With just a few pantry staples and minimal prep work, you can have a wholesome pot of soup simmering on your stove in no time. Lentil soup is ideal for busy weeknight dinners and lazy weekends. It’s the culinary equivalent of a cozy blanket on a chilly day. Here, we show you how to quickly prepare a healthy, tasty, and deeply satisfying lentil soup recipe with dried green or brown lentils. This recipe is Italian-inspired, using simple pantry staples and a comforting flavor combination everyone loves. If you feel adventurous, try one of our other delicious lentil soup recipes. Some of our favorites are Moroccan lentil soup with cinnamon, Harira soup with chickpeas and lentils, and Turkish lentil soup with creamy red lentils. Then there’s Indian-inspired curry lentil soup, one-pot Italian lentil pasta, warming red lentil soup, and cumin-spiced lentil vegetable soup. To learn more about lentils, you can check out our guide on how to cook lentils.
Flavor Base
A flavor base, called “soffritto” in Italian or “mirepoix” in French, is essential in making delicious soups. It consists of gently sautéing the chopped vegetables in olive oil for a few minutes. You’ll need:
Extra virgin olive oil: substitute regular olive oil or vegetable oil. Onion: you can use white, red, or yellow onion. Substitute shallots or leek for onion. Celery: substitute celery seeds. Carrot: it adds sweetness. Garlic: use fresh garlic if possible.
Tip: If you don’t have time to chop the vegetables, you can find pre-chopped mirepoix (or pre-chopped onion, celery, and carrots) in the frozen or refrigerated section. Alternatively, you can pulse them in a food processor.
Herbs
We recommend dried rosemary and bay leaves. You can substitute thyme for rosemary and sage for bay leaves. If you use fresh herbs, you can make a “bouquet garni” by tying them together with kitchen twine for easy removal.
Lentils
We recommend dried green or brown lentils. They retain their shape well and have a satisfying bite. You can substitute French puy lentils or black lentils (they require longer cooking time). We don’t recommend split red lentils for this recipe. If you use canned lentils, you’ll need to reduce the broth and the cooking time by half.
Tomatoes
We use canned crushed or diced tomatoes. You can substitute fresh ripe tomatoes for canned. Chop them into dice before adding them to the soup.
Vegetable broth
Lentils need plenty of liquid to cook. You can use reduced-sodium vegetable stock or water. The vegetable stock adds more flavor, but water is also good.
Potatoes
Potatoes add substance and creaminess by releasing some starch into the soup. Honestly, they are our favorite veggie in a lentil soup. You can substitute most other vegetables for potatoes. For example, try broccoli and cauliflower florets, sweet potatoes, mushrooms, squash, green beans, and more.
Leafy greens
Add your favorite leafy green, such as spinach, Tuscan kale, curly kale, bok choy, Swiss chard, Chinese cabbage, or Savoy cabbage.
Salt and black pepper
Season the soup with sea salt or kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. If you like spicy food, add a pinch of red pepper flakes.
Balsamic vinegar
Balsamic vinegar is optional. It adds a mildly sweet, acidic, and savory flavor to the lentil soup, making it the perfect flavor booster. Substitute fresh lemon juice or apple cider vinegar for balsamico. Heat the olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven. Add the chopped veggies and sauté for 4 minutes, stirring often. Add pressed garlic, rosemary, bay leaves, and red pepper flakes, and sauté one more minute.
2. Simmer in broth
Rinse the dried lentils to remove dirt and small stones, then add them to the pot. Stir in vegetable stock, canned tomatoes, and potatoes cut into bite-size chunks. Season with salt and black pepper, bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 30 to 45 minutes or until the lentils are tender. Add more vegetable broth if required. Tip: The cooking time for lentils varies depending on their size and freshness. Taste them to check for doneness. As you extend the cooking time, you’ll need to add more vegetable broth.
3. Add leafy greens
A few minutes before the soup is ready, stir in chopped leafy greens and the balsamic vinegar. Finish cooking for a few minutes until the greens wilt. Taste and adjust for salt before serving. Tip: You can use almost any leafy green, such as spinach, kale, broccoli, bok choy, chard, Chinese cabbage, savoy cabbage, and more. Spinach wilts faster, while kale and chard take a bit longer.
Serving Suggestions
We like serving this soup with toasted crusty bread rubbed with garlic and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil or chili oil. It’s also delicious with grated parmesan cheese and thinly sliced scallions or with brown rice and a dollop of Greek yogurt. You can even make a big batch and store half in the refrigerator and half in the freezer. Refrigerator: Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Freezer: Let the soup cool down completely, then transfer it into a freezer-friendly container and freeze it for up to 3 months. Thaw: Defrost it in the fridge for several hours or overnight. To speed things up, you can use your microwave’s thawing function. Reheat: Reheat in the microwave or a saucepan on the stovetop. Add some water if necessary.
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