Meet the BEST lentil soup recipe! Made with dried lentils, recent greens, flavorful spices, and hearty greens, it is easy, wholesome, and scrumptious.
This straightforward lentil soup recipe is warming, nourishing, and scrumptious. It’s filled with hearty greens, tender greens, and fiber- and protein-rich lentils. Contemporary herbs and spices fill it with complicated taste, and a splash of vinegar provides a brilliant, tangy kick.
It’s not simply my greatest lentil soup recipe—it’s considered one of my greatest recipes, interval. It’s been a staple in my rotation for years. Straightforward to make with pantry components, it’s the right wholesome dinner for a winter weeknight (save any leftovers for lunch the subsequent day!). I hope you like this straightforward lentil soup as a lot as I do.
Lentil Soup Elements
Right here’s what you’ll have to make this soup:
- Lentils, after all! The very best varieties of lentils for this recipe are inexperienced lentils or French lentils, also called Le Puy lentils. They maintain their form properly within the soup, including satisfying texture. Brown lentils are additionally a high quality choice. Crimson lentils are too mushy for this recipe. When you have them available, go try my crimson lentil soup as a substitute!
- Further-virgin olive oil – For richness.
- Onion, garlic, carrot, and celery – They create the soup’s fragrant base.
- Contemporary kale – You’ll use the entire leaves, stems and all!
- Fireplace-roasted diced tomatoes – I like the smoky taste that fire-roasted tomatoes add to this soup. In a pinch, common diced tomatoes work right here too!
- Vegetable broth – Make home made vegetable inventory, or use store-bought.
- Contemporary thyme – For recent, woodsy taste. I wish to bundle entire sprigs along with kitchen twine. Then, I add the bundle to the soup like a bay leaf, eradicating it earlier than serving.
- Cumin – The key ingredient! It provides savory, earthy depth.
- White wine vinegar – It offers the soup a tangy kick.
- And salt and pepper – To make all of the flavors pop!
Discover the whole recipe with measurements beneath.
Recipe Variations
Don’t have these precise components available? These swaps work properly:
- Exchange the kale with one other leafy inexperienced like recent spinach or Swiss chard.
- Use 1 teaspoon dried thyme as a substitute of the recent sprigs.
- Exchange the celery with 1 small fennel bulb, diced.
- No vinegar? End the soup with a squeeze of recent lemon juice as a substitute!
Methods to Make Lentil Soup
This lentil soup recipe is simple to make! Right here’s the way it goes:
First, sauté the aromatics. Warmth the olive oil in a big pot or Dutch oven over medium warmth and add the onion, carrots, celery, kale stems, and cumin. Cook dinner till they soften, about 8 minutes.
Subsequent, simmer the soup. Add the garlic, tomatoes, lentils, vinegar, thyme, and broth.
Tip:Â Rinse the lentils earlier than cooking to take away any stones or particles.
Cowl and cook dinner till the lentils are tender, 25 to half-hour. Regulate the warmth as wanted to take care of a delicate simmer.
Lastly, add the greens. Cook dinner till they wilt, about 5 minutes, after which season to style.
Serve the lentil soup topped with garnishes like recent parsley, grated Parmesan, and/or crimson pepper flakes. Take pleasure in with crusty bread!
Methods to Retailer Lentil Soup
Retailer leftover soup in an hermetic container within the fridge for as much as 4 days. Merely reheat within the microwave or on the stovetop.
I really like this soup higher leftover. The flavour solely improves because it sits within the fridge!
Are you able to freeze lentil soup?
Sure, this vegan lentil soup is freezer-friendly! Permit it to chill to room temperature, after which seal it in hermetic containers or jars, leaving an inch for the soup to develop on the high. Freeze for as much as 3 months.
Extra Favourite Soup Recipes
When you love this lentil soup, strive considered one of these nourishing soup recipes subsequent:
Greatest Lentil Soup
Serves 4 to six
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 4 medium carrots, chopped (2 cups)
- 2 celery stalks, chopped
- 6 small or 3 massive kale leaves, stems finely diced, leaves chopped (8 cups)
- Heaping ½ teaspoon floor cumin
- 1½ teaspoons sea salt
- Freshly floor black pepper
- 4 garlic cloves, grated
- 1 (14-ounce) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
- ¾ cup dry inexperienced lentils, rinsed
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 12 recent thyme sprigs, bundled
- 6 cups vegetable broth
- ½ cup chopped recent parsley, for garnish
- Crimson pepper flakes
- Grated Parmesan cheese, for serving, non-obligatory
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Warmth the olive oil in a big pot over medium warmth. Add the onion, carrots, celery, kale stems, cumin, salt, and a number of other grinds of pepper, and cook dinner, stirring often, for 8 minutes, or till the greens start to melt.
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Stir within the garlic, tomatoes, lentils, vinegar, thyme, and broth. Cowl and simmer for 25 to half-hour, or till the lentils are tender. Add the kale leaves and cook dinner for five minutes, or till wilted.
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Take away the thyme bundle and season to style. Serve topped with the parsley, crimson pepper flakes, and Parmesan, if desired.
Retailer leftover soup within the fridge for as much as 4 days. If it thickens an excessive amount of within the fridge, stir in a bit water when you reheat it to succeed in your required consistency. This soup additionally freezes effectively.
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