Turkish Red Lentil Soup with Mint Recipe

This is ezogelin soup, a traditional Turkish soup that was supposedly invented by an unhappy bride (gelin). Here in Turkey, it can be thrown together with basic ingredients found in any kitchen. This version tastes exactly like the soup you'll get at a family dinner or a kebap shop. Ezo the bride probably peeled and chopped her own tomatoes, but in this recipe the canned version works just as well. For a more robust taste, try sauteeing the tomato paste with the vegetables for a couple minutes before adding the chicken stock. Watch it closely at the end as the grains might soak up too much liquid and start sticking to the bottom. Also, crushed red pepper flakes are more traditional than cayenne pepper. Sprinkle on top and add a sprig of mint and a lemon wedge on the side for restaurant-style service.

This soup is delicious, I had it several years ago in Istanbul and found this recipe when I returned home. The recipe is perferct, though I use fresh mint. Also, we are meat eaters so after soup is finished cooking, I remove it from the dutch oven and pour in blender and blend, I leave it in the blender and sauté Hot Italian Sausage in the dutch oven and remove the grease. I then pour the soup back in the dutch oven over the Italian Sausage and it is amazing - I serve with some crusty French or Italian bread, I have served this to just family and for a dinner party and it is a hit!

Not a fan of lentils, but love this soup! I made a few substitutions, based on what I had on hand. Used regular lentils (1 cup), no rice or bulgur. Fresh tomato, not canned. Chili powder to replace cayenne pepper. Pumpkin puree (yes, Libby's pumpkin) instead of tomato paste. You can't taste the pumpkin. Used as a thickener. Pureed the soup with my immersion blender. Great stuff!!!

Mmmm….comfort food! Amazing flavor, texture and easy to make. I used fresh tomatoes and mint from our garden (peel and chop tomatoes and finely chop mint and double it’s quantity since it’s fresh.) Used extra mint for garnish. As another reviewer suggested, I used crushed red pepper flakes instead of cayenne and adjusted for heat. I doubled the recipe since we like leftovers and it tastes even better the next day. I didn’t have bulgur so I went with all rice, and look forward to using it as written in the future. The rice made it smooth and mild; I’d imagine it to be a little more hardy with bulgur. Soooooo good! Family loved it. Will definitely make again.

Delicious! Just like the one at our local Turkish restaurant. I added cuscus because I didn't have bulgur and it worked just fine. I blended most of it and you couldn't tell if it was bulgur or anything else. I did not add salt and I used 1 cup of red lentils. I like it a bit thicker. I also sauteed the onion for 10min in coconut oil until translucent, added the garlic let sauté for 1 more min then followed the instructions. I do that with all the recipes that call for onions. Makes a difference. Thank you Jenna for sharing!

I wasn't sure what the finished soup would taste like, but I had all the ingredients so I gave it a try, and it's absolutely delicious! Since I used some leftover RoTel diced tomatoes with "hot" green chiles, I cut the cayenne pepper down to a 1/4 tsp. Lastly, after pureeing it to not entirely smooth, I stirred in about 1.5 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice. That just put it over the top!! I'm sure I'll make this often, it's SO good...thanks, Jenna. :)

Delicious! Just like the one at our local Turkish restaurant. I added cuscus because I didn't have bulgur and it worked just fine. I blended most of it and you couldn't tell if it was bulgur or anything else. I did not add salt and I used 1 cup of red lentils. I like it a bit thicker. I also sauteed the onion for 10min in coconut oil until translucent, added the garlic let sauté for 1 more min then followed the instructions. I do that with all the recipes that call for onions. Makes a difference. Thank you Jenna for sharing!

I had to add more liquids. Its a great winter soup, tastes divine - I followed the recipe exactly - but even after blending it was way too thick for a soup. I added an additonal 1 cup pureed tomatoes and 2 cups water and that turned out good.

I have been making this recipe for years. The only changes I make are to substitute Cayenne pepper with double amount Aleppo Chile Pepper that I bought in a Turkish store. I also usually add about a half a teaspoon of ground cumin.

Update: I make this recipe almost every week now. I love it and crave it! I use 1/2 cup of bulgur and no rice. I always add extra garlic. It also tastes great with green or brown lentils; it's just not as pretty without red lentils. I also skip the whole blending step simply because it's less to clean up. If it is too spicy for some people, add in a little sour cream to their bowl. Still delicious! Thanks for sharing the recipe!

Quick, easy, and actually worth bragging about.

Honestly, I can’t stop thinking about it.

OMG this is delicious!! Followed the recipe as written...except used homemade chicken stock and didn't have dried mint per se but had peppermint tea...which is just dried mint ( thank you Google substitution)! This will have a regular rotation in my comfort meal repertoire! Love red lentil soup but this was elevated from any recipe I've heretofore tried. Mint makes it!

Very chunky so definitely needed some more water. Got a great char taste when doing the tomato paste and tomatoes together, but definitely needed to turn the heat down. The end result has a nice deep flavor for sure.

I used fresh mint instead of dry, and it really helped in the balance of flavors. However, using tomatoes of any form included in this recipe is not anti-inflammatory. I got to this page from an anti-inflammatory recommendation, and I recommend no tomatoes at all, and to use some puréed Zucchini instead the three star rating is because the soup is not anti-inflammatory as was advertised out of your control on another site. With the zucchini, I would make this a five star.

I substituted the paprika for chili powder. I had to lower the flame when I noticed the tomatoes getting burned. Very thick, not soupy but tasted good. I followed and this is how it came out.

Really tasty! I didn't have fine bulgur, so I used buckwheat groats instead (kasha). I also added a little smoked paprika at the end. I will definitely make this again!

So tasty loved it! Made minor replacements because I was out of some things. Used Basil instead of mint and 5 bouillon cubes Mixed in 5 cups of water (FYI-do not and any extra salt if you make this way) instead of chicken stock.

Fantastic spicy soup, perfect for a winter day! I make whole wheat bread and serve with this. My family raves over it. Thank you for the recipe, it tastes just as good as the Turkish restaurant nearby.

I added cumin to this because my mom aways did. Came out delicious.