One-Pot Vegan Mulligatawny Soup with Red Lentils, Apple and Coconut Milk
A cozy one-pot vegan mulligatawny soup with red lentils, carrot, celery and apple, simmered in curry spices and finished with coconut milk and lime.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 35 min
- Serves
- 4
One-Pot Vegan Mulligatawny Soup with Red Lentils, Apple and Coconut Milk is a vegan lunch recipe made with coconut oil, yellow onion, carrots. It takes 50 minutes of hands-on time, serves 4, and each serving has 406 calories, 15 g of protein and 10 g of fiber.
Red lentils fall apart as they simmer, so the soup thickens on its own and you don't need flour or cream. The apple goes in with the lentils and softens into them, which adds the light sweet-tart note this Anglo-Indian soup is known for. Toasting the curry powder in oil with the tomato paste deepens the spice flavor. Coconut milk and lime juice go in at the very end, so they stay rich and bright.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp14 gcoconut oil
- 1 medium110 gyellow onion, diced
- 2 medium122 gcarrots, peeled and diced
- 2 80 gcelery stalks, diced
- 1 tsp6 gfine salt, divided
- 3 cloves9 ggarlic, minced
- 1 tbsp6 gfresh ginger, grated
- 1½ tbsp9 gmild or medium curry powder
- 1 tsp2.1 gground cumin
- ½ tsp1.5 gground turmeric
- 1 tbsp16 gtomato paste
- 1 cup192 gsplit red lentils, rinsed
- 1 large237 gtart apple (such as Granny Smith), peeled, cored and diced
- 5 cups1.2 kglow-sodium vegetable broth
- 1 cup226 gfull-fat canned coconut milk, well stirred
- 2 tbsp31 gfresh lime juice
- ¼ tsp0.6 gblack pepper
- ¼ cup4 gfresh cilantro, chopped, for serving (optional)
- 2 cups316 gcooked basmati rice, for serving (optional)
Kit: large pot or Dutch oven, immersion blender
Tips
- Curry powders vary a lot in heat and salt, so start with the amount listed and taste before adding more.
- Add the lime juice last and off the heat so it stays fresh-tasting.
- Rinse the red lentils until the water runs mostly clear so they don't foam as much while they simmer.
Swap ideas
- Light coconut milk instead of full-fat
- The soup turns out lighter and a little thinner, with less coconut richness.
- A ripe pear instead of the apple
- Sweeter and softer, with less of the tart contrast.
- Add 1 diced medium sweet potato with the lentils
- Makes the soup heartier and sweeter. Add about 1/2 cup more broth.
- Lemon juice instead of lime juice
- Still bright, but a bit sharper and less floral.
The numbers
Nutrition per serving
406kcal per serving
Everything else · 4 servings per recipe
- Saturated fat
- 13.9 g 70%
- Sugars
- 11.4 g
- Sodium
- 1524 mg 66%
- Potassium
- 865 mg 18%
- Calcium
- 95 mg 7%
- Iron
- 7 mg 39%
- Vitamin C
- 14 mg 15%
- Vitamin B12
- 0 µg 0%
% Daily Value on a 2,000 calorie diet. Calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for each ingredient; optional ingredients are excluded. Estimates vary with brands and portions.
Sources: Oil, coconut, Onions, raw, Carrots, raw, Celery, raw, Salt, table, Garlic, raw, Ginger root, raw, Spices, curry powder, Spices, cumin seed, Spices, turmeric, ground, Tomato products, canned, paste, without salt added (Includes foods for USDA's Food Distribution Program), Lentils, pink or red, raw, Apples, raw, with skin (Includes foods for USDA's Food Distribution Program), Soup, vegetable broth, ready to serve, Nuts, coconut milk, canned (liquid expressed from grated meat and water), Lime juice, raw, Spices, pepper, black
Method
Heat the coconut oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery and 1/2 tsp of the salt. Cook, stirring now and then, until the onion is soft and see-through and the carrots start to soften, 7–8 minutes.
Stir in the garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the curry powder, cumin, turmeric and tomato paste. Stir constantly until the spices smell toasted and the paste turns a shade darker, 1–2 minutes. If anything starts to stick, add a splash of broth.
Add the rinsed lentils, diced apple and broth. Scrape the bottom of the pot to lift any browned bits. Bring to a boil over high heat.
Lower the heat, partially cover and simmer, stirring now and then so the lentils don't stick. It's ready when the lentils have fully broken down and the carrots and apple are very tender when pressed with a spoon, 20–25 minutes.
Take the pot off the heat. Use an immersion blender to blend the soup in a few short pulses until it's partly smooth but still has some chunks. If you're using a regular blender, blend about a third of the soup with the lid vented and pour it back into the pot.
Stir in the coconut milk and warm the soup over low heat for 2 minutes without letting it boil. If it seems too thick, add broth or water 1/4 cup at a time.
Take the pot off the heat and stir in the lime juice, black pepper and the remaining 1/2 tsp salt. Taste and add more salt or lime if needed. Serve hot, with a spoonful of rice in each bowl and some cilantro on top if you like.
Storage: Let the soup cool, then refrigerate it in an airtight container for up to 4 days or freeze it for up to 3 months. It thickens as it sits, so add a splash of broth or water when you reheat it on the stove. Keep rice in a separate container.
Questions
- How much protein is in one-pot vegan mulligatawny soup with red lentils, apple and coconut milk?
- Each of the 4 servings has 15 g of protein, 10 g of fiber and 406 calories, calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for every ingredient.
- Is one-pot vegan mulligatawny soup with red lentils, apple and coconut milk vegan?
- Yes. It contains no dairy, eggs, honey or other animal products.
- How long does one-pot vegan mulligatawny soup with red lentils, apple and coconut milk take to make?
- 15 minutes of prep and 35 minutes of cooking, so 50 minutes of hands-on time.
- Can you make one-pot vegan mulligatawny soup with red lentils, apple and coconut milk ahead?
- Let the soup cool, then refrigerate it in an airtight container for up to 4 days or freeze it for up to 3 months. It thickens as it sits, so add a splash of broth or water when you reheat it on the stove. Keep rice in a separate container.
- What can I substitute in one-pot vegan mulligatawny soup with red lentils, apple and coconut milk?
- Light coconut milk instead of full-fat — the soup turns out lighter and a little thinner, with less coconut richness.. A ripe pear instead of the apple — sweeter and softer, with less of the tart contrast.. Add 1 diced medium sweet potato with the lentils — makes the soup heartier and sweeter. add about 1/2 cup more broth.. Lemon juice instead of lime juice — still bright, but a bit sharper and less floral..
- Does one-pot vegan mulligatawny soup with red lentils, apple and coconut milk contain gluten?
- Yes — the ingredient list includes gluten. Check the labels on the products you buy if you're cooking for an allergy.
Nutrition is calculated from USDA data for every ingredient — how we work it out.
Published October 23, 2026 ·Anglo-Indian