Vegetarian Old Fashioned Lentil Soup
This Vegetarian Old Fashioned Lentil Soup is a delicious, healthy, and comforting recipe that mixes the flavors of delicious seasoning and lentils for a perfect easy night family dinner!
During cold or cool weather, winter or fall it’s always comforting a nice and tasteful soup. I love lentils. I can have it in any presentation anytime, to be honest.
But I must admit it tastes even better when we are cold. I learned to make this vegetarian lentil soup with my mom and it gets better every time.
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On a cold night, lentil soup is one of the easiest soups you can make compared to all the fancy soup recipes available. In any case, this vegetarian lentil soup recipe is a healthy and comforting meal.
Table of Contents
Vegetarian Old Fashioned Lentil Soup Recipe
We are not vegetarian… AT ALL! But at least once a week we like to have a vegetarian day. No meat of any kind.
On this kind of day, we make lentils, beans, pasta with any vegetarian sauce, that kind of food.
It always makes us feel so good. There is no need to have animal-sourced food every day, right?
How to make Old Fashioned Lentil Soup vegetarian style
This soup is absolutely delicious and easy to make and can be ready in about 40 minutes*. Hope you enjoy it!
My mom shared this lentil soup recipe in Spanish in case you prefer that language.
Ingredients:
- Lentils – Brown/Red/Green
- Spices – salt & pepper, paprika, cumin powder, coriander powder, dried oregano, turmeric
- Onion finely chopped
- Red and green bell pepper finely chopped
- Celery finely chopped
- Green onion finely chopped
- Carrot finely chopped
- Garlic cloves {or to taste}
- Olive oil
- Cilantro as a garnish.
- Vegetable Stock
Directions:
1. In a medium-large pot over medium heat let cook the lentil with water/stock about ¾ of the pot and let it boil for a few minutes. You can add the salt here but in my experience, it takes longer to cook the lentils.
2. Mix every now and then and let the water reduce as the lentils are cooked and tender.
3. Personally more than keeping a strict time once it passes the 20 minutes I check the lentils by pressing a grain with my fingers. When it’s a bit soft, I consider it ready.
4. While the lentils are cooking, in a medium frying pan over high heat, stir the olive oil and garlic and mix while it gets hot.
5. Before the garlic starts to get golden, Stir in the onions and celery, and mix well until the onion gets a bit transparent.
6. Add in the rest of the vegetables and mix. Sauté for about 3-5 minutes, moving the pan or mixing.
7. Add in the salt pepper, cinnamon, and cumin. Mix for another couple of minutes and add this mixture to the Lentils, which should already have half the amount of water/stock and be a little bit thicker.
8. Mix all and let it cook for 10 more minutes. Turn off the heat. Let it rest for a few minutes.
9. Serve and enjoy.
If you like the scent of cilantro, add some to each plate. It’s SOOO delicious!
*Time is approximate it could take a bit more or a bit less.
Well, hope you like our vegetarian lentil soup. It’s so comforting, delicious, and flavorful!!!
Cooking Tips
While this lentil soup recipe calls for traditional, easy-to-find brown lentils, you can certainly use the red lentils or your preferred variety.
While this lentil soup is vegetarian, if you want a little extra protein, you can certainly add cubed or shredded chicken, and substitute vegetable stock for the chicken stock.
If things get a bit too thick, simply thin them out with a little water or stock.
You can make it a bit spicy if you’d like. This soup tastes really delicious with some added extra cayenne pepper, some red pepper flakes, or even hot sauce!
Storing, leftovers, and freeze
Storing: You can store the leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 5 days.
Freezing: Better to serve right away but if you need to freeze it, you can freeze this soup in individual portions in freezer-safe containers. It will stay good for a few months.
Reheating: Thaw the soup before eating it in the refrigerator. You can heat the soup in the microwave or sump it in a pot and heat it through on the stovetop. Do not re-freeze again.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can use brown, red, or green dry lentils for this soup. Depending on the quality or source of the lentils you might want to soak the lentils overnight or for at least for 30mins to 1hr for them to cook faster.
Yes, of course! In addition to being high in fiber, B vitamins, iron, and protein, lentils are also low in fat. If you follow a vegetarian diet, lentils are an excellent source of protein. In addition, they have low-calorie content.
Yes, prepare as above and freeze when completely cool. The soup will keep in the freezer for up to 6 months without any deterioration. Thaw overnight in the fridge.
More Easy Meals Recipes to Try
If you like this old-fashioned lentil soup recipe, you might love these other easy meal ideas too:
🥣 Recipe
Vegetarian Lentil Soup
Ingredients
- 2 cups of clan lentils
- ¼ medium red and green bell pepper finely chopped
- 1 stick celery finely chopped
- 1 medium onion finely chopped
- 2 tbsp green onion finely chopped
- 1 medium carrot finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves {or to taste}
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 4 cups 4 cups vegetable stock
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 tsp cumin poder {or more if like}
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/2 tsp Coriander powder
- 1/2 tsp Oregano, dried
- 1/2 tsp Paprika
- handful fresh Cilantro as garnish
Instructions
- In a medium-large pot over medium-high heat let’s cook the lentil with water about ¾ of the pot. You can ad the salt here but in my experience it takes longer to cook the lentils. Mix every now and then and let the water reduce as the lentils are cooked.
- Personally more than keeping a strict time once it passes the 20 minutes I check the lentils pressing a grain with my fingers. When it’s a bit soft, I considerer it ready.
- While the lentils are cooking, in a medium frying pan over high heat, stir the olive oil and garlic and mix while it gets hot.
- Before garlic start to get golden, Stir in the onions and celery, mix well until onion gets a bit transparent. Add in the rest of the vegetables and mix. Sauté for about 3-5 minutes, moving the pan or mixing.
- Add in the salt pepper, cinnamon and cumin and all seasonings. Mix for another couple minutes and add this mixture to the Lentils, which should already have half the amount of water and a little bit thicker.
- Mix all and let it cook for 10 more minutes. Turn off the heat. Let it rest for a few minutes.
- Serve and enjoy.
- If you like the scent of cilantro, add some to each plate. It’s SOOO delicious!
Notes
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Til’ next time…
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