by Alea Milham 18 Comments
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This spicy lentil soup recipe is filling and delicious!
I was so excited about discovering one-pound bags of organic beans marked down to 50 cents that I did not look carefully at the varieties I was picking up. At first, I was disappointed when I realized that one of the bags I brought home turned out to be lentils because I was planning on making bean soups. Then I remembered that lentils are easier and quicker to cook than beans, so I decided to come up with a quick vegetable soup recipe using lentils.
Lentils do not require soaking like beans. They only take 20 minutes to cook, smell great while cooking, and are quite tasty. To save time making lentil soup, I cook the lentils in the soup pot for 10 minutes, then add the rest of the soup ingredients and cook them while the lentils finish cooking.
My pickiest eater has declared this his new favorite soup and went back for seconds and I’ve decided lentils are my new favorite frugal source of protein.
Spicy Lentil Soup Recipe
The vegetable lentil soup recipe includes tomatoes, peppers, and spices which add a little bite to it.
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup dried lentils
- 3 cups water
- 4 cups vegetable broth (How to Make Vegetable Broth)
- 4 celery ribs, thinly sliced
- 2 carrots sliced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 1 jalapeno pepper, deseeded and diced
- 2 cups diced tomatoes (or a 15-ounce can of diced tomatoes with the juices)
- 1 teaspoon thyme
- ½ teaspoon marjoram
- ¼ teaspoon cumin
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Directions:
- Drizzle the olive oil over the bottom of a large soup pot. Turn heat to medium-high. Add the diced onion to the olive oil and saute for 4 minutes. Then add the minced garlic and saute for 1 more minute.
- Add the lentils and water to the pot. Raise the temperature to high. Bring the water to a boil. Place the lid on the pot tilted, lower the heat, and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Add the vegetable broth, carrots, celery, bell pepper, jalapeno pepper, and diced tomatoes to the pot. Stir in the thyme, marjoram, cumin, and red pepper flakes. Raise the heat to high and bring the soup to a boil. Once the soup reaches a boil, lower the temperature to medium, but make sure the soup continues at a low boil.
- Cook for 10 minutes or until the carrots are fork-tender.
Printable Recipe for Spicy Lentil Soup
Spicy Lentil Soup Recipe
Easy recipe for spicy lentil soup
Course Soup
Cuisine American
Keyword lentil soup recipe, Spicy lentil soup recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes minutes
Total Time 45 minutes minutes
Servings 8
Calories 135kcal
Author Alea Milham
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup dried lentils
- 4 cups water or vegetable broth
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 2 celery ribs diced
- 2 carrots sliced
- 2 cups diced tomatoes
- 1 green bell pepper
- 1 jalapeno pepper diced
- 1 teaspoon thyme
- ½ teaspoon marjoram
- ¼ teaspoon cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Instructions
Drizzle olive oil over the bottom of a large soup pot. Turn heat to medium-high. Add the diced onion to the olive oil and saute for 4 minutes. Then add the minced garlic and saute for 1 more minute.
Add the lentils and water to the pot. Raise the temperature to high. Bring the water to a boil. Place the lid on the pot tilted, lower the heat, and simmer for 10 minutes.
Add the vegetable broth, carrots, celery, bell pepper, jalapeno pepper, and diced tomatoes to the pot. Stir in the thyme, marjoram, cumin, and red pepper flakes. Raise the heat to high and bring the soup to a boil. Once the soup reaches a boil, lower the temperature to medium, but make sure the soup continues at a low boil.
Cook for 10 minutes or until the carrots are fork-tender.
Nutrition
Calories: 135kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 0.3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 497mg | Potassium: 454mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 2988IU | Vitamin C: 23mg | Calcium: 51mg | Iron: 3mg
More Lentil Recipes
Greek Lentil and Rice Salad
Curry Steak with Spicy Lentils
Do you have a favorite recipe using lentils?
