Recipe
🍽️ DINNER
Ash-e Reshteh
One of Iran’s best-loved thick soups: legumes and a mountain of herbs simmered with reshteh noodles, finished with tangy kashk, sizzled mint, and caramelized onion.
Persian · medium · serves 6
prep 30 min · cook 120 min
~282 cal · 18g protein · 51g carbs · 2g fat · 11g fiber · 6g sugars · 0g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Ash-e reshteh is the most famous of the ash, the thick, hearty soups that anchor Iranian home cooking. Its name means noodle soup, and it is built on two ingredients found nowhere else: reshteh, flat wheat noodles saltier and starchier than Italian pasta, and kashk, a tangy -whey dairy product with a bold, -rich, salty-sour flavour unlike anything else on the table.
Beneath the noodles is a base of legumes (chickpeas, kidney or pinto beans, and lentils) and a mountain of greens and herbs: parsley, coriander, chives, and spinach, cooked down until the whole pot turns deep and earthy. Caramelized onion and golden garlic are folded through and also saved for the top.
It is traditionally eaten on Chaharshanbe Suri, the festival of fire on the last Wednesday of the Persian year, and through the Nowruz new-year season, when reshteh (whose long strands symbolise the many paths of life) is thought to bring good fortune. Each bowl is finished with thinned kashk, oil sizzled with dried mint, and a scatter of the reserved crispy onion.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian and nut-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 6
200 g reshteh noodles (Persian soup noodles)
1/2 cup kashk ( whey), to finish
1/2 cup dried chickpeas, soaked overnight
1/2 cup dried kidney or pinto beans, soaked overnight
1/2 cup brown or green lentils
4 cups packed parsley, cilantro, and chives, finely chopped
4 cups spinach, chopped
3 large onions, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp turmeric
3 tbsp dried mint
to taste oil, salt, and black pepper
Instructions
1
Cook the soaked chickpeas and beans in plenty of water until nearly tender, about 1.5 to 2 hours (or use the pressure cooker), then add the lentils and cook until everything is soft.
✎ Chef’s note
Soaking the chickpeas and beans overnight is what lets them go creamy without turning the soup gritty.
2
Meanwhile, slice and fry the onions slowly in oil with the turmeric until deep golden and caramelized, then set half aside for the top; add the garlic to the pan for the last minute.
✎ Chef’s note
The onions carry the whole pot; take them all the way to deep gold, not just soft.
3
Stir the remaining onion-garlic, the chopped herbs, and the spinach into the beans, season, and simmer until the greens melt into a thick, deep-green soup, 30 to 40 minutes.
✎ Chef’s note
It should be thick enough to coat a spoon; add water only if it tightens too far.
4
Break the reshteh in half, stir it in, and simmer until the noodles are tender and the soup has thickened, about 15 to 20 minutes.
5
Sizzle the dried mint in a little hot oil until fragrant. Serve each bowl swirled with thinned kashk and topped with the mint oil and the reserved crispy onion.
Persian Nowruz tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Tehran. Tehran cooks refined Persian food, herb-stuffed stews (khoresh), saffron rice with golden tahdig, and delicate kebabs. Dried lime, pomegranate, and fresh herbs perfume the capital's table.
🗺️
Iran. Persian cuisine is elegant and aromatic, balancing sweet and sour with saffron, dried limes, pomegranate, and herbs. Slow-cooked stews (khoresh), jeweled rice, and delicate kebabs reflect millennia of refined court and home cooking.
🌍
Asia. Fermentation is the thread that runs the whole way across: soy sauce and miso, Korean doenjang and kimchi, Southeast Asian fish sauces, the soured batter behind an idli. Chilli is the newcomer among them, arriving only after 1500 with Portuguese and Spanish traders, which makes the heat in Sichuan, Thai and Korean cooking far younger than the fermenting underneath it.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Iran
Ghormeh SabziIran’s beloved herb stew: mountains of sautéed greens, kidney beans, dried limes, and lamb over saffron rice.
AdasiA warming Persian lentil breakfast stew spiced with turmeric, cumin, and cinnamon.
Chelo Kabab KoobidehGrilled skewers of seasoned minced meat with saffron buttered rice and grilled tomato, Iran's national dish.
Browse all Iran recipes →
Good to know
Storing it: Soup keeps 3 to 4 days refrigerated and freezes well. Reheat gently and loosen with a little water or stock if needed.
Make it a Iran meal
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Sholeh ZardDessert
Chelo Kabab KoobidehLunch
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Cuisine
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Frequently asked questions
What is Ash-e Reshteh?
One of Iran’s best-loved thick soups: legumes and a mountain of herbs simmered with reshteh noodles, finished with tangy kashk, sizzled mint, and caramelized onion.
Where does Ash-e Reshteh come from?
Ash-e Reshteh is a Persian dish from Tehran, Iran.
Can Ash-e Reshteh be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Ash-e Reshteh recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Ash-e Reshteh safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Ash-e Reshteh take to make?
About 150 minutes total (30 minutes prep, 120 minutes cooking), serving 6.
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