This wholesome, delicious, Easy Lentil Soup will become a new favorite. The simple superfood recipe comes together in under 30 minutes and tastes awesome.
This simple recipe for delicious, nutritious, easy lentil soup takes 5 minutes to prep and 20 minutes to simmer.
I often whip up a batch of this simple lentil soup on the weekends and we eat it for lunch throughout the week, adding a little of this or a little of that for variety.
Which Lentils to Use for Lentil Soup?
There are many types of lentils: green lentils, brown lentils, red lentils, black lentils, and French Lentilles du Puy. Each has a slightly different flavor and texture when cooked, as well as different cooking times.
While black and French lentils work beautifully for salads because they retain their shape as they cook, the other varieties work best for soups, sauces, and dips.
To achieve a beautiful creamy consistency for this soup, I prefer red lentils. They cook up perfectly tender in 20 minutes and have a beautiful color and mild, earthy flavor.
Red lentils are my favorite for this soup. Their delicate texture and creamy consistency makes them ideal for quick cooking.
You can certainly use other varieties of lentils in this soup, but the texture and color will be slightly different.
Lentil Soup Recipe Ingredients:
We use some of our soup staples in this recipe:
carrots
celery
onion
red lentils
Better Than Bouillon Vegetable Base (or broth)
new potatoes
salt & pepper
herbs & spices (thyme, cumin seed, turmeric, chili powder, parsley)
optional: cauliflower and kale
How to make this delicious soup:
As with many soups, this Easy Lentil Soup starts with the basics: sautéed carrots, celery, and onion. Then we add the lentils, potatoes, herbs, spices, and broth and 20 minutes later the soup is ready to eat.
The soup tastes great on its own or you can add other ingredients to add variety (or to use up leftover vegetables). For example, I often roast a head of cauliflower and bunch of kale to sprinkle on top of the soup for added texture and nutrition.
While the Easy Lentil Soup simmers, roast up some cauliflower and kale with a little curry powder to top the delicious soup.
Other ingredients that work well in this soup as substitutions or additions:
mushrooms
diced tomatoes
lemon
green beans
spinach
sweet potatoes
leeks
zucchini or yellow squash
Adapting this recipe to a slow-cooker or Instant Pot
This recipe works very well in a slow cooker or instant pot. I recommend sautéing the veggies first for better depth of flavor, but if you are short on time, don’t sweat it.
Toss it all in the slow cooker, give it a stir, and push the button. All the vegetables will be perfectly tender and you’ll have a delicious lentil soup! Cook on high for 4 hours in a slow-cooker and on the “beans” setting for an Instant Pot.
What to serve with Lentil Soup?
We often eat this soup alone because it’s satisfying and filly, but it’s great served with thick slices of toasted GF bread or a grilled cheese, too.
How to store leftover soup
This soup stores well in the refrigerator for up to one week or can be frozen in an airtight container for several months.
Warm in the microwave or on the stovetop and add a little extra water or broth. For single servings, I highly recommend Souper Cubes! They are great for storing and reheating leftovers.
If you like this recipe, check out some of these other tasty soups and stews!
Flavorful, filling, and delicious, this Easy Lentil Soup can be on the table in less than 30 minutes.
Heat olive oil in heavy bottomed soup pot or Dutch oven. Also preheat oven to 425°F.
Sauté the carrots, celery, and onion over medium heat for 5 minutes until beginning to brown and soften.
Mix the Better Than Bouillon into the water, then pour into the pot with the vegetables.
Then add chopped potatoes, lentils, spices, and stir.
Place the lid on the pot and bring the mixture to a boil before reducing the heat to a low simmer.
Simmer for about 20 minutes or until lentils are tender. After cooking, you can use an immersion blender to puree the soup if you’d like a smoother consistency.
Meanwhile, place the cauliflower and kale on a parchment lined baking sheet and drizzle with the oil, curry powder, and salt.
Roast in the oven for 20 minutes.
To Serve:
Ladle the soup into bowls and top with some of the roasted vegetables. Serve each bowl of soup with slices of crusty bread, for a filling and delicious meal.
