Maybe lentil soup is a mainstay of vegetarian cooking in part because it’s so easy, so healthy, and so delicious all at once. It’s delightfully mellow, which makes it a good dish to serve kids and picky adults, and when you’re sick, it just sounds like the most lovely, comforting thing ever.

This blog’s been a snack-lover’s paradise for the last couple of months, and honestly, that’s never really going to change, but I swear I eat, like, actual meals, too. In fact, I’ve been on the most ridiculous soup kick for several weeks. It’s probably partly the weather, partly my seasonal recovery from all the sugar I ingested in December. But soup is just so easy to make and easy to veganize that I usually talk myself out of blogging about it. “Lentil soup” just lacks the excitement of “vegan fried chicken” and the drool factor of “Butterfinger candy.”

Still, I don’t actually want to eat fried food and candy every day, and you probably don’t either. So here’s how I do lentil soup. Two notes before we begin. First, the lentils continue soaking up the liquid as the soup cools, so if you like your broth like I do, you may want to add a little water or stock when you reheat it on day two. Second, this soup freezes beautifully, so please do make extra and have it on hand for those nights when you need a quick meal or are feeling too under the weather to cook.

Stay warm!

 

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Simple Lentil Soup
Author: 
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: American
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 

Serves: 6-8
 

Ingredients
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 6 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 c onion, chopped
  • 1 c carrots, chopped into thin half-moons
  • 1 c celery, chopped
  • 1 tsp basil
  • ½ tsp thyme
  • ½ tsp oregano
  • ½ tsp black pepper
  • 1.5 tsp salt (less if you’re using salty stock)
  • 2 c dry brown lentils
  • 5 c stock
  • 4 c water
  • 1 c diced tomatoes

Instructions
  1. In a thick-bottomed soup pot over medium-high heat, cook onion, carrots and celery in oil until onions are translucent.
  2. Stir in garlic and cook another 30 seconds.
  3. Stir in spices and salt.
  4. Add lentils, stock and water and bring to a boil.
  5. Reduce heat and simmer for 40 minutes.
  6. Stir in tomatoes and continue to simmer for an additional 5-10 minutes.
  7. Let cool slightly before serving.

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