I grew up eating this perfect, delicious and healthy red lentil soup, and it’s now a staple in my home with my family. Lentils are rich in protein (equivalant to a steak!), folate, iron, magnesium, potassium and zinc. They’re such a great, nutritious substitute for meat, whether you’re doing a meatless Monday, or cooking vegan or vegetarian meals. This warm, cozy red lentil soup is perfect for lunch or dinner and especially easy to throw together when you’re short on time to get food on the table, because it takes minimal effort!
As with all of my recipes, I recommend aiming to choose organic ingredients whenever possible. I look for vegetable stock or broth made from real foods and free of flavoring, to get the cleanest ingredients into our bodies. When time allows, consider sprouting the lentils prior to using them, as this will ease digestion and enhance the nutrient profile of the soup.
I hope you enjoy this recipe, born from my Armenian heritage, as much as my family does!
How I Make it
What I love about this Perfect Red Lentil Soup, is that it’s flavorful yet super easy. On a busy school night, this takes 15 minutes to prep, 30 minutes to cook and maybe another 15 minutes to cool and puree! I will note, pureeing is not totally necessary, and more of a preference. The photo below, of the finished soup, is how it looks without pureeing. The texture is soft and airy, making the soup almost fluffy!
I begin by sautéing the minced onion in a little olive oil, until the onion begins to turn clear about five minutes later. Next, I add in the cumin, salt and pepper and give it all a good stir before mixing in the tomato paste. At this point, the soup won’t be soup at all -it will just be a clumpy mix of onions and seasoning! Toss in the quinoa and lentils and pour in the broth to make a more soupy mixture (below). Now you bring it to a boil, then turn it down to a simmer and cover, letting it cook undisturbed for 30 minutes. That’s basically it!
When you remove the lid… voila! You are left with this perfect lentil soup, which you can then puree if desired!
Perfect Meatless Meal
Perfect Red Lentil Soup
Equipment
- Dutch oven pot
- Immersion blender
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, minced
- 2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp cracked pepper
- 1 tbsp cumin
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 c red lentils
- 3/4 c quinoa
- 7 c vegetable or chicken stock
- Optional: fresh cilantro, chopped
- Optional: sprinkle of cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Preheat a dutch oven over medium-low heat for 5 minutes.
- Add olive oil and minced onion. Cook the onion, stirring every now and then, until they turn transparent.
- Add salt, pepper, cumin and tomato paste to onions and stir to combine.
- Add lentils, quinoa and stock to dutch oven with onion and spice mixture. Stir and raise temperature to high.
- Once the soup is boiling, reduce the heat to low and cover with a lid. Allow to simmer for 30 minutes.
- Using an immersion blender, puree the soup until smooth and creamy.
- Add another 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil, to enhance flavor.