Lemon Coriander Soup (Healthy and Flavorful)

Lemon coriander soup with step by step photos. It is a clear vegetable soup flavored with lemon and coriander leaves. Lemon adds to the tangy taste and coriander leaves give subtle citrus notes in this soup. The addition of mixed vegetables makes the soup healthy and flavorful.

A bowl of lemon and coriander soup can make all that cough blues go away from you in heavy monsoons or in a cold biting weather. The soup is warming, nutritious and loaded with vitamin C. Another South Indian variation of a spicy lemon based soup which I have shared is this Lemon rasam.

How is Lemon Coriander Soup made?

A simple lemon coriander soup is made by cooking some herbs or vegetables and then adding them to a vegetable stock. Later lemon and coriander leaves are added.

My recipe is different as I have not used any store brought vegetable stock. I have cooked veggies and in the process of cooking veggies the stock is made. So for this recipe, you do need to buy any vegetable stock.

There is no monosodium glutamate (msg or ajinomoto) added in this soup recipe. So the taste won’t be like restaurant ones, but you get clean and healthy flavors in this homely lemon coriander soup.

Which vegetables to add in soup?

Vegetables give a lot of depth and flavor in this soup. Add them for some crunch and to make the soup more flavorful and nutritious.

You can add a myriad of vegetables in this soup but add in small quantities. I usually add some carrot, white button mushrooms and cabbage in the soup.

In this recipe post though I have used mushrooms and carrots. Mushrooms give a nice texture and bite in this otherwise plain soup.

From the veggie list, you can add corn, sweet corn, cauliflower, cabbage, carrot, bok choy, mushrooms, bell pepper (capsicum), snap peas, green peas and spring onions (scallions).

Herbs & spices added in Lemon Coriander Soup

Apart from garlic and ginger, green chilli, coriander leaves and lemongrass make up for the aromatic elements in this soup. Now if you do not have lemongrass, you can consider skipping it.

Green chilli can also be skipped. Coriander leaves are a must as it is, after all coriander and lemon soup.

Freshly crushed black pepper gives the soup some warm, spicy, woody flavor.

Serve this soup as an appetizer drink. Do remember to remove the lemongrass stalk before serving.

How to make Lemon Coriander Soup

Preparation

1. Rinse and then chop 2 small spring onion whites (scallions). Rinse, peel and finely chop or grate 1 small carrot. Rinse and chop 4 to 5 white button mushrooms.

Also, rinse and finely chop 1 green chilli, coriander leaves, ginger and garlic. Chop the lemongrass stalk and keep it aside.

Cooking Vegetables

2. In a pan or pot, heat 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil or any neutral flavoured oil.

3. Keep heat to a low or medium-low. When the oil becomes hot, add 1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger, 1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic and chopped green chilli.

4. Sauté ginger, garlic, green chilli for a few seconds on medium-low heat till the raw aroma of ginger and garlic goes away. Take care not to brown them.

5. Add ¼ cup chopped spring onion whites.

6. Stir and saute for a minute on medium-low to medium heat.

7. Add the chopped vegetables – ¼ to ⅓ cup finely chopped carrots and 1 to 1.25 cups chopped mushrooms.

You can add 1.5 to 1.75 cups of chopped mix vegetables like cabbage, spinach, corn, baby corn, broccoli, carrots, snap peas, bok choy, green peas, cauliflower and mushrooms.

8. Mix very well.

9. Stir fry on a medium heat for about 3 minutes. If not using mushrooms then stir fry for less time. Mushrooms leave the water and thus the vegetable mixture does not stick to the pan while stir frying.

10. Add 4 cups of water. Instead of water, you can even use homemade vegetable stock or a sodium free vegetable stalk.

11. Add 1 lemongrass stalk (chopped). You can even add slightly crushed and chopped lemongrass bulb instead.

12. Add salt as required.

13. Add freshly crushed black pepper as per taste. Stir.

14. Cover and let the soup mixture simmer on medium-low to medium heat.

Making Lemon Coriander Soup

15. Simmer till the vegetables are cooked. It took me 10 minutes for the carrots and mushrooms to cook. Depending on the type of vegetables used and how smaller they are chopped, it may take less or more time. Keep a check when the vegetables are cooking.

16. Add ⅓ cup coriander leaves once the vegetables are cooked.

17. Next, add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice. Stir and switch off the heat. 2 tablespoons of lemon juice gives a good sour taste in the soup.

If you want a less tangy or sour taste, then add ½ to 1 tablespoon lemon juice. So add lemon juice according to your taste.

18. Lastly, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of chopped spring onion greens (scallions) or chives.

19. Mix and Serve hot lemon coriander soup in soup bowls or soup mugs. While serving you can garnish with some more spring onion greens and lemon slices.

Some crushed black pepper can also be sprinkled on top of lemon coriander soup. Do note to remove the lemongrass stalk before serving.

Tips for Best Lemon Coriander Soup

1. To slightly thicken the soup you can add cornflour paste (corn starch slurry).
2.  For an umami taste, a bit of soy sauce can be added to the soup.
3. Add your choice of vegetables. You can add 1.5 to 1.75 cups of chopped mix vegetables like cabbage, corn, baby corn, broccoli, carrots, snap peas, green peas, spinach, bok choy, cauliflower and mushrooms. A mix bag of different varieties of mushrooms can also be used.
4. Adding lemongrass stalk is optional.
5. If you have homemade vegetable stock, you can use it.
6. Some red chilli powder or cayenne pepper can also be added to increase the spiciness.
7. Add the amount of lemon juice as per your taste buds.
8. You can even use a vegetarian or vegan bouillon cubes if you want. I do not use them as monosodium glutamate (msg or ajinomoto), artificial flavors, additives and preservatives are added in them.
9. You can even add some more herbs like parsley or thyme.
10. A small onion can be added instead of spring onions (scallions).

Few more tasty Soup Recipes for you!

• Corn Soup
• Tomato Soup
• Tom Kha Soup
• Vegetable Soup

Please be sure to rate the recipe in the recipe card or leave a comment below if you have made it. For more vegetarian inspirations, Sign Up for my emails or follow me on Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter.

This Lemon Coriander Soup from the archives, originally published in June 2019 has been updated and republished on February 2023.