Lentil Vegetable Soup

Since our readers loved our classic lentil soup, Turkish lentil soup, Moroccan lentil soup, curry lentil soup, and red lentil soup, we are sure you’ll enjoy this lentil soup recipe.

It packs incredible flavor and nutrition and is ridiculously easy to make. It uses simple pantry staples in one pot and requires little hands-on time.

The lentils make the dish nutritious and fulfilling, with texture, wholesome plant protein, iron, and heart and gut-healthy fiber.

The flavor base of onion, garlic, carrot, celery, oregano, thyme, cumin, and canned tomatoes makes the vegetable lentil soup a flavorful vegetarian dinner idea.

Like our 20+ lentil recipes – think of lentil chili, Mujadara, lentil loaf, lentil tabbouleh, lentil pasta, and lentil curry – lentil vegetable soup is excellent for meal prep.

The lentils keep well for 4 to 5 days in the fridge and up to 3 months in the freezer.

Inspired by Mediterranean and Italian flavors, this lentil soup recipe will feel comforting and familiar while excitingly new and original.

Quantities are in the recipe box at the bottom of the page.

Dried lentils

For this lentil soup recipe, you can use dried green lentils, brown lentils, or black lentils. They cook in about 30 minutes and maintain the al-dente texture we love.

Here’s everything you need to know about how to cook lentils and black lentils.

Can you use canned lentils? Sure you can. But add them later as they tend to overcook and lose their bite.

Olive oil

We recommend extra virgin olive oil to make the flavor base.

Extra virgin olive oil has a higher polyphenols content, making it more stable (healthier) at high cooking temperatures, so we always recommend it for most preparations.

You can substitute avocado or other vegetable oils for extra virgin olive oil.

Onion, carrot, celery

Onion, carrot, and celery are a classic combination of French and Italian cooking for soups and stews. We use white or yellow onions.

As they gently sauté in the olive oil, they develop remarkable sweet, acidic, and umami-rich compounds that make the soup richer and tastier.

Substitute thinly sliced leek or shallots for the onions.

Garlic

If you like garlic, you’ll love it in lentil soup. Before adding it, you can grate, crush, or finely chop it with a knife.

Herbs and Spices

You can use dried herbs or fresh herbs for this recipe. We recommend thyme, oregano, and ground cumin.

You can also use rosemary, sage, and bay leaves.

You can experiment with turmeric, curry powder, and smoked paprika; add one teaspoon at a time, taste, and adjust for more if required.

Vegetable broth

For weeknights, we use store-bought vegetable broth. This makes the soup quick and easy to make in one pot.

If you are on a low-sodium diet, you can use a reduced-sodium vegetable broth and play with the spices to make the soup tastier.

Canned tomatoes

You can choose many types of canned tomatoes for this recipe. However, we generally use canned diced tomatoes.

Alternatively, you can use fire-roasted tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, whole canned peeled tomatoes (smashed with a fork before adding them into the soup), or fresh ripe tomatoes (chopped into chunks).

We tried making this with tomato purée, and while the flavor was excellent, we missed the chunky texture of diced tomatoes.

Leafy greens

You can be creative here and add your favorite leafy green. Choose from spinach, curly kale, Lacinato kale, chard, bok choi, Chinese cabbage, and more.

You can substitute other vegetables for the leafy greens.

For instance, try diced sweet potatoes, diced potatoes, chopped bell pepper, quartered mushrooms, cauliflower florets, and broccoli florets.

You can use fresh or frozen leafy greens and veggies.

Toppings

Top the soup with lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, and fresh parsley or cilantro (coriander).

Depending on our cravings, we love adding extra zing with quick pickled red onions, grated parmesan cheese, pita bread, or a thick slice of homemade rosemary focaccia bread.

US cups + grams measurements in the recipe box at the bottom of the page.

1. Start with the flavor base

Heat the olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven.

Add coarsely chopped onion, celery, and carrot, and sauté them on medium heat for 5 minutes or until the onion is translucent. Stir often to prevent the veggies from burning.

Add grated garlic and ground cumin, and sauté for one more minute or until you smell their fragrant aroma.

Note: this initial soffritto, or flavor base, adds a ton of flavor to the soup, so we recommend not rushing it and letting the veggies soften and sweat for at least 5 minutes.

2. Simmer gently

Add the dry lentils to a sift and rinse them under running water to remove soil and debris.

Also, check for small stones that might hide between the lentils.

Add the lentils, vegetable broth, canned tomatoes, dried thyme, dried oregano, salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes to the pot.

Cover with a lid, bring to a boil, then crack the top open and simmer on medium-low heat for 30 minutes or until the lentils are cooked but still with a slight bite.

Stir occasionally to prevent the soup from sticking.

Note: Smaller lentils might cook faster; larger lentils might take a few minutes longer.

3. Make it creamy

If you like making an extra creamy lentil vegetable soup, blend about 2 cups.

We do this directly in the pot with an immersion blender, but you can also use a standing blender.

Pay attention if your pot is enameled, as the blender might scratch the bottom of the pot.

Note: This is an optional step, and the lentil vegetable soup is delicious without blending.

4. Add leafy greens

Stir in your leafy greens of choice (we use spinach here) and simmer for a few more minutes until the greens wilt (3 minutes for spinach – 8 minutes for kale).

Add more vegetable broth or water to reach your desired consistency, then taste and adjust for salt before serving.

Lentil vegetable soup is a satiating main course but can also be served in smaller portions as a starter.

Remember to serve it with fresh lemon juice on top to boost flavor.

Optionally, serve it with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, freshly ground black pepper, and a thick slice of toasted crusty bread.

Tip: Rub the warm toasted bread with fresh garlic to infuse it with aroma, then drizzle it with good quality EVO oil and a pinch of salt. That’s how this soup is eaten in Italy.

You can also serve vegetable lentil soup with: 

• Homemade croutons
• Garlic crostini
• No knead focaccia
• Pita bread
• Bruschetta

For an Indian twist, add a teaspoon of turmeric and two medium-sized peeled and diced potatoes to this vegetable lentil soup.

Sauté the turmeric with the cumin at the beginning of the recipe.

Add bite-sized diced potatoes with the lentils, which have the same cooking time.

Substitute butternut squash chunks, sweet potatoes, or pumpkin for potatoes. The potatoes become beautifully tender and are infused with turmeric flavor.

Questions

Make Ahead: Lentil vegetable soup is excellent for meal prep as you can refrigerate it for several days or freeze it for months. Also, the soup tastes better on the second and third days than freshly made because the flavors have time to meld.

Refrigerator: Let the soup cool down completely at room temperature, then transfer it into an airtight container and keep it in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Freezer: Let the soup cool down completely at room temperature, then transfer it into a freezer-friendly container and freeze for up to 3 months.

Thaw & Reheat: thaw in the refrigerator over several hours or in the microwave with a thawing function. Warm it in a pot on the stovetop for a few minutes or in the microwave for 2 to 3 minutes. Avoid reheating it multiple times.

EASY SOUP RECIPES: kale soup, Tuscan soup, Chickpea soup, Moroccan Harira soup, Black bean soup, minestrone soup, pasta e fagioli.

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