Jan 18, 2026 4 min read Recipes

Turkish Red Lentil Soup (Mercimek Çorbası) Recipe

Lisa Bryan from Downshiftology is the recipe creator that inspires me the most. We frequently do her recipes, from her juicy chicken burgers to her zucchini fritters.

She recently launched a new Red Lentil Soup recipe. I don't eat lentils as often as I did when living in France - I love a green lentil salad with a touch of Moutarde de Dijon and a poached egg on top! - but I do love this protein rich grain. So I grabbed lentils at the store yesterday, I saw the recipe a dozen times and I got myself ready to recreate it. I had never made soup before, so I needed it to be easy. And this recipe did not disappoint.

Downshiftology's Easy Red Lentil Soup Recipe

You can check the video and the full recipe on Lisa's website, I am not going to rewrite the recipe here, as I did not change any ingredient from Lisa's recipe. Or should I correct that: I did not have one white onion so I used a red one - hence the darker colour on mine - and I don't have the Aleppo Pepper so I used good old Chili Flakes. But I did all the same steps.

*I diced the 2 carrots, the onion and the potato*

*First you sweat the carrots and onion on olive oil. Five minutes later, you add the potato. Two minutes later, the spices and the tomato paste*

*I added in the rinsed lentil and 6 cups of vegetable broth with paprika (pimentão)*

*As the soup simmered on low heat for 30 minutes, I blended it to a smooth texture. On the side in a pan I did the butter sauce. Why did mine get so foamy?*

*While I was making this soup, my husband was baking bread. It was so comforting to eat the tastiest soup with the freshest bread... yummy!*

I still have to improve on the butter sauce - help! why was mine so foamy? - but overall, I am so proud. This was the first soup I have ever made in my life at 39!

I have never been to Turkey and I cannot considered I am accustomed to their cuisine but if this soup starts to tell the story, it is absolutely spectacular. I cannot wait to eat the rest through the week - I think one pot will give us 10 servings! - and to try it again. Hope I have a white onion next time and I can nail the butter sauce's texture, because the flavour is superb!