A Simple, Easy Lentil Soup Recipe

This Simple Lentil Soup is so easy to make, it will become a staple in your house. This recipe includes many variations on at theme, so you can change things up with this lentil soup. 

A Simple Lentil Soup with tomatoes and brown rice

I’m teaching a series of soup classes to a group of seniors at our local community center starting this week, and my first recipe will be this Easy Lentil Soup. The goal of this soup series is to encourage seniors to cook healthily at home, rather than buy processed or prepared foods which can be high in sodium and fat.

While I was picking up groceries for today’s class, I overheard two elderly women talking about making lentil soup. It became apparent that what might appear to be a simple recipe to me was actually not so easy for these two ladies (they were trying to read a recipe on the back of a package of lentils). I couldn’t help but ask if I could offer some suggestions, hoping to allay any anxiety they were having over making their lentil soup. I explained that they didn’t have to worry about following the recipe exactly as written (they were debating whether or not to add celery even though the recipe didn’t call for it).

Based on talking to the community director (and from reader feedback), simple recipes are a must for seniors. Any recipe with more than 5 to 6 ingredients can be overwhelming, so I thought it might be helpful to come up with a simple lentil soup recipe, with no more than 6 ingredients, but with optional add-ins, in case anyone wants to be a bit adventurous. This recipe is great for anyone who just wants to make a simple, but healthy and delicious lentil soup.

I tend to like lots of flavors, deep flavors, spicy flavors, and lots of herbs, so sometimes my soup recipes have long ingredient lists. However, since everyone’s taste preferences are different, and it’s always nice to have an easy soup recipe, the lentil soup I decided to make is very simple, a basic recipe that can be added onto. I love to play around with ingredients, so the add-ins were fun for me to put together. Soup is the perfect playground for experimenting with ingredients as it is so forgiving. You can add just about anything to soup and it will always come out delicious.

Here’s the Simple Lentil Soup recipe, along with a list of optional add-in ingredients:

Just a few simple ingredients make a delicious Lentil Soup

More Lentil Soups:
Curried Tomato Soup with Lentils and Spinach
French Lentil Soup with Barley and Rainbow Chard
Red Lentil Vegetable Soup
French Lentil Soup with Cilantro
Thai Coconut Curry Lentil Soup
Easy Crockpot Lentil Chili

Print

Clean Eating Lentil Soup

Rating: 51

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes

Yield: 12 cups

This soup freezes well. Feel free to stir in your favorite greens towards the end of cooking time. Spinach, kale or Swiss chard make nice additions.

Ingredients

• 1 cup organic red lentils, rinsed and picked over for small stones
• 1 organic onion, chopped
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 organic carrot, peeled and chopped
• 2 organic celery stalks or 3 celery hearts, chopped
• 1 teaspoon Herbes de Provence
• 10 cups organic vegetable stock
• 1/4 cup organic brown rice, barley, farro or other whole grain
• 1 1/2 cups organic chopped tomatoes
• 4 cups organic shredded cabbage
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Place all ingredients in a large soup pot. Bring to a boil, then turn heat to low, and cook, covered, for about 1 hour, or until lentils are soft. Season with salt and pepper.

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Photos and Original Text (C) Copyright: 2010-2012 By Jeanette Chen

This post has been linked up to Basilmomma’s Budget and Freezer Meal Link-Up.

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