Savory Lentil Soup

The perfect recipe for a cold day, something hearty and filling, simple and nutritious.

Hearty soups are a staple of cold weather and lentils have long been an inexpensive, nutritious ingredient. After the hectic, feast-filled holidays, a simple and nutritious meal is exactly what the New Year calls for. Enter the Savory Lentil Soup. This particular recipe was inspired by The Engine 2 Diet's Savory Lentil Soup which is no longer available on their website, but can be found in their book.

Enjoy switching up this recipe by trying the different variations or omitting or substituting ingredients. Leftovers can be kept in the fridge for about a week or in the freezer for a couple of months.

Recipe Tips:

To make this recipe within one hour, from prepping to serving, use canned lentils; if you desire to use dry lentils (about 1 cup) we advise rinsing and sorting before soaking for at least four hours and allowing another 30 minutes for cooking. We’ve used green, French and brown lentils for this recipe.
To make this recipe a full meal we suggest pairing the soup with a colorful salad of mixed greens and our Savory Drop Biscuits.
If cooking for fewer people we suggest not cutting down the recipe but rather freezing the leftovers
For further information on the awesomeness of lentils check out this post in our Tips & Tricks section (The Awesome Lentil)
Any ingredient labeled optional we usually add to our soup but you can omit without compromising the overall flavor or turnout of the recipe

Recipe Variations:

Omit potatoes or/and turnips for a more traditional or simpler version
Add 1 tsp paprika with other spices for that extra oomph of flavor or smoked paprika for a deeper savory flavor
Use 16 oz or 2 cups of frozen spinach or kale instead of fresh, or omit entirely for a simpler version

Recipe: Savory Lentil Soup

Course: Soup

Cuisine: Comfort Food

Prep Time: 15min

Cook Time: 45min

Total Time: 1 hour

Serves: about 6

Ingredients:

1 onion, chopped (sweet or red)

1 tsp salt

4 medium stalks of celery, chopped

4 medium carrots, peeled and sliced

6-8 cloves garlic (or 1 ½-2 Tbsp), diced

2 bay leaves

1 tsp freshly ground black peppercorns (or pre-ground black pepper)

3 medium potatoes (yellow or russet), peeled and chopped into ½ inch cubes (or 2 turnips for nightshade free) (optional)

2 tsp curry powder

2 tsp dried thyme

15 oz can of lentils, drained and rinsed

32 oz vegetable broth (4 cups)

1-2 cups water

4 cups fresh kale (about 1 healthy bunch) or spinach (about 2 bunches) (optional)

1 ½ tsp coconut aminos (or ½-1 tsp tamari if not avoiding soy)

2 tsp white or coconut vinegar

2 Tbsp avocado oil

Directions:

Heat oil on medium-high heat in large soup pot for about 1 minute, until starting to shimmer. Add chopped onion and salt, coat thoroughly, then saute until onion is translucent and soft (but not mushy), about 8 minutes.
While onion is sauteeing prepare greens - wash, de-stem and chop kale leaves (see here for preparing kale).
Once onion has been cooking for at least 8 minutes, add chopped celery for 3 minutes.
Then add the sliced carrots for 4 minutes. Add the black pepper while carrots are cooking and combine thoroughly.
Add the bay leaves and the garlic for 2 minutes.
Mix in the curry powder and thyme.
Toss in the chopped potatoes (or turnips) for about 2 minutes. Then add in the rinsed lentils, making sure the seasoning is thoroughly coating all of the vegetables.
Pour vegetable broth into the pot, mix and cover soup for about 5 minutes.
As soup simmers, stir in kale (fresh or frozen). Add about 1 cup water and cover pot for another 10 minutes.
Stir soup and add in coconut aminos (or tamari) and taste and add salt if necessary (if using spinach, add in here since spinach needs less time to cook). If you desire your soup to be thinner add the extra cup of water; if you prefer a consistency closer to stew then leave the extra water out.
Add vinegar to pot, cover and turn off burner/remove from heat, leaving soup to rest for about 5 minutes before serving.