Vegetarian Lentil Soup - One-pot Lentil Soup

Today, I'm going to show you how to make a classic lentil soup recipe that is hearty, healthy, delightfully filling with plant-based protein, and warming on those cool fall and wintry days.   

While there are many variations of lentil soup,  you can't go wrong with a simple Mediterranean version that is loaded with fire-roasted tomatoes,  your mirepoix mix of celery, carrots, and onions,  a few minced garlic cloves,  and spices like oregano, basil, and thyme.  It's an easy one-pot recipe that's a satiating full meal and an economical one to boot.

Ingredients:

 So, let's get started.  Our lentil soup today starts with two carrots,  and you can peel or not peel these, it's up to you,  but if you don't peel them,  just make sure to give them a good scrub.  And after they're peeled, you'll slice and dice them.  I always find it's easier to slice carrots in half.  Then slice those halves in half lengthwise.  That gives you a nice flat edge, and you can flip them over and slice them into three or four strips.  Then cut across for the perfect small dice.

Cooking Directions:

 

Once all the carrots are diced up, just place them in a bowl. The goal with a mirepoix mix is to keep the veggies about the same size so that everything cooks evenly in the pot.

So, with two ribs of celery, slice them lengthwise into a couple of strips, then cut across for a dice that's similar in size to the carrots. Of course, soup recipes are always flexible. And if you'd like a little bit more carrot or more celery in the finished recipe, always feel free to tweak it. And the last veggie you're going to salute up is a yellow onion. So, peel that, and once again, slice and dice it. If you guys have been following my recipes for a while, you know that my eyes are super sensitive to onions.

 So, what you don't see right now are the tears absolutely streaming down my face? And, yes, I did remember to put this onion in the fridge before slicing, and I sharpened my knife, but my eyes, I tell yet, they are just hyper-sensitive. The only thing I haven't done is wear goggles in the kitchen, though, I don't know if I can bring myself to wear those. I think I'd just rather have the tears, but getting back to the recipe, after your onion is all diced up, if the chunks are a bit on the big side, feel free to go back over them with your knife, and then transfer all of that to your bowl with the other veggies. In a large pot, on medium heat, add a good amount of olive oil, about 1/4 of a cup, you want to have enough oil to coat all of the vegetables to help bring out their flavor.

So once the oil is hot and shimmering, add the veggies, you can just dump them all in at once and then give them a stir. You'll cook these for about five minutes or until they have softened and the onion becomes translucent. Add two tablespoons of tomato paste, which will add body to this soup. Three to four cloves of minced garlic and the spices, which include two teaspoons of cumin, one teaspoon of dried oregano, one teaspoon of dried basil, and one teaspoon of dried thyme. You could also use three teaspoons of Italian seasoning as a substitute for oregano, basil, and thyme. And then, season with salt and pepper. Give that a stir and toast the spices for another one to two minutes to help release their natural aromas. 

 Now comes all of the more liquid ingredients, including 28 ounces of fire-roasted diced tomatoes. You can use regular diced tomatoes, but if you can find fire-roasted tomatoes, it really does elevate the flavor. And then, pour in six cups of vegetable broth or water. I usually add four cups of vegetable broth and two cups of water, just so I don't have half of a container of vegetable broth sitting in my fridge. Lastly, add one cup of green lentils that you've rinsed and cleaned. You could also use brown lentils, but steer clear of French lentils or red lentils for this particular recipe as it will change the cooking time. Once everything's in the pot, give that a stir, bring it back to a boil and you can skim off some of that scum that accumulates on the surface if you'd like, but you don't have to. Just loosely cover the pot, reduce the heat to low, and simmer it for 25 to 30 minutes.

So, while the soup is simmering, you can prepare the last couple of ingredients. And that includes juicing one lemon and slicing up about a half a bunch of kale or three to four leaves. The lemon juice is really key for that bright flavor and the kale adds extra hardiness, in addition to a bunch of vitamins and nutrients, just remove the stem from the kale and slice it up into thin strips. I'll take these ingredients over to the stove. And then I can tell you about Vitamix's exciting new product. It's an immersion blender. And let me tell you, this little baby is pretty darn powerful with a 625-watt motor. This should come as no surprise since it's made by Vitamix.

 This is the perfect product to help you enjoy the soup season. And at the top of the immersion blender, you'll notice two buttons, the on-off button, and the speed button, because there are five variable speeds. This means that you can choose how fast you'd like the four-pronged blade to blend. And what I always do is start it on low speed, just so I don't accidentally splatter things, then gradually increase the speed, and it's easy to do with one finger.

 But what I really love is the handle, and how comfortable the fit is in my hand, it's very easy to hold. And while it does have a little bit more heft than my previous plastic immersion blender, it's easy to use with one hand, and it just feels balanced. At the bottom, you'll see a bell guard, which will protect all your pots and pans from scratches. And cleaning is a breeze. You just twist it apart, clean the bottom with warm, soapy water in your sink, and then twist it back together.

So, it's now been about 25 minutes, and I'd say the soup looks done, and this is where the immersion blender comes in handy. It's perfect for recipes like today, where you want a slightly creamy, slightly chunky texture because you don't have to transfer part of the soup to your blender. You can just stick the immersion blender in your pot and spot blend in a few areas until you have the exact texture you're going for. And that's about how I like it for this lentil soup recipe. All right, for the finishing touches on this soup, add the kale that you've sliced up and the fresh lemon juice and stir for another minute or two to soften the kale. At this point, it's always a good idea to give the soup a quick taste test, and see if you'd like to add any additional lemon juice, salt, or pepper.

 

And if the soup is too thick, and if you'd like it a bit thinner, you can always stir in a little bit more water or broth, but if you're happy with it, it is ready to be served up. This lentil soup is a cold-weather essential, and you can store any meal prep leftovers. I showed this on Instagram last week and used my Souper Cubes to freeze individual portions, but you could also use Wick jars, Mason jars, or other freezer-safe storage containers. Then it's as simple as reheating a batch when you're craving a meal that will warm and nourish you from the inside out. I hope you guys enjoyed this recipe today.