Lentil Soup

Course Main Course, Side Dish, Soup

Cuisine American, Southern

Keyword easy-lentil-soup-recipe, lentil-soup

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 45

Total Time 55

Servings servings

Calories 254kcal

Ingredients

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup cubed or sliced baby carrots
1 cup diced celery
1 medium sweet onion finely diced
1 tsp fennel seed
3 medium cloves garlic minced
2 cups dry brown lentils rinsed and picked over
1 15 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 15 oz can petite diced tomatoes
6 cups low sodium chicken stock or chicken broth plus additional as needed to thin
2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp black pepper or lemon pepper
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp turmeric or curry powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tdsp crushed red pepper flakes
2 large bay leaves
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
4 sprigs fresh thyme
chopped parsley or additional thyme for garnishing

Instructions

Heat oil in a large 6 quart Dutch oven or pot over medium high heat. Add carrots, celery and onion. Cook for 5-8 minutes or until softened and beginning to brown. Add garlic and fennel seed, cook for 2 minutes longer.
To the pot add lentils, crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, chicken stock, salt, paprika, lemon pepper, coriander, turmeric (or curry powder), cumin, red pepper flakes and bay leaves. Stir well, bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium low and cover.
Cook for 30-40 minutes or just until lentils have softened. Check halfway through and skim any froth from the top.
Once lentils are tender, uncover and add lemon juice. Stir to combine. Simmer uncovered for 5 minutes.
Thicken the Soup: Scoop 1/2 cup lentils into a stand blender or a small bowl and puree. Add back to the pot to thicken. Repeat until desired consistency is reached. Mix well. (You can also use an immersion blender right in the pot.)
Thinning the Soup: Add additional chicken stock or vegetable stock 1/2 cup at a time until desired consistency is reached.
Serve hot with a side of bread garnished with chopped flat-leaf parsley or fresh thyme.

Notes

Brown Lentils - The best lentils to use are the ones that are readily available in your grocery store. I've used green lentils, yellow lentils and red lentils in this recipe from time to time. Please note, all legumes cook a bit differently. Monitor the softness of the lentils and make the adjustments as needed.
Spices - I like the hint of lemon that lemon pepper gives to the flavor of this southern lentil soup. You can use black pepper, instead.
Lemon Juice - You'll need around 2 tablespoon of lemon juice to add at the end of cooking. Lemon prevents oxidation of the lentils, adding a brightness to the flavor. You could replace it with a splash of red wine vinegar.
Adjust the Thickness to Your Taste - You can thin, or thicken this soup to your personal taste. To thin, add more stock. To thicken, remove around 1/2 cup of lentils and mash or puree in a blender then add back to the pot. Repeat until your preferred thickness is reached.
Chicken Stock - To keep this lentil soup vegetarian friendly, use vegetable stock in place of chicken stock.
Green Veggies - If you like, you can add 2 cups of frozen chopped collard greens, kale or fresh baby spinach leaves to this soup. Each will cook rather quickly and need to be added toward the end of cooking. I don't recommend using fresh collards as they take much longer to cook so if you choose to add them, frozen is best.
Potatoes - You could add bite-size cubes of potatoes to the soup in the last 15 minutes of cooking.

Nutrition