Winter Lentil Soup
This hearty, flavorful vegetarian soup calls for just a few healthy ingredients and simple steps. A whole bunch of kale adds tons of fiber (here’s how to de-stem kale quickly), lentils contribute calcium and protein, and sweet potatoes lend some irresistible earthy sweetness. We’re guessing you’ll gobble up the whole dish immediately, but if you happen to have leftovers or make a double batch, the soup freezes and thaws splendidly. Transfer it to resalable plastic bags and stack them flat in the freezer to save space. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight and reheat on the stove until warmed through.
How to Make It
Step 1
Heat the oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the leeks and cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to soften, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook, breaking them up with a spoon, for 5 minutes.
Step 2
Add 6 cups water and bring to a boil. Stir in the sweet potatoes, kale, lentils, thyme, 1 ½ teaspoons salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Simmer until the lentils are tender, 25 to 30 minutes.
Step 3
Spoon into bowls and top with the Parmesan, if using.
Chef's Notes
wls7ea29054b0e2
2015-11-13T20:49:23-05:00
The lentils in this recipe never cooked. 4 hours later, and my lentils are still completely raw. All the vegetables have turned to smoosh. Cook lentils separate and add them in, otherwise you get little rocks and a bunch of wasted ingredients. I am incredibly frustrated. I've never had lentils just not cook before.
erdubya
2015-07-31T22:44:29-04:00
I surprised my wife with this, who's very picky... She loved it (without the parmesan cheese)... Flawless Victory! and Thank you!!
poppigirl
2014-03-03T12:38:50-05:00
Made this on yet another snowy afternoon. it was really good. seems to be a pretty flexible / forgiving recipe. added 1/4 C lentils, and another half cup of grains (some barley, kamut and wheat berries) put in more water to off set the additional needed for the extra grains. also added 2T of tomato paste. it was fabulous. next time will add more kale, maybe some chickpeas or corn and garlic, only cause I love it, not because the soup needed it.
SandraStanford
2014-01-24T13:48:52-05:00
OK. This soup is a party in your mouth. Combining three of my favourite foods. Had a real hard time finding lentil recipes that taste good. Awesome!!!
MissGM
2013-12-20T15:09:04-05:00
Here's what I did with this recipe: used 2 large leeks and 2 -14 oz cans of diced tomatoes, undrained (why break up whole tomatoes when you can get them diced?). To the leeks cooking I added 2 small diced carrots and 1 large rib diced celery. Then I added 2 large cloves diced garlic about 2 mins before adding the tomatoes. Substituted one can no sodium chicken broth for 2 cups water. Followed all the rest of the recipe aside from that. Soup came out more brothy than I like so I puréed about 2/3 to 1/2 of the soup. I like a hearty consistency. Pretty happy with my modifications....hearty and very tasty with just enough chunkiness.
Tildy61
2013-05-09T14:44:43-04:00
I made this soup last night, my husband and I LOVED it! I was worried that he may not like it since it didn't have any meat in it, but he said, "This soup is fantastic!". I used green lentils because that's all I could find at the grocery store and I didn't drain the tomatoes. I will be making this very often. Thank you so much for sharing!
cookinmama99
2013-04-18T13:51:26-04:00
Yumm in my tummm. Next time I make this I'm not going to drain the tomatoes though. That's only personal preference cause I love tomatoes.
This soup was great, never made homemade soup before. Definitely going to get into it though.
First time a soup hit the spot for me and didn't have me going back for 3 more bulls (I would go back for six bowls judging flavour but my stomach would probably explode). Wasn't loaded with enough salt to put me into cardiac arrest and still had TONS of flava. That's what I like in a soup!
CathrynM
2013-04-08T18:12:11-04:00
I added minced garlic and zucchini along with everything else from the original recipe. It was one of the best soups I have ever had. Even my father loved it, and he is a meat loving man. With the kale it is hearty enough to satisfy anybody's appetite.
AmyWis
2013-03-10T13:26:53-04:00
I just made this soup. Yum Yum! I added two cloves of minced garlic along with the Leeks. I also put in some hot pepper flakes, 1 cup of lentils (just from reading the other reviews) as well as a couple of tablespoons of Balsamic vinegar. I really wish the ingredient measurements were given in weight or volume instead of by quantity, the leeks are so big I ended up just using one. Also how much each serving size is. This defiantly will be put into our rotation.
irishkiss718
2012-10-14T03:52:24-04:00
This recipe was amazing! I made it last night. My fiance and I have been trying to eat healthier and I was looking for some easy vegetarian recipes. I'm so glad I found this! Normally, I hate sweet potatoes, but they tasted so good in this. I think I might have used too much kale because it was hard to stir, but it still came out great anyway. I did everything the way the recipe says except I also added in some chopped portobello mushrooms, a pinch of red pepper flakes and added a bit more black pepper. I've never had lentils, kale or leeks before. Now I know I like them! We will definitely be making this again!
