Fast and Easy Red Lentil and Vegetable Soup

I Love It when a meal comes together quickly and cleans up my fridge a bit by using up remaining produce before it goes bad, and this red lentil and vegetable soup is one of those kind of recipes because:

• you can include a variety of ingredients depending upon what you’ve got in your fridge or pantry
• you can easily enjoy this as a gut-healing meal in less than 30 minutes

And as an added bonus, this recipe is gluten free, sugar free, dairy free, oil free, anti-inflammatory, nutrient dense, and whole food plant based, so you can easily enjoy a tasty meal with your family and without the discomfort that many experience when eating commonly problem foods.

Getting Started

To get started, go through your fridge and pantry and select the produce and beans that you decide to include in the soup. When I’m looking, my goal are:

• something green like kale or spinach
• red lentils because they cook in about 20 minutes and mush up nicely to slightly thicken the soup
• other beans that hold their shape and add more protein and fiber like green lentils, Great Northern beans, cannellini beans, etc.
• onion for the flavor
• mushrooms because they’re filling
• celery for the salty flavor that combines well with the onion
• tomato sauce and either chopped fresh, or canned diced tomatoes for the tomato soup base with a little chunkiness

Print

Fast & Easy Lentil and Vegetable Soup

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

30 mins

 

Enjoy this fast and easy red lentil and vegetable soup recipe that's gluten free, oil free, and whole food plant based vegan.

Course: Main Course

Servings: 8

Author: Elaine Watkins | Food and Living Coach

Ingredients

• 1 Onion (Peeled and Diced)
• 2 Stalks Celery (Strings Removed; Chopped)
• 2 Carrots (Peeled and Chopped)
• 1 Box Mushrooms (Chopped)
• 1/2 Cup Red Lentils (Rinsed)
• 1 Can Great Northern or Cannellini Beans (Drained and Rinsed)
• 1 Can Diced Tomatoes
• 1 Can Tomato Sauce
• 16 Oz Vegetable Broth or Water (Or more to fill your pot)
• 2 Cups Kale or Spinach (Chopped)
• 1 Tbsp Cumin
• 2 Tbsp Garlic Powder
• 1/4 teaspoon Rosemary
• 1/2 Teaspoon Turmeric
• 1/2 Teaspoon Pepper
• Salt (To taste if preferred)
• 1/2 Teaspoon Cayenne (Optional: for some spicy heat)

Instructions

1. Set burner to Medium and preheat Dutch oven. Once hot, add chopped onion, celery, carrots, and mushrooms

2. Add remaining chosen vegetables, lentils and canned ingredients, preferred seasonings, and then broth/water

3. Adjust heat and boil on low for 20 minutes, gently stirring periodically.

4. Serve alone or with rice or quinoa.

Recipe Notes

1. Adjust the seasonings and amounts to your preferred taste
2. Add ingredients like squash, cabbage, and kale near the end of the cooking time
3. This is a simplified Mexican style Lentil and Veggie soup, and I would top it with some fresh, chopped cilantro and avocado.
4. For a simple, Italian style soup, replace the cumin with oregano.
5. If you're including spinach as your green, no need to cook it. Just add it to you bowl when serving and it will quickly wilt.

Lentils and Other Beans

Lentils are a common ingredient in many of our meals because they are so high in protein, fiber, potassium, iron, and folate. They’re also very budget-friendly and probably the easiest bean to cook.

You can include green lentils, which are usually just as easily found at your local store and hold together when cooked. In this recipe, however, I usually opt for Great Northern or cannellini beans that I can also usually get for a great price at nearby grocery stores.

I don’t cook with oil, in order to skip the unnecessary calories and the unwanted health risks that have been researched and reported. In this recipe, you don’t need it anyway, so I start by heating up a Dutch oven and, once hot, tossing in my onions, celery, carrots, garlic, and mushrooms.

I almost always have these ingredients, and they’re a flavorful base for the soup, but if you don’t have or don’t want to include one of them, then don’t.

Next I add red lentils, because I prefer how they soften to a nice mushiness that slightly thickens the soup. Be sure to do a quick check to pull out any non-bean debris and then rinse and add to your pot.

After that cooks for a few minutes, I add most of the other ingredients, except my chosen greens and squash if I’m including them. I wait until near the end of cooking time to add those ingredients, so they don’t fall apart.

Purchasing Options For This Lentil and Vegetable Soup

I have found great deals at both Kroger for for both red and green lentils, and HEB (another great grocer in our state) also has some great deals.

For additional meal ideas, check these out:

• Slow Cooker Pinto Beans
• Tasty “No Tuna” Chickpea Salad