How many calories in Turkish red lentil soup?
Last updated: · Prepared by: QuickCalo Team
Short answer
One bowl of Turkish red lentil soup (about 250 g) has about 160 kcal and 7 g of protein; 100 g has about 64 kcal. What changes the calories most is how much butter and oil goes into the pot. The values are for a home-style soup of red lentils, onion, carrot and potato, finished with butter.
Red lentil soup is the everyday soup of Turkish homes and the one almost every Turkish restaurant puts on the menu. The lentils break down as they cook and thicken the soup on their own, so it is usually blended smooth without any cream or flour.
It is traditionally served with a wedge of lemon, a pinch of chilli flakes or dried mint, and bread on the side. Because lentils bring both fibre and plant protein, a bowl is more filling than its calorie count suggests.
| Serving | Grams | Calories (kcal) | Protein (g) | Carbs (g) | Fat (g) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 bowl | 250 | 160 | 7 | 23 | 5 |
| 1 ladle | 120 | 75 | 3 | 11 | 2 |
| 100 g | 100 | 64 | 2.9 | 9.1 | 2 |
What changes the calories in Turkish red lentil soup?
- Butter and oil: the fat used to soften the vegetables, plus any sizzling butter poured over the top, is the biggest variable.
- Thickness: a thick, spoon-coating soup packs more lentils into the same bowl than a thin one.
- What comes with it: bread and croutons add to the meal, not to the soup itself.
How to enjoy Turkish red lentil soup a little lighter
- Sprinkle chilli flakes and dried mint straight into the bowl instead of a spiced butter drizzle.
- Use either butter or oil in the base rather than both.
How were these values calculated?
No official record matches this dish directly, so the values come from a recipe calculation: the nutrients of each ingredient were taken from USDA FoodData Central, added up and divided by the cooked weight. Raw total 2625 g, cooked weight 2300 g.
An 8-bowl pot; about 9% of the water is assumed to evaporate during cooking and blending.
| Ingredient | Grams | Calories (kcal) | Protein (g) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| red lentils (raw) | 250 | 895 | 59.8 | USDA FDC 174284 |
| onion | 100 | 40 | 1.1 | USDA FDC 170000 |
| carrot | 100 | 41 | 0.9 | USDA FDC 170393 |
| potato (raw) | 100 | 77 | 2.1 | USDA FDC 170026 |
| wheat flour | 15 | 55 | 1.5 | USDA FDC 168894 |
| butter | 30 | 215 | 0.3 | USDA FDC 173410 |
| sunflower oil | 15 | 133 | 0 | USDA FDC 171025 |
| tomato paste | 15 | 12 | 0.6 | USDA FDC 170459 |
| water | 2000 | under 5 | 0 | USDA FDC 173647 |
Spices (under 5 g in total per recipe) are not counted.
Serving weights:
- 1 bowl: typical serving, approximate
- 1 ladle: typical serving, approximate
Calories per 100 g are rounded to a whole number and macros to one decimal; serving calories to the nearest 5 and protein to a whole gram.
Can you count the calories in Turkish red lentil soup from a photo?
Yes: in QuickCalo, snap a photo of your plate or type what you ate, and get the calories and protein in seconds.
Frequently asked questions
How much does one bowl of Turkish red lentil soup weigh?
On this page, one bowl of Turkish red lentil soup is taken as about 250 g (typical serving, approximate). The real weight depends on the recipe, the size and how it is served.
How much protein is in Turkish red lentil soup?
One bowl of Turkish red lentil soup has about 7 g of protein; 100 g has 2.9 g.
Is lentil soup good for weight loss?
It can be a good choice: it is filling, high in fibre and gives you some protein. Keep an eye on the butter on top and the amount of bread you eat with it.
Similar foods
Sources
- USDA FoodData Central — SR Legacy (2018) and FNDDS 2021–2023 datasets; accessed 16 October 2026
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