This spicy lentil soup recipe is filling and delicious!
I was so excited about discovering one-pound bags of organic beans marked down to 50 cents that I did not look carefully at the varieties I was picking up. At first, I was disappointed when I realized that one of the bags I brought home turned out to be lentils because I was planning on making bean soups. Then I remembered that lentils are easier and quicker to cook than beans, so I decided to come up with a quick vegetable soup recipe using lentils.
Lentils do not require soaking like beans. They only take 20 minutes to cook, smell great while cooking, and are quite tasty. To save time making lentil soup, I cook the lentils in the soup pot for 10 minutes, then add the rest of the soup ingredients and cook them while the lentils finish cooking.
My pickiest eater has declared this his new favorite soup and went back for seconds and I’ve decided lentils are my new favorite frugal source of protein.
Spicy Lentil Soup Recipe
The vegetable lentil soup recipe includes tomatoes, peppers, and spices which add a little bite to it.
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup dried lentils
- 3 cups water
- 4 cups vegetable broth (How to Make Vegetable Broth)
- 4 celery ribs, thinly sliced
- 2 carrots sliced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 1 jalapeno pepper, deseeded and diced
- 2 cups diced tomatoes (or a 15-ounce can of diced tomatoes with the juices)
- 1 teaspoon thyme
- ½ teaspoon marjoram
- ¼ teaspoon cumin
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Directions:
- Drizzle the olive oil over the bottom of a large soup pot. Turn heat to medium-high. Add the diced onion to the olive oil and saute for 4 minutes. Then add the minced garlic and saute for 1 more minute.
- Add the lentils and water to the pot. Raise the temperature to high. Bring the water to a boil. Place the lid on the pot tilted, lower the heat, and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Add the vegetable broth, carrots, celery, bell pepper, jalapeno pepper, and diced tomatoes to the pot. Stir in the thyme, marjoram, cumin, and red pepper flakes. Raise the heat to high and bring the soup to a boil. Once the soup reaches a boil, lower the temperature to medium, but make sure the soup continues at a low boil.
- Cook for 10 minutes or until the carrots are fork-tender.
Printable Recipe for Spicy Lentil Soup
Spicy Lentil Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup dried lentils
- 4 cups water or vegetable broth
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 2 celery ribs diced
- 2 carrots sliced
- 2 cups diced tomatoes
- 1 green bell pepper
- 1 jalapeno pepper diced
- 1 teaspoon thyme
- ½ teaspoon marjoram
- ¼ teaspoon cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Drizzle olive oil over the bottom of a large soup pot. Turn heat to medium-high. Add the diced onion to the olive oil and saute for 4 minutes. Then add the minced garlic and saute for 1 more minute.
- Add the lentils and water to the pot. Raise the temperature to high. Bring the water to a boil. Place the lid on the pot tilted, lower the heat, and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Add the vegetable broth, carrots, celery, bell pepper, jalapeno pepper, and diced tomatoes to the pot. Stir in the thyme, marjoram, cumin, and red pepper flakes. Raise the heat to high and bring the soup to a boil. Once the soup reaches a boil, lower the temperature to medium, but make sure the soup continues at a low boil.
- Cook for 10 minutes or until the carrots are fork-tender.
Nutrition
More Lentil Recipes
Curry Steak with Spicy Lentils
Do you have a favorite recipe using lentils?
Deb says
*CORRECTION TO ABOVE RECIPE* (sorry, I'm having more middle age mind moments than I care to acknowledge lately)
the correct spices are:
1 rounded Tbs yellow curry
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp tandoori
salt & pepper to taste
:o)
Deb says
OMG I discovered lentils about 2 years ago and I love them, I add them to lots of soups & stews.
I created a recipe that I just love. It has a bit of heat, but not too much at all. It's not vegetarian, but if you omit the ground turkey meat, problem solved:
Ingredients:
1 medium chopped onion
1 large bunch Kale, stripped from stem and chopped
2 large chopped carrots
2 medium baked potatoes, chopped
*1.5 cups cooked northern beans (see note)
1 cup lentils – red or regular
1 box organic chicken broth
1 cup water
1 can coconut milk
1 large can chopped tomatoes with juice
1 rounded Tbs Turmeric
1 rounded tsp Tandoori
1 bay leaf
1 lb ground turkey meat, cooked
In a large dutch oven or stock pot, saute onions & carrots in a bit of olive oil until just soft, and then add kale. Saute for 2-3 minutes more.
Add all the rest of the ingredients, turkey meat is optional. Cover and let simmer for 1 hour. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add a little more water if you would like this soup a bit thicker (if you omit the turkey, you probably won't want to add more water).
Serve with a dallop of greek yogurt on top. This soup is really delicious and nutritious!
*note about beans: instead of buying canned beans, I buy dry beans and soak/cook them to directions. I then drain them, and store them in 1.5 cup portions in the freezer, which is the amount in the standard can of beans. Much more economical and no BPA this way!
[email protected] says
This recipe looks great! I'm adding it to my "Need to try" bookmark folder! Thanks for sharing.
Melynda says
Great looking soup! Lentils are very easy to use, as you found out. You can just substitute them for other legumes in the recipes you already like, like lentil chili.
Alea says
Laura- You might like it with a little more heat. I tend to like things on the mild side of spicy as do my children. I just put a side of chopped hot peppers by my husbands place. 🙂
Laura says
I am going to have to give this soup a try – it sounds delicious. My attempts in the past to serve my family lentils have not gone over well. They like lentils when they're mixed with other beans, but don't particularly care for them on their own (I love them though).
Christie says
Now you have to try lentil tacos.
Melodie says
I love lentils Lentil dahl is really good and easy to make too. It's my kid's favourite dish! Thanks for sharing at Vegetarian Foodie Fridays!
ButterYum says
What a find, and it introduced you to the world of lentils!!! I love them.
🙂
ButterYum
Really Rainey says
This is a great KEEPER recipe… I am eating vegetarian right now and this would be a great soup to make once a week! Thanks SO much!
RaineyGhoul
Alea says
1/4 cup of northern beans has 10 grams of protein, lentils have 12.
Shana says
Are lentils a good source for protein? I had no idea.