carrot and celery with oil or broth until semi soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for about one minute.
- Add lentils and tomato sauce and stir for one minute. Start with 2 tablespoons tomato sauce and add more according to preferred flavor. Then add oregano, salt and pepper.
- Add the 5 cups of veggie broth, and bay leaves.
- Bring to a boil and simmer over very low heat until lentils and vegetables are cooked, about 15 minutes. Check periodically to see if more broth is needed.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- The oregano, salt, and pepper can be adjusted to achieve the flavor you want.
- I use French green lentils in this because I like the firmer consistency of lentils, but you can use any color. Green are the most "al dente", brown are a little softer and red are the softest. I wouldn't suggest red as they may get too mushy. But make sure to check your lentils while pre-cooking to make sure they are cooked enough as they vary in cooking time depending on color used.
- Traditionally this soup is also topped off with the white vinegar and lemon juice, but I prefer to add a touch of hot sauce like my dad!
- Wash and chop the veggies. Rinse and partially cook the lentils.
- Blend soup with an immersion blender or put into blender for baby food. If your baby is still sensitive to acidic food like tomatoes, do not add tomato sauce. You can serve to toddler as is or strain out broth for a less messy meal. You can also pulse to make it a thicker porridge like meal.
Recipe by Veggies Don’t Bite, visit our site for more great plant-based recipes.
Nutrition
Nutrition and metric information should be considered an estimate.
Jah Wayne
Thank you! Yet Iam more than you realize!
veggiesdontbite
You're welcome!
Donna
Sophie,
This soup turned out exactly as you said it would! Its really good! A perfect light supper! I went to a local bakery and purchased a Sunflower Flax Sourdough loaf, which went great with my soup!
I've put it into my "make again" file!
Donna
veggiesdontbite
Ah!! SO awesome Donna! I am so so happy to hear this! Thank you so much for telling me. That bread sounds amazing!
Katie Parks Transth
Delish! I didn't have tomato sauce and instead added a small can of V-8. I think it worked! So putting this in my staples for weekly lunches! Yum!
veggiesdontbite
Hi Katie!! Oh yay!! Love your hack, V8 would totally work. It's essentially tomato juice. Thanks so much for trying it! It's so good for and and the boys love this one too!
Alethea
Made this last night! It was delicious! It will for sure be part of our regular menu rotation. We used the precooked lentils from Trader Joe's to cut cooking time and it worked great!
veggiesdontbite
Oh yay!!! So glad you tried it and that it worked out. Glad those precooked lentils work! Great tip to save time!
Val @ Life of a Vegaholic
This soup looks super yum Sophia! This soup makes me want to have soup right now! Haha!
veggiesdontbite
Thank you Val! It's a really good soup and we often have it year round! Super simple to make too! I crave it a lot. I love it with hot sauce on the top and dipping fresh bread it in. Mmmmmmm!
Ara
I cooked this recipe today, and it was very delicious, the only thing was that the cooking time you suggest is not even close to what it's needed, it took much longer (I used uncooked or raw lentil) even for the precooking I let it stay longer but when I had to add them again they where really undercooked that my veggies overcooked.
but still all the flavors were there, really delicious my husband love it 🙂
this is something I will definitely will cook again.
veggiesdontbite
Hi Ara!! So glad you liked it! What kind of lentils did you use and how long did you precook for? There are some lentils that do take longer so that's why in my directions I say "until half cooked" so definitely check them along the way. I haven't had anyone have an issue yet but even my mom has found lentils that cook longer! Thanks for letting me know how it went! I will add your tips to the recipe!
Ara
Hi Sophie and thanks for your reply, I am not very familiar with lentils but they are the whole kind (not the split) and the only thing it said on the pkg is "new harvest", and maybe this is the kind you mentioned the one that needs longer cooking, so next time I will make sure is really half way cooked.
but as I said before I will definitely will do this one again my husband and I we really like the soup.
thanks for sharing 🙂 <3
veggiesdontbite
By kind I mean, what color? I added it to my recipe, the green take the longest to cook and are the most firm, the brown and red less time and softer, but the red tend to get mushy. I wouldn't recommend red for the soup. It sounds like you may have used green. If you check them as you pre-cook and make sure they have cooked about half way then you should be fine! Thanks again for being here!
Amber
THis recipe looks really great, but I have a question. I don't cook with lentils very often, so the first step confused me based upon my expectation: "Rinse the lentils and add them to a pot. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Cook for about three minutes or until half done. Strain and set aside."
What type of lentils are you using...pre-cooked or raw? I thought raw took much longer to cook than 3-6 minutes, or am I wrong?
veggiesdontbite
Thanks so much Amber! I'm using uncooked lentils. You cook them a little bit so they are partially cooked before cooking them in the soup. That way you don't over cook your veggies while waiting for the lentils to cook all the way! Make sense? Feel free to ask any more questions!
Amber
That makes sense - thank you!!! Looking forward to trying the recipe 🙂
veggiesdontbite
Can't wait to hear how you like it! Tag me and let me know!
Natalie @ Feasting on Fruit
This looks like one of those simple soups that any one and every one will love, especially with a hearty slice of homemade bread...perfection! And the little familial backstory is always sweet to hear 🙂
veggiesdontbite
Thank you so much Natalie! Yes, that's exactly the kind of soup it is. Super simple but so good. Now all I need is a bread maker and I'm set! LOL
The Vegan 8
Beautiful! Lentil soup is one of my alltime favorite soups! Your mom's version I love, so simple and delicious and there really is nothing more comforting than a bowl of soup in my opinion. I seriously could eat soup everyday of my life, whether hot or cold weather outside. I'll have to try your Mom's version sometime since it is a bit different than mine since it has carrots and celery! Mine is more of a smoky lentil soup and I use sweet potatoes and some smoky spices so it really is a warm, smoky type of soup...great for winter. But I'm totally digging your mom's version as well and there is always room in my belly for more lentil soup, LOL, and bet it's delicious with the celery...mmmmm.
veggiesdontbite
Thanks Brandi!! It's really traditional and simple but sometimes that's exactly what you need ☺️ I love dipping bread in it too. Yours sounds delish as well!! Will have to try it!
Mandy
I love lentil soup - it's one of my favorites! What a great ingredient list - simple, but so many wonderful flavors! That red flower is beautiful 🙂
veggiesdontbite
Thank you Mandy! Yes, super simple but so good. I loved that little flower. Such a sweet gesture. And the color went great in the pics!
Michael
Hi
Love Fakes but I notice yours doesn't have the vinegar in it, traditional always has vinegar. You must try it with the vinigar. It's divine,
veggiesdontbite
Thanks Micheal! Yes, my mom adds some vinegar or lemon juice and the end. I don't like it but instead at hot sauce like my dad does. We are weird. Lol! I'll add that as an option, she has it in her recipe but I didn't write it in!
Jenn
I just love lentil soup! It's so easy, filling, flavorful and my kids love it too. I can't wait to try this version!
veggiesdontbite
Thank you Jen! My boys literally shovel this in. It's really simple so good for kids, but so flavorful!
Nichole Kraft, Food Writing Copyeditor
I never liked lentils much as a kid, either, but I love them now! This soup looks so hearty and easy to prepare. I love the addition of oregano (I'm an oregano addict). I'm headed over to the Whipped Hummus recipe now. Sounds delicious!
veggiesdontbite
Thank you so much Nichole! I was so the same, lentils?! Bleh! But now I literally use them ALL the time! You would love the soup. SO simple and easy but super flavorful. Thank you for being here!
Mel @ The Refreshanista
wow this soup looks good! i bet it would be so yummy with a slice of homemade bread 🙂
veggiesdontbite
Thank you Mel! YES! It would be amazing with a slice of homemade bread. Or 5!!! LOL. We dip bread in it all the time. My son likes to let his bread soak a bit, then eats it with his spoon.
Ceara @ Ceara's Kitchen
Lentil soup is hands down my favorite kind of soup - I make it almost every week! Your mom's lentil soup sounds SO delicious!! My mouth is watering just looking at it! I want a big bowl of it for lunch right now 😉 😀
veggiesdontbite
That's awesome!! You would love this then! It's super simple an traditional but SO SO good! Secret family recipe not so secret anymore. LOL